10 Outdoor and Indoor Game Ideas

Hey All -


Here's a very loose version of some games I want to write up in the coming months. I have another 10 all cued up and will be trying to get to 100 by... hm... February. Bryan will be testing these in Harlem (yikes!) so I hope some are winners. These vary from *new* to *modifications* to *old but still fun*. Enjoy!


1. You Spin Me Round
This is a Freeze Tag variation. To unfreeze a player, another player must run around them twice. Simple, right?


2. Square Affair
Think of a criss-cross version of Sharks and Minnows. Create a square and separate two equal teams to stand on adjacent sides of the square. This means that if they run to the other boundary, they will be running perpendicular to one another - right?
The idea is (and this gets chaotic) that on the count of "Go!" players must run to the other side without being tagged by the other team. Tags mean switching teams. The goal is to get everyone onto the same team... Interesting...


3. Something Good Quiz & Physical Challenge
I used to run this game show all the time! Two small teams compete and every question is different, sometimes they are physical challenges, sometimes simple spelling questions (you get the idea). Anyway, once a team member has volunteered and participated in a challenge or question, they may not be used again until the next round. This is fun... you'll frustrate a lot of over enthusiastic brainiacs (like me).


4. Disappear
I will have to write more about this later... It's the game "Points," but instead of minimizing contact with the ground, players must make another player (and then 2, 3, 4...) disappear from the POV of the facilitator. It is a great opportunity to think outside the box. More later.


5. The Boat Addon to CTF
Play Capture the Flag with a neutral area in the center. Players may only cross that area if they are holding a small trashball. Once leaving, regardless of side, they must drop the ball.


6. Chain Challenges
Take a simple challenge and add a timer. This one is where there is a lava pit with some ball in the center. Players must chain together to get the balls out safely. In this scenario, multiple chains would be the fastest way to achieve a good time. Vary the shape and size of the pit for different difficulties!


7. Field Frogger
This is great - I will have the full rules soon. There are Placers, Pickers and Frogs. The Placers put down carpet squares for the Frogs to jump onto. The Pickers pick up the unoccupied squares. The Frogs have to make it to the other side. It's a load of fun (in my head).


8. Tower Defense
There is a path for a team to walk down. The other team has to place themselves along the path with 3 or so trashballs each. Once the round begins, the walking team needs to get at least one player to the end of the path without being hit.


9. Bottlecaps & Frisbees
Put a Frisbee in the center of a large circle. Players must land bottlecaps or quarters inside. Easy, right?


10. 3D Bowling
Play team versus team bowling with blocks instead of pins. The team has a short time to create a structure for the other team to knock down. The structure has to be a certain height to qualify!

What's in Your Rainy Day Bag?

Rainy Day Bag (beta):


BOARD GAMES:
Sorry
Blockus

CARD GAMES:
Apples to Apples
4 regular card decks
Trivial Pursuit for Kids

WORKSHEETS:
Coloring Sheets (my favorite are the geometric ones like this - http://www.coloringcastle.com/geometric_coloring_pages.html)
Word Finder
Rebus Sheets

CRAFTS:
Construction Paper
Crayons
Markers
Chalk
Scissors
Glue Sticks
Craft Sticks

TOYS:
Legos

This is off the top of my head... What do you keep in there?

ACA & iD Tech.

Here is some great news -

Bryan and I will be presenting at the National ACA Conference in February of 2010. That's pretty... um... incredible and exciting!

We have also been rehired to continue building a stellar Activity Curriculum for iD Tech Camps, the largest tech camp group in America (and I believe the world... which, also means our solar system to anyone's immediate knowledge). They have over 60 separate camp locations around the United States and serve several thousand campers between the ages of 7 and 18 years old.

And we have some product that is currently in what I like to call "Beta" mode. One is a book containing our favorite games, written in such a way that even the most timid facilitator could (possibly) be successful. The book also has an appendix with our favorite songs (as you knew it would). We'll have copies available at the conference and have some of the early versions (rather *current* versions) sitting on our shelf awaiting revision.

If you are interested, let me know.

I am going to start posting more games and advice up here immediately. The latest break was to allow for my wedding (thanks) and subsequent honeymoon to New Zealand (best place on Earth).

I am also working with a couple friends on an iPhone app with all of the games on it, so PE & etc can have everything at their fingertips. It's a little breakneck speed to try to get something out by February, but we'll see...

And... a project that has gotten dusty on the shelf *will* be revived soon. A DVD of (better) produced videos of Bryan and I (and a special guest) performing some of our favorite camp songs will hopefully be put together around the holidays. I will likely include it with the final copy of the book and make it all available for some reasonable fee...

:-)

Ah! Too Many Videos!

Ok, ok...
I promise I will stop posting the videos here. They have been occupying my life, so they ended up being shot over to Blogger when posted. Anyway, I have great news (as noted before) --- I am designing an activity curriculum for a camp company that serves approximately 15,000 campers a year!

Exciting, huh?

All of the work I do will be documented thoroughly and my own, in case I want to take it to other places or turn it into a book... what do you think? Book or consultant?

User Update :-)

I get some great feedback here at the blog and through email... here's an update from Wendy, who wanted a better quote than what I previously gave her (oops!):

I enjoyed looking at your site. I work with children with special needs and they really seem to enjoy the action filled "camp" songs such as the ones featured on your site. I especially like the video portion of your website so I can see how the song movements go, especially when it's a song that I've never sung before. Keep up the good work!

That makes me feel really good! I got an awesome email from Jen who included:

My name is Jen and I'm a wildmannered humanitarian worker plying my passion
for education on the border between Burma and Thailand. I'm writing because
I recently found your videos on YouTube and wanted to let you know how much
I appreciated them.

Pretty awesome...

Janna gave me some great feedback on Kids Site 2: The Web Page:

My nephew has enjoyed seeing the videos and trying out some of the songs. He even practiced the 2nd magic trick for about 45mins. My hope is that he will be able to watch y'all more and want to go to a sleep away camp finally this summer!
Will you be having special guest females? My 9yr old cousin watched two of the videos and proclaimed it was only for boys. Granted you get that attitude in real life at camp as well.
I really am thrilled for my nephew to finally see it can be fun!

In response, Janna, I am going to have regular segments produced by females - tell your cousin not to worry! I believe the first one will be up this Friday, barring any technical problems!

I really think Janna hit the nail on the head with our goal for this site - show kids how fun camp can be... I hope we can spread that message through our random silliness!

Coach Lion left me this great comment:

I've only peeped a few days worth of KidsSite2, but it looks like you're off to a strong start. The pace is quick, but not overwhelmingly so. I wonder if there's any way to superimpose the words to the songs (like when you "follow the bouncing ball", or karaeoke) at the bottom of the screen so kids can learn the songs and sing along. Makes for more work, but it might make it more interactive (and a good learning/reading tool, as well).
Keep up the good work!

Yes, the pace is fast... The songs are... well, fast as well. I've been trying to figure out the best way to handle the songs. I've been working on the karaoke ball for a while, but it's not the best solution with this video resolution (the text it too hard to read). Instead, we'll include the lyrics as text beside the video and encourage the kids to learn them by practicing along with our other song-only ones.

I'll keep that in mind.

We're trying to add new features all the time, so it will be "right" by the time it's actually discovered! That also keeps me vigilant about updating this blog with new activities and ideas. BY THE WAY!!!!!!

I have big news~!~ Bryan and I were hired to design the entire activity curriculum for a (very) large camp company (I think around 10,000 campers). Hooray!

Quick Tech Rant

I am a loyal Google user. I am. I admit it... In fact, I'm really looking forward to getting an Android phone (Google's iPhone competition). One can find me using many of the free G services on any given day... Search, email, calendar, word processing, blog, chat, analytics - and many others.

Video, though, has proven to be a big problem. I used Google Video for almost 3 years now and it has progressively gotten worse - yes worse. The idea of hosting any amount of videos of any length is great (because YouTube has a space / time limit), but from now on I'm using BlipTV. I fear that Google sometimes spreads itself thin and stops supporting products after traffic goes down... and Google Video is a prime example of that.

Anyway, Kid's Site 2: the Web Page is up with the newest video... with nice quality and a much richer set of options. If you check out the BlipTV version of the site, you can subscribe to the newest videos - cool, huh? All free - so you can use that for your class or camp... Privacy settings come with a small subscription fee... What do you use?

NEW PRO SITE UP!

Hey All -

My design firm just launched a new site: www.miza.com about a baby mountain gorilla... and the unfortunate plight of mountain gorillas in general. Let me know what you think!

Also, remember to check out www.kidssite2.com!

ACTIVITY: Trash Balls

On our Friday episode of Kid's Site 2: The Web Page (yes, I'm a shill) we talk about making trash balls. This is an incredible activity for teachers and parents alike because:

1. Trash Balls are 100% recycled material
2. Trash Balls can easily be replaced
3. Trash Balls are easy to make... and easy to make many of them...
4. Trash Balls do not hurt (generally)
5. Trash Balls can be played with safely indoors (mostly)

So what are Trash Balls?

First you roll some used newspaper into a ball - make it 2 or 3 sheets.
Then wrap a couple plastic bags (from the store) around the newspaper.
Finally, take a couple strips of packing tape or masking tape and (loosely) wrap everything together.

There you have it - a Trash Ball!

And what can you play with Trash Balls? We personally enjoy the game of Ultimate Dodgeball - it's a real tricky one.

(oh, this is great!)

ULTIMATE DODGEBALL

Requirements:

• A group of 10 to... hm... 1,000,000?
• At least 5 - 10 Trash Balls per person
• A tennis court or gymnasium

Setup:
The best place to play this is on a tennis court with the net as a divider. If not, half a gym is sufficient. Split the group into two even teams. There are no outside borders beyond the center divider, so additional cones, etc, are not necessary.

Gameplay:
The *goal* of this game is to get everyone on the same side... If you are hit with the Trash Ball, switch sides; If someone catches your Trash Ball, switch sides; If you catch a Trash Ball, the thrower changes sides.

WAIT A MINUTE, PETE!?! Doesn't that mean one side could just give up and the game would be over?
Yes. Will that happen? No!

I've played this with kids and adults... and no matter how much I emphasized the GOAL when explaining the rules, they all heard the same thing - throw the Trash Balls at the other team.

This game has excellent discussion points at the end - especially if you let it run for a while.
Did you understand the goal of the game?
Why didn't you just give up so everyone would be on the same side?
(and then approach the hold-outs... the guys that wouldn't say die no matter how few were left on their side)
What was your thinking when you were alone against the larger group?

& etc.

My favorite moment in this game was with a large group of parents who, though completely understanding the goal, turned the game into a ridiculously competitive romp... and subsequently an enthusiastic and intriguing debrief.

NEW SITE ANNOUNCEMENT...!

Hey All...

I'm launching a new website exclusively for kids... and by "launching" I mean, it's launched.
I'll be editing it and adding content as I go (remember, I have a full-time gig and full-time fiance!), but I'm sure your younger ones will be satisfied :-)

ANNOUNCING...

KIDS SITE 2: The Webpage

www.kidssite2.com

Bryan and I have been hard at work developing content for our new project, an online camp for kids called "Kid's Site 2: The Webpage."

The page contains new videos every weekday with lots of activities, songs and general silliness that we've picked up throughout our camp careers. There are NO ADVERTISEMENTS on the page... and there will (hopefully) never be ads. We created a simple interface allowing for maximum access to all of our content.

Our target is 8 - 10 year olds, although that is a moving target and may change as we continue developing the community.

The goal of our project is to share cool and interesting content for kids in a safe, non-commercial environment. That being said, we would love to make up for the web fees and development time through donations or B&P swag... but that will be added through the "Parents" section.

Anyway, please recognize that we're just starting and have a long way to go before perfection... I am not going all out to market this *yet* because we want to seed the site with a week or two of content. Any feedback can be posted here or directly emailed to me at vigeant@gmail.com <>

The Economy of Beads (Part 2)

Although I am a fan of the *free* qualities of Blogger, the application that I am using to post this information, sometimes it can be a pain - as it DELETED a portion of my bead post!?!

Until I got some positive praise that pointed out the error, I didn't notice that my entire rare through ultra-rare piece got cut. If you saved the original text, I will love you forever, but otherwise I'll just have to remember what I wrote :-)

Level-1 Beads are those that everyone in the institution can get once. They can be a bulk reward for behaving well or cleaning up trash between periods. I would always have some sort of trash day where every group was awarded a special bead if they had more than X bags of garbage (of course, this got corrupted by crafty kids / counselors who would actually TAKE trash out of the garbage receptacles to fill their own bags).

Here's an example of how to breakdown the bead distribution:
If each camper / participant has 20 beads at the end of the week / session, 10 - 15 of those should be common; 3 - 5 should be Level-1; and the rest should be Level 2+ (you do the math).

The PERCEPTION with Level-2+ beads is that the camper / participant thinks they have something wholly unique that no one else has, or perhaps only a small handful of people have. These beads are not hard to purchase, they can be found at the craft store in variety packs, but the real challenge is the distribution...

Only a few administrative people should be in charge of giving out anything Level-2+. Here's why:

You give Counselor A and Counselor B 10 Level-2+ beads each and tell them to give them out evenly throughout the week. By the end of the week, you find out that Counselor A gave them all out on day 1 and Counselor B has yet to give any out... BLAH!

Level-2+ beads, which I like to call Ultra-Rare or Super-Rare or Super-Ultra-Rare depending on the amount I've seen in my adventures, should be given out for the big things, like one camper helping another finish a project or a camper hitting the bulls-eye with all three arrows. Never indicate *exactly* what they are given out for because that takes away from the good deed... It's all right to motivate them to clean up garbage, but continuously putting on a show for administration in order to get an Ultra-Rare bead is... well... not genuine.

Don't forget the Pomp & Circumstance!!!

I would always wear my bead strand (as well as Bryan) which I had "since I was a camper." Mine was very long and filled with beads of every sort. Some of the beads I had were never even seen by campers at all, meaning that there was a constant circle of campers hoping to catch a glimpse at something Super-Ultra-Super-Duper-Rare. Once a week or once a session, during announcements, I would take a bead off of my very own strand and award it to a camper or counselor in front of everyone. ***That was so key... It not only meant supreme pride within the camper, but her tribe would boast, "Jenny is in OUR tribe!"

/more to come.

Making Beads Work in Every Situation...

I love working with beads... they are quite the motivator with kids, they are generally cheap and they can be displayed in many different ways. In order to use beads, though, whether at camp or functions such as Field Day, a system needs to be established...

The Economy of Beads

So you want to use beads at your camp / school / after school / Field Day / whatever. Great! Why would anyone need beads?

1. They are a great way to chronicle a kid's journey through your program.
2. They are a cheap and easy reward.
3. They are a positive motivation.
4. They can be traded.
5. They can be displayed easily (AKA Camp Bling).
6. They are a take-away that *could* last forever (as long as the child is concerned).
7. They are unique.

There are more, but you get the idea. Beads are far better than raffle tickets or other motivation strategies because they can have value in the eyes of the child - nostalgic value that translates into positive memories.

The key to any reward structure such as beads is aligning all of the rules about distribution with those that control the beads.

For instance, have you ever had a raffle ticket program that broke down because of an unbalanced structure? I remember watching kids flock to a certain handful of Penny Carnival events and avoid others - not because the content of the game, but because they know where they can get the most tickets. Sometimes, if older campers were giving out tickets, the value would fluctuate even more, because they could overwhelm the system with too many or too few - both situations that would break down the appeal of the reward.

What is the most common child phrase? "That's not fair!"

Are they focused on being treated fairly? Yes! And that's never more apparent when one child gets 200 tickets and the other one only gets 5. REALLY. We're not here to favor one skill over another, we're here to make sure each child leaves with positive memories that they take with them throughout life...

In other words: we want each child to come out on top, like they won... like they have something special that no one else has!

Wow, that's a really tough trick, isn't it? Not entirely. Perception is the key to making a reward stucture that works with everyone.

Here are the basics when working with beads:

DISPLAY

First of all, you need to have a good way of displaying the beads. Imagine that at the end of the day / week / session each camper should have 20 beads. If that's the case, what is the best way for them to show off what they have for everyone else. We had the campers make totems, from which the beads hung. At the end of the day, we collected the totems because in many cases (ALL CASES) no one would remember to bring them back. Also, this prevents the sort of corruption that *could* possibly happen at home (I'll talk about corruption later).

Things to thing about when displaying the beads:

Everyone wants to customize their totem / object...

Boys may want to choose something different than girls. Boys will resist anything that looks like jewelry.
Putting beads at the end of a long string seems like a good idea, but can easily turn into a weapon... and just as easily lose ALL the beads when a careless kid swings them around.

Beads decorate backpacks really well and don't seem to both boys (because they see it as a badge of honor).

Approach the Arts & Crafts / Art person at camp / school and ask them to come up with a good solution.

Remember, every time a kid receives a bead, they will want to add it to their bling!!!

VALUE

All of the beads have value. The value depends on how many other kids have that same bead. Let's say that at the end of the experience, a child has 20 beads. 10 - 15 of the beads can be common, every day beads... the rest should be varying levels of rarity. Each kid should think they have a bead that no one else has.

Value is achieved by the language the beads are described with, how the beads are distributed, what the beads are distributed for and how many beads are distributed.

I broke it down like this:

Colored pony beads are the most common and probably the cheapest. These would be given for attendance - both for coming in that day for camp / etc and for attending an activity. The colors should reflect the area...

For instance, the Nature beads were green. That specialist just had access to Nature beads and they gave them to every camper who came to the area. Since attendance was mandatory, this made the beads a breadcrumb trail of the camper's day.

The colors should be given out to the activity heads and then whatever main solid colors are left are for general attendance. This is valuable because now the kids have bulk and everyone has *something*.

As far as the kids are concerned, everyone in their group will have the same exact number of these of the same color (theoretically). We refer to these as "Attendance Beads" but they really are "Common Beads." They are not given out for any other reason. Once a bead type is given out for *one* reason to a large enough group, that reward has to be consistent.

Rare beads are where beads can be a big motivator. I suggest buying bulk beads off of eBay to try to get some really unique items. Otherwise, go through your local craft depot and pick up as many random assortments as possible.

Before you begin the event / season, the beads need to be sorted out. The rare beads are really determined based on the number you (as the event runner) has and the number of kids. If you can give one bead to all of the kids *once*, then that bead is a level-1 rare. Terminology, such as "Level-1" can be applied to rare beads in front of kids so they feel there is legitimacy behind the assessment.

"Level-1" beads are perfect for clean-ups or anything that you want everyone to do. "If each group can fill 3 bags of garbage, everyone at camp gets a rare bead!

[This is where Blogger cut out some information!]

CORRUPTION

Whenever setting up something of value, corruption (AKA cheating) must be considered. Keeping the totems at camp until the kids leave means that *if* they have beads at home, they can't be added... This generally doesn't happen because of peer pressure. The more the kids want the beads, the more they will show them off to others. If everyone knows what everyone has, adding unearned beads is difficult and too risky for most children.

Trading beads or stealing beads is also a consideration. Do you want to allow trading? Yes and no. I wouldn't encourage general trading of beads just because a child may start trading other items (sandwiches, Pokemon cards, video games) matching the perceived value of the beads. Trading can occur with administration (HONESTY beads) or between campers during a trade-specific activity that doesn't involve common beads.

Some campers will trade an ultra-rare for another ultra-rare based on aesthetics and I think that is fine as long as it's not disruptive.

---

I suppose I could write a book about this, if I get into enough detail! I hope that I gave some relevant ideas that help and I am totally willing to share more specific information as needed - or give location-specific advice. Let me know in the comments or email (vigeant@gmail.com).

Hope your Summer planning is going well!!!

STEAL THIS IDEA... It's easy :-)

Whether you're in the camp industry or the child care industry (or some wonderful amalgamation of both), keeping your customers is always a priority (and subsequently getting their younger siblings). Of course you ran a wonderful summer program and they were all screaming for more at the end of the day, but how will your registration fare in four months when our fickle young friends forget all of the wonderful memories of last year?

The solution is simple, cost-effective and beautiful - a calendar.

I know it's not the most novel idea, but sending out (or selling at a small printing fee) a calendar has never been easier or more basic a scheme to revive your campers' interests.

First, you take all of those photos from last summer (and surely there are hundreds because you own a digital camera...) *--BREAK--*

IF YOU WORK WITH KIDS, YOU NEED TO OWN A DIGITAL CAMERA... there's no excuse anymore. I can write a handy dandy buying guide for you, but essentially they have gotten cheap enough that you can literally beg on the street and buy the camera with quarters...
SO AGAIN, YOU NEED A DIGITAL CAMERA.

Why digital? Because you have 500 - 1000 kids a summer (or more) and you don't want to be limited by the cost of film. My first summer working at camp, I took about 2 dozen shots with a very limited digital camera. The following year, I took about 200... and then 500... and since then, probably around 1,000 or so shots. I want to capture a good picture of each of my staff doing a great job... each camper having a good time...

ANYWAY, distribution of these pictures is essentially $0, as long as you're free to share them with the world (as most camps have a publicity waver in the contract). If not, there are a few more measures to take, but still the idea is solid.

Once you have a digital camera, you ditch the software that comes with it (because most of the time it's fairly confusing and riddled with ads), and opt for either iPhoto (on a Mac) or Google's Picasa on anything else. Both programs are very similar (in my opinion) and Picasa is FREE (I'm not sure about iPhoto).

From Picasa, you can edit all of your photos so they look fantastic (with a great red-eye tool that works perfectly about 75% of the time) and do all sorts of other fun stuff easily - including automatically posting them online to be shared with the world (free also).

*** BACK TO THE CALENDAR IDEA

Both Picasa and iPhoto allow you to send the photos of your choice to an online photo-printing service (such as oFoto). If you are using another program to edit your pictures or are completely content with what you've taken, you can upload directly to oFoto or even Target.com or Walmart.com.

SOOOOOO... oFoto, iPhoto and others (of which there is a comprehensive list towards the bottom) allow for some really great printing options, one of which is for a calendar.

NOW, I would suggest shopping around. There are probably some vendors that you already deal with (think t-shirts) that may give you a great deal on calendar printing...

Essential Features:

Full Color Photographs - try for 1 per month instead of a collage... large pretty pictures look nicer than a bunch poorly stitched together.

DATES OF IMPORTANCE - make sure you are able to add your own dates to this calendar (or intercept them before they are sent out and MANUALLY add the dates). Your customers need to be hit with those registration deadlines again AND AGAIN!!!

Fun - the photos shouldn't be boring group shots or serene trees... They should show FUN (whatever that means to your camp). Don't be afraid to hide some characters (if you have any) in the background, either ;-)

An idea.

The holidays are upon us and all anyone can think about is... SUMMER CAMP!

Right?

Well, that's all I can think of... and basically that means that I need to start working with kids again. Besides dreaming about an East Coast tour of schools, my extremely practical side had an idea: What about New York City?

I am a New Yorker, living in the fair borough of Queens, and I'm willing to bet that there are many teens living in my area that could use a little brush up on their camp employment skills. Since I've conducted training for several camps and have a great deal of experience working with children, I wish to impart my wisdom on as many future potential camp employees as possible...

(this is Pete thinking aloud)

I could do one or two sessions a week - from 7 - 8:30 PM seems like a perfect time. Eight weeks of classes... in other words 16 major topics covering everything from the fun side (camp magic, songs, crafts, rainy days) to the not-so-fun side (professionalism, emergencies, discipline) and everything in between.

I really think this could work, as I'm prepared with the content and expertise - I would really just need a location and some form of organization sponsoring me (such as a YMCA or Boys and Girls Club). I don't want this to be exclusive to a single camp; instead a meeting of minds (so to say) of teens from various camps doing various jobs.

There would be some sort of reasonable fee per class (depending on the space, $20 to $25) and one could attend a single session or all of them and benefit...

What do you think? Any advice?

Birthday and Sesame Workshop

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Panwapa World is officially launched!

This is my "Me Page"

I decided to be blue and wear a superhero outfit... so basically exactly as you would expect. My house is completely "green" because I wanted to be hip and save the environment!

Anyway, we were on the View this morning... and I'm sure the media hype is just beginning. Check out the site! I'm USA88 - drop by and leave a message :-)

And it's my birthday... I've decided it's a good day.

This American Life... wonderful.

Wow.

This American Life is a pretty wonderful weekly radio show on NPR. I listen to the Podcast every week or so and THIS week is about talking to children. The first act of the show is about two dirty 20-something comedians who are brought around to various camps... and they struggle... bomb... and eventually just resort to screaming and so forth.

It's inspiring to me, because I'm very good at working *appropriately* with large groups of children. In fact, it's probably the thing that I do best.

The kids *hated* the comedians... I wish I could have given a pep talk.

Find the show through here: http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Podcast.aspx !



OK... So I've been thinking about this for a little while and I have a response for the broadcast. First of all, the commentator says that they were doomed to fail from the start. This is untrue - completely bogus.

The concept is that people who are outgoing and possess the stage ability to entertain adults have the ability to entertain children. This is correct. Stage charisma and energy, two of the huge drawing factors to adult comedians works well for kids (unbelievably)... Look at someone like Robin Williams - his energy and spirit work for both *adult* humor and *kids* humor... interesting, huh?

Also, the commentator blames the fact that the 10-year-olds have been exposed to Dane Cook for their inability to enjoy *clean* humor. This is wrong. Dan Cook can be appealing without being dirty - HE HAS ENERGY; HE TELLS STORIES.

Dane comes along with sound effects, huge physical motions and recognizable characters. The comedians in the story were relying on one-liners; perhaps the hardest form of jokes for a younger audience. One-liners rely on the awareness of the audience - if you speak over their heads, then they zone out. STORIES are where it's at. In a story, I expose you to the information that will turn humorous... I can have multiple punch-lines or even disregard one completely!

If I could have talked to those poor young comedians, I would have steered them to Bill Cosby instead of Nickelodeon (where they did much of their research). Ten-year-olds don't get the same laughs from Sponge-Bob that they used to... but play them "Chicken Heart" or "Dentist" and they'll be laughing hysterically...

And I'm willing to publicly prove my theory anytime ;-)

Forbidden Songs!

Every camp has something that is forbidden.

My old camp had a ghost story about an ax-wielding psychotic named Stumpy. Back in the "old days," this was common fare for camp fires of any shape or size. When I took the reigns, though, it became forbidden - for several reasons. The story was incredibly inappropriate - especially for younger campers. I didn't want kids refusing to come back to camp because of fear... The main reason, though, was to keep Stumpy alive.

Wow. Crazy, huh? By forbidding something - EVEN with staff - it is immortalized. There never was as huge a collective curiosity in Stumpy than when everyone knew he was not allowed. Add in the fact that no one really knows the story (like I do) and you have a very powerful tool at your disposal...

I digress.

There are some forbidden songs... At many camps, "Titanic" is not allowed. I receive many a comment about "The Princess Pat" and it's basis (backtrack on the blog and you'll get a history lesson) and of course there are the gross objectors > namely "Great Green Gobs," "Baby Bumblebee" and classically the "Pick your nose" verse of "Wishy Washy Washer Woman."

These are simply objections, though (oh yeah... "Baby Shark"... that always raises some controversy). Unbelievably, we (as in camp-song aficionados) know of many more songs that have been simply forbidden!

Here's one:

"The Prettiest Girl" [same as "Littlest Worm" with line repeats]

The prettiest girl
I ever saw
Was sippin' ciii-
Der through a straw

The prettiest girl I ever saw
Was sippin' cider through a straw

I told that gal
I didn't see how
She sipped that ciii-
Der through a straw

I told that gal I didn't see how
She sipped that cider through a straw

Then cheek to cheek
And jaw to jaw
We sipped that ciii-
Der through a straw

Then cheek to cheek and jaw to jaw
We sipped that cider through a straw

And now and then
That straw would slip
And I'd sip some ciii-
Der from her lip

And now and then that straw would slip
And I'd sip some cider from her lip

And now I've got
A mother-in-law
From sippin' ciii-
Der through a straw

And now I've got a mother-in-law
From sippin' cider through a straw

The moral of
This little tale
Is to sip your ciii-
Der through a pail

The moral of this little tale
Is to sip your cider through a pail!


^^^ Someone at work sang that for me today!

...and I have a faint recollection of this next song which was just requested via email... Needless to say, both of these songs would have some parents yelling ;-)

The Boy and his Canoe

Just a boy and a girl in a little canoe
With the moon shining all around
As he glides his paddle
You couldn't even hear a sound

And they talked and they talked
Till the moon grew dim
He said you better kiss me
Or get out and swim

So what you gonna do in a little canoe
With the moon shinin' all a-
Boats floatin all a-
Girls swimmin' all a rou-oun-ound!

The Red Rascal

During a visit to an overnight camp, I asked the future director to tell me the camp stories. He pondered this for a moment and then gave me the impression that he didn't understand. Again, I asked about the fable, lore, legends - where is the camp magic?

He did not have an answer. There were no characters that everyone knew. There was no traditional telling of an age-old tale.

How can this be? One of the greatest parts of camp is the tradition - the stories - the secret life that distinguishes this place from any other place!


One of the characters from my past is the Red Rascal, here tormenting other members of her family during an annual birthday celebration... for her nephew... the Green Ghoulie.

Sharks and Barracudas

Sharks and Barracudas

Players: 8+ (I've played 4 on 4, but can imagine up to 10 on 10... or more!)
Space: A Medium Gymnasium (can be adapted to 1/2 a soccer field)
Supplies: 1 ball for every player (various sizes and types are a big plus)

Everyone loves "Capture the Flag." When I was really young, "Capture the Flag" meant running through the woods non-stop (sometimes late at night) with a basically unachievable goal. Sounds dangerous? Then it was revised as I got older to playing on a field - which worked much better as a game. Gyms have normally presented a challenge when adapting "Capture the Flag" mostly because of the size. This game combines two successful games ("Capture the Flag" and "Sharks and Minnows") in order to make a very entertaining and challenging gym experience for those of any age.

Game Play and Setup

The group needs to split into two *basically even* teams. The space is split in half and each team claims their side (the "Shark" side and the "Barracuda" side). At the back of each side, there is a safety zone from the foul line to the wall. Place one (1) ball in this safety zone for each player on the opposite team (for instance, if there are nine (9) Barracudas, then there should be nine (9) balls in the safety area behind the Sharks).

The goal of the game is to either: (1) Have all of the balls in the game on a single side; or (2) Capture all of the opposing players.

The rules are fairly simple. The center line represents the "tag" line. If a Barracuda steps onto the Shark side, then they can be tagged and consequently go to jail. Conversely, the same happens if a Shark crosses over to the Barracuda's side. If a player is tagged without a ball, they must go to the safety zone behind their opponent (the jail) - Sharks end up behind Barracudas and vice versa. If a player is tagged while holding a ball, they must return the ball and return to their side before resuming play.

If a player is in the jail, they must stay in the safety zone until one of their teammates who is *not* in jail successfully swipes a ball.

Players who are trying to take balls may only take them from the opposing side's safety zone. Players in the safety zone CANNOT be tagged! Players can only hold one ball at a time and may not pass / kick / throw the ball at any time. If a ball is dropped, that ball must be returned to the safety area from which it was taken.

Once a ball successfully crosses the halfway line, the player must bring it into their safety zone!

The basic idea is that some of the players will try to steal the balls while others play defense. The jobs will change significantly as some are captured or as the loot dwindles.

Notes

I love introducing new games to a group of kids - especially amid yells of "Wall ball" and "Dodgeball" or other such standard games that are probably played too often by lazy instructors. When I first taught this game to a group of middle schoolers, their reaction was an expected hesitation. They left saying that it was the greatest game ever. Of course, I'll probably never play it again with them - I am fairly strict about my no-repeat attitude with groups I scarcely see - but the effectiveness with all players of varied skill levels was wonderful. In addition, the processing that the team work and strategies provide is excellent for educational facilitating.

Field Trips

I issued a challenge: no boring field trips.

This may sound like an obvious one, but I have a completely different definition for a *boring* field trip. For instance, AMUSEMENT PARKS are boring(!)

I know, you're shocked. I should take a moment to let that sink in...
...
...OK. Again, amusement parks are boring.

Of course, I'm really meaning ordinary / everyday / *traditional*. Now for a tangent: When I was in middle school, the big trip for the 8th graders was to Riverside Park (which is now called "Six Flags New England"). This was a highly anticipated and coveted event. Everyone who was anyone would go - especially since everyone (for the most part) was invited and it was during the school day. Yes, it was very exciting being at a theme park with my closest buddies... BUT, now I'm an adult and I can barely remember that trip. I've been to amusement parks my entire life - one trip with my entire 8th grade class does not make the experience wholly unique. In fact, because there was such a diverse group walking together (along with chaperons / etc) I didn't get to do nearly the amount of things that was the norm for my family...

Now, reflect: Have any of your trips to the amusement park with your large camp group been outstanding? Or, rather, have they been a pain? The kids seem to appreciate it, but how many of them have already been to an amusement park before, or that particular amusement park?

I am willing to bet that most campers have a great deal more fun with their family or friends when visiting by themselves as opposed to a large group... But, I digress.

You can put the pieces together and figure out that amusement parks are not the greatest trip to take a large group of campers. In fact, I would make the argument that doing so is the easy / lazy way out. Why would I ever say this? Another tangent: I was in Tiger Cubs right when it started back in '86. Instead of having a single leader for the whole group of 10 six-year-old boys, the mom's ran the program, having a different trip each month. Three of the trips stand out in my mind perfectly because they were unique and interesting and I'm sure that I can name all of them if I really concentrated. The three that I immediately remember are a trip to the Sikorsky Airport in Stratford, CT; a trip to a large Little Caesar's Pizzeria where we all made our own pies; and a trip to a rock collector's store where we searched a cave for rare rocks (as well as learning about many different kinds of rocks). That was over 20 years ago and I can remember all three trips in great detail, as opposed to the many trips to amusement parks that have occurred through various organizations.

Camp is about creating positive memories. Every director's dream is to fill a camper's head full of great experiences that they will take with them for the rest of their lives. Why not take advantage of the field trips to make this happen? There are some incredibly creative trips out there for those willing to find them!

How do you go about booking creative trips? First of all, you ask around... Factory tours can be quite interesting if you can find the right factory. Are there any special events that are taking place in the area? If there's a regional theater, perhaps you can get a backstage tour and meet some of the actors. Businesses love giving demonstrations - especially if the kids are the target audience. I would bet there are tons of professional dance programs or martial arts dojos that would love to have a group for a day (and these opportunities are not only fun, but generally cheap!) Call everywhere you find in the phone book. Sometimes a business will go out of their way to design a custom program for your campers... The Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts has an excellent group program that entices participation and interest in even the oldest of campers (I was very surprised and pleased). Basically, the memories are out there waiting to be made - you just need to defy laziness and convention. Just because we did it last year does not mean we have to do it every year!!!

The Potato Canon

I love special events. In fact, special events are one of my specialties.

Sure, every camp has the Talent Show and the Olympics (or variations thereof), but we'd go out of our way to make some fairly "original" programming. Such events included the Dance Party, the Music Festival, the Penny Carnival and Wacky Races . My little brother came up with Bead Day which is a very popular event at that particular camp...

Anyway, sometimes we need filler material for one reason or another... One of the solutions was included briefly in a previous post ("When We Was Campers") and here is another: The Potato Canon.

Although it sounds dangerous, using the correct precautions and a trained staff, a canon that fires potatoes straight into the air (eventually to land in the pond with a small splash) is very exciting and entertaining. In fact, I had only read about potato launchers and the like before I worked at camp and was very impressed when my science specialist put on a demonstration.

The factors that really work when using a potato canon are: the loud BOOM, the height that the potato reaches and the anticipation of it hitting the water. We put targets in the pond and named each potato for a different large group of campers... they turned the event into some sort of contest among themselves, rooting for their particular potato. It can be quite an amazing sight.