Theme-of-the-Day is a daily post where we ask readers to leave their summer camp ideas, using the day’s theme, in the comments section. What ideas and suggestions do you have for the Theme of the Day? What game, craft, apparel choice, theme meal, evening activity, special event, song, skit, or anything else would you do at camp if your theme was…
Anything Goes
As always I will kick off the theme with five suggestions. Then it’s your turn to leave your awesome suggestions and ideas in the comments area below.
- Bull in the Ring – This is a game for high school campers, CITs or Counselors. Take a hose and create a muddy area. Then rope it off. The players get in the ring on their hands and knees. At the whistle everyone tries to push the others out of the ring. Players must stay on their knees at all times. This game is very physical and very messy. Make sure that your mud spot doesn’t have rocks in it. The campers watch and cheer for their favorite players.
- Fear Factor eating challenges. I will usually go to an authentic Asian market or order things online, like bugs. During one camp we purchased 50 live crickets and placed them in a jar. The teen campers had to stick their hand in the jar and pull out a coin. Afterward, they got the chance to eat a cricket for bonus points. You can buy chocolate covered crickets online.
- After lights out take the middle school aged cabins out in the woods or around camp and play flash light tag, capture the flag or dodgeball in the dining hall with the lights out and disco lights on.
- Set up three targets on the zipline course and have campers zip down with a paintball gun. As they are zipping along they try to shoot the targets.
- Have a meal where the campers eat only with their hands. No finger food here. Serve dishes like mash potatoes and corn (not on the cob).
My family lives on camp and my kids take every opportunity they can to play in the mud. They would love this camp. Me, as a parent, not so much, especially if they come home with muddy or painted clothes. If our camp had laundry facilities that could handle cleaning every campers clothes then it might be another story.
Bull in the Ring seems a bit dangerous.
I would suggest having a crafts session where all the craft materials are set out and the campers can make anything they want.
When the campers play in the mud have them wear their bathing suits. Afterward, they can rinse off in the shower. Granted, it takes some extra clean-up but I see camp as a place for kids to experience things they wouldn’t normally experience at home. That includes getting dirty in the mud if possible.
Bull in the Ring can get rough that’s why it’s best with high school campers or just staff. By the way, the girls go against the girls and the boys against the boys. There is no mixing of genders for this game.
I like the crafts idea.