Do you get Camp Business magazine? If not, you should. They have some neat articles and it’s free… Yep, free. Cool, huh? The great thing is that you don’t have to wait for a subscription. Northstar Publishing allows you to view their current issue of Camp Business by going to http://www.northstarpubs.com/cb_index.php. The main focus of the Jan/Feb edition is on programming. They spotlight 35 creative programs ideas. Some you’ll probably know and some you won’t.
Below is one of the program ideas that I really like. I just may give it a try this summer. Again this is from the Jan/Feb edition of Camp Business magazine. Check it out and grab your free subscription.
You Sunk My Battleship!
Our Leaders in Training (LITs) create a new evening activity each year. Three summers ago, the all-camp activity was Water Balloon Battleship, and campers have loved to participate in it ever since. They hang black plastic about 6 feet high down the middle of a sports field.
Camper-sized grids are placed on the ground with string so that each camper can stand in a separate box. Five 5′ x 5′ boxes are on each side so all 10 cabins can play at the same time. The campers are lined up in battle groups of three, four or five—like the ships in the board game in their cabin grid. The idea is the same—trying to eliminate the other side’s ships/campers, but by splashing them with water balloons. The opposing sides cannot see each other’s grid so on a specific count, everyone throws their water balloon over, with the sides taking turns. One is eliminated by catching or touching a water balloon, or the balloon hitting inside a square. Everyone has to pay attention, and campers make some crazy “matrix” moves not to get hit by the balloon. Once a team is eliminated, it waits for the other teams to finish and then everyone on one side of the tarp rotates to the left, giving them the opportunity to play another round with a different opponent.We usually play three to four rounds, depending on the number of balloons and the daylight available. The LITs spend about a week prepping about 3,500 water balloons for game night.
THE RULES
Every camper and cabin leader need to be inside their grid square and cannot move out of it once the game has started. One side of the tarp throws balloons, and once it is done throwing, the opposite side gets to throw. Teams take turns until one team is eliminated.When throwing the water balloon,
a camper must throw from where he or she is standing in the square on the grid. A camper needs to dodge the balloon without moving from the square in the grid. Balloons are thrown on a count from the leader. After a round is over, pieces of the balloons are thrown in the trash. Another round begins.
SET-UP REQUIREMENTS
30 water balloons per camper (10 water balloons per round) 10 5-gallon buckets to hold the balloons in front of cabin grids and as many containers to hold the number of balloons needed (We use clean trash cans, ice chests and anything else that can hold water and balloons.) Plastic tarps and lots of string 12 LITs lead the activity, making sure each cabin has balloons and trash buckets nearby. (We end up using the 5-gallon water balloon buckets, and keeping everyone engaged.)
OBJECTIVE
Get wet! Have fun!
Lesa Ward, Camp Director
YMCA Camp Indian Springs
Crawfordville, Fla.
www.ultimatecampresource.com/
site/camp-activities/november-2005
.page-1.html
I love this idea. In the past we have made and done human games as we call them. Turning the concept into a real life game humans (campers) act out. We have had a blast and will surely add this one to the list. Other ideas we have done and the campers enjoy are CandyLand, Tic-Tac-Toe and Chess.
Tic-Tac-Toe is my favorite. We give divide into two teams. Give each camper a number. Each side needs to have the person with the same number. The counselor calls out a number the people with that number race to the board and who ever gets there first gets to be the playing piece for the team. Circles sqauat down and X’s Stand like an X. In case of a tie we do rock-paper-scissors until we have a winner. LOTS OF FUN.
we also play human tic tac toe, we have 2 teams (x’s and o’s) the first person in line uses the next as an x or an o. they have a lot of fun being an x or an o as they do deciding on who is the player.