One Day at Camp

Here at Camp Yakety Yak we like to have a set schedule to keep things as consistent as possible, so that the kids who attend camp know exactly what happens and when it happens. Some of the kids in our camp need help with transitioning from different activities and having a set schedule definitely can help with that. I are going to explain that so everyone knows what the campers do throughout the day.

At 9:50 to 10:10 every morning campers arrive and check in with their parent or guardian. After about half of a groups campers arrive the group comes down from the parking lot into the gym.

From 10:10 to 10:20 the campers have team time, this is a ten minute segment of time where each color team gets to spend time together as individual teams. They get to come up with a team name and poster, often based on their team color or the theme, and they also get to spend some time getting to know each other and playing games together.

After team time the whole camp comes together for another ten minute segment to have the morning assembly. During the morning assembly the campers talk about the team posters and names, they learn about the camp rules and they talk about the Yak Back Competition.

Then from 10:35 to 11:05 all of the teams have their first class of the day. These classes are an important part of the day, and in total they take up 2 hours of the day, even though each individual class takes only half of an hour.

After the first class of the day the kids have fun at another class for another half hour that happens from 11:10 to 11:40 This class is different than the first one, though it may have a similar focus, whether it be social or leadership wise.

Right after the second class the campers and blue shirts have lunch. Everyone sits with their teams and all of the blue shirts go upstairs for their daily break, for the blue shirt employees it is a great time to unwind from the sometimes stressful job we have.

When lunch ends it’s time for recess! 12:15 to 12:45 is definitely one of the favorite times of the day for the kids. They get to have fun and play for a whole half hour! There are several options for the kids and each station focuses on a different interest for the kids. Tech, playground, open gym, crafts, games, and sports are all of the options campers have to do during recess!

At 12:50 to 12:55 everyone comes together again for focus time, this five minute activity is to help calm the campers down. We practice breathing exercises and everyone sits in a big circle in the gym together to calm down our heart rates, bodies, minds, and activeness.

Once we are done with focus time we go into our third class. For this half hour time from 12:55 to 1:25 all campers attend a class, and the JCC’s do camp service. This is a time for the JCC’s to clean up the lunch room and get things more organized, lost items are returned to their proper team stations and crumbs are wiped up, swept away, and properly disposed. After we have finished cleaning things up we go into service groups. Service groups are subdivisions of the JCC’s, each team has different jobs to be doing while the other campers are attending their third and fourth class.

After the fourth class we have the final class of the day. For the JCC’s this is just a continued time to get things done and help around camp. We assist classes, take pictures for the blog, write for the blog, and attend our own class where we learn how to be an official camp counselor. We do all of these things to enhance our leadership skills so that one day we can be great leaders for the camp.

When the last class is over with we have snack time, this is another great opportunity to engage socially while also re-fueling our minds and bodies to finish out the day. The kids have from 2:05 to 2:20 to eat their snack and fill out a My Day At Camp form. This form is something that the kids fill out every day, it keeps the parents informed of how their kids are doing at camp, while also showing the friends they are making and all of the fun things that they are able to engage in throughout the day. This also is a great way for team leaders to tell parents what their camper is struggling in and how they plan to improve the support that is need for that child.

Then it’s time for the afternoon assembly, this is a time for the talent show, Yak Back announcements, the weekly theme song, and minute to win it competitions to occur. Minute to win it is a competition that is between blue shirts ( staff ) and yellow shirts ( campers ). Each day there is some kind of new challenge that the red shirts ( paid staff ) put together to add another element of fun to the day. These competitions can be anything from find a sock in a penny before the opponent, to pulling a paper away from a stack of plastic cups and making them all fall into each other. And of course, you can’t end a day at summer camp without an awesome dance party.

Campers leave the gym for pick up at 3:00 now the parents get to hear all about their child's amazing day at camp! Don’t forget to come tomorrow for another great day of fun!