Games, Field trips, and Crafts- Oh My!

Welcome Back My Friends,

I am apart of many early childhood groups and over the last few weeks I have saw many questions on Facebook on the topic of summer camp. The two consistent questions have been: “I have a year-round program: what makes summer different and where do I start?”

Both questions are valid!

So, let me share my knowledge and experience this week about summer camp😎

Why plan a summer camp in an early childhood program that is year- round?

Having a summer camp element to your program gives your program the opportunity to refresh, create excitement, and anticipation with your classroom employees, curiosity among current children and parents, and new opportunities for engagement with new perspective enrollment.

Where do I start when planning a summer camp program?

1. Deciding who oversees planning and implementing the activities for the summer camp program – This is a great opportunity to Delegate and Elevate! Is there an employee that can inspire others, be creative and that is ready for a growth opportunity?

2. What will the budget be for these additional enrichment activities?

3. What is the marketing plan to get the word out?  A few things I do are; Planning a teaser week, encouraging teachers to share on their social media, small contests, and even old school paper flyers around the community.

Just two quick tips:

• Don’t raise your tuition, just add a summer activity fee that will help cover field trips, guest visitors, additional supplies needed, gas for travel, and if needed any additional staff wages.

• When planning your activities look around in the community for free resources

Things to think about:

❓What age groups will you include in your summer camp program- My programs include infants all the way through our school age groups, but at different levels during the program. For example, I may have a guest storyteller. This activity will vary in time for each age group  to ensure that the book, materials used and length of story time is developmentally appropriate but will all support the theme of the week.

❓How will my staffing look- do you need to hire seasonal teachers to help cover full-time employee vacation or to help cover classrooms or field trips?

❓Challenges that I may encounter – transportation, weather, cancellation of an activity and call offs.

❓How will I train, prepare, and keep the excitement going- create a training play for seasonal staff that you hire, establish clear goals and expectations with all employees before summer begins, think about what safety and supervision looks like during the summer, how will you get materials and ensure that what is planned for the summer is implemented.

❗Remember you WHY of choosing to have a summer camp program – My why is to always GROW, EMPOWER, and ELEVATE the children, teachers and my early childhood program😊

One last important thing to do to before your summer camp program ends, always ask for feedback from the staff and parents. This will help plan a better summer camp next year. Email me a message if you would like some guidance on summer camp survey questions: [email protected]

Till next time,

Jen😊

P.S. If you would like my Top 15 Summer Go-to Activities that will not break my budget click here ⬅️

P.P.S. If you missed our Spring Team building activity, click here 🌼