Summer camp is always a lot of fun. I think becoming a camp counselor was one of my best decisions. I love almost every minute. Here are a few of the ways that my fellow counselors and I have entertained our campers on those long, hot, summer days.
Name games are super important, especially as a counselor. Each kid wants to know that you are taking the time to know them, and name games are a great way to do that. They aren’t just important though; they’re also fun. When I played name games at camp, we were pretty much always in a circle. There are so many different kinds of name games to play.
1. Name Game 1
A counselor would start by saying their name, the person next to them would say the counselor’s name and then their name, and so forth down the line. The last person, then, will have said everyone’s name and then their own. We always had the starting counselor then go again to say everyone’s name, including the last camper.
2. Name Game 2
You can do the exact same thing, but add an adjective that starts with the first letter of the first name.
3. Name Game 3
Same style as game 1, but swapping the adjective with something that the camper likes.
4. Name Game 4
Another one involves balls. After everyone knows each other’s names, the kids will circle up. One kid will start with a ball.
They will say the name of another child and toss the ball to them. Once everyone has had the ball once (so the starter will end with the ball), start again but at a quicker pace. After the kids have the pattern down pretty well, start adding more balls to the game.
5. Silly Kickball
This is something one of my co-counselors and I created at camp. There are two bases, the home base, and a counselor. The counselor moves between each kicking team.
Oh, yeah, the ball is a beach ball, and the only way to get someone out is to tag them with the beach ball. There are five outs per kicking team per inning, so basically, it’s like three strikes and switch, but with five. The kids can stay at the counselor base as long as they’d like, but there can be no more than five kids at the counselor at a time. My kids really loved it.
6. Drip, Drip, Splash
A water-take on the traditional duck, duck, goose. Depending on what kind of water access you have, this can be played with a big bucket and little buckets or sponges. Whoever is “it” will fill the bucket or sponge with water from the center of the circle, which is in the big bucket. (I will continue explaining using little bucket) Then, “it” will take the little bucket and start dripping people on the head with water.
Once they hit the person they want to “goose” (like duck, duck, goose), they dump what’s left of the little bucket on that person’s head. They run around the circle until “it” either sits in the “goose’s” spot or gets tagged by the “goose.” This game is great for hot days.
7. Nature Scavenger Hunt
If you’re in an area like my camp, you’re outside all day, and by some wooded areas. Nature scavenger hunts are great ways to get the kids active and search for things in nature. My camp did this at Nixon State Park on a field trip and the kids loved having to search for things while on our hike.
8. Capture the Orb
You will need a playground ball, a parachute (yes, like you probably used in elementary school gym class), and a hula hoop. The goal of this game is to pop the ball from the parachute into the hula hoop. I am very excited to try this game with my kids this summer.
9. Sponge Ball
A twist to the traditional dodgeball. For this version, you will need sponges and at least two buckets of water. You play this game exactly like dodgeball, but with sponges instead of dodgeballs. It’s a great way to keep the kids cool on a hot day.
10. Crab Soccer
This game is almost the exact same as regular soccer, but the kids have to walk around on the hands and feet (crab style, butt down) and kick the ball. No hands, unless you’re the goalie, but the goalie also has to be crab style. You can do this with a full-sized field, or a smaller/condensed field because of the modified body movement.
11. Human Knot
This is a fun activity that challenges the kids to work together. You may have heard of the Human Knot. Basically, you stand in a circle and grab the hand of someone not next to you (usually across from you) and try to become a circle again without letting go of your hands. If you have a lot of kids, you can create teams and have them race a bunch of times.
12. Guess Who
This is a game my campers played last year on a rainy day, and they seemed to really enjoy it. You split your group into two groups and have each team line up. You will pick one camper from each team to be the guesser (after each round choose a new kid from each team), and the rest are the “who’s.”
You will tell each camper who their “who” on their team is. Then the kids start guessing who the other team’s “who” is. You can only use yes and no questions. It plays just like the board game “Guess Who” but with real people.
13. Cross the River
This a fun activity that challenges the campers to work together. To play this game you will need poly dots or something to act as “rocks.” The campers have to try to all get across the river, but there’s a catch. Once a rock has been stepped on, if someone steps off it and no one is on it, that rock disappears. You can have no more than two people on a rock at a time.
The way to get across is to have two people on the rocks at almost all times. If someone is on a rock, then someone can join them so that person can move forward. The other catch is not telling the kids how to get across, let them figure it out. My kids loved this one, especially when they figured it out.
14. Archery
My camp utilizes archery as an activity. My age group uses archery as a way to teach safety to the campers, but also to have a lot of fun. They love shooting the arrows, and we made a deal last year that whoever hit their first bullseye would get a freeze pop. It was a great incentive to participate and the kids tried their best to hit a bullseye.
