Are you or your teens/tweens looking for a great way to earn some extra money this summer?  Hosting summer camps is a fantastic way to earn a little cash for the upcoming school year, plus have a lot of fun in the process!  Here are some helpful summer camp ideas to get you going!

These great tips come from an amazing friend of mine who has helped her three boys earn around $1000 each, every summer.  They’ve been doing it for years, and every summer, the kids in the neighborhood can’t wait for the Burk Brothers Camps to start!

 Speaking from a parent with small children, summer can be a loooong time to entertain them.  I love sending them to camps where they get some physical activity, peer interaction, and educational activities.  All you need is a vision and some drive, and the kids will come in flocks {If you build it, they will come…}.

How To Get Started:

1. First, come up with a plan.  Set aside dates, times, start planning themes, activities, and logistics for your summer camp.
2. Invite and Advertise.  Create a snazzy flyer with all the info potential campers and parents would need to know.  Then start spreading the word!  Invite everyone: neighbors, friends…have them invite their neighbors and friends.  Word of mouth is the best way to keep your summer camps going!  Use Facebook, Instagram, and door-to-door.
3. BE PREPARED!  Probably the #1 piece of friendly advice is to prepare several weeks in advance.  When campers arrive, it should be all fun and games because you’ve got a plan for everything!

A Few Dos:

• Create a theme: sports camp, adventure camp, science camp, art camp, music camp, bible camp, summer fun, olympics, superhero camp, etc.  Basically anything that keeps camp fun and exciting for you and the kids who attend!
• Have a Plan. Have a plan written out for each day, and a new activity every 20 minutes.  Kids get bored fast, and you need to be ready to transition smoothly from one activity to the next.
• Follow the same daily schedule.  Although every activity should be different, the sequence of activities should stay the same every day.  Kids crave structure and want to know “what’s coming next.”  Start with an opening group activity, then flow to game, art, break, snack, etc.  You can even use a timer as a signal.
•  Determine a maximum number of kids for each camp.  Only allow the number of kids you can easily handle at one time for each camp/session.  A good rule of thumb is 4 kids per 1 leader.
• Have name tags.  Every child gets a name tag, and learn names the first day.  Call them by name every day and take a quick roll call a few times during the camp.
• Stay within a budget.  The goal is to make money, so limit your expenses as far as supplies go.  $100 or less for supplies is a good place to start.
• Make every parent fill out an info sheet and sign a safety waiver.  Be aware of any food allergies or special needs.

A Few Don’ts:

• Don’t think you can wing it. Being unprepared is too stressful, and a recipe for disaster.
• Don’t repeat .  Keep campers excited with new activities each day.
• Don’t just have kids color a picture.  They can do that at home, for free.  Parents are willing to pay for camps because of the unique, interactive, cool activities you will be doing with their kiddos.  I love the activity above…these kids are having a blast!
• DON’T GIVE UP!  It can be overwhelming at first, but it is so fun and rewarding to pull off a successful camp!  When you see your kids and the campers having the time of their lives, it will all be worth it.

How To Include Your Kids

Kids have good intentions when it comes to big projects, but parents usually end up doing all the work.  Here are a few tips to involve your kids on the work and planning so that you’re not bearing the brunt of the responsibility!

• Sit down and brainstorm ideas together. Let them determine the theme and get online to find the projects, games, art, activities.  Have them write down a list of supplies they need.
• Stay within the budget.  Shop together and don’t go over your allotted budget.
• Organize each camp day into laundry baskets.  Label each day’s basket and load it with all of the supplies you’ll need for that day.
• Back off and let them soar.  After the planning and prepping is over, take a step back and let them be leaders.  Be there for moral support, but for the most part, let your teens/tweens experience the thrill of leadership!

Tried and True Popular Activities

Sometimes the simple activities are the best…the oldies but goodies.  Here are some popular activities that kids are guaranteed to love!

• Relay games
• Track and field (take a few mattresses and let the kids run, jump, and land on the mattresses like the high jump!)
• Painting: every camper loves to paint.  Paint huge murals on cardboard boxes, paint on rocks, paper, even faces!
• Scavenger hunts: always a hit!  Give campers a list of items to find on the property, pictures of items to look for, or shapes.  Let them go, then circle up to talk about their findings.
• Water!  Campers love to get wet!  Water games will always be popular.  Sprinklers, hoses, water baseball, water balloons, slip and slides, huge bubbles, sponge pass with buckets of water, or just a good, old fashioned water fight are just a few ideas.
• Good, old fashioned games.  It’s crazy how kids today don’t know what to do with a little bit of free time, besides look at a screen.  Teach them Red Rover, Annie Annie Over, hop scotch, capture the flag, kick the can, duck, duck, goose, mother may I?, cat’s cradle, red light, green light, tug-of-war, sardines, etc.
• Nature rubbings: rub leaves, flowers, etc. onto paper using crayons or chalk.
• Sidewalk chalk
• Ball games
• Minute-to-Win-It Games

Now go out there and make some campers happy!