Camping Page (All Levels)

I’ve been camping with Brownies for a while now and have benefited from access to some of the best camp trainers in Ontario.  What follows is my camping checklist – out of our big Word file, (affectionately known as the EverythingforCampFile).

Brown Owl Cara’s Camping Checklist

1. Decide to go to Camp – do this early in the year.  The good camping places go quickly.

2. Announce Camp

1. Do a “Save The Date” announcement as soon as possible to ensure that as many of your busy kids as possible will be available.  Get on their calendars.  And find out early that you’ve accidentally booked a camp during March break or on Mother’s Day Weekend.
2. Prepare the permission forms and decide what to charge.
   • What to charge
   • Volunteers don’t pay.  Figure out the complete cost (transportation, booking fees, tax, registration, food, supplies) and divide by the number of girl participants.  Fundraising may be necessary.  Budget accordingly.
   • We usually charge:
     Facility fee
     + $15-20 for food (for a weekend)
     + $5 for supplies
     – whatever the Brownie Budget can cover
     = approximately $40-45.
   • You may already have craft supplies and can watch for sales to get food and supply costs down.
3. Announce the firm date to parents with Camp Letter and Permission form (Section 2 in the Everything File) at least one month before.
4. Once you get money and permission forms,  distribute Kit List.  (Section 3 in the Everything File) and Kit Lists and Ditty Bags
5. Submit your paperwork to Safe Guide early too.  They like that.

3. Camp Planning Meeting for Guiders – approximately one month before camp.

1. Timing: could be held before or after the Girl meeting – depending on how much input you’re expecting from girls.  (In Sparks, the Guiders do most of the decision making, but in Brownies, the girls are meant to have some input, and Guiders take less and less of a leadership role as the girls get older).
2. The Guider Camp Planning meeting goes best if everyone is prepared…
   The Leader/Responsible Guider needs to know what she needs from the Guiders and tell everyone what you expect of them… I have a basic “fill in the blank” style and I’m very vocal about where I need input, help, ideas, or any feedback.  And the RG needs to be ready to be flexible too – have a plan in mind (your Guiders are busy folks who may or may not have time to plan), but be ready to adjust it (or let someone plan something else.)
   And Guiders should come to the meeting with ideas for badge work, theme, crafts, activities, and things to do (and things they’re prepared to lead).
3. We go over the Note to Guiders attending camp (includes Guider Kit List).   This sets everyone’s expectations (and reassures everyone that you’ve thought of everything and that someone has it covered) at the beginning.  It is reassuring to know what’s expected of each role.  Or at least that’s what I tell myself… it is my control freak nature coming out, but there you are.

Resources:

• Deciding on a Theme Once you’ve figured out your theme, everything else flows from that.  Think about making headbands for each patrol in colours that suit your theme.
• Patrol organization:
  • Make head bands (like a Survivor Buff) for each patrol.
  • template for patrol organization (Google Doc).
• Guider Agenda (Google Docs).  This is the minute-to-minute agenda that helps us anticipate what is coming up and allows us to know what to prepare for the next event.
• Published Agenda.  This is the general agenda that is posted where the girls can see it.  This allows the girls to know generally what we’re doing, but it is sufficiently vague so the girls don’t get too invested in a particular event or craft if something doesn’t work out due to time, or a goof.
• Camp Menu and Grocery/Shopping List with notes on Food Safety
• Camp Menu: Special Diets at Camp
• Also… What to do about Grace/Saying Thank You before meals?
• Shoes at camp
• Craft and Supply List.  Crafts we have done at camp.  and Hula Hoop Weaving
• Camp lighting ideas
• Secret Pals at Camp – Lend a Hand in action!
• Make traders/swaps/hat crafts and more Swaps at camp
• String games and other ways to pass time
• Independent and low equipment play ideas
• Campfire Rules (From Becky’s Site)
• The Edible Campfire is one of our most popular at-camp activities.
  • From Becky
  • Scouting Web
  • GuideZone

4. Camp Planning Meeting with the girls – At least two weeks before camp.

• You are looking for two types of input from Brownies (more or less is required for other ages).  What do they want to Do and what to they want to Eat?
• In our unit we give the circle groups two big pieces of paper… one marked EAT and one marked DO.  Have them brainstorm on the topics.  Have a Guider there as secretary is important.  They can go one step further to help direct them a bit towards the things you’ve planned.  But you’ll be surprised how often they make good choices.
• Talk about conflict resolution between the girls

5. Camp Preparation meeting with the Girls – last meeting before camp

• Parents may wish to be included in this meeting and that’s a really good thing.
• Go over the kit list in the meeting.  What goes in the bag.  What doesn’t (MP3 players, e-readers, electronics, phones, food…)
• Talk about medication – medicine should be handed in to the Medicine Guider for safekeeping at the very beginning of camp.  It will be packed in a zip bag with clear name and instructions available.
• Emphasize that the girl should pack her own things…  if we say “go get your flashlight” they need to know where it is.  The 64th Guides Blog has a great discussion about why girls should pack their own bag.  Worth the read!
• Do a Ditty Bag relay
• Make a simple sit-upon.

6. Last communication to parents before camp – two or three days before camp

• Tell them how to reach you… especially if camp doesn’t have cell phone service.
• Tell them about the home contact person and how to reach them in an emergency.  This is the person who will have a sealed duplicate of your paperwork that will start a telephone tree if something goes wrong.  If all goes well… you won’t hear from them.
• If you’ve never camped with these girls before, ask parents if there is anything you need to know.  Night terrors, sleepwalking, snoring, bed wetting, trouble falling asleep… ask for strategies to help the girls through it.

7. Things to do in advance that will make your life easier

• If appropriate, let the fire service know you’ll be camping in buildings that are not usually occupied at night.
• RESEARCH! Print out some on-the-spot games you can do without any equipment as a time filler.  Have a song sheet or two ready for the same purpose.
• Don’t publish a detailed camp agenda for the girls.  They just need to know that there’s a morning program and an afternoon program.  If your morning plans are rained out, you can adjust without disappointing girls.
• Let things happen.  If something flops and the girls have to have free time… oh well.  They can play by themselves.  You don’t have to program every second.
• Be ready to tell girls to stop something that bugs you.  My personal hell is “I went to a Chinese restaurant”.  I can hear it about 5 times before my head starts to spin around.  It is ok to say “let’s do something else please”.  Camp needs to be fun for everyone.
• Schedule Quiet time.  Some girls need a nap.  Others just need to decompress.  (Still others will find it painful – I usually knit and “shush” during quiet time).  Guiders need time to put their feet up.  No talking, stay in your bed.  Read, draw, be quiet!

8. Shopping for Camp – right before camp (usually the night before)

• Remember that food has to be kept at the correct temperature.  Do you have enough fridge/freezer space?  Do you need coolers and ice?
• Use the menu planning template in the Brownie Camping document.  Once you’ve got food selected for each meal, move the food over to the shopping list with quantities in it.
• Don’t go crazy.  Crazy is expensive.

9. Go to camp – whatever happens will happen.  Laugh about the things that didn’t go like you planned.  Just do it.

Good luck!  Go well.  Be safe.  Have Fun!

PS – I’ve called this an “all levels” plan.  And I think it is…but I’ve written it as if I’m going to Brownie camp.  A Pathfinder Unit (or experienced Guide unit) will hand most of the planning and details to the girls.  But you, as the Guider, should probably know what they should be doing so nothing gets missed.

PPS – About the EverythingForCampingFile.  It took a bit to make a document that wouldn’t infringe on copyright.  If I have done so, it is not intended and I can edit the document quickly to remove anything (or to provide a proper source).