School Camp Activities for Kiwi Kids

You’ve definitely done enough work to prepare for camp… (RAMs, pre-visits, bookings, transport, rosters, timetables, budgets, grouping, organising parent help, food, allergies etc) SO let us take the load off with this handy Camp resource!

This resources is organised into 3 main sections – activities for before, during and after camp, plus a set of 50 activity labels to use throughout.

 

BEFORE CAMP ACTIVITIES INCLUDED:

• A page for recording your camp rules – how do they relate to your school values? What’s expected of children’s attitudes and behaviour at camp?
• A page to include a map of camp with key
• Design a door sign for your camp group (and prompts to discuss team colours, slogans and a chant)
• ‘A recipe for a great camp’ writing template including sentence starter prompts and suggested ingredients (*Teacher edition also included!)
• ‘Let’s get ready for Camp’ mini challenges sheet including: Camp countdown, mini camp-prep challenges & discussion prompts for talking as a class about camp groups, sleeping overnight, food menus, camp duties/jobs, gear list, what time is pick up and drop off for camp, what time’s bedtime, where do we sleep etc
• The Wheels on the Bus (scavenger hunt for your bus trip to keep them busy)

 

DURING CAMP ACTIVITIES INCLUDED:

• The following pages are great for assembling to make a ‘Camp booklet’ (perfect for children to complete during quiet time to record daily memorable happenings or as a rainy day back up)

Page topics include:

• Camp booklet cover with space for recording their name, camp dates, how old they are and their class/group name
• Daily diary recording page that includes: mini weather icons to circle, emotion faces to colour to show which were experienced that day, space to record a highlight and challenge
• Camp mini challenges page – 16 mini challenges to work through during camp (Read a book under the covers with a torch, try a new food, yawn loudly because you stayed up too late the first night, learn some new information about the whenua you’re camping on etc)
• Camp themed word find and colouring page
• The qualities of a good camper
• Camping themed acrostic poem
• Nature study pages
• A team player ‘can/has/is’
• Kiwi as bro – try and sneak these kiwi camp-themed colloquialisms into conversation without being noticed (gone bush, out in the wop-wops, can you handle the jandal, take a tiki-tour etc.)
• 15 camping awards ‘mini milestones’ to colour as achieved (I performed in the evening show, I made a new friend, I saw the night stars, I persevered when the going got tough etc.)

 

AFTER CAMP ACTIVITIES INCLUDED:

• Can you recall a memory to match each of these emoji’s?
• You choose follow up camp activities including – make a ‘camp time capsule’ to pass on to the next group of campers, make a 3D model of camp, think of a creative way to thank parent helpers and instructors, design an advertising brochure for your campsite, make a Camp newspaper or newsletter to distribute to parents and staff etc

 

CAMP ACTIVITY LABELS – Use these camp labels:

BEFORE CAMP:

• Use the cards as a pre-camp sorting activity. Who has done these activities before? How confident do people feel about these activities? Which activities are you looking forward to the most? Can you order the activities from most excited about to least? Any concerns?
• Use them to construct a ‘day at camp’ timetable to show visually what the organisation for a basic day might look like

DURING CAMP:

• Laminate and add blue tac to the labels to create a daily timetable board/notice board that you can change as needed

AFTER CAMP:

• Use as labels for a photo board to share your experiences
• Use as part of a brainstorm wall to prompt writing

55 SPECIFIC ACTIVITY LABELS INCLUDE:

• Archery
• Rafting
• Kayaking
• Raft building
• Snorkeling
• Swimming
• Surfing
• Flying Fox
• Beach
• Horse riding
• Sailing
• Camp tidy up
• Night time activity
• Boating
• Safety
• Tramping
• Water slide
• Knotting
• High ropes
• Fishing
• Cultural activity
• Tent pitching
• Unpacking/packing
• Bedtime
• Free time
• Bush survival
• Navigation/orientation skills
• Campfire
• Evening show
• Nature art
• Meeting
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Midnight snack
• Hangi/Umu
• First aid
• Night sky
• Nature study
• Caving
• Cooking
• Abseiling/climbing
• Quiet time
• Bush craft challenge
• Team building
• Camping skills
• Shelter building
• Rainy day activities
• Duties
• Getting organised for the next day
• Obstacle course
• Journaling
• Morning fitness
• Lights out
• Cabin/room inspection
• Blank labels

*Have I missed a camping activity that your school would like to see included? Let me know!