Planning a Daily Activity for Beacon Day Camp

Hi Folks,

Our team to date includes Stacey Brown, Penny and Bob Orme, Erik Nelson, Lou Donnarumma, Pastor Bob, my wife Amy and myself. We are being asked to plan an activity each day of the Beacon Day Camp being held this summer, July 21 through July 25.

Pastor Bob had asked that I research summer camp activities at three churches, information I've gathered so far is summarized below...

Saddleback Church - Lake Forest, CA
http://www.saddlebackfamily.com/allstars/index.html
The Saddleback Church sublink above will take you to some of the children's programming the church conducts. Saddleback's program for their 2008 summer camp is not yet available online. I've emailed the church and asked if they could forward last years program if available. Other content at the link above contains interesting programming we might borrow ideas from.

Orchard Hill Church - Wexford, PA
http://www.orchardhillchurch.com/files/admin/videos/promo-kidsfest.mov
Orchard Hill Church has a promotional video on their summer kidsfest linked above; the video is worth the five minute watch. They describe briefly in the video a water day, complete with a fire truck. Pastor Bob would love to see one of our activities include water, hopefully with a fire truck and water slides. They have photos available of their water day at
http://www.orchardhillchurch.com/photoskf07wk3b.asp
http://www.orchardhillchurch.com/photoskf07wk2b.asp
http://www.orchardhillchurch.com/photoskf07wk1b.asp.

I also liked Orchard Hill's idea of breaking the kids into smaller groups with volunteers assigned to the groups throughout the week. They use a ratio of 12 students to 2 volunteers. Their team celebration at the end of the week is also a good idea. All of Orchard Hill's activities appear to be scheduled for right after lunch. I could not find a specific program guide on their website either but have emailed a member of Orchard Hill's staff with a request.

North Point Community Church - Alpharetta, GA
http://www.upstreetkids.org/
North Point Community Church and North Point Ministries has a very organized weekly ministry for kids called UpStreet. They base their children's ministry on Luke 2:52, the curriculum is built around 1. Wisdom: I need to make the wise choice.2. Faith: I can trust God no matter what.3. Friendship: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

http://www.xtremestudents.org/uploaded/files_northpoint/NPCC_schedule.pdf
North Point Community Church also has a boot camp with some interesting activities, albeit perhaps a bit messy. They apparently have a mud pit, prompting their note to parents to send their children with clothes they should not expect will return home. Hmmmm....

I have some other thoughts I will post separately. For now if you could explore some of the above links for ideas it would be much appreciated.

Brian