Thread: summer camp

I’ve been asked by my school to organise a summer course. it’s going to be 4 days long(3nights stay-leave at about 1 so technically 3).does anybody have any idea what I can do with these little bundles of mischief to keep them occupied for so long?.
Any ideas accepted-maybe we can get a competition going-the winner gets to bang my hooker wife(that maybe the booby prize-depending on your taste in women)-I’M JOKING ON THE LAST PART BUT ITS BOUND TO GET SOME PEOPLE COMMENTING AND THUS GET THE POSTS COMIN’ IN

is stevie already 62? was thinking more 55ish...

Welcome.

Originally Posted by steviewonder46

does anybody have any idea what I can do with these little bundles of mischief to keep them occupied for so long?.

Why did your school ask you to organise the summer course?

What kind of school, level of students, number of students, budget, number of foreign teachers, Thai teachers, Thai assistants, transportation....................

Originally Posted by steviewonder46

asked by my school to organise a summer course

Originally Posted by steviewonder46

does anybody have any idea what I can do with these little bundles of mischief to keep them occupied for so long?.

they asked someone who hasnt any ideas?



TIT

if would sound like a serious query if he wasnt such a clown

Stevie, read Stamp's posting and answer those questions and then let the pros go to work.

the number of students is 50,we've got a resort booked through a friend of the boss(you know how the thai connection things work)in kanchanaburi but it could be changed if you guys know of any good ones.i did a summer camp in a resort near hua hin and they told me lots of companies use it too(why i dont know-probably cos it's cheap-usually the reason).im allowed to employ as many as i think i need(teachers and assistants)-within reason.how many do you think i'll need then?.the students will be pretty basic.the summer camp i did before didn't have much "learning" going on and also from reading the posts on summer camps here it seems the same-just activities with bits of learning thrown in(the "shake banana" song seemed a favorite-we must of sang it every half hour).transportaion....erm....why would that make a difference to how i teach them?.unless you mean playing games on the bus down there(thats what i did on my last summer camp).
thanks for the posts so far guys.
keep 'em coming.

Originally Posted by steviewonder46

how many do you think i'll need then?

wrong way to plan....if youre in charge of all the education.....is it all day, or just at session periods?


if you get them all day, id say this:


let the kids get into a routine. plan it:

1 walk
2 brekky
3 session 1
4 lunch
5 session 2
6 activity non-school
7 free 30
8 dinner
9 activity
10 rest
11 bed


...now just right there, you have a simple camp routine.

the joy about teaching camp is that pretty much topically, anything goes.

a good way to look at a plan like this is how quickly you can get established in your routines. all good camps thrive on this. ive worked at several who have been great. songs are a good part of it. if you can play an instrument- rock that big time. if you can recruit someone- by all means. have them practice.

you can take a chunk of that planning and work on the simple vocabulary and interactions they experience while at meals, dressing, and other daily routines. camping is a good way to work on things that occur regularly. that is, you can talk about brushing your teeth, because you all just did it. its relevant when you can sya i just did that- 20 min ago. school is a different context and personal stuff like that isnt as interesting. in camp though, people let their guard down. you can play a game with putting toothpaste on brushes...simple stuff like let them do it blinfold to each other- and use only commands. can be a funny way to spend 30 min in the morning. BLAM- theres one daily routine fleshed out.

see? look at all experieices they have like that. eating. dressing- get them interacting and depending on each other. vet (mentally) the activity for sanook-ness first....you can only afford ot lose them in bordeom a few times before behaviors get out of hand.

*keep a schedule- allow for flex time- but stick to it. the more rigid a schedule you make, the more you have to bend to stay with it. allow for that in your planning.

also, dont give too much down time- then you will be "asking" them to partcipate....rather...allow them their space but demand they are atentive and not on their cell phones during activities.

*remember to do headcounts religiously. it should be 2nd nature after 2 days to do it all the time. 2-4-6-8-good. ive worked at a bunch of camps, i have always mentally liked the 3-6-9-12... point being, you need to not slip.

*do some writing- and make any of that interactive- where its processed, read, editied, replied to--whatever- all within a short time. no take home work. or "info for you for later"

*physical activitiy is good- but limit it to 1 thing a day. its hot here a morning walk calms the mood. gets kids bonded in a small way, and teaches a bit of discipline to not zombie to brekky and expect serivce all day long. "is it luuunch yeeet?" <--- doing a bit of morning walking will reduce the number of those questions by half. keep it under 30 min and choose the most scenic route

Stfranalum, you are too kind providing all this information. However, I doubt whether stevie can comprehend what you are writing.

Originally Posted by steviewonder46

the summer camp i did before didn't have much "learning" going on and also from reading the posts on summer camps here it seems the same-just activities with bits of learning thrown in(the "shake banana" song seemed a favorite-we must of sang it every half hour).

Must have been a great summer camp.

Stamp

Thanks stfranalum…sounds like you’ve done a few of these camps before. You interested in a few days work-The school would pay you well.
I was going to ask about some type of itinery or timetable –you must have read my thoughts mate-that gives me some sort of guideline to go on.
I DO play guitar and keyboard a little.i even use my computer for music making so it would be easy to set up some kind of backing track-ive thought of this already to put into the activities. I’m thinking of doing a karaoke thing too as my repertoire is limited to about 10 songs I can play well enough to a crowd.im also thinking of doing a talent show as I remember that went down very well on the summer camp I worked at before.
Any other suggestions are greatly appricieated.im going to do a treasure hunt too so if anyone knows a website for tips on this-let me know.
Steve

sounds like yourve got the evenings activites all sused out man.

next would be to put together some language focus points, a lexical list

-how will you diversify their input and structured lessons? (how will you integrate it)
-how will you get them to build and store their growing and evolving lexis (journals/diary?)
-how will you get them interacting using meaningful language- not just game reflex kind of communicating, but exchanging complex ideas (bonfires are good for barrier breaking and getting people to open up- a great place to share stories- have them prepare one in the day for an evening of campfire and stories) ghost stories

think themes

dont let the songs and singing do the "talkin' " so to speak....let your teaching guide and be the motivation...the songs will then act as a backup chorus- used as a tool.

kaoroake can be fun, but its typical. they all know karoake. you can broaden them if you can play the guitar and have a small group like that. sing songs. play for them. bonfire! you have 3 nights, right?

sounds like a blast man.

my experience is in working at youth camps, mostly with sports. but camps camp, i suppose- and so are kids.

id say with a small group, yu win big if you have and stick with an explicit plan.

you lose big when all entertainment and growth rides on you and your whims. they will lose patience with it after 2 days. it will turn from real fun to 'get me home' when they dont want to follow the leader. give them a target, explicitly. you can veer off course as you wish...but when you make them stakeholders, they feel part of it. invested. thats what 'get a routine established ASAP' means....get them knowledgable about the program. routines = tradition, and they will want to nourish that ownership if they feel it.

having said that, theres a big fat line, but crossable, in being too "on paper" with kids at camp. you need to lead and have a target, but dont be unemphathetic to their desires and curiousities. not to be overlooked. an educational camp is easy in this sense, because its assumed that you will be doing at least a tad of academic learning. so the kids will be ready for it, and not be expecting thrills of a lifetime.

i worked at a sleepaway camp (a few of them) where kids just were bored, waiting to be eletctrified by the excitement of something. never happened. its important to deal with expectations and anxieties. put yourslf back as their age. being away? people seeing me clothes in a bag some kids have a hard time with stuff, sometimes.

just stuff to think about!