It’s That Time Already: Camp Planning For Next Year
Whew. Another year of camp is in the books, and you’re ready to put your feet up for a few good months before digging in again. But before you get too comfortable, there are a few items that should be on your to-do list before the whirl of registration and staffing gets started:
Dig Into the Data:
No camp can be considered successfully completed without a solid review of the data. If you’ve never gathered data for a post-camp report, start with these steps:
- Gather feedback. If you took a survey of parents or gathered the comments of your staff, these should be compiled to see if there are improvements you need to make.
- Look at age breaks. Do you have a large portion of your camp aging out after this year? Consider how that might impact your camp next summer. Don’t wait until next season to figure out what comes next for them. Maybe you have an association with a camp for teens or a service opportunity in your camp for teen volunteers or staff.
- Take a look at the budget. If you were over budget, consider how you might trim costs. If you had leftover funds, how could you use them to optimize camp?
- Examine your application process, your daily schedule, and your opening/closing of camp. These are the most likely areas that need tweaking.
Plan Your Marketing Attack:
It’s not yet time for registration, so it’s an ideal time for editing photos, crafting your message, and preparing your overall marketing plan for your next season of camp.
Look at last year’s marketing. Did your campers mostly hear about you on social media, or was it the eye-catching postcard you mailed out? Using last year’s registration forms to see how campers arrived at your door can be useful for determining how to market for next year.
If your budget allows, you can set up designated landing pages for each marketing format, which enables you to see exactly how many people visited your website from a postcard, social media post, or email. Landing pages can be helpful in equipping you to determine which was the best marketing investment for your camp.
Types of Summer Camps
Summer camps come in many forms, and the style you choose shapes everything. Think day camp, overnight camp, sports camp, faith-based camp, STEM or arts camp, or an adventure-style program built around being outdoors. Start with your camp’s vibe. Is it skills-based, faith-based, adventure-focused, or built around pure fun? However you run it, you’ll want games that get kids mixing with each other so they can meet everyone.
That’s where fun team-building games such as 9 Square in the Air, Gaga Ball, and the 4 Square game shine. They’re quick to learn, easy to rotate, and they keep the line moving. Campers feel included faster, and you spend less time explaining rules and more time actually running the day. Pick your camp type early, then build your schedule and activity plan around it.
Choosing Your Camp Type: Day vs. Overnight Camps
Before you get too far into planning, it helps to step back and look at what kind of camp experience you’re really offering. Day camps and overnight camps feel very different, both for campers and for staff. With day camp, you have to make every hour count. Overnight camp has room to breathe because the kids stay on site, the experience stretches past the schedule, and starts to feel like its own little world.
In a day camp, the day goes best when you have quick group games that help kids mix, reset, and move on without a long reset. Overnight camp gives you more breathing room for longer play, shared traditions, and those evening moments that pull the whole group together.
As you decide which direction makes the most sense, think about your space, your staff, and the ages you serve. When your camp format fits your resources, planning feels easier and days run smoother.
Invest in Next Year With 9 Square in the Air:
Next summer will get here faster than you think, and the right games can save your staff a lot of headaches. Reliable group games help fill transitions, give kids a way to reset, and create moments of connection without extra effort from staff. 9 Square in the Air fits naturally into camp schedules because it’s easy to set up, simple to learn, and works for a wide range of ages. It’s the kind of game that campers come back to again and again, whether they have five minutes or an entire activity block to fill.
You’ve seen it at other camps and thought about how great it would be to have 9 Square in the Air at your own camp. If you’re honest, you’ve drooled just a bit over 9 Square in the Air. And for good reason. It’s essential to any camp for game time, or for any time when you need to help kids burn energy and play together. It offers all the best features of any camp game: it’s fun, it’s portable, and it encourages connection.
Go ahead. You know you want to. Contact us to get your order started today!
