8 February 2017

Make An Awesome Theme Day
A simple way to lay the foundation for a great camp program is to begin with a theme. Build programming that has a common thread and links to the overall camp mission.

Themes often help campers relate an instruction or activity to a concept with which they are more familiar. For a young camper, walking with pride may be a foreign idea. But if you establish a theme of “Knights and Princesses,” giving an instruction to walk like a knight or princess will achieve the same result.

Choosing a theme is about knowing what you want to achieve. If the objective is to create confidence at the ropes course, the theme might be “Flying High” or “Facing Challenges.” If exploring physicality in dance, the theme might be “Animals” to get campers moving in interesting ways.

Here are some potential themes to get started:

Just for fun:

  • Holidays
  • Royalty (kings and queens, etc.)
  • Animals
  • Circus
  • Sun, moon, and stars
  • Space and astronauts
  • Carnival or amusement park
  • Olympics

Values:

  • Confidence
  • Creativity
  • Community
  • Self-discovery
  • Respect
  • Pursuit of knowledge
  • Social action