Camp Documents Updated on the Camp Blog

Hello Again,
I've fixed a few problems with some of the documents on our blog and updated information, so if you've had trouble previewing or downloading try again.

IMPORTANT: We are meeting at the Stake Center at 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday; the old schedule had us meeting at 6:30 a.m. but that's not correct.

Best,

Cheri

Post Your Great Camp Ideas on Our Stake Blog

Hello Busy Camp Directors,
Camp is coming in two months and I know you have all generated some great ideas for your girls. Would you mind sharing some of those ideas on the blog with your fellow camp directors? And of course, if you need some good ideas or maybe a little advice, let everyone know in a post and maybe we can all help.

A LITTLE CAMP BUSINESS: Because our amphitheater in the North Area has no shade, I suggest you and your girls bring umbrellas to camp and make your own shade. I happen to know that some of the girls in the stake are already planning to decorate their umbrellas . . . I'll let you decide if you want to follow suit; however, your stake YW leaders are thinking only of helping you to stay cool in the hot July sun. In what style you do so is up to you and your girls.

I look forward to hearing from you on the blog. If you have other YW leaders who would like to subscribe, send me their email addresses and I'll send them an invitation.

Cheri

Regional Workshop--Using the YW Values at Camp

I've misplaced my notes :( but here is what I remember:

Emphasize a different value each day. Crafts, meals, scriptures, etc. revolve around that value.

If you do secret sisters, the daily gifts or thoughts can be themed around one of the values.

Have a "Value Meal" each day, with value-colored food.

Give a reward for memorizing the color and scripture associated with each value.

Plan a value hike--approx. 2 hours. Scout out a route and stop at various points along the way to have games, snacks, 5-min workshops, etc. that highlight the values.

Teaching With the Scriptures - Camp Regional Workshop

* Draw upon the experiences you've had and apply them to the scriptures
* Use imagery from the scriptures. Have YCLs or Young Women find scriptures to go along with different imagery such as:

* water - John 4 woman at the well
*blanket
*matches
*1st Aid kit
*star
*rock

Regional Workshop - Stories at Camp

* Use Mormonad cards as prompts for Young Women to use to tell about their own personal stories.
* Tell stories about yourself.
* Be in tune to know what stories to tell.

Children's Books Recommended

*The Three Trees
*Paperbag Princess
*Daughter of a King

Scripture Stories Recommended (I hope I wrote these down correctly)

*Numbers 20:8-11 - Moses smites rock- miracles
*1Kings 17:12-16 - Elijah
*2 Kings 6:6-17 - Elisha
*2 Samuel 23 - Daniel

*find ways for the Young Women to apply these stories to their lives

Hail Storm in July at Shalom

I just found this video of a hail storm at Shalom in July 2009 taken by another stake in our region (obviously). You never know what the weather will do . . . show this to your girls who don't think they need to pack warm clothes for camp.

Camp Web Sites

www.cheaptotes.com

www.craftbits.com

www.orientaltrading.com

www.ywsuggestions.net

www.theideadoor.com

www.ldssplash.com

www.marthastewart.com

www.familyfun.com

www.lightplanet.com

www.lds-yw.com

www.ywconnection.com

Book

Bright Ideas for Young Women Leaders - Deseret Book

Girls Camp Made Easy - Deseret Book

Sharing Ideas for Camp

Notes from Regional Meeting:

• Charm bracelets from ldscharms.com
• Virtue flag - gold - all the girls signed on overnight hike
• Industrial strength ziplocks bags can be obtained from BISCO - Bonneville Industrial Supply on Geneva Road
• T-shirts "Daddy's girls"
• Magnet boards
• Dinner bell
• Wallpaper stores sell books for $1 and can use for crafts
• Modge Podge pictures of Christ on tiles or boards with glaze finish
• Necklaces with odd trinkets relating to your activities
• Pre-camp booklet explaining beginning to end camp experience for girls
• Scrapbook covered journals with composition notebooks
• Start with hugging each girl at camp
• Heart cookies
• YCL's given frame "Love" to remind them of their responsibilities prior to camp
• Make bear and have each girl sign the bear - pattern can be available by e-mails listed below
• Nalgene Bottles double as hot water bottles for cold nights
• Fabric Mill and Cotton Shop have lds themed material for pillow cases, etc.

Confidence Course

Notes from Regional Meeting:

See handout on CD given to Stake. Not noted on handout, was the A-frame where girls work together to make the A frame walk. Also, the two boards to work together to walk - see picture inserted by our camp in a earlier blog. Most of the ideas on the handouts are also in the Handbook for Camp.

*special request to put the items back after use and not leave in the trees or other areas so we may all use if desire.

Camp Food

Notes from Regional Meeting:

Get Handout on CD. Excellent for new and returning cooks which includes certification level for girls.

www.scoutscan.com/pdf/dutchbeg.pdf

recipes.lovetoknow.com/make_a_charcoal_chimney

recipes.suite101/article.cfm/simple_camping_food

Ideas shared for cooking:

• Pasta, Tacos, Hamburgers, Hawaiian Haystacks, tin foil dinners
• Google: snacks, campire, kids
• Freeze sauces in ziplock bags on cookie sheets-then you can stack ziplocks in coolers
• Anything you see in a store that is frozen-you also can freeze.
• Freeze h20 jugs for at least 2 weeks and use in cooler for ice
• Freeze juices before camp - dump out some juice first - then can also be used for ice in coolers.
• Higher altitudes = longer boiling time
• Freeze pasta in al dente form, put in cold water to cool, then put in ziplock bags on flat cookie sheets, freeze then finish cooking up at camp.
• Costco has hashbrown in large cardboard containers which you only need to put hot water in and close top back up.
• Label coolers for each day so girls do not open up cooler before needed to keep cool.
• Milk and eggs can also be frozen. Eggs can be cracked and put in container and freeze
• Cover dutch ovens with foil for easier cooking.
• Shared idea: use mineral oil for cleaning dutch ovens - less rancid smell for long term storing - also place crumpled newspaper inside dutch oven for long term storage.
• Use salt to assist with cleaning out dutch oven cookers - no soap to be used.
• Charcoal - do not use store brand - it cooks too quickly. Also do not use Matchlight brand due to charcoals heating up too quickly for cooking
• Enjoy! Practice meals before going up to camp!
• Encourage girls to drink 1/2 gallon water before lunch and 1/2 gallon of water before dinner for hydration. Leaders found girls to have less falls and were healthier during camp with less trips to hospital.

Waterfront

Notes from Regional Meeting:

Ideas for Canoe Activities:

*Race across lake. Give new beehives a chance to figure out rowing.

*Use plastic balls for objects to reach for. Some balls may get you more points.

*Capture the flag. Tie flag onto back of boat loop. You cannot hide your flag. Once you get a flag, you can tie it onto your boat. One with the most flags wins.

*Relay races

*Freeze tag

*Have YCL's plan out games

*Take 5 mins and just lie back and relax in canoes

*Have leader in middle of lake with cooler and girls can come earn treats (ie. ring pops)

*Leaders only use Super Soakers and visit girls' canoes

Hints - Girls to have warm clothing ready upon return, extra shoes necessary, cold water and mud under lake = difficulty in rescue attempts if girls fall in. Leaders to show example of "obedience" to camp rules, esp. while on the lake. Respect Life Guard - she rules the lake!

Have Fun !!!

Knots

Notes from Regional Meeting:

*Kindling - bring your own from lint, pruned branches or newspaper

*www.animatedknots.com - the bowline knot will be found under climbing section at this web site.

*Stake Leaders have handout on CD on knots/fire/shelter broken down by girls' years.

*Encouraged leaders to use actual rope and stay away from snack building fires and knots

Cheri: Is there anyway we can do Archery at camp?

Camp Shalom - very beautiful, very peaceful, very clean

What worked: Crafts, Hidden Talent Show, YCL's teaching certification with poster visuals I made and laminated, Canoes, Confidence, encouraging girls to memorize a daily scripture pertaining to theme (reward given afterwards), Parent letters to girls (given after testimony mtg), Lunch/Activity by Relief Society, Makeover Time (lots of nail polish and head bands), Secret Sisters, Waterbottle holders (ribbon with o-ring sewn at ends - slips over waterbottles), Name tags above girls beds (Cami strung string through holes above shelves and name tags clipped with clothes pins, pockets for secret sister notes, help getting equipment up, set up and taken down with priesthood help, great support from ward YW leaders, Testimony talk and time with Bishopric, "All" the Stake Workshops were excellent.

What didn't work: Ugh! Don't like to think about that one but....overplanned with large amount of girls and fleeting time. First day count on late start to everything - maybe make journals before coming to camp, more journal/scripture time needed, don't wake up Laurels or leaders with Laugh Yoga, more pre-camp certification, oops - missed star observation - miscommunication, canopies not working and using duct tape with creativity, forgot snack box but girls survived, forgot to make special treats for priesthood 'guards', tooo exhausted for bedtime stories for girls (6-11pm sends me snoring :) More lanterns for night, Count on buses arriving late to camp on Saturday, more time for the girls to just hang out and PLAY!

All in all it was a fun first time camp experience for me. My favorite....the secret sister reveal (hugs all around) and testimony meeting! Although being ambushed by the girls for their parent letter was amazing - they really do care!

Ideas: I will post places where I found ideas and crafts off the internet another time.

I hope you have received some ideas...I look forward to seeing your ideas :)

1) Girls all seated for testimony meeting

2) Bishopric playing along with our Alice "Curiouser" theme at our Unbirthday Party where the girls ended up playing 3 legged croquet with the Bishopric and their wives. Cami made their hats - seamstresses can do that kind of thing!

3) The girls in a spontaneous game which I will make more time for their year. Play!

Another look at the pots on Friday after they have "bloomed. Friday they were able to decorate their pots with colorful $1.00 store stones and cement grout.

Some Fun Ideas We Did:
Ty-Dye Shirts were so successful

Hidden Talent Time was hilarious

Making modge podge lanterns that

lite up our night with battery

$1.00 store lights was exciting

We also made the girls grown in their pots and added inserts like "temple, scriptures, Christ, etc on how they are growing each day

The relief society came up on Thursday for a "tea party" for the girls following our Alice theme. Afterwards they taught napkin folding and gave the girls a thought. They even brought up real "tea" cups and the finger foods were inventive and fun.

Having an organized kitchen area setup and shade for coolers/kitchen area was so wonderful. Colleen was a fantastic in helping the girls prepare ziplock fudge, dutch oven cheesecake, ad baggie omelets to name a few fun items. We also did cookies in a pizza box oven (which worked so-so).

If you have cabins in 18,19,20, you will need shade. We used 3 pop up shade canopies and used a tarp to make a 4th. We could have probably used a 5th. Used two and tarp over eating areas, one over cooking area.

The girls really enjoyed the confidence course by the lake...working together and taking turns. Successful!

The girls loved the canoes and didn't like the hike to the lake. We all survived. (Hint: Don't wear jeans or your only pair of sneakers to the lake - you WILL get wet). Successful! Except next year I will wear scrub bottoms and water shoes. The girls love their leaders.....wet!

The girls decorated Journals with scrapbook paper with Sis. Kimball's great crafting skills and they also made flower pens (hint: baby powder on the floral tape make pens less sticky). Successful! Cute girls :) We also made pockets hanging up in the background where the secret sisters could put notes in or we put a thought for the day they could paste in their journals. The girls decorated their pockets made of foam crafting stuff which were sewn with rope for handle. Successful when the girls checked their pockets. I also got tablecloths at close out at Walmart for $3.00 which added fun color in our camp.

We purchased canvas bags for $1.00 each from CheapTotes.com and decorated them with the theme and design was by Sydnie Stillwell our YCL. The girls had a place for their scriptures, journals and pens. They was a peg by each bed they could hang up their bags! Successful!

Theme for 2009 was Grow to Know then Show, so we selected a sub-theme "Curiouser and Curiouser" from Alice In Wonderland - getting "curiouser" about how we are growing. Awesome group of girls! These hats were made with love by their YW President Cami Kern. Cami's little flower blossoms.