Hobbies And Interests
Air Raid
Air Raid is a popular, fun game for groups larger than three to five children on a hot day. Make a start line and a finish line, 50 to 75 feet apart—this is a good distance for children aged seven to ten. You can make the lines farther apart or closer together depending on the age of the children. Make sure there are enough obstacles, such as trees, tables or wheelbarrows, for the runner to hide behind. One obstacle per 10 to 15 feet is ideal for this age group. Name two kids as &'bombers&'. One will stand 10 feet beyond the finish line, and one will stand five feet away on the right side of the course at the middle. They will each have a large supply of sponges and a bucket of water. The goal of the runner is to get from start to finish, hiding behind obstacles, without getting wet. The middle bomber can only throw until the runner has passed the middle, while the finish-line bomber cannot throw until then. The last runner to finish without getting wet wins.
Pass the Parcel
This game works best as an ice-breaker for three or more campers. Place either one prize that everyone can share, or a prize for everyone, in a paper lunch bag. Small candies or little trinkets like bracelets with the camp name and year work well. On the outside of the bag write, in permanent marker, something like "share what&'s inside with everyone once you act like a chicken for thirty seconds." Place this bag inside another bag with another silly action such as "sing the ABC&'s like a bee" written on the outside. Stuff the bags inside another bag with another silly action written on it, until you have at least two actions per camper. Place all of the bags inside a blank paper bag. Have everyone sit in a circle and pass the bag to the right while music is playing. When the music stops, whoever is holding the bag takes off the outer bag and reads the action on the bag inside. The player then stands in the middle of the circle, says his or her name and performs the action. Start the music again when that camper has returned to her seated position. Continue until all the actions have been performed and share the prize.
Artist, Model and Clay
This is a good trust game that encourages observation skills. Split your campers into groups of three. In each group one camper is the artist, one is the model and one is the clay. Blindfold each artist and have each model pose like a silly statue. The artist must then mold the clay to look like the model by feeling the model to see what she looks like, without actually looking, then moving the arms, legs and head of the clay. When the artist thinks the clay has been molded correctly, take off the blindfold to see how close they are. The group with the most accurate model wins a small prize and is then out. Continue until every group has won a prize.