Rachael Ray

The summer is flying by and feels like it is nearly over, but with almost six weeks left, we are only at the halfway point. Most organized kids’ camps and activities are wrapped up by early August (at least where I live), and in the same vein as the “staycation,” it’s a perfect time for a do-it-yourself camp for the kids (I couldn’t come up with any kind of witty moniker - suggestions welcome. “Stay Camp” instead of Day Camp?).

Earlier in the summer, some friends and I blocked out a week in July for our own kids camp. There were four moms and ten kids ages 5-10. The kids had a blast, as did we, and we definitely spent a fraction of what an organized day camp would cost. We hired a babysitter a few hours each day to help out with the younger kids (and split the cost four ways), and a college student held a group tennis lesson each day at the neighborhood tennis court. Here are some ideas for your own do-it-yourself camp:

Set a flexible schedule: Kids like order and it helps to organize your day to set a (of course flexible) schedule, just like a real camp. Pick activities and set aside time for each - tennis, swimming, lunch and snacks, arts and crafts, soccer, etc. Of course if some kids were having a great time and others were antsy, we went with the flow and didn’t stick to a super strict schedule.  

Water Fun: It’s the summer. Go to the closest pool or beach and establish swim/water time each day. Kids love Marco Polo, Sharks and Minnows, who has the best dive or biggest cannonball contests, etc. We borrowed a kayak at the beach and the kids took turns paddling - they loved it.

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Picnic Lunch: Keep lunch simple and take turns preparing the meal for the group or do potluck. Sandwiches, chips and watermelon did the trick for us. Since one friend’s house served as camp central, the non-hosts offered to do lunch each day.

Outsource: Hire a neighborhood mother’s helper (or two) to help with games, tennis, etc. More fun for the kids - and easier on the moms. Plus, dividing up the helpers’ fee is a lot lighter on your wallet.

Lawn Games: We set aside time for lawn games each day - capture the flag, soccer, water balloon toss and “hide and seek tag” (which I think our kids made up, I have never heard of it before) kept them occupied for hours.

Crafts: After lunch was craft time which nearly all the kids chose to participate in. One day they collected sea glass and glued it on inexpensive clay pots my friend found at the hardware store. Another day they collected rocks and did rock painting. This was also a good opportunity to get them out of the sun.

The kids were so occupied we didn’t get to some of the activities we had planned - a scavenger hunt, talent show, beach olympics, and tie dyed t shirts among them. We will definitely save for next year!