Camp Award Ideas

Here is a list of some ideas that could be used for camp awards while at camp. There are several different things you could do with them but I just shared a few ideas with you. I know that it can be some what daunting trying to come up with these kind of things while at camp. Hopefully this might help you out.

Click HERE for the list

YW Camp Song book

clip art from Melonheadz

So here it is...one of my biggest projects. I am happy to finally get this uploaded for all of you. I am hoping that maybe it might just come in handy for some one. This book contains 37 songs including fun and silly songs, patriotic songs as well as songs to help invite the Spirit into your camp. I hope you enjoy it!

Click here for PDF

JUST AN FYI:

Since it has been a few years since I have really played with the blog, most of the links to the handouts that I have created have ceased to exist. I am sorry for that! I will be working to restore them over the next few weeks in hopes to make it easier on all of you wonderful people. 

Until then, just right click on the photo and save as and then paste or insert it into a program like word or publisher or if you have a digital scrapbook program you can use that too. Also, feel free to get a hold of me at hysteria2483@gmail.com if there is a handout you would like but can't seem to get and I will see how I can help you out. 

Again sorry for the problem...I didn't think it was possible until I went to click on a link and print one off.  I will update you as soon as the issue is resolved here or via my FB page (which if you haven't followed or liked it yet, head on over and do so as that is where most updates will happen first!).

Card Games...Part 2

As promised here is the other came that I was telling you about. Please see previous post or part 1 to read a quick little note and to learn about SPAZ Uno.

So as mentioned before, some people have a problem with standard playing cards or poker cards as they are known as. If this describes you, you might want to stop reading now. 

Also, some might find the name of this game offensive, it was what I have known it as but it also has different names. I learned it as being called Egyptian Ratscrew but I have heard it called Egyptian War or ERS. Call it what you will... I won't judge ya.

However, because this game can be a bit confusing to some, I am going to send you to a link that explains this game perfectly. Please note, to make it simpler I have only played it with the Double Slap rule enforced. The website will give you other options you can add in as well but that is up to you. I like this game because its fun and no one is ever truly "out" because you can always slap in but again, its a player with all the cards wins. Enjoy!

Click HERE to be redirected to the rules of play.

Taken from Pinterest. Link followed to Wikihow.

Card Games Part 1

Man, I feel like I am on a roll today. I had a lot of inspiration while I was at work today and you guys are getting to reap the benefits of it. 

So these are a couple of games that I use to play in groups and the first game is one that I taught my girls up at girls camp when I was a fellow camper and then again a few years later when I was a leader. 

All you need for these games are a couple of decks of Uno cards and regular playing cards (one deck will do if you have a smaller group but you'll needs more than one if its a larger group. Also, with Uno cards unless they are different versions (like years that they were produced) they might look the same so you will want to mark one set a bit differently so that when you are cleaning up, you can get the right cards with the right deck.  Also, some leaders or camps might frown on having playing cards (you know poker style cards with face cards), we had a camp director one year that was staunchly against having those kind of cards around even though we played fun games with them. So please, no judgmental comments here-follow your camps rules, this is only a suggestion on some fun.

So the first game that is fun for all ages and requires the Uno cards is a game called SPAZ Uno. Player beware this game can get intense and painful because it is all about speed.

So the premise is to get all the cards BUT first things first. I gotta tell you what the cards mean. In a typical Uno deck you have your basic number cards with instructional cards. We are going to ignore the numbers and words and just focus on the colors:

Green=place your hand on the surface (being a table if you are playing at a table or the ground if you are sitting on the floor). To remember this think of GREEN being GRASS. 

Red=hand across your heart. This should be pretty explainable. Red for heart.

Yellow=Hand at forehead. Now this has a couple of references, YELLOW fever or if you have a bright idea.

Blue=sky. Again, pretty easy. Blue as in the blue, blue sky.

Now come the tricky part. The Wilds. These cards you have to keep an eye out for the two different wild cards:

the standard Wild card you do all four actions in order. Green, Red, Yellow, Blue. 

the DRAW 4 WILD card you have to do all four actions and back down again. So Green, Red, Yellow, Blue, Yellow, Red then Green. 

Now, remember I said the premise of the game is to get ALL of the cards. How do you do this? The person who does the action the fastest wins the cards that have been played. 

Here is how you play:

You deal all the cards out. The cards are to remain face down. First place goes to the person on the right of the dealer. They take the top card of their pile and place it face up in front of them. Then the next person goes. What you are looking for is doubles (for example two reds in a row or two blues in a row, etc.). When a double comes up, EVERYONE needs to perform what ever action correlates to that color (two reds mean you need to race to be the fastest to put your hand on you heart).  Fastest wins all the cards that has been played so far and collects them and places them face down under their stack of cards. The winner of that round begins next play. If at any time a WILD is played EVERYONE does the actions that correlates to the type of wild card that was played. Winner takes all the cards and they start the next round. Doubles are counted as the card you play and previous card that was played.  When you run out of cards you are out of the game. Last person standing wins. 

Photo from Vanilla Sky

Part 2 to learn about the other game go HERE

A Game of Chance...

Hello! I promised that I would post a fun activity tonight that would work for any group! This activity would be perfect for Activity Days, Mutual (especially a YM/YW combined activity) and even a daddy/daughter or mother/daughter activity night. 

I was at work when the idea hit me but I had come across some Youtube videos of it (google it and you will find some funny videos) and then I remembered the time that this happened to me. I was at my now ex sister laws house and this was just when Harry Potter was coming out and getting big and they came out with the Bertie Bott jelly beans. UGH! She had taken a bag of those and mixed them in with two bags of regular Jelly Bellys. Talk about mean! 

Anyway, if you haven't guess by now, I am talking about the Bean Boozled game/challenge (seriously, if you don't know what I am talking about google it). Now, I have found some stores in my area carry this game but I have also seen online where you can just buy the bags or boxes of beans for relatively cheap (again, another quick search on google will give you several options). 

Grab two beans of the same color (example: sour milk and coconut, vomit and peach, etc.) and put them in a container. Condiment cups are perfect for this and number them. You'll want to keep track of what flavors are in which cup. Then have some willing victims participants and have one of them pick a number. Then they each grab one bean. Who ever gets the normal or good flavor gets a point. Now if they both get the good flavor they both get a point if its the bad flavor-no points. You will probably want to have a garbage can readily available and some bottles of water to help those who loose their round. 

This makes for a fun night of laughter and entertainment so make sure you get videos or pictures!

Daughter of a King...I am a Princess!

Hi...it's me again (in case you forgot). I know it has been ages since I have posted anything of real value but being a first time mother, a wife and working has taken up a lot of my time and to be honest I am exhausted. You get it, right? I can't possibly be the only one who is feeling like that.

I have had this idea in my head for a while, especially the closer that school had become. Many of you know that I am no longer in the YW program but am currently serving as an Activity leader of our girls ages 8-11 and we have struggled with the idea of unity and inclusion. Most of the time, the girls are pretty good. However, there are times when they are not so good. This also has come to my mind after I, myself, personally have felt like a lone little gold fish swimming amongst sharks. I have felt lonely and finding it difficult to want to go to my meetings because I feel that I just don't fit in....anywhere in my ward. Which is a great ward...I...uh...just...don't...fit....well.

So this idea of mine (and I apologize that this doesn't have any pics yet because this is still an idea in my head and haven't put it into reality...just yet...hoping to in November) involves our favorite Disney Princesses and a little known kids book that I have blogged about before (you can read about it HERE), the Paper Bag Princess. 

Every girl has a favorite Disney Princess...and if they don't they are lying *wink wink*. There is Aurora, Snow White, Merida, Belle, Cinderella, Tiana, Jasmine, the list goes on and on. I would have the girls name as many as they can think of. I would write the names on the chalkboard or have them printed up in cute fonts so everyone can see them. I would then ask them, what qualities or traits do each of the named princesses have? This could be a tough question to answer to try and get as many different answers as you possibly can.  

Next, read the book the Paper Bag Princess and talk about the qualities that this princess had and how she didn't need to have the stuffy old prince's attitude or shallowness.  Now that you have done this. The next section will take some pre-planning. 

Make a poster for each girl. Have a crown on the top of the poster and their name below. Then hang them up and have each girl stand in front of their poster. Hand them each a marker or pen. Then, picking left or right, have the girls go to the next girls poster and write something nice, some sort of quality they admire that the girls who poster they are at, has. Keep going until all the girls are back at their own and let them take a moment to read over the things that their peers wrote to them. You can have the girls sign who wrote what or keep it completely anonymous.

 Close with the talk if time allows from President Uchtdorf and remind them that all of them are a princess because they are a daughter of God and that no one, NO ONE can make them feel any less inferior. 

Post Recognition Night

So, it has been about 3 weeks since we had our last Activity Days activity which was the recognition night. Now, it didn't go exactly as I had envisioned but it was cute nonetheless. 

It was simple and that alone made its mark. Would I have loved to have had it decked out? Yes, of course! Would I loved to have had more time to plan? Heck yeah but when there is two other leaders schedules to work with it doesn't always happen.

This was the only pic I got of the night, I had a really active somewhat sick toddler with me that night.

Here are the certificates that we used to honor each of our girls:

These were printed two to a page and then printed on gold card stoke which I had left over from my Personal Progress/YW leader days.  You can download them HERE. I will convert them to a PDF in the next few days just in case your Word isn't being nice and opening it. I took the the basic outline from a google search and then added the words to it to make it fit what I was needing. 

Overall it was a great night, out of 21 girls we had 12 show and they had enough things to share and talents to show that it was truly a testament of the Lord's plan for each and everyone of His children.