I have had a brainstorm of late of running a day camp a couple days a week for just a few kids of both sexes ( 8 kids total+ my two) where the kids come over for about four hours or so and not only play outside but play board games.
I use to be a camp counselor and crowds of kids are far easier than just two. Chaos Management Theories are my speciality.
This is still in the fuzzy planning/wishful thinking stage, but here are the pro’s and cons’: The pro’s:
[ul]
[li]I don’t have to drive anywhere. With gas over $2.25 right now and a 40 gallon tank, that means I save money. Saving Money Makes my husband happy.[/li][li]My kids get to have friends over and socialize.[/li][li]I control the atmosphere of play. [/li][li]The kids would be in a video game-free area. Possibly a Pokemon/YuGiOh free area most of the time. Imagination would be highly encouraged. I know, what is wrong with me?[/li][li] We have a swingset and plenty of acreage to run amok in.[/li][li] Also a huge garden will be done as well.[/li][/ul] [ul] The Con’s:
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[li]Setting up some kind of basic fee (say $10 a day) and setting up a calendar to plan events. I don’t want the parents to feel they are freeloading, but I don’t want the kids the whole day either. 9-5 stuff would probably kill me. It would be mainly for stay at home mom’s to get a break for their kids without breaking the budget.[/li][li]How to get the idea out amongst his friends parents.[/li][li]Get age appropriate board & card games.[/li][/ul]
[ul] Gray Area
[li]Kids have to bring their own lunch and 100% juice. Plus a tooth brush. ( Anal retentiveness about dental care is fun!)[/li][li]Set up ground rules for behavior[/li][li]Set up crafts to do for girls and boys.[/li][li]Sunscreen most definately. We have nearly zero shade at our house in the summer.[/li][li]Parents have to pick up and drop off.[/li][li]First aid kit and emergency contact numbers needed for parents.[/li][li]Maybe have a book club reading program too.[/li][li]run boys three day s a week, girls two days a week one week, then switch the next. (Girls are far easier to deal with.)[/li][/ul]
As you can see, it is all in its early formations and any suggestions for 7 year old boys and 5 year old girls would be greatly appreciated, espcially with an online calendar set up thingie.
As a former camp counselor myself, it seems to me you’re on a good track with the “what to do with the kids” side of things.
As a former camp director/administrator, I have to point out that you also need to consider liabilty insurance, child care licensing regulations, business licenses regs, etc …
But if you can work all that out, sounds like a lot if fun!
Sounds like a nifty idea, and I hope it works for you. Uno and Connect Four might work as board games.
My ignorant $0.02 concerning insurance: I’ve read horror stories from other dopers about how merely talking to homeowner’s insurance companies can result in them “flagging” your account or otherwise holding it against you in the future. Maybe someone else can come along and elaborate. At the least I’d be careful about what I said to them.
Sequence is a great board/card game for all ages. My husband and I enjoy playing it with just the two of us, but it also works really well in larger groups and with teams (you can have up to three teams). We’ve played with kids as young as 5. All they have to be able to do is identify the cards in their hand with the cards on the board and place chips down to try and get five (? IIRC) in a row. It’s kind of like Tic Tac Toe, I guess. Anyway, it’s one of my favorite games and I try to share the love whenever possible.
It might be kind of expensive to buy a bunch of new games. Maybe one kid or family could be designated to bring a game each day?
Being something of an iconoclast, I’m just wondering what the response will be to a kid who brings a can of Pepsi instead of juice and a Gameboy instead of a toothbrush.
Sounds very cool! I used to run a history-themed day camp for elementary school kids. One of the kids’ favorite things was making puppets and putting on puppet shows for each other. From an adult perspective, it’s nice because it keeps them busy for quite awhile: deciding what their show will be about, making the puppets, writing and rehearsing the show, etc.
What about camp from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.? Their parents will come pick them up right about the time they start getting hungry and cranky and it leaves your afternoons free.
Sounds like a plan, but I agree with the legal stuff (one broken arm and you could be liable for, well…not pretty). Also, check with zoning…might be something you are not legally allowed to do in your neighborhood, no matter how impomptu and innocent. And then there is the “child proofing” of the area - it is one thing for your kids to step on a nail, but…
enough with the negative thoughts.
On a more positive note - re-lay races are a good way to tire them out before you read a story. Do a play where every day they create the story, the costumes and props (all out of paper and old scraps of material, etc.) and then do a “show” for the parents at the end of the summer. If they are younger, make it a circus instead of a play and let them be animals jumping through hoops, and the proverbial clowns and acrobats. Make video tape.
And I don’t know what it costs in your area, but $10 sounds dirt cheap to me after hearing what parents are paying here.
Oh…and figure out what to do with that parent who is always running late to pick up their kid…next thing you know, it will be 6:00 PM and they will saunter up with some lame excuse. In Las Vegas, they charge $5 per MINUTE if you are late picking up kids from daycare centers!!!
Your concept and ideas sound great - but I think none of us here wants to see you get burned. Try it! And maybe if you talk to the mothers first and feel them out on the idea, they might come up with some good guidelines and elect you “most wonderful neighbor in the world” for taking their kids off their hands for a few hours per week. I know my mother would have nominated you for Sainthood if you had taken us three boys off her hands a few hours, a few days a week!
If you’re serious (at least about being somewhat hostile to the idea), then I expect you’ll alientate a lot of potential customers and run the risk of generating negative publicity (the flip side to one of your listed cons; you might get the word out to your child’s friends’ parents, but the word will be that you’re a big meanie who like to ruin other people’s fun).
