They’re wild and crazy. They’re a bunch of kids excited to be at summer camp! You remember what it was like to be an elementary student out-of-school for the summer, but for the counselors at summer camp, it can be quite an adventure to get everyone to behave.
What’s wrong with a little bribery? Here are 10 ways to bride kids to behave at summer camp:
- Push back “Lights Out.” No kid is ready for the day to be over at summer camp. Let them know that if their behavior is good, “lights out” will be pushed back 30 minutes. That’s 30 more minutes of fun!
- Great Behavior Movie Night. On one of the final nights of camp, have a movie night with snacks. Hype this event up all week and make it known that if you get into any sort of trouble, you’ll be spending the evening in complete boredom while everyone else has a blast at Movie Night.
- Crown a King and Queen of camp. Let the kids know that each day you will crown a “King and Queen” of camp based on who has the best behavior. Make it official with a crown and a tiara.
- Candy! Candy! Candy! Sometimes nothing makes kids behave better than the appeal of some candy. Personalize some candy bars with the name of the camp and kids are sure to behave for one!
- Ice Cream Sundaes. Good behavior all week means an ice cream sundae party on the last day. It will be a party everyone wants to attend, but bad behavior means you don’t go. Remind the kids of this throughout the week.
- Behave for beads. Each day a kid finishes with good behavior, give them beads to wear. On the final day of camp, kids with the most beads get another prize!
- Certificate for the fridge. Whether they admit it or not, kids love taking home positive information about themselves to their parents. At the end of the week, if the camper hasn’t been a behavior problem, give them a special certificate they can take home and give to mom and dad. They can proudly display it on the refrigerator!
- Tickets for Trinkets. Whenever a camper does something nice, like helps a fellow camper, lets someone go in front of them in line, or goes the extra mile in a certain activity, give them a ticket. At the end of the week, let kids use their collected tickets to “buy” things at a camp store filled with favors.
- Words of Encouragement. Believe it or not, just telling a kid, “Hey, you did a really good job today!” can be a major highlight in a kid’s time at camp. The more you hype up positive behavior, the more other kids will want to behave as well. So bride them with positive words and pats on the back!
- Good Attitude Party. A good attitude party is filled with snacks, music, games and
even decorations. Consider having a theme party like an island party or Western party. Only the best-behaved kids at camp get to come to this invitation-only party. Tell kids that the party is very exclusive. Those who get to attend will be very proud of themselves for behaving all week at camp!
American Prom Blog 