Kid’s Camp Information

A typical camp layout goes as follows:

  1. After the kids arrive we have a greeting, usually a few songs, and then we break them into teams. You might group by gender, or age, or mix them up. We put colored headbands or armbands on the kids to distinguish the groups. Depending on the number of campers, we typically end up with four or five groups.
  2. Then we assign two leaders per team, this means that some of the group members will be assigned as team leaders who will lead their group around to activities throughout the day.
  3. We break the day into periods and offer different “stations” throughout the day. All the kids will hit every station by the end of the day. Examples of typical stations include: Sports, Games, Arts/Crafts, English, Computer, Science, Geography, Bible, Ecology, and so on.
  4. On top of this we break the day up with meals, snacks, swimming times and group activities as well as some free time to intermingle. We are always sure to tell the kids they will have the chance to swim and they should be bringing their bathing suits or a change of clothes for swimming. They love to swim!
  5. The leftover group members who aren’t team leaders become “station leaders” and are in charge of monitoring the permanent stations for the day. This means cleaning up after the kids and resetting the station for the next team as well as explaining the activity to the next group coming in.
  6. Those group members left become floaters who walk around and assist as needed. We also like to have EVERYONE down at the water during swimming times for safety purposes.
  7. We have a group activity towards the end of the day and usually have relay races down at the beach pitting each team against each other. It is also fun to have a piñata on the lawn, or games inside the dining hall.

Items to Bring

We recommend bringing red, blue, green and yellow headbands or fabric we can tearinto headbands for kids to wear.

Arts & Crafts Supplies

Tie dye shirts (the kids really enjoy this, but it is also practical because most of the children do not have a lot of clothing)

Paint bags or models (something to take home and use)

Religious crafts (you can find some pre-packaged crafts @

Coloring books with crayons are great

Popsicle sticks with glue and paint are great for making houses and planes

Paint and White paper for painting (make sure paint is washable)

Beads and Thread for making bracelets and necklaces (very popular)

A camera and printer (which goes home with you), plus a small picture frame to decorate and take home for their parents (many kids do not have photos of themselves)

You can buy prepackaged wooden models at Michael’s or Joanne’s craft stores

English Learning Supplies
We suggest bringing thick paper and colored markers for drawing picture flash cards for English Lessons.When teaching English we usually begin with colors and animals. Flashcards are very helpful because they allow the students to participate with the children. Play-doh and stickers are also great hands-on ways to have the kids learn their animals!

Games

Table games like “Jenga” and other problem solving games that involve teamwork

Puzzles are highly recommended, especially simple geography and science puzzles. Most kids in Nicaragua have never solved a puzzle before and so they need a simple one with a lot of help.

Any sort of sports equipment: soccer balls, baseballs, baseball gloves and bats, kick balls/dodge balls, frisbees, footballs.

Check out moreideas and games. (Baseball is the sport of Nicaragua and we are low on equipment at Campo, so this should be a higher priority of items to bring.)

Prizes for Relay Races or competitions.

Swimming Supplies
Beach balls, inflatable tubes, sand toys…

Geography Supplies

World maps

Pictures of things you would see in different countries around the world

Books about other countries.

Items from/about your hometown (The kids really enjoy seeing pictures and talking about where you live!)

Bible Supplies

Have a couple of Bible stories prepared. The kids really love pictures and interaction. Picture books are great (even in English, because you will have translators). A coloring sheet to go along with the story provides interaction and also allows the children to take a piece of the story home with them.

Miscellaneous

Candy & prizes (use these to encourage and motivate the kids)

Stickers

Personal hygiene items for kids (toothbrushes & toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc.)

Nail polish and nail polish remover (the girls really enjoy this)

Board games

First aid items (band-aids, anti-bacterial wash/cream, etc.)

Additional Donations

Sometimes teams collect items to bring and donate to Campo Alegría. Our biggest need is children’s clothes and shoes. Many times we have kids that come to camp and are badly in need of clothes. We try to give these children some clothing and shoes before heading home. We are always open to more donations.

Personal Items

It is recommended that your team members bring the following personal items to use while in Nicaragua:

Mosquito net

Bug spray

Sun block

Sun protection (hat, sunglasses, etc.)

Any medications needed

Comfortable, cotton long pants and t-shirts (Note: it is the custom for people in Nicaragua to wear long pants, even in the summer months. Women may wear long skirts. While at Campo, you are free to wear modest tank tops, shorts, or capris. However, we strongly recommend wearing long pants/skirts and shirts with sleeves when traveling throughout the rest of the country.)

Bathing suits (For women: one-piece or tankini-style suits only.)

Towels

Toiletries

Under-garments

Tennis shoes & socks

Schedule

Here is an example of a typical camp schedule a team might run:

Red Group / Blue Group / Green Group / Yellow Group / Brown Group (Optional)
7:30 / Breakfast / Breakfast / Breakfast / Breakfast / Breakfast
8:15-8:45 / Chapel / Chapel / Chapel / Chapel / Chapel
9:00-9:45 / ENGLISH / GEOGRAPHY / ARTS’N’CRAFTS / SCIENCE / SPORTS
9:45-10:00 / SNACK / SNACK / SNACK / SNACK / SNACK
10:00-10:45 / SPORTS / ENGLISH / GEOGRAPHY / ARTS’N’CRAFTS / SCIENCE
10:45-12:00 / SWIMMING / SWIMMING / SWIMMING / SWIMMING / SWIMMING
12:15 / LUNCH / LUNCH / LUNCH / LUNCH / LUNCH
1:00-1:45 / SCIENCE / SPORTS / ENGLISH / GEOGRAPHY / ARTS’N’CRAFTS
1:45-2:30 / ARTS’N’CRAFTS / SCIENCE / SPORTS / ENGLISH / GEOGRAPHY
2:30-3:15 / GEOGRAPHY / ARTS’N’CRAFTS / SCIENCE / SPORTS / ENGLISH
3:15-4:45 / SWIMMING / SWIMMING / SWIMMING / SWIMMING / SWIMMING
5:00 / DINNER / DINNER / DINNER / DINNER / DINNER
6:00 / ACTIVITY / ACTIVITY / ACTIVITY / ACTIVITY / ACTIVITY
8:30 / Back to Cabin / Back to Cabin / Back to Cabin / Back to Cabin / Back to Cabin
9:00 / LIGHTS OUT / LIGHTS OUT / LIGHTS OUT / LIGHTS OUT / LIGHTS OUT

Questions?