Be All That You Can Be! YW Camp Themes
It's a Jungle Out There
Have each group (ward or age group) have its own animal name or adventurer name
Sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
Wear those explorer hats, necklaces with teeth on it
Serve food with jungly sounding names
Keeping With The Trek (Pioneer Theme)
Rising Above
Our theme this year is "Rising Above." Our scripture focus for our theme is Colossians3:1,2 We have 6 units in out stake and every year each ward chooses a value and they decorate their area of camp with that value color and we encourage them to use that value as a focus for their ward skit. The 7th value is used by the Stake YW's Presidency. A couple of other things that we do at our camp which we have found to really enhance the whole camp experience is to have our camp dedicated the first night by a member of the Stake Presidency, that sets a spiritual tone for the week. We also have a "secret sister" program and each night a girl gets a secret surprise from another girl and then on the last day they find out who she is. We in the Stake YW Presidency prepare a special handout for each of the 4 nights of camp and we go to each ward camp area at the end of the night and give them a spiritual or uplifting message along with the handout and we sing one verse of a hymn or YW song.We have about 120 girls at our camp each year so needless to say that # x 4 nights is a lot of handouts so we do all of that well in advance of camp. We have done it for 4 years though so it's become a tradition and the girls look forward to our visit each night. We have also done a" Faith Walk" for a couple of the years and that is a wonderful way to set a spiritual tone in camp and to reinforce the values. We really enjoy Girls Camp and look forward to that week each year. Maria
Reach for the Stars
Our theme this year is "Reach for the Stars".
Our daily schedule goes something like this:
Breakfast buffet (cereal, muffins etc.) 7-8.
Flag at 8
At 8:30 we begin a round robin class format Each group of girls attends
three classes in the morning until approx. 11:30. They attend two
certification classes and one Destiny Lesson (spiritual class)
Then lunch in units with time to prepare for skits etc.
Then at 2:00 free time to do crafts, swim, nap, write letters etc. until
4:30
Flag at 5 Dinner and mail call at 5:30
Campfire at 7:00 then treats and scripture study as unit lights out at
10:00 (HUH! But we try)
Seems to work very well
Every night we have a different campfire activity
Skit night, Song Night, Banner night, Bishops night where each Bishop
comes to camp and we play a game with them and the Stake presidency and
have dinner with them and then off to Testimony Meeting.
Then on Friday night we have a special activity. Such as a faith walk
etc. Last year we met girls on the trail that had been traveling from
Nauvoo to Salt Lake and heard their stories. Awesome evening! This year
we are still trying to come up with Friday nights activity. We are
leaning on trying to use Reach for the Stars and do a Star search but
don't want another skit or song night. Any ideas? Would also like to
try to tie in Turing hearts to your family. If possible. WE have done
the real serious so this could even be a little more light hearted.
Camp is a special place for us.
Rhonda
Stand With Valiant Heart
this year we wanted to do some group team-building type activities. ~Teri
Heroes Of The Heart
Our stake's theme is Hero's Of The Heart. We have 7 wards in our stake so
each ward was assigned (actually we chose a sealed envelope) a value and a
Book of Mormon Hero to go with it. We will either do a video or a slide show
to go along with who we chose. The stake hasn't decided on which one yet.
Anyway, here are the Hero's and the value that goes with them.
Choice and Accountability - Alma The Younger
Good Works - King Noah
Faith - Nephi
Integrity - Moroni
Knowledge - Mormon (this is the one our ward got)
Individual Worth - Amulek
Divine Nature - Enos
The scripture that goes along with our theme is D & C 4:2
Judy
Go For The Gold
Hi, I just thought I'd pass on an idea of a theme we used. It is a good one
to use in Utah with the Olympics coming soon.
The theme was "Go For The Gold" with a subtitle of "Faith in Every Footstep".
We did this camp in 1997 when Faith in Every Footstep was the theme.
Our emblem, for lack of a better word, was the young women torch. A good
picture is found in the camp manual. The handle of the torch was modified a
bit to include the year of our camp and the Olympic rings, but instead of
five, we used seven, one for each value.
Our theme scripture was found in Doctrine and Covenants 137:1 - 4. "The
heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and
the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell. I saw the
transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will
enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire; also the blazing throne
of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. I saw the beautiful streets
of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold." We
encouraged the young women to Go for Heavenly Father's Gold.
We had the Olympic "games". One set of games was the value olympics. They
were basically fun games with a title that tied them in with a value. For
instance, one we called "Walk with Faith" and it was a relay where a girl on
each team was blindfolded and given a spoon. She had to walk across the room
to where we had a plate of white (faith!) cottonballs. She was supposed to
scoop up a cottonball and carry it back to the other side of the room and
place on a plate there. The team who had the most cottonballs on their plate
at the end won.
We also had some water olympics and certification olympics. On fire building,
after the girls were taught how to build their fires, the game that was
associated with it was a race between teams to see who could build a fire and
have it pop a water balloon hanging above it. The first team with the fire
that popped the balloon won.
Before camp we sent each girl a letter telling them that they had "qualified"
spiritually and physically for the Girls Camp Olympic games. This letter
introduced the theme, scripture and emblem and included other info we wanted
them to know.
We did scrapbooks for our craft, so at every devotional and activity, we asked
those in charge to have a handout prepared for each girl that could be added
to their scrapbook.
We also had a song that we got permission to use. It is a fun upbeat song
that was written by a professor at the local university. It is titled "Go For
The Gold"
Here are the words:
CHORUS: Go for the Gold!!
That's what we've been told
Never settle for second best
Always Go for the Gold!
We're striving for perfection,
Learning the direction,
Working at the task each day.
Doesn't take reflection,
Just a lot of flexion
Stretch yourself in the right way.
CHORUS
So stop the gripes and crying,
Do your best, keep trying,
You'll make a great discovery!
You're a noble and great one,
Excellence can be fun,
Give it a try! You'll see!
CHORUS
Become a high achiever!
Yes! A real believer!
You control what will be.
Just a thought can do it,
There is nothing to it!
Once you've tried to see.
CHORUS
No bronze, no silver, just GOLD!
All your life you've been told,
Become what you're meant to be.
Avoid that awful world mold!
Be strong, courageous, brave and bold,
The final prize you will see.
CHORUS (twice)
At beginning and end of camp we had opening and closing ceremonies. At the
closing ceremonies, we awarded each girl with her gold medal which was a
beaded necklace with the young women torch pendant.
It was a fun camp! ~KeeNan
BOOT Camp at http://www.ldschurch.net/f/gifford/page104.html
"Keepers of the Flame"
Heavenly Bodies-- Polish Your Star!
Our stake has the theme this year of "Preparing in the Lord's Way"....so for our regional youth conference, we are using the theme "Zero Fear"....(using the scripture.."if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear".... Anyone have any ideas out there for workshops, activities, decorations, etc. to go with "Zero Fear"????
The Lord is My Light--What about....Celestial Cruises..............Sailin' Home............Like a Lighthouse
Our theme for girl's camp is "celestial cruises" with each cabin being a "ship". You wonderful people out there....can you share some "ship names" (besides...pls..titanic!)
For our Stake Camp this year we are using the theme "Sailing Home"....with each castle being a "cruise ship". We will construct a "Lighthouse" at the center of camp. (don't know HOW we will do that yet!) We have just begun with these ideas. Sounds like we should keep in touch and share as we go along!!! Any ideas out there? Silly question...you guys are great!!! ~Clara
We used ship names last year at camp too, one for each of the tents we had. We chose the ships Columbus used. "Nina", "Pinta", and "Santa Maria." It was great fun. We made lifesavers with the ship name on them. We used the sticky backed felt and cut the letters out and stuck them on styromfoam donut forms. My husband built a lighthouse out of wood the would hold a lantern it was perfect. The lighthouse was in the center of our camp and it lit up the whole camp. We also had sailor type hats, one for all the girls that we decorated while we were up there with fabric paint. Good luck on your theme. ~Kim
My stake camp director has chosen the MASH (Modern Armies Serving Heaven) theme for camp this year, and I think it's great! She is soooo gung ho! Anybody have any connections for ID dog tags? Also need any ideas for CHEAP (but cute) crafts! Thanks in advance. ~Charee
" Embrace the Truth and Look Upward"
The Camp director and the high up planning commitee got it from a song and a scripture. It
is to help us girls look ahead and to prepare for our temple covenants. It is going
to be great, I can hardly wait ~Stacy
How about Pre-Pear Ye? Use pears for a theme, talk about being healthy, food choices, nutrition, or even that we are all different (use different fruits). Shows you how my mind thinks! ~Charee
Be That Special Friend
"Now is the Time to Prepare to Meet God" --"Hold to The Rod" Alma 34:32 & Moroni 10:32
'Daughter of Light' we are trying to decide on a scripture theme to go along with it and we are looking at Matthew 5:16 some others are D&C 103:9.
"Star Light, Star Bright". Any thing to do with stars specifically would be helpful.
JOURNEY TO THE PAST
we are trying to incorporate the scriptures by having the groups pick a time period in the church, having to do the the Old Testiment, the New Testiment, the Book Of Mormon, the D&C, and Present day.
Why don't you have journal stories for skits, use Bible and Book of Mormon stories for skits too. Learn how to make candles, do other things that pioneers and others did.
Our theme is going to be "In His Footsteps-Packing A Beatitude"
1st Years will be :"Blessed are the meek,for they shall inherit the earth"
2nd Years will be: "Blessed are the poor in spirit who do come unto me,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"
3rd Years will be: "Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled
with the holy ghost"
4th Years will be: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"
5th-6th Years will be: "Blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be
called the children of God"
Stake Leaders: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy"
One of our campfires we will have our wonderful Stake President give a talk
about the "sermon on the Mount" and have a candle light dinner. Another
campfire we will have "Beattitude " skits ( should be interesting)
Our first day theme will be "Blessed are those who plan to have a
wonderful week at camp"
2nd day is "Blessed are those who certify today"
3rd day is"Blessed is the Happy Hiker"
4th day is Blessed are those who "Packed a Beattitude at camp"
Any way much of this is still in the planning stages obviously, but these
are our ideas so far. I hope it will be fun as well as spiritual.
Good Luck with your camp, Lynn
Campin' Usa, Land of Liberty. We are going to be using the Captain Moroni theme thingy.
Our camp leader has picked "Heaven Don't Miss it for the World" as the theme for camp.
Missionary (Bring the World his Truth).
Our theme is Y2K be prepared: Celebrate the Century and Move into the Millennium. Each ward in our stake has a decade and ours is the 1980's.
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