Getting Ready for Girls Camp
by Janice Hayes, staff writer

Planning for this years Stake Young Women's camp can be a real challenge with themes, certification, acitivities and more. To ease the pressures you may feel to put on your Stakes best camp ever we have a ton of ideas and suggestions here that should lighten your load.

The goals of a Young Women's camp are to help young women:

• Draw closer to God
• Appreciate and feel reverence for nature
• Become more self-reliant
• Develop leadership skills
• Respect and protect the environment
• Serve others
• Build friendships
• Enjoy camping and have fun.

Participating in the church's four level camp certification program helps Young Women's groups reach these goals while making their camping experience fulfilling and fun. Read on to learn tips and suggestions for making camp certification as anticipated as roasting marshmallows over an open camp fire.

"Camp was so fun!!! My favorite part was the hiking and I liked how all the leaders had a good attitude about everything. Our camp director worked so hard and made this camp so fun for
us. . ." Dani, age 13.

As camp directors and young women's leaders, we have the opportunity to inspire each young woman to write words like this in her camp journal. Planning and creativity, when it comes to camp certification, can leave memories for a lifetime as well as help young women learn lifelong practical skills.

Sister Lori Call, a Young Women's camp director of many years, says that every camp should begin with a camp theme, with camp goals; camp certification activities should help the young women to accomplish these goals.

"One of the ideas we have always used is to do some of the camp certification activities ahead of time," Sister Call says. "I remember once we taught first aid certification to the young women then staged a disaster at camp where we pretended the girls had stumbled on some pioneers crossing the plains whose covered wagons had overturned on them. This gave the young women the chance to put their previously learned first aid skills to good use. We had fake blood and lots of moaning and groaning to go along with the scenario to make it seem real. We also had different first aid stations so groups of three or four girls at a time were at one type of injury station."

Another version of this idea is to have a "first aid hike". Here girls are again divided into groups and one girl in each group is assigned to be "injured" along the hike. The other girls must administer first aid and help this girl with her injuries. To pass off two certification goals at once, the "injured" girl could also become "lost", requiring the other young women to find her using their compass and orienteering skills.

In fact, certification activities can include combinations of many camp certification stations. In the Highland, Utah 16th ward, camp director, Sister Nancy Sperry, uses a hike to offer certification stations in knot tying, fire making, food preparation, orienteering, first aid skills, a spiritual devotional and compass use certification.

"The idea," says Sister Sperry, "is to combine, combine, combine! This gives your youth camp leaders more responsibility as they conduct these certification stations and it allows you to accomplish a lot in one activity. The girls enjoy the variety as well."

Sister Call offers another idea for combining certification activities creatively;

"Once after teaching how to use a compass, we had a treasure hunt which required compass and orienteering skills to find valuable "dinosaur eggs" we had hidden. The girls had several different steps to follow and had about six different courses so everyone got a chance to make decisions during the course. The "dinosaur eggs" were watermelons hidden in bushes and behind rocks. After all the watermelons were found, we had a watermelon bust and seed spitting contest."

Using your creativity along with the Young Women camp manual's listed certification requirements is the key to success at camp. Citing another example, Sister Call recalls,

"The most fun we had with the skit planning certification requirement was the night we had a beauty pageant. Each group of girls was given a bag that contained a big strip of butcher paper, feathers, costume jewelry, scissors, tape and some random kitchen tools or other gadgets from around the house. The groups then went to their tents, picked a contestant and a deejay and the rest of the girls put together a commercial then helped design an evening gown with what they had in the bag and helped their chosen contestant come up with a talent. Then we had our stake leaders join us for that night to be our judges and we put on a beauty pageant using each group's chosen contestant, deejay and commercial. Everyone was a winner and each received a funny award. This was one night I will never forget. We have never laughed so hard at camp."

Sister Lezlie Smith, a former Young Women's president from Midway, Utah, suggests that you teach the girls different outdoor cooking techniques before camp, such as using a fire, a camp stove, dutch oven, etc. and then during camp, have each meal scheduled to be prepared by different groups so that each girl has a chance to help prepare, cook and clean up an outdoor meal.

"This not only gives each girl a chance to learn outdoor cooking skills so they can pass off certification requirements, but it lessens the load for the leaders and teaches the girls how to work together," Sister Smith says. "Giving the girls assignments to teach each other camp songs etc. is also a good idea. There are plenty of ways camp certification requirements can be accomplished at camp simply by giving the young women opportunities to serve. Use your youth camp leaders to help with all of this. We also made sure we kept in mind the Young Women values while planning camp. The Young Women camp manual has some ideas for how to do this."

Sister Heather Hales of the Alma 6th Ward, Chandler Arizona Alma stake recalls a pre-camp certification activity;

"I remember we had to teach the girls to cook using 4 different methods. So we planned a fun activity that allowed them to do this. We had a pool party at my home, but asked the girls to cook dinner before they could got into the pool. They made stir-fry rice in a dutch oven, a cooked vegetable on a camp stove, cooked chicken over my fire pit and made banana boats cooked in foil. The girls had a good time and the food was pretty good!"

Sister Call, Sister Sperry, Sister Hales and Sister Smith all agree that pre camp activities are ideal places to jump start your camp certification activities. Sister Hales stake has camp certification activities once a month starting in the spring;

"this really helps the girls to start getting excited about camp. It also allows for plenty of time to work on their skits!"

One young women's group holds a pre camp flag raising, cookout, hike and knot tying session starting at the camp director's home. Scouts, parents and other specialists are invited to help. In fact, as Sister Call discovered, specialists are one of the most important things to keep in mind when it comes to camp certification, before and during camp

"Never forget the other people in your ward," she says. "The scouts can spend an evening with the young women helping with knots, fire preparation etc. with the girls providing a treat. I loved it when a retired science teacher in our ward along with his wife came to camp and taught us about the stars, clouds and astrology. Also, use your youth camp leaders as much as possible in certification activities. They are sometimes the best resource you'll ever use."

Conducting a pre camp talents and interest survey of your ward members will help you identify people with the talents and skills who can help you with camp certification. Remember the Boy Scouts and the scout merit badge counselors in your ward as well, they are convenient experts in many of these certification areas.

However you choose to plan and conduct your camps, remember to be aware of the fire, hiking and camping regulations particular to your individual areas. Also remember the importance of individual recognition for each of your young women. Presenting individual camp awards and recognition for their accomplishments can be done either at camp, with families invited for that evening, or at a post camp awards night. Awards are given for certification levels but can also be given for other things you and your leaders may want to recognize. No girl should be left out of the awards process.Make sure you award your hardworking campers, keep in mind that when camp certification is fun, the awards are just icing on a wonderful cake. Your Young Women's camp manual is your best resource for ideas for effective camp certification; that along with your own creativity, inspiration and spiritual preparation. With the Lord on your side, your Young Women's camps will leave each girl with long lasting skills and memories and will assure that all your campers will be writing in their camp journals that much coveted line, "Camp was so fun!!!"

Web sites with other Young Women and camp ideas:

• of-worth
• ywconnection
• debanae
• ywlds

• "Sweet is the Work", emphasize the sweetness of service. Camp logo and decorations can be candy and sweets.
• "Got Worth", similar to the "got milk" phrase. This theme focuses on the YW's individual worth. Camp logo and decorations can be along the Johnny Lingo line, cows, luau's, and other island themes.
• "The 6 Be's", President Hinckley's 6 Be- attitudes. Decorate in Bee's and give each cabin or tent "hive names". Activities can center on helping the YW to remember and cultivate the attitudes Pres. Hinckley has described.
• Need more ideas? Check out these