Themed Girl’s Camp-“OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!”
So let’s just say up front that a WHOLE BUNCH of my creative energy from about NOV. ’09-JULY ’10 went into planning our ward’s Girl’s Camp. I thought I would share the details with all of our friends here at The Crafting Chicks.
In the LDS faith, Girl’s Camp (for girls ages 12-18 years of age) is a time to learn first aid and other camping skills, enjoy the outdoors, bond together as a group, be totally silly and crazy (I did my share of that) and best of all….to learn how to be closer to the Savior. There are so many temptations in life for teens, it’s so amazing to have strong influences to combat those challenges and temptations, and to know the truth about it all…that the Lord loves them and has a plan for them. I had the great opportunity to be the camp director this last summer and it was an amazing experience. There is something about the girls this age that inspire me. It’s such an honor to be able to teach them about their divine nature and great potential, because it’s there with great abundance-they are truly AMAZING gals!
So since I am a total nerd and designaholic, I made a bunch of fun things for the girls to enjoy. Themed Girl’s Camp-“OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!”: We mod-podged, this design to the cover of a blank book, and we brought all sorts of magazines. They cut out pictures of things they wanted in life:Â cute wedding rings and cute husbands ;), little kids/families, Temple marriages, cool cars, awesome hair, whatever. This was a book to remind them that to get those things in the future, they need to prepare NOW. Be good and follow the Savior. (Letter stamps are from Rhonna Farrer, she is ABSOLUTELY brilliant)
WHERE:Â Flaming Gorge, WYÂ Â WHAT:Â Cliff jumping, Rappelling, River Rafting, the Dam Tour (ha ha ha)-we DID actually go on this ;), testimony meeting, fun decor, snipe hunting, faith walk, white LED lights all through the trees and I can’t forget GREAT FOOD, thanks to Tanna!
Sweatshirts:Â I designed these sweatshirts with the Dr. Suess quote: “You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you choose.” Our whole camp was based around this and the YM/YW Theme for this year was from Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.” (woman and winking eye from Digital Scrapbook Memories)
We wanted them to remember that as they “Be strong and of good courage”…..with the Lord by their side, “Oh the places they’ll go.” What a good reminder to all of us as we journey through life.
These Friendship Bracelets were a HUGE hit. We brought a bunch of embroidery floss and they went to town.
We did a lot of this.
We made these Washer Necklaces…you can find Nikkala’s amazing tutorial there. We had an activity before camp where all the girls chose one inspirational word….courage, prayer, dream, serendipity, love, joy, happy, etc and they stamped that word on 13 necklaces. At camp they traded with each other by learning something new about each girl. By the time we left, they had a whole necklace full of different inspirational words that they could take on their journeys with them.
Sorry for the dark picture, but we has white and pink LED Christmas lights hung everywhere, and colored paper lanterns-this picture DOES NOT do it justice.
We had a dance-off….and they won Dr. Suess-themed trophies. THESE WERE TOTALLY RE-PURPOSED FROM THE LOCAL THRIFT STORE. WHEN I FOUND THEY THEY WERE NASTY….SPARKLY GOLDISHNESS, I had one of my helpers spray paint the red and white strips, I thought they turned out so fun.
You could also digi scrap a cute tag on the front, but we chose to write the winner’s Dr. Suess-like names with a Sharpie, it fit the venue. I almost wouldn’t let them have their trophies, I became attached to them, without the spray paint, they were $2.00 in all.
This was their invite to the hike we had as an activity before camp. It was here that we did a bunch of our certification like First Aid Certification, etc.
We also did a faith walk. I’ll have to post this one later….but it had parts of the book and they had to go to different stations and arrive back at the campfire where they had to travel a distance in the dark. This was a fitting object lesson. I designed these (5×7) for them to take home. We did a presentation called New Beginnings back in Feb where we talked about the Armor of God, Young Woman style….this was a little reminder of that for them. I made the cape (tutorial to come later) and sprinkled all the armor with glitter to make it girlie.
Oh and I have another surprise for later today so check back. You will never look at Duct Tape the same way again. It’s Duct Tape gone GIRL’S CAMP!!
Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.”
What a fantastic event. The kids in our church could really benefit from something like this!
Thanks Amy 🙂
It’s really a fun time to grow and to have a really CRAZY fun time. I love going with the youth!
Let me know if you need any information about how to put it together, I would be glad to pass on our info!
Just wondering if you could tell me a little bit about your faith walk? I see it’s been a few years, but I would like to know what was involved if at all possible.
Thanks in Advance!!
Missy
Way to go Kristen. What wonderful memories you helped create for those girls. Now rest. I’m even tired after reading about it. 🙂
Ha ha Heather, I miss you!
Sorry… Kirsten. 🙂
This is SO FABULOUS! From the trophies, to the washer necklaces, to the hike…I LOVE every detail! GREAT job!!!
Kirsten I’m so glad to see these pictures! I’m so sad I didn’t get to enjoy this fun event. You put so much work into it and I’m sure the girls had a blast. I love the sweatshirts!
We made friendship bracelets at girls camp, too. The girls LOVED it and all the moms were like “I REMEMBER THOSE!” So fun!
I’m just proud to be your friend. I love double love the washer necklace swap idea. And the trophies. Super fantastic. Please give me some of your creative juices. Pretty please.
Love this idea! I am so going to steal some of these ideas to use with our Girl Scouts! Love the washer necklace. I had not heard of Girls Camp, but it is super important to be teaching our young girls their true worth in eyes of God. Thanks for taking the time to nurture the next generation!
Wow! What an amazing experience this must have been for your YW. I love how each activity (even the washer necklaces) had a purpose. You are really making such an impact in these young women’s lives. Must’ve been so much work (makes me grateful I’m in RS)… thanks for sharing!!
I would love to talk to you about the camp… we are doing the same theme… LOVE the sweatshirts! so cute!
I didn’t see a separate post for your faith walk. I would love to hear what you did. You are incredibly creative!
Would you please email me the info about the faith walk? We want to do this for our theme this year!!!!
I would also love to get information about the faith walk. We are using the Oh the place you will go theme for camp as well. Thanks I love the things you did. Thanks
This is fantastic!!! I just got called as the assistant camp director and am so beyond excited to go (this year my oldest daughter will be there for the 1st time :). This theme sounds so fun and I would love to hear more about the faith walk and everything you did. Thank you for having enough creativity for all of us!
I would love all the info you have on using the Dr. Seus theme. We are using this theme as well this summer. Any and all of your ideas would be so helpful in planning our Columbia, SC girls camp. Your faith walk sounds awesome, too. So much creativity!
I think you have some great ideas! I would love more info on the faith walk!
We just picked this theme for girls camp this year too!! I’m super excited and would love to see hear about everything you did as well. The more help I can get the better!
I would also love your info on the faith walk. You are so talented and creative…thanks for sharing!!!
I’m another who would love any info on the faith walk you guys did! We are trying to incorporate one into camp this year and we have the same cute theme – I love Dr. Seuss!
Thanks
I, too, would love to see what you did for your faith walk. Please forward if possible.
Have you posted the faith walk you did in conjunction with “Oh the places you’ll go”? I would love a copy it if your willing to share. Thanks
I would love information on your faith walk as well please!
Thanks!
I too would love more information on your faith walk, please!!! Our YW would love this idea!
Thank you for posting!!
I’d love some info on the faith walk as well!!! That’s our theme this year. Great ideas!!
I would love more info!!! Love girls camp its the best!!!! It is amazing how much it has helped me in my life!
This looks fabulous! I am in charge of camp activities this summer and we have the Oh The Places You’ll Go Theme. If you have any other details on activities you did, I’d love them. I am interested in the faith walk too. Thanks for being such a great leader.
Can I get information on your faith walk and your duck tape capes. This All sounds amazing!!
Hi! I know it’s been EIGHT YEARS later, but I am looking for more information on taking our girls to Flaming Gorge for Girls Camp next year. I would love to take our girls rafting and cliff jumping. Where did you camp? Who did you go through for rafting? Etc….
Thanks so much!!
Hi Jen,
Kirsten who wrote this post, is no longer a contributor to our site. I’ll see if I can get some information from her but it might be tricky. I’m so sorry.
I’m not sure of where their group stayed, but I know the family that owns the Rocky Ridge Outpost in Manila. http://www.rockyridgeoutpost.com/ Their place would be awesome for a group of young women! Indoor plumbing, showers, and a pavilion. I’m sure they could answer any questions you have about the area.