I intend to organise a summer camp for school kids this coming summer. It isnt something I have done before. I need help on this. Venue's, modalities, how much should i charge, who would i need to work with. ideas please. and time is running out. i need to submit proposals and advertise in earnest.

Well planning is of immense importance.

1. Location is the 1st issue. Within lagos badagary and ibeju area are good locales cos of their beach lands. Amusing packages could include hunting trips, group sports and trips. A bus would be needed so as to take the kids to other sites in the S/W such as ijerin-ijesha and idanre hills 4 mountain climbing.
Outside the lag area abj is good for rocky views and 3hr trips to bauchi for rock climbing and great scenery including a possible trip to yankari reserve. They have student rebates.
Calabar's good for the wow factor and obudu ranch has a lot 4 kids. I have the no of their GM. A road trip to obudu can be an adventure but the trip could take 2 days and could be exhaustive. The premium charged these kids would vary according to the destination.

2. Trust:
one of the greatest challenges is to get parents/schools to entrust the safety/security of their kids to you. This needs a lot of persuation and safety nets like daily sms assuring parents/schools on the safety of their wards. For further gist on this issue you can contact me on chidido@yahoo.com or 234 8023016353

that's really cool.
'cause i know many parents dread the summer months. esp naija families where there are upwards of 3 kids in the house.


you can use some nearby school.
they'll assemble and meet there to do whatever and then go on trips and then come back to the school to do whatever. or they can just stay at the school to watch educational movies, eat, group activities, crafts etc
like a fun school sort of, w/o any serious work. lol and occasional once or twice a week trip to cool places/ malls, parks etc


hire some teenage kids 17-18 years old recent secondary school grads (you can put up posters or get some people you know/trust), who have nothing to do for the summer, to supervise and give them free food as pay. j/k you have to pay them. lol
or you can use primary school teachers (the nice ones. ) or just people who like fun.

your profile says you're 19 so you can ask your friends to come help you out ( this way you don't have to pay staff/ you save money)

there will be something like a family day/ party at the end. and be nice to them and the kids on this day.
to encourage the parents to bring their kids to you next year.

don't charge too little but don't charge too much either. lol i know this isn't helpful but i really don't know about the naira.


here in the US, the price ranges from less than $70 to $2000 or more. depending on the quality of the program and the social backgrounds of the kids rich private school kids VS poor public school kids. lol

oh yeah, you should make teeshirts (custom made with noticeable color/ design) or name tags so you don't lose the kids, can easily find wandering kids.

start out with a small group of kids. maybe about 15 and increase the size each year as your program becomes more popular, you're better at handling them. lol
kids can be trouble at times

thanks guys for the tips. I'll begin working on it and see if I can take it through.

Don't forget to add science-based 'funs' [e.g. getting a cooked egg in a bottle or lesser tasks].  This type of things teach the kids more about the basics of general science  -  especially when you clearly share the principles that make such possible.

I've once been involved in the performance of science-based 'funs' and paper crafts for children.  Quite pleasing,  but getting many kids in order demands a lot,   Your personal interest in them and in what you do with them matter as these will turn all what you may see as 'work' to 'play'.

I think your googling on relevant ideas will also be of considerable help to you.

Just organise yourself with interested team members and make up timely publicity.  Of course, you will be dazed of the outcome.

The kids will want to come next year if you meet their expectations and those of their parents; though you may not hit all expectations 100%.

I wish you your best.

I hope it will not result to another NEVERLAND RANCH Mishap.

Lanche
Have a very good idea of the whole thing

Summer Camp business is a very good
But think very well before you do anything about security because right now the security status of the country is not good at all.
Recently, kidnapping of children under 10 are very rampant.
Security is not guaranteed in any part of the country as far as Nigeria is concerned.
So your first consideration should be the security of the kids.
Thank you

You have meet with people. Seek counsel and instructions. Meet people who are into this, don't just jump into conclusion saying time is running out.

Sit down, think well and plan well. There are so many people into this, you can also use the internet, search engines can be of immense help.

Goodluck to you.

I can only assume you reside in Nigeria. I will try and list below what you need to plan and organise a successful summer program.

1.You must like children .Decide what age range you want to the children to be.What is the duration of the program.

2.you must have some reputation for having worked with children or at least liaise with or coordinate with somebody with a proven track record in children entertainment or education.
It might be useful to hire teachers and agree a salary for the duration of the program.

3.Venue is very important.A school is useful as they already have the space and resources on ground.Off course you must make some payment for the use of their premises.

4.what services/activities do you want to provide,arts and crafts,swimming,excursions,computer classes,cooking,literacy,numeracy,languages etc.
The greater your selection ,the more attractive your summer camp will be.

5.Security is very important.Entrusting one's child with you means that utmost care must be taken in safeguarding them.

6.Advertising-handbills and banners must be distributed to schools,recreational places,supermarket etc in the vicinity for about 7-10 days before children in the area go on vacation.

7.Never offer to feed the children-Bad idea.It will be complaints galore.Tell them to bring their lunch or whatever.You can safely provide mid day snacks(sausage rolls,meat pies doughnuts,cookies and a drink-Ribena or caprisonne)

8.Cost-consider the amount you are paying for the venue,the staff,the booking for recreational activities i.e swimming and cost f snack(optional) .Once you have these figure you must decide to spread the cost over the expected number of children you would like to accept.
The going rate in my area is N85,000 for 3 weeks of an all inclusive camp(9am-4pm,lunch provided) to =N=5,000 a week to =N=2,500 (2 weeks) church organised ones.

Good Luck .If you have not started yet then I think you should consider getting prepared for the Xmas hols.

@naijacutte
well i love kids and thats basically why i want to do it. i was talking with a friend who has four kids and she was telling me how boring the coming hols are going to be for the kids, there isnt much that is fun to do around and she cant send them to her mothers place and even if she did after two weeks they get tired of the place. thats when the idea hit me. and not just for the money, its my passion for kids, I really took it serious when a friend saw me with kids days later and said i should start up a creche.

@solidicon
why would you have any reason to think that?

@mekoyo
thanks. i know this would take a lot of planning. so maybe not this year, maybe next year.

@olofinjeje
thanks. great deal of advice you got there. but dont you think kids would rather spend christmas with their family?

anyone who is interested in working towards this should say so. I would really be interested in getting a team put together and I wouldnt mind nairalanders of course

sit ur asses home and read, dam it!

hey i think this is a very cool idea. i have always tort about doing something like that but like i said, i always tort.
i'm thinking, age grades would be an issue,
we have to decide the ages of children we are talking about.
i don't want to go over things nairalanders have already said, they have made very important points that i know we have to consider.

so put me to work, i am ready to help host a summer camp for kids.
email me at slikkitty04@yahoo.co.uk .

i will be looking forward to hearing from you.

Do we call it summer in Nigeria? In order for there to be a summer, there must be autumn, winter, and spring.

Think of it more as a way to help children than as a business. Many, not all, of the summer camps here in the US are nonprofit anyway,

dtw_sola:

Do we call it summer in Nigeria? In order for there to be a summer, there must be autumn, winter, and spring.

Think of it more as a way to help children than as a business. Many, not all, of the summer camps here in the US are nonprofit anyway,

more like vacation camp. lol

Let's talk for the next one. I could put up a proposal or outline for you.

Nite Angel, let me have you email add. so I can write you

Cammax7,
Speak to Seun via his email. Refer him to this interaction so he'll know I asked you to get it from him. Before you mail me, ensure you have a focused idea of what you want and plan to name your price. It won't be free but I'll go with what you can afford especially if you are as young as your profile states. Also be prepared to answer some questions; if I see you don't have what it takes to pull it through; I'll suggest other ideas. Finally; I will only respond to your querries via the email address, you won't have a moral right to make the proposal or discussion a Nairaland issue. If you choose to use the Nairaland medium, don't ask for my email address, go ahead and state what you want and I'll give a general response free of charge via Nairaland.

All the best.

ok Nite Angel. You said you could put up a proposal or outline for me. I think i would want an outline for this. the plan is to organise a three week summer camp for kids between the ages of 6 and 13. Now is this is something i have no idea of, i've never attended one and its my first shot at putting one together and like i said earlier, money isnt the primary motive but the kids. now what i really want is a plan, a procedure at putting this together.

I guess you'd prefer ageneral response.

First you need to decide the kind of children (social level) to cater to and the objective (entertainment, religious, skill training etc). This will go a long way to help in the choice of location and facility.

Secondly, you need to decide if it's going to be sponsored, subsidised or paid. This will help you determine staff and input.

Finally, you need to decide duration and daily schedule/activity. Even if it's religious you should infuse some level of entertainment.

In conclusion; food/snacks, first aid, etc is essential. With a great idea, you could collaborate with those who have the money so that the children look forward to next summer.

I wish you the very best.

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