Before school got out I started doing some research for our 3 girls to go to camp this summer. I was SHOCKED when I realized to send them to an overnight camp for one week would cost over $2,000. Even most day camps in our area are well over $200 a week per kid.
So, summer camp was out. I needed to get a little creative.
Enter… Sister Camp.
Sister Camp is a budget-friendly-sister-bonding-week-of-fun. We only did for 3 days but my girls had a blast.
Here’s the Sister Camp breakdown:
1. Rules
Each sister was the “camp counselor” for one entire day. This meant that they were responsible for coming up with: a Bible story, a game, a craft, a snack AND a field trip.
2. Planning
The week before Sister Camp started they made their lesson plans, we bought all their materials and we built up the anticipation with a countdown.
3. Shirts
Camps always have t-shirts and Sister Camp was no different. On the first day, before their festivities began we made these fun shirts:
Hobby Lobby had all the materials we needed but if you don’t have a HL in your area, I’m pretty sure Walmart would have these materials.
3 shirts @ $3.99/piece
1 package letter stamps $3.99
Black Fabric paint $2.99
Total: $18.95[ish]
4. Crafts
Sister Camp crafts were all from the dollar store.
My oldest choose to have everyone make journals [she’s the practical one in the family. :)]
3 journals from dollar store @ $1.00/piece
Scrapbook paper [we already had] free!
Glue sticks from dollar store @ $1.00/piece
Total: $6.00[ish]
My middle daughter choose to do airplane kits from the dollar store [and sorry, I forgot to get some pictures!]
3 airplane kits @ $1.00/piece
Total: $3.00
And the baby girl decided she wanted everyone to make picture frames.
Pack of foam frames from the Dollar store 5/$1.00
Glitter glue 3/$1.00
Total: $2.00
Total cost for Sister Camp crafts: $11.00
5. Games!
I was so surprised at how creative the girls got with their games.
My oldest came up with this mummy wrap game to go along with her Bible story she taught on, Lazarus.
1 roll of toilet paper $.50
Total: $.50
My middle daughter came up with a scavenger hunt at the mall. She passed out little trophies found from the dollar store to the winner.
Total: $1.00
And the baby girl decided she was going to have some Olympic games. They did flips, cartwheels and… just to keep things fun she wanted to play in the water. She found some Olympic looking medals at the dollar store. I think there were 5 in the pack.
Total: $1.00
Total cost for games: $2.50
6. The Motto
Before I share this next part, I need you to know I don’t have a sister, so I’ve been so clueless in raising 3 sisters. They fight like boys [I’m talking knock-you-out fighting], they yell at each other, slam doors and someone’s feelings are always hurt.
But… at the end of the day, this is the core of who they are:
They came up with this motto:
“I will always be there for you.”
When I read that, oh my word…it just about made me melt.
After talking with friends who grew up in a home with 3 sisters, apparently this bi-polar behavior towards each-other is very normal.
And just to keep things real, after I walked out of the room they started throwing dry erase markers at each other’s heads because someone didn’t get to write on the white board. 🙂
7. Bible stories
Each of the girls were responsible for teaching a Bible story. They each did a great job with this.
Bible story teaching cost: FREE
8. Snacks
No camp is complete without snacks, right? They each picked something different:
Oldest: Mummy Wraps [tortillas, pizza sauce and cheese wrapped up and melted.]
Total: $6.00
Middle: Fruit Kabobs
Total: $4.00
Youngest: Apples and Peanut Butter
Total: $3.00
Total for snacks: $13.00
9. Field Trip
They had a $10 limit on this.
The oldest choose the $2 movie theater, we saw Chimpanzee [such a cute and interesting movie.]
Total cost for our family of 5: $10.00
The middle choose the mall. We walked around after they did their scavenger hunt.
Total cost: FREE
And the baby girl choose to go to the dollar store and pick out one thing fun.
Total cost: $3.00
Total cost for field trips: $13.00
The grand total for Sister Camp 2012 was: $59.00 [ish]
And everyone agrees… Sister Camp is a new summer tradition!
Some tips for parents for Sister Camp or Brother Camp or Brother/Sister Camp:
– Make it a big deal.
– Give them boundaries with the schedule and budget but let them plan it.
– Only participate when you need too, I helped with the crafts a little but other than that, I stayed out of it. 🙂
– Let them wear their t-shirts out in public. My girls got the biggest kick out of people asking them what Sister Camp was.
-Take lot’s of pictures. This is a summer memory they will cherish for years to come.
What other ideas do you have for sibling summer camp? Leave a comment and share your suggestions, I can’t wait to hear them. 🙂
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28 Comments
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I LOVE SISTER CAMP!!! Nicki, this is awesome! You are a fantastic mama!!! Seriously, I am so super impressed. Thank you so much for sharing this. ***and I love how you have them authority and responsibility over the planning, activities, Bible stories, etc. Not only was it fun for them but also many life lessons they can use.
I love love love this. Need to “pin” this. 🙂
Thanks Melissa! 🙂
Nicki, Sister Camp…what a great idea! I have been waiting on this post ever since you put the shirt pic up on facebook! I couldn’t wait to see how creative it was going to be! I love it!! I really like how you let them make the choices and how they were so involved with the Bible study! I have my nieces for the summer and I have tried to keep them busy…yes for cheap too. The youngest is only 3 so I think next year we are going to hold our first Sister Camp too! Thanks for sharing this!
Melanie Chapman…don’t have my blog anymore so wanted to let you know who I was…lol
Oh I can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you and your nieces! Be sure to let me know. 🙂
O MY WORD LOVEEEEE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Kristen, me too! 🙂 It was fun!!
We are totally doing this!!! Was just looking at dance/cheer camp and cant afford!! This is perfect! Thank you Nicki and girls!! 😉
Thanks Mary! I hope you’ll share how it turns out for you and your girls! 🙂
Oh wow Nicki!!! What a fabulous idea! I had my twins for an extended summer visit and they were always “bored”. Now my 6 yo granddaughter is here for “her whole summer” and I think that she and I could do something fun like this and I’ll be able to instill a little more Jesus into her life.
Perhaps next year, when your girls do Sister Camp, there might be another family in this same boat and their kids could attend YOUR Sister Camp.
LOVE this idea Darlene! 🙂
Read this to my daughter and we are so doing this in two weeks. Brother /sister Camp here we go! Thank you for your awesomeness Nicki!
Can’t wait to hear about it Jessica! 🙂
Nicki, this was sooo creative! What a wonderful MOM!! You GO, Girl!!! 😉
Thanks Kim. 🙂
This has to be one of the cutest, greatest ideas ever!!! I love it!! Makes me wish for more kids so I could do it with them.;-)
Danielle, you could totally do “friendship camp”, I think that would be a blast! 🙂
What a great idea!
Katie
LOVE this idea! I was a camp counselor for years but we’re not going to be able to afford to send ours anytime soon – we’ll have to do this! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
What an awesome IDEA!!! I love the creativity and also that each one got to have a chance to be in charge!! What a sense of accomplishment for you and them!!! I have been trying to think of some fun, cheap activities for our 9 and 11 yr old and this will be great though it will have to be a brother/sister camp…I’ll have to let them come up with something creative for the name!! Definitely will be interesting as they are so opposites but that is what I enjoyed the most about your post how they each took a different approach!! Can’t wait to get started !!!
Totally great idea! I have three children under 4, so I’ll have to wait until next year to try it. I think it’s a fantastic idea! So creative. Thank you for the details (including costs). Definitely think this could become cousin camp in my family! 🙂
I am only 15, but i have been raising 3 kids since our mom left us 5 months ago. I’ve been trying so hard to make them feel like they still can be kids, even without parents!But it is hard because i can’t afford soccer camps, football camps, cheer camps, etc. They loved the idea and i haven’t seen them this happy/excited in a really long time! This is exactly what they needed! Thanks for sharing!
Sweetie, I am praying for you. I hope that you will seek help from a church in your area. Remember, God is a Father who will never leave you or forsake you, even when your own parents do. Family is about who comes alongside you when you most need it, not just about who you share DNA with. However, I have also learned that I need to ask for help when I need it. May God bless you. I am praying He sends you the help you need.
This is such an awesome idea! I never got to attend camp when I was younger because my mom couldn’t afford it. I wish she had been creative enough to think of doing something like this! Thanks for sharing such a sweet memory with us
Ok Nicki, reading this I loved the concept, but I only have 1 child, then BAM, heck, do this with 3 friends works too… On my list !!!… Thanks for sharing your God given ideas with others… Takes a team of GF’s to encourage one another as we raise our future cutie patootie warriors for Jesus !!!
LOVE this idea! This is a great way to build family unity. Would be fun for friends, and cousins too, but I think that doing at least part of the week with your own kids (if you have more than 1)makes for special relationship building opportunities. I wish I had seen this post earlier, the kids are headed back to school next week. This is definitely going on the list of things to do next summer! Cheap fun; Nicki, you’re a mom after my own heart!
I thought of a couple of other things. The girls could make greeting cards to send to shut-in’s or others. Also one of the outings could be to a nursing home, maybe even taking a pet to visit with them. The possibilities are endless! May you all be blessed!
I love this Nicki! I too grew up without sisters (only one brother). As I was reading through this though, I thought of so many other ways it could be used for youth ministries. Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂 God bless!
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