Camp Fire ToCo Meeting #3
Email to Parents
Outline meeting details. Remind parents to bring wide mouthed glass jars for craft project. Tell them to help their children select two small items to glue to the talking stick that signifies them. Piece of glitter, small piece of yarn, a button, feathers, string, beads, etc. Give info about potluck food - hobo packs, hot dogs, on-a-stick food, etc.
Requests:
- A parent to volunteer to break away from small group to start fire a little early (if needed).
- Help with parents input on Nature Pledge, to be the ToCo Club Pledge.
- Parent volunteers to help run small groups.
- A parent pick & organize a craft for the next meeting. Mention availability of craft resource notebook.
- A parent to prep Camp Fire Logo puzzle activity for this month. (Cut paper into puzzle pieces).
- A parent to cut out red & blue felt vests for the paper person project
Early Bird Activity
Jar Lantern - glue around inside of jar. Place on window screen, upside down to let drip dry.
Start, hand out sheets with Camp Fire Wish on it. Read it out loud to group. Then teach it to the group, to say together. To start each meeting.
Talking Sticks - Explain how it works. Camp Fire clubs are fun, but order must be kept to stay safe and respectful of all members. One of the most important things is to respect others when someone is talking. The club will make a Talking Stick that will be used to make sure only one person talks at a time. The only person who can speak is the one holding the talking item. It is important that EVERYONE helps make it in some way, It’s very important that adults use this item as an example when they would like to speak to show youth the rules don’t apply just to “kids” and that everyone will respect the item.
Each child brings in 2 small items from home. They can share the items, why they decided to bring them and then glue it on the talking stick. One talking stick is for the big group, the second is for their individual groups.
Have children name the talking stick. Pick 3 names they can choose from to make this go faster. They can elect to change the name of the Talking Stick in a future meeting.
- Big Bertha
- Mighty Maxx
- Talking Talulah
Club Kid Jobs - Have kids brainstorm jobs that need to be done for each meeting. Some ideas:
Greeter: Greet each member as they arrive to the meeting.
Attendance: Reading role or marking who is there at each meeting
Early Bird Setup: Arrives 20 mins. before meeting
Leader Assistant: Helps leader however they need, passing out supplies, holding things, etc.
Opening: Leading club through opening, can be broken down by individual parts of opening, i.e. one person for “Nature Pledge”, one person to lead song, etc.
Closing: Leading club through closing, can be broken down by individual part of closing.
Clean Up Meal Areas
Check bathrooms: Make sure trash is inside trash can, there isn’t water on the floor, etc.
Line Leader: Leading club when they go outside the main meeting area
Helping Pack Up & Put Away
Separate into small groups - go find the right color table cloths.
SMALL GROUPS
Start with Game.
PING, PONG, ZAP
All players stand in a circle with one person in the middle. The person in the middle closes their
eyes and spins in a circle while everyone else counts to three. On “three”, the spinner opens
their eyes and says one of the commands below. If the person pointed to responds correctly, the
spinner continues, if not, that person becomes the new spinner.
Ping: Must say the person’s name on their right
Pong: Must say the person’s name on the left
Zap: Must say their own name
PEEK-A-WHO
Supplies: 1 blanket or dark sheet
Form two teams. Have two non-participants (adults or leaders) hold up the blanket by two
corners so it is hanging like a wall between the two teams. One volunteer from each team
crouches facing the blanket. When the blanket is dropped, each player tries to say the name of
the crouched person on the other team first. Whoever loses joins the opposing team. Play until
all players are on one side on the blanket.
Small Group Talking Stick
Same as with large group. Kids talk about item they brought, glue it on. “Did you pick this item for a different reason that the other one?”
Camp Fire Logo. Pass out Camp Fire logo puzzle and have the club work together or in small groups to complete it. Discuss the symbolism of the Camp Fire USA logo. The flames symbolize fire as the center of the hearth (home) and community. It is open on all sides to represent Camp Fire USA‟s commitment to inclusiveness. Discuss what inclusiveness means. The colors are red, white and blue, the same colors on the United States flag. These colors are symbols of Camp Fire members‟ patriotism. The Camp Fire uniform is also red, white and blue.
Discuss how each child will get a uniform that they are encouraged to wear at each Camp Fire club meeting. The vest is red for Little Stars/Starflight and blue for Adventure (remember red, white and blue for Camp Fire colors?). Have each club member pick a paper doll and color it to look like them. Use yarn or other string for the hair. Vests can be made out of felt and decorated or cut from the paper pattern. Make sure the vest is made in the proper color! Once completed, display all of these in your meeting location (you may choose to laminate them before displaying them). It’s very important to do this as a group and not to collect these as the leader and post them yourself. Tell youth that they should remember to wear their Camp Fire vest at all meetings. If they wear it at most of the meetings, they can get the “Camp Fire Pride” emblem at the end of the year. (As a leader, make sure you follow up on this and order emblems!)
Finish wire portion of lanterns, give children bags with sand and their candle, so they can finish their lanterns at home once the glue dries.
Gather together as a big group again. Sing “Make New Friends” song twice, followed by hand squeeze all the way around the circle. July’s meeting agenda will be exploring the 5 trails. July’s meeting will be held on July 15, due to leader vacation schedules.
Pot Luck!
Meet for pot luck. Start fire ½ hr. before ending small groups.
(Starflight & Adventure - Trail to Family and Community, generic.)
