IX.
GENERAL CAMP ACTIVITIES
Outline
1. Sports
a. Water sports
1. Swimming
(a) Classification
(1) Groups or classes
(b) Life saving
2. Boating
(a) Rowing
(b) Canoeing
(1) Classification
b. Games
1. Major games
2. Minor games
c. Dancing
1. Types
(a) Aesthetic or classic
(b) Folk dancing
(c) Social dancing
d. Horsemanship
1. Requirements
2. Crafts and Occupations
a. Crafts
1. Handcrafts
(a) Kinds
2. Woodcraft
(a) Nature Study
1. Ferns, Flowers, Trees, Birds, Stars, Maps
3. Campcraft
(a) Making and breaking camp
(b) Camp fires
(c) Cooking
(d) Trail making
3. Entertainments and diversions outside of the regular schedule
a. Types
1. Dramatic
2. Miscellaneous
3. Celebrations and pageants
4. Inter-Camp frolics
4. Singing
a. Camp songs
5. Achievements
a. Recording of achievements
1. Books
2. Chart system
b. Recognition of achievements
1. Points and honors
2. Girl Scout Merit Badges
1. Sports
Every girl who goes to a camp in the summer is interested in some form of sport. But perhaps swimming and boating head the list for popularity.
There are many interesting ways in which to run your swimming program so that it is taught systematically and leads to real progress and efficiency.
One method that has been tried successfully in a very large camp, but which would apply equally well in any camp, is the arrangement of the entire camp into groups designated as "Swimming Classes" and indicated by a special color bathing cap for each group or class so that they may be easily distinguished in the water.
The Top of the Morning
Class Number 4, Red Cap.—All who have not passed the canoe test which is explained under the heading "Class Number 3."
Class Number 3, Green Cap.—Pass the canoe test which consists of swimming, floating or otherwise staying above depth for fifteen minutes, and swimming in from an overturned canoe 20 yards from shore.
Class Number 2, Blue Cap.
Class Number 1, White Cap.
| Strokes: | Crawl |
| Trudgeon | |
| Dives: | From spring board, running plain |
| From spring board, running jack knife | |
| From spring board, running angel | |
| From spring board, standing side | |
| From spring board, standing back | |
| From float standing from high tower (10) and | |
| 3 optional dives from the following: | |
| Hand stand (spring board, high or low tower). | |
| Back somersault, spring board | |
| Front somersault, spring board | |
| Sailor running, spring board | |
| Back dive, high tower | |
| Jack knife, high tower | |
| Double dive, high tower |
Another method is to record the swimming achievements on a chart under the following headings:
Form swimming, ornamental swimming, speed swimming, canoe tests, life saving and dives.
Did you ever work to become a member of the Women's Life Saving Corps of the American Red Cross? The purpose of this organization is to train women in all coast cities, and cities bordering on lakes and rivers, to be able to meet emergencies in the water and save lives.
There are six tests which have to be passed before a girl is considered worthy of a W. L. S. C. certificate.
Test 1. Jump off a low dock dressed in bathing suit, shoes, shirt waist and skirt. Swim to a given point, (about 20 yards), there undress and swim in bathing suit to another dock (about 20 yards).
2. Swim down from surface in 10 feet of water and fetch up a 2-foot birch log from bottom.
3. Rescue a non-resisting person and demonstrate the "carries" (head, under-arm and side stroke) as you bring them ashore.
4. In deep water demonstrate the correct breaks for the wrist holds, and the front and back strangle holds around the neck.
5. Demonstrate resuscitation by Schaefer method.
6. Tell proper procedure in caring for patient after breathing has been restored.
Boating
Boating, of which we shall first consider rowing, may also be worked out according to classes, such as:
Second Class: Manoeuvre a row boat properly, i. e., unship, reverse, anchor, scull, make 3 perfect landings out of 5.
First Class: Row singly for a given distance 1½ miles in 40 minutes,
or according to certain standards, such as:
Start
Row forward
Row backward
Manoeuvre
Good landing
Fasten boat
Canoeing
Class II. Know how to paddle bow and stern with another girl in a canoe, and make 3 out of 5 perfect landings.
Class I. a. Handle a canoe singly in all weathers and make 3 out of 5 perfect landings,
b. Climb into a canoe with another swimmer's help from the water in three consecutive trials.
In your own camp when grouping sports for classification although you may get good suggestions from other methods, it is best to work out a way which meets your own particular need.
Remember that the swimming and boating should be in charge of competent and responsible people or instructors and that every precaution should be taken against accident.
Remember it is better to emphasize good form rather than speed or long distance swimming and the ability to meet emergencies in the water rather than stunts.
Honors or recognition should be given for skill, form and improvement rather than for endurance.
The interest in Water Sports is further stimulated by weekly contests or a day set apart at the end of the season called the Water Sports Day.
In weekly contests enough competition takes place to keep the girls' interest in improvement constantly keen.
For Water Sports Day here is a typical and comprehensive program:
| Canoe race |
| 25-yard dash |
| 50-yard dash |
| Dives; an option of 2 out of 3 |
| Boating race |
| Relay swimming race |
| Obstacle race |
| Practical demonstration such as taught by the Women's Life Saving Corps of the American Red Cross. |
Wood Cutters
If you do not wish to have too strenuous a time for Water Sports Day a carnival is suggested which is more festive and makes for a very gay and picturesque time. The carnival can be worked out in a variety of ways, but the main feature is the decking of boats and costuming of the participants, prizes being given for originality. A short program of water sports can be added.
Games
If there is adequate equipment Basket-ball, Baseball and Tennis become the outstanding or major games in a camp. These games should never be indulged in for the idea of winning at all costs, but for the fun that one gets out of them.
Of course there will be competitive games with qualified teams and high standards of playing, but there will also be the impromptu and unexpected challenge games played in fantastic costumes, accompanied by many antics and songs composed on the inspiration of the moment, games apt to be remembered long after the other kind of competition has been forgotten.
Baseball for girls or children who cannot get used to the paraphernalia of hard balls, bats and mitts, can be played with a softer ball such as a playground ball, a light bat and if necessary the simpler rules of Indoor Baseball can be adopted for out-door playing. In most camps, however, enthusiasm for real Baseball generally outweighs every handicap.
Tennis does not take in the same number of players at one time as does Baseball or Basket-ball, therefore in order that everyone may get a try at it a schedule may be made out so that the courts will not be monopolized by one set of players to the exclusion of beginners or other enthusiasts.
Ladder tournaments, both for singles and doubles, solve this problem somewhat and create interest, especially when the final try-outs are on.
There are any number of group games, Volley Ball, Captain Ball, Relay Races and Ball Games, which are played in camps when there is adequate equipment for Basket-ball and Tennis, but more especially where there is a lack of it.
Individual games, such as Archery, and Quoits make the time pass pleasantly and profitably for a few who like to go off by themselves.
Dancing
Dancing is an interesting pastime for camp and fills in many gaps.
It is a help in entertainments and if you are to have an end of the season pageant, it is well to hold dancing classes regularly so that there will not be endless rehearsing for the last days.
There are three types of dancing which can be presented. The Aesthetic or Classic, the Folk Dancing and the Social Dancing. For the most part, the Folk Dancing is freer, easy to learn and more suited to the community as a whole than the Aesthetic work.
It is better not to attempt much dancing in your schedule if you have no piano or stringed pieces, for although there are phonograph records to be had, the supply is too limited to be entirely satisfactory.
A collection of English Country Dances by Cecil Sharpe are dances that everyone can do and enjoy.
Horseback Riding
The joy of horseback riding does not find its way into every camp, mainly because of the expense and responsibility entailed, but if it does there are many facts to know and master in horsemanship. For instance, one should know how to take care of a horse, which means feeding, watering, saddling, grooming, shoeing, tying and general care necessary under different conditions.
The requirements for riding are to know:
1. How to mount and dismount correctly
2. To be able to demonstrate riding at a walk, trot or gallop
3. To be able to jump a low hurdle
The requirements for driving are:
1. To learn how to harness correctly in a single and double harness; and
2. How to manage a horse on the road
2. Crafts and Occupations
But sports are not the only side to the camper's program. Another very large and absorbing part is the Crafts, inclusive of Handcrafts, Woodcraft, Campcraft, and the distinct Scout occupations, such as First Aid, Home Nursing, Gardening, Signalling, and Homemaking, treated in the Girl Scout Handbook.
Handcrafts
The handcrafts are more numerous than your fingers and can be defined as anything that is done with the hands. It is possible to have almost any branch of the Fine Arts and the Applied Arts as dyeing, batik, stenciling, woodblock printing, pottery. Then there is basketry, weaving, rug-making, leather work, and metal work in copper, or jewelry in silver, woodcarving and carpentry. The first problem is: "Who will teach it?" The choice of what handcrafts you will have then, depends somewhat on whom you can secure to present them properly.
But closely allied is your second problem, "What can we afford?" Jewelry, metal work and leather are the most expensive. Pottery is fascinating, but you must have a kiln to finish the product.
Try to choose the crafts which will suit the capacities. It is better not to attempt jewelry at the outset.
Relating your craft work to the camp makes it doubly interesting. So much can be done in this way with carpentry which produces anything from docks and canoe paddles to furniture and toothbrush holders.
Delightful problems in the interior decoration of a camp living room can be worked out by combining the efforts of all the craft workers. The carpenters build the furniture; the weavers make rugs and materials; the dyers dip the materials and carry out the color scheme and other workers supply the accessories.
It is well to have an exhibition to look forward to for the end of the season when appointed judges decide upon the merit of the work.
Woodcraft
Night is a dead monotonous period under a roof; but in the open world it passes lightly with its stars and dews and perfumes, and the hours are marked by changes in the face of Nature. What seems a kind of death to people choked between walls and curtains, is only a light and living slumber to the man who sleeps a-field. All night long he can hear Nature breathing deeply and freely; even as she takes her rest, she turns and smiles; and there is one stirring hour unknown to those who dwell in houses, when a wakeful influence goes abroad over the sleeping hemisphere, and all the outdoor world are on their feet. It is then that the cock first crows, not this time to announce the dawn, but like a cheerful watchman speeding the course of night. Cattle awake on the meadows; sheep break their fast on dewy hillsides, and change to a new lair among the ferns; and houseless men, who have lain down with the fowls, open their dim eyes and behold the beauty of the night.
At what inaudible summons, at what gentle touch of Nature, are all these sleepers thus recalled in the the same hour to life? Do the stars rain down an influence, or do we share some thrill of mother earth below our resting bodies?... Towards two in the morning ... the thing takes place.
Robert Louis Stevenson
From "Travels With a Donkey."
Woodcraft in the beginning was the first science of man. As applied to camping we most frequently think of it as anything which pertains to the woods or forests and as a turning away from the more artificial side of camping, and as in pioneer times learning to do everything ourselves, which is after all the keynote of real joy in camping.
The Lean-To Going Up
To acquaint ourselves with the woods we can begin with our immediate surroundings. Short walks to search for flowers or ferns and to know the different varieties of trees, or early morning trips to a bit of swamp land where we can study the coloring and habits of birds or sit quietly while patiently listening to distinguish them by their songs.
We can lie out on the grass when the stars have come out, and study the heavens or take trips at night with an experienced woodsman, who perhaps shows us that Nature by night is very often different from Nature by day, or of how we can find a trail through a dense wood by the light of a star—the North Star.
Woodcraft includes what we may merely for convenience classify as campcraft, which is to know all there is to know about camping in the open.
For most purposes a good knowledge of how to make out-door fires; (both from the standpoint of heat and the kind of food to be cooked) cooking; trailing; and how to make and break a camp, are sufficient.
Beginners in this lore would do well to get a thorough knowledge of campcraft by going about it one step at a time. For instance, it is advisable to confine oneself to short trips at first and learn about the sensing of directions, trail cutting and blazing, cooking, pitching tents or building lean-tos; thus taking the various branches which are preparatory to the actual experience and real adventure of a camping-out party, and it is then and there that our real knowledge is tested.
The topics to be considered either when learning about campcraft or when actually doing it, are briefly:
1. Trip Planning
Use of maps
Provisions
Clothing
Railroad connections
2. Trail Making
Survey for trail
Blazing trail
Cutting a trail
3. Selection of Camp Site
Location as to supply of fuel, water and fairly high, well-drained land.
Shelters, tents or lean-tos
Bed-making
The complete lean-to, showing fire place, wood pile and table to right. Cache is in back.
4. Camp Discipline
Working squad
Toilet facilities
Exploration parties
The basis for quite a comprehensive knowledge of woodcraft in all its branches, camping and Nature Study, is to be found in the Girl Scout Handbook, "Scouting for Girls."
3. Entertainments and Diversions
Entertainments or shows of which there are an overwhelming variety are a great aid in keeping everyone in a cheerful frame of mind.
In the dramatic line we have the play, pantomime, vaudeville, minstrel, "take offs," charades, the circus and dramatization of stories.
With musical talent in a camp it adds much zest to form an orchestra and then there is the possibility of musical evenings and concerts. Added to these are the Stunt Parties, Dances and Masquerades, Marshmallow and Corn Roasts, and if it is a seashore camp, the clam bake.
The play requires an amount of preparation and time not always to be spared in a camp unless the season is long. The most enjoyable shows are bound to be the more spontaneous expressions in the form of impromptu affairs.
There are celebrations which take place on particular days such as the Fourth of July or any other event which you wish to commemorate, just as the pageant can be presented to display your camping or community activities.
One of the finest things to cultivate if you are in close proximity to other camps is an inter-camp relationship, either in the forms of inter-camp contests or frolics, or any demonstration which you think betokens friendship. This may even go so far as the building of inter-camp shacks and the making of inter-camp trails.
It is not only illuminating to come into contact with another camp besides your own—it is a source of great diversion and enjoyment, if there is plenty of fun and friendship, and an absence of group jealousy.
4. Camp Sings
Singing is a great and important part of camp life, for it reflects every phase and meets all the situations of that life.
Songs are generally composed by the individual or by groups, being the expression of their feelings, or results of their experience in camp. The songs are quickly adopted by the camp as a whole because people like to sing their own songs, especially songs about fresh, actual happenings.
Some of the songs which reflect universal experience live on through the years and become traditional, while others drop out and are never heard of again. The following are Girl Scout Songs that have weathered more or less satisfactorily.
THE VICTORY GIRLS
(Tune: "K-K-Katy")
G-G-G-Girl Scouts!
You Victory Girl Scouts!
You're the only Victory Girls that get our votes.
And when you march by,
Under your troop flags,
We'll be cheering for your K-K-K-Khaki coats!
MARCHING SONG
(Tune: "Where Do We Go from Here, Boys?")
Where do we go from here, girls, where do we go from here?
Anywhere (our Captain[A]) leads we'll follow, never fear.
The world is full of dandy girls, but wait till we appear—Then!
Girl Scouts, Girl Scouts, give us a hearty cheer!
WE'RE COMING!
(Tune: "Old Black Joe")
Camping Song
I.
Come where the lake lies gleaming in the sun,
Come where the days are filled with work and fun,
Come where the moon hangs out her evening lamp,
The Scouts are trooping, trooping, trooping, back to Camp.
Chorus:
We're coming! We're coming! to the lakes, the hills, the sea.
Old Mother Nature calls her children—you and me!
II.
Come where we learn the wisdom of the wood,
Come where we prove that simple things are good,
Come where we pledge allegiance to our land,
America! you've called your daughters—here we stand.
Chorus:
We're coming! We're coming, till we spread from sea to sea,
Our country needs us—wants us—calls us—you and me!
RALLY SONG
(Tune: "Smiles")
There are girls that make you gloomy,
There are girls that make you gay,
There are girls forever hanging backward,
There are girls who like to lead the way,
But that girl that's always at "attention!"
That her Country cannot do without,
That we know the world can always count on—
She is my girl—the good Girl Scout.
THE LONG, LONG LINE
(Tune: "The Long, Long Trail")
Recruiting Song
Do you feel a little lonely?
Are your friends too few?
Would you like to join some jolly girls
In the things you think and do?
Don't you know your Country's waiting?
Have you heard her call?
See, the Scouts are crowding, crowding in,
Where there's room for one and all!
Chorus:
There's a long, long line a-growing,
From north to south, east to west,
There's a place a-waiting in it, too, that you'll fill best!
We are sure you'd like to join us
If you knew what we can do,
And we'd like, O how we'd like, to make a good Girl Scout of you!
CLIMB ALONG!
(Tune: "Joan of Arc")
Golden Eaglet Song
Some girls are working, some girls are shirking,
Some girls are too scared to try,
Pluck up your grit, girls, use all your wit, girls,
See where the Gold Eaglets fly!
Watch them up above there, circling in the blue,
Earn them—and they'll fly to you!
Chorus:
Climb along! Climb along! with a cheer and a smile and a song!
Though it seems an awful lot to do,
Other Scouts made good—and so can you!
Climb along! Climb along! and you'll surely put it through.
Then lead your troop to Victory—for the Eaglets are calling you!
TENDERFOOT SONG
(Tune: "When You Come Back")
When I'm a Scout—and I am a Scout,
I'll make the other girls jump and look out!
And as I get on, I surely will pass
Like a bright lass to the Scout's Second Class.
And when I've a First Class up on my sleeve,
Oh, it's the proud girl I shall be! (Hurrah!)
When I'm a Scout—and I am a Scout,
There's a big job waiting for me!
ORGANIZING SONG
(Tune: "A Hot Time in the Old Town")
Come along, girls, get ready, let us form our patrol,
Let us choose a dandy Captain who will make the Scouts enroll,
All around us they are joining, and we can't be left behind,
Get your friends all together—see how many you can find!
The Builders. House built entirely by Girl Scouts
Chorus:
See, oh, see, the Scouts are coming in!
Once they join, they stick through thick and thin,
And when they play the game, they're pretty sure to win—
There'll be a Scout troop in our town this year!
WINTER SONG
(Tune: "Keep the Home Fires Burning")
Keep the Scout work going,
While the year is growing,
Winter's cold and dready, but 'twill soon pass by!
We can all remember
Through the long December
Camps and hikes and swims and sports in the warm July!
HIKING SONG
(Tune: "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag")
Pack up your dinner in your brown knapsack,
And hike, hike, hike!
Take all you need upon your own strong back,
Wander where you like.
Leave the roads to motor cars,
The side walks to the bike—but
Pack up your dinner in your brown knapsack,
And hike, hike, hike!
SCOUT MARCHING SONG
(Tune: "Marching Through Georgia")
I.
Everywhere you go to-day, you'll find a little Scout,
Work or play, they lead the way, there can't be any doubt,
When their Country calls on them, they answer with a shout,
Rah, rah, rah, for the Girl Scouts!
Chorus:
Hurrah, Hurrah, the Scouts are on their way!
Hurrah, Hurrah, we're surely here to stay!
Comrades all around the world, we're growing every day,
Rah, rah, rah, for the Girl Scouts!
II.
Nothing is too big or small for any Scout to do,
Call them if you need their help, and they will see you through,
Here's their motto—Be Prepared!—they mean it, yes, they do!
Rah, rah, rah, for the Girl Scouts!
GIRL SCOUT LULLABYE
When evening comes and darkness softly falls,
Girl Scouts their rest around the camp fire seek
And each to herself her laws recalls.
Her truth, her honor, purity, obedience and loyalty
While softly, the moonbeams and stars twinkle brightly,
God's witnesses on high,
While the bugle sounds its soft good-night.
(Tune: "Carry'n On," from "The Better 'Ole")
The Girl Scouts are coming, their drums and their fifes
Sound echoes of gladness from joyous young lives.
See each is prepared to do her good deed,
To God and her country and all those in need.
Her knots and her signalling, first aid and drill,
Show regular practice—say, ain't that some skill?
Chorus:
My word, ain't they carry'n on
It's just great to think upon
Now Scouting's just the thing,
So let your joy bells ring
Because the Girl Scouts all are carrying on,
It's simply great, how they're carrying on.
ON THE TRAIL
The Girl Scouts' Marching Song
I.
Oh! this is the song we sing, as the gay Girl Scouts go marching,
Away on the trail we swing, with heaven over-arching,
As up, up, up the hill we climb, and down, down, down again,
Our hearts are happy all the time, and we step to the gay refrain,
Marching on! Marching on! Marching on through rain or sunshine!
Chorus:
Sing ho! for the way, and hurrah! for the day,
As we march along together,
Then naught are the hills, or the miles or the ills,
When the Girl Scouts take the trail.
Sing ho! for the way, and hurrah! for the day,
As we march along together!
Then naught are the hills, or the miles or the ills
When the Girl Scouts take the trail.
II.
The sun is a comrade old, with a warm and hearty blessing,
The wind, with his fingers cold, will tease in rough caressing,
The friendly trees make shadow sweet, on roads that wind and wind,
The grass is tender to our feet, and even the rain is kind.
Words by Abbie Farwell Brown
Music by Mabel W. Daniels
Copies to be had from National Headquarters
Nearly Finished
SONGS FROM IV ENCAMPMENT OF 1ST G. S. T. S.
(Tune: "Mr. Zip Zip")
COMPANY A
Good morning, Caterpillar dear,
Hanging down to kiss us every day;
Good morning, Caterpillar dear,
You're never far away.
You're with us at breakfast and dinner, too;
At rest your numbers are not a few.
Good morning, Caterpillar dear,
For the beetles soon will get you,
The beetles soon will get you,
The beetles soon will get you
Here!!!
COMPANY B
Good morning! Keep your posture straight,
With your spine just as long as mine;
Good morning! Take your exercise,
With all your bones in a line;
Skull and thorax and pelvis, too,
Keep a plumb line, that's what you do.
Good morning! Keep your posture straight,
With your spine just as long as—
Your spine just as long as—
Your spine just as long as—
Mine.
COMPANY C
Good morning! When inspection comes,
Have your tent look just as neat as mine;
Good morning! When inspection comes,
Have your handles in a line;
Hide your tooth brush and paper, too,
Or they'll mark you down—
That's what they'll do.
Good morning! When inspection comes,
Have your pockets buttoned tight as—
Your tent flaps just as right as—
Your face and hands as white as—
Mine.
INSTRUCTORS
Good morning! G. S. T. S. girls,
With your brains all in a whirl;
Good morning! When the bugle sounds
Each to her chase and twirl!
To drill and dancing and fire galore,
Swimming and posture and semaphore—
Good morning at the G. S. Camp,
Where you work upon your lean-to
Longer than you mean to,
Where they keep you on the tramp, tramp, tramp.
OFFICERS
Good morning! Did you sleep last night,
When the officers had passed your tents?
Good morning! Don't you think they might
Show a little more common sense?
They say good-night when we're fast asleep,
As into our cots they coyly peep;
Good morning! Did you sleep last night,
When the officers had passed your—
The officers had passed your—
The officers had passed your—
tents?
(Tune: "How You Goin' to Keep Them Down on the Farm?")
How're you going to keep us happy at home,
After we've been at Camp?
How're you going to keep us inside the house,
After we've slept in the dew and the damp?
How will we remember, when we eat,
Not to wipe out plates?
Imagine having everything so neat.
Keeping shoes, soap, brush, bags, pins, towels,
Under blanket and sheet.
How're we going to live in a civilized town,
After we've been to Camp?
"Be Prepared." The Signalling Class
5. Achievements
Whether you receive prizes or honors, points or merit badges for the attainment of a definite achievement in your camp work, it is more systematic to keep some sort of record of each individual's progress and accomplishment.
A very simple way is a book record, but a far more interesting and successful method is to make a chart placing it on a conspicuous wall space where all may study it. On the chart will be found the names of all the campers together, with the names of all the activities. In a space under these activity headings and opposite the girl's name, a space will be reserved for recording her points.
Take for example a proposed section of a chart such as the accompanying one.
For every girl who has received a point on such a chart it means that she has satisfactorily complied with the standards imposed. For example, in Nature Study we may say that Scout Jane identified perfectly 20 flowers and 15 birds.
I. Section of a Chart for recording achievements of Scouts. In a large camp, a permanent backer with headings can be made, and strips for each Scout pinned on and removed when she leaves camp.
Girl Scouts would work out such a chart in relation to and on the basis of the winning of merit badges in the fifty-seven-odd Scout subjects.
Recording is not the only means of recognition given to a girl who has made a definite achievement along some given line. But awards and honors are often given at the end of the season in many camps. However, only the merit badges will be discussed here, as this is primarily a Manual for Girl Scout camps.
It is to be remembered that the chart does not record everything about a girl. When reviewing the chart or record book before deciding who deserves the final honors, or merit badges, there are other things to be taken into account, for instance, the effort and the progress or improvement and the kind of spirit that went with the material achievement.