Per my social media report, we wrapped up the 5^th Annual Pops and Keggie Kamp by returning the grands to their respective homes mostly intact and none too worse for wear. In fact, the only casualty of the week came at the expense of yours truly…

Rockstars, I dislocated the ring finger of my dominant hand while tubing on the Fourth of July, the day before their parents left the grands with us. I immediately swam up to the boat and had my husband “set” my finger while I was still in the water. Please do not attribute that moment to anything other than the fact that I was in excruciating pain, my ring finger was literally pointing at my middle one, and I was anxious to get out of said pain, asap. It was adrenalin, pure and simple. I couldn’t have done it 20 seconds later.

Still, the injured finger did some major swelling and bruising and complicated Kamp in unimaginable ways. I open with this story because some of you asked to know “all the things” about Kamp, and this is a good place to start. The truth is, their parents tried to talk me into calling Kamp off for my own good, and not try to do it with my “beefy” finger. That’s the name the littlest Kamper gave it, and it stuck! I couldn’t. The grands had been looking forward to Kamp since the last one. Instead, my finger because yet another teachable moment.

I gathered the grands and explained that in order for Kamp to proceed, I was going to need help. And bless their little hearts, I must brag on them. Help they did, whenever they could.

There were, of course, many more teachable moments, but for the purpose of this post (and because I’m typing with nine fingers still), I thought I’d share an outline of our Kamp Theme and Devos along with a few pointers for anyone planning their own camp.

Our theme this year was “Stay LIT”  and our verse was taken from Psalm 119:105, “The word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” We had three days and four nights together without parents, hence three main points, one for each morning. See below for my tips on teaching littles. 

How to Say LIT!

Monday- “L stands for Light” Our lights only help us when we switch them on, otherwise they are useless! Likewise, the lamp of God’s Word only helps us when it’s opened, or “on”. Knowing God’s Word is our lamp without living by its light does us zero good.

Tuesday – “I stands for Illuminate” – God’s Word illuminates our feet not our future! A lamp shines light where we are, not where we will be, not where we’re going. Illuminate is a big word, but we watched the area around our feet “glow” and they got it!

Wednesday – “T stands for today” – If you leave the well-lit path you won’t be able to see, even if you could see once upon a time. We have to choose the light of God’s Word as our Guide today! 

A few thoughts on Kamp:

~We generally have our daily devo and teaching after breakfast when they’re still gathered around the table.

~I purposefully prepare the devos to last no more than ten to 15 minutes and then we review via conversation all through the day. As we drive to different activities, or when we’re boating or fishing, I might ask someone to recite the verse and have another grand give us a summary of the main point. I’ve discovered the points stick best this way.

~I find props are huge when teaching littles. I used a lantern this year. We turned the lights down and it was easy to illustrate the points. I considered doing the devos at night this year because it was about light, but experience has taught me that they are too drained by late evening.

~This year we incorporated a Bible Drill into our Kamp. It was a hit. I expect we’ll do it again next summer!

~We always include crafting at Kamp. Our crafts have changed over the years as the grands have gotten older. This year we painted rocks. Easy, peasy! I simply grabbed rocks from Hobby Lobby. You can also get them at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Next, I gathered paintbrushes and acrylics paints. That was it. The kids supplied the fun! Tip—you can have a fan or hairdryer handy to help the paint dry quicker for those who want to do a background color before they get creative!

~ We always have a Kamp shirt made. If this expense is too much for you, there are plenty of ways to do it and cut costs. Buy a cheap bag of men’s t-shirts in small from the big box store and let them decorate their own shirts with markers!

I could go on, (and I might if it weren’t for this beefy finger), but those are the main points. Feel free to ask about anything I didn’t cover. Having a grand camp isn’t easy, and I would never say it was, but it is worth it. It’s worth every moment, every memory!