This document provides ideas for crafts, activities, games, and snacks for a cowboy/ranch themed day of camp. It includes 4 craft ideas involving making ranch scenes, hand print horses, animal cracker pins, and drawings of cowboys/cowgirls. For activities, it lists 8 games involving relay races, simon says-style games, and herding balloons. It also provides ideas for 8 snacks like trail mix, ranchyard slop, and no-bake cookies. The document ends with some cowboy jokes.

1. Hoe Down- Cowboy Theme
Crafts:
1). Ranch scene
- using animal crackers, (horses, cows, other barnyard animals) glue,
crayons, and markers to make a ranch scene
2). Hand Print Horses- brown paint and a child’s hand, fingers pointing down and
the fingers are the legs, thumb is the head, draw the mane and hoofs, along with
eyes and tail
3). Animal Cracker Pin- use animal crackers and coat them with polish or varnish in
a well ventilated area let it dry, and then glue it to a pin
4). Cowboy/Cowgirl- trace a child’s body on one sheet of paper, add clothing to
make it look like a cowboy or cowgirl. Could make it a collage, and have brown
tissue paper and fill it that way to use more time and use different things around the
room to make it so not just coloring and using paper
Activites:
Games:
1). Pass the Corn- divide the players into two teams, the corn will be passed from
child to child, if it is dropped most start at the beginning again, whichever team
finishes first wins, corn can be used as a relay as well by putting in between their
knees and racing crab style
2). The Rancher Says- like Simmon Says
3). Old McDonald had a Ranch- kids act out the animals in the ranch
4). Pin the Tale on the Burro
5). Cowboy or Cowgirl May I?
6). Cow, Cow, Horse (Duck, Duck Goose)
7). Barnyard or Ranchyard- there are it’s in the middle, have players have
designated names (sheep, cows, horses, pigs etc) the it’s will call one of them and
they will have to make it to the other side with out being tagged, when barnyard is
called, everyone gets to run, if caught one lap around the gym
8). Sheep or Cattle Herding- inflate two white balloons and attach black curling
ribbon to make sheep tails or tails for cattle, divide players into two teams, give the
first player on each team a broom or fly swatter to heard their sheeps across the
room and back to the next player n line, the first team to finish herding their sheep
wins (have multiple incase pop’s happen)
8). Wheel Barrow and Sack Race
Snacks:
- Trail Mix
- Animal Mix for humans- 2 cups animal shaped grahm crackers, 1 cup salted
peanuts, ½ m and m’s, ½ rasions
- Ranch yard slop snack- chocolate pudding, m and m’s, nuts, raisions, coconut,
cereal, candy sprinkles, chopped apples and bananas (have kids choose)
- No Bake haystack cookies- 2 cups semistweet chocolate chips, 2 cups
butterscotch chips or peanut butter, ½ tsp vanilla, 3 cups chow mien noodles,

2. melt chips and mix in noodles until coated well, drop by teaspoon onto paper,
put in fridge to set
- Smores
- Haystack Cookies (no bake), 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup salted peanuts, 4
cups chow mein noodles, melt chips and peanut butter in microwave blend
together stir in other incrediates, drop dough by forkfools onto wax paper
and cool until set
- Purple Cow- 1 cup milk, 1 sliced banana, ¼ unsweetened grape juice (4-6
small servings)
- Black Cow (1)- root beet, vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, place 2
tablespoons of syrup in bottom of large glass.
Jokes:
What do you say to a cow that crosses in front of your car? Moooove over
Why do cows have bells? Because their horns don’t work
What do you get when you cross a cow with a duck? Milk and Quackers
What do you get when you cross a cow with a rabbit? Hare in your milk
Why do cows use the doorbell? Because their horns don’t work
What happened when the cow jumped over the barbed wire fence? It was an udder
catastrophe
Where do cows go on Friday night? To the moovies
Why did the rancher buy a brown cow? Because he wanted chocolate milk
What do you get if you cross a sheep and a porcupine? An animal that knits it’s own
sweaters
What runs around a ranch but doesn’t move? A fence
Christmas in July
Games:
- Minute to win it games
o How many marshmellows can you get through the wreath and into
the bucket
o Stack cups with one hand in a minute
o How many oraments can you balance on a yardstick and paper towel
tube with out it following over
o Can you get the cookie from your forehead into your mouth with out
using you hands
o Opening the present with ski gloves
o
- Frozen Clothes relay
- Santa Says
- Follow Rudolph
- Gold Rush but using Santa and Naughty Children
- Christmas package relay- odd shaped/sizes of boxes are wrapped some with
nothing in them some with a little something, the first person will bring one
present back and give it to the second person, the second will take that one

3. and pick another one up, eventually ending with one person having to carry
all the presents back
- Decorate your counselor
- Rescue the elves- obstacle cource is set up with two paths running parallel to
one another so that two teams can compete at once, divide the group into
two teams, explain that Santa’s elves have been kidnapped by the Grinch and
their mission is to rescue them, the elves can be played by campers or staff,
campers can use water balloons to fire at the Grinch when they reach the
final destination
- Snowball fight- play on a tennis court or in the racquetball court, two
minutes teams throw all snowballs to the other side, whoever has less on
their side wins
-
Craft/Activites:
- Making stockings
- Making candy houses
- Summer Snowman- supples: shaving cream, corn starch, contain to put snow
in, trinkets to play with in the snow
- Make cut out snowflakes
- Decorate boxes for family members
- Read holiday themed books
- Christmas Mad libs
- 5 Finger snow ornament
- Take out box snowman
- Christmas crayons
- Pom pom ornaments
-
Time Travel
- Egypt-
- Games:
o mummy wrap race using toilet paper
o Adventure Game- getting different clues and having to report back, for
example, crossing the nile, translate a message, passing through a
spider tunnel, team mummy wrap, cross snake pit, treasure in the
pharaoh’s pyramid, final clue
- Activites:
o make Egyptian temples and pyramids out of grahman crackers
o make pharoah’s crown from poster board
o make a cartouche necklage- on poster board, draw the shape of a
cartouche, cut it out and spray paint it gold. Draw hieroglyphs to spell
the childs name, punch a hole and put a piece of yard through it so it’s
a necklace
o Egyptian bingo- hieroglyphic symbols and Egyptian words
o
- Medieval

4. o Games:
 Catch the dragans tale
 Slap jack

o Activites:
 Make a coat of arms- a shield
 Make castle out of boxes
 Make thou shalt
 Edible magic wants: pretzel sticks chocolate and sprinkles
 Learn how to juggle
 Watch Robin Hood
 Make Dragon’s eggs- 2 ½ cup flower, 2 ½ dirt, 1 cup of sand, 1
½ cups salt and water, cover plastic eggs filled with gems and
jewels
 Kids go in stations with groups
(http://summercampprogramdirector.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/11/Time-Travel-Club.pdf)
60’s
- learn 60s dance moves
- make tamboruines out of aluminm pie tins
- make posters for peace or flower power
- make tissue paper flowers
- tie dye shirts
- musical chairs with 60s music
- make headbands
- bridge hippie vests out of brown grocery bags
70s
- make your own handshakes with a partner
- make a lava lamp jar
- YMCA
- Disco dance
Back to the Future
- come up with new inventions
- talk about the future and what the children think that they will be
- future cities out of different supplies
- fashion design contest out of trashbags and duck tape
- make a time capsule
- wire sculptures
- design future clothing styles
Summer Olympics:
- Games:
o Highest card tower, cup stacking, balloon between knees relay,
flyswatter tennis (balloons and keep up in the air)

5. o Soccer, javelin throw, long jump, obstacle course
- Activites :
o Olympics opening ceremony
o Light a “fire” to represent the start
o Create a new Olympic name
o Create flags
o Fly your flag
o Stamp Olympic rings
o 3D Olympic rings
o Olympic Rings around a bottle
o Make Olympic mascot
o Say Olympic oath
(http://www.kidactivities.net/post/olympics-theme-for-kids.aspx)
Invention (http://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/mad-scientist-science-camp-for-
kids/)
Games:
o sense of touch game: put things in bags, number the bags, have them
feel what’s in the bag with their eyes closed or blind folded, write
down the answers
o senses scavenger hunt- list things to find with their senses, something
rough something red, listen for things and taste with snacks
o nature I spy game
o rocket balloon races :
(http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/2014/07/balloon-rocket-
experiment.html)
Activites:
o Homemade Ice Cream
o Making Gloop
o Water Science Experiments
o Slime
o Popsicle stick catapult
o Crystal growing
o Lava lap
o Straw rockets
o Build a robot
Foods
o Fizzy lemonade
o Frozen watermelon pops
o Make structures out of different foods
o Ice cream in a bag
o Make a slushy
o Make homemade butter
The best Week of Camp

6. - this is the last week, have the campers who have been at camp multiple times say
their favorite things and do them the whole week. Favorite games, activities,
adventures.
Different theme for different days:
Backwards:
- play kickball backwards, so go to third first
- backwards charades
Tye Dye:
- tie dye smores
- tie dye any snack made
- tie dye art projects
-
Twin:
- 3 legged races
- do portraits of one another
- have to do everything togheter that day, make things, swimming, etc
- a lot of games that can be three legged
Hawaiian:
- have a luau
- luau bingo
- toss the coconuts into a tree
- beach relays with different things on their bodies that they swim with
- Hawaiian ham and cheese sandwhiches
- Questions on a beachball must answer whatever your thumb lands on
- Hula hoop contest
- Pinapples
Favorite color Day:
- wear your favorite color, everything all clothes that are at least scene
- divide into teams based on your favorite colors
- make your favorite color snacks with food color
- favorite color teams to play games
Dress like a counselor Day- opposite day
- kids kind of in charge of camp with supervision of course
- they can sort of tell the counselors what to do- they can lead exercises,
games, activities, counselors butt in when they need to
Pirate
- activites
o make a pirate and ship out of your hand
o treasure hunt
o watch a pirate movie
o pirate story stones
o treasure map pizza
o build a pirate ship
o pirate dress up box

7. o make your own treasure map
o find out your pirate name
- games
o capture the flag
o gold rush
o hook toss
o photobooth in a shark
o cannon ball toss- waterballoons
o matey bingo
o put the patch on the pirates eye
o walk the blank and then team building can put them on by age, size,
grade etc
- snacks- call them shark bate
o goldfish
o fish and chips
o orange and apple slices that look like ships
o crackers for polly
o jellow with a shark or fish swimming in it
Different Cultures:
- Mexican (http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Cinco-de-Mayo-for-Kids.aspx_)
o Piñata
o Tacos
o Teach etiquette and some language
o Steal the sombrero- each child has a sombrero on their back, when
music starts, each child tries to steal anothers with out losing their
own, if yours is taken you must sit down
o Mexican hat dance- one person’s name gets called they go into the
center and do their own dance, while others on the outside copy what
they are doing
o Make fringe by just cutting up tissue paper
o Make a piñata
o Cactus art
o Make maracas
- Chinese
o Cat and mouse game- one child is the cat and one is the mouse, the
other kids stand in a circle holding ahnds with the mouse inside and
cat outside, they same a rhyme “what time is it, just struck nine, is the
cat at home, he’s about to dine” then the children stop moving and the
cat chases the mouse weaving in and out of the children, the cat must
follow the mouses path
o Catch the dragons tail- first person in line moves to try to tag the last
person in line
o Play a game like jacks
o Shuttlecock games- also known as badminton
- French

8. - American
-