Children’s Afternoon Activities Coordinator

Number of People: 2

Budget: $0

Children’s Afternoon Activities are held Saturday through Friday, during Social Hour, before dinner from 5:30 until 6:30. The idea is to provide supervision and safe, yet fun games and activities for kids over 5 years old (Puffins) through Junior Teens (usually low attendance by Jr. Teens). The lawn and Brookfield (if not otherwise scheduled) are common sites for this activity. Plan to offer both active and passive activities. Good organization and strong promotion of the activities are necessary for this to be a success for the kids – who are some of the most important conferees.

Make an announcement that they will be happening the first night and possibly at lunch the next day or so until it becomes part of the kids routine.

This is a demanding job -- and an absolutely necessary one. It is also fun and rewarding if you bring lots of ideas and can incorporate both structure and flexibility into the sixty-minute programs.

Appropriate games include: kite flying, kick ball, ultimate Frisbee and soccer. Softball is always a safety concern with younger children -- if you choose to play softball, careful supervision of younger children is paramount. Board games for the quieter kids -- or in case of rainy days -- should be imported from the mainland or borrowed from the front desk (Battleship, Clue, Monopoly, Twister, card games, Pictionary, Uno, Scattergories etc.). Games for large numbers of players are good. Structure is needed. Looser is not necessarily better at this time of day. Bring games equipment and get game suggestions off island.

Some younger children are tired at this hour and so a few low-key pastimes such as music or books may be good offerings. Occasional videos are okay, so bring a few, but many parents prefer them to be used only a last resort, or only on a rainy day. There is a DVD player is available on the Island; contact Conference Services ahead of time. Many smaller children probably just need a watchful eye as they play on the jungle gym. Babies and toddlers (Skimmers and Nestlings) are not your responsibility. Others will supervise them.

As coordinator(s), your job is to create a schedule for the Children’s Afternoon Activities leaders. The program runs Sunday through Friday from 5:30 to 6:30. You are not expected to work more than one afternoon and should not need to appear each day to start the activities. Tap families for volunteers -- signup sheet and follow ups are a must to ensure supervision. Don't hesitate to line up helpers before arrival at Star. Have parents sign children up so the organizer knows how many are coming.

You need to contact the volunteers as to which day they are to work and be on hand to make changes in the schedule if a conflict arises. Two people have traditionally been assigned to work each day. Three is even better. This may also be a good way for responsible, creative and energetic younger individuals and couples to contribute to the conference. Children's staff should NOT be called upon to help out, unless they offer their services to you! If extra hands are needed think about calling on the teens groups for assistance.

You may want to coordinate with others arranging for parent involvement in helper positions so that no family is over scheduled for the same day and all are excited about their opportunities to be involved with the children’s programming.

Please contact Chairs if you do not receive a list of helpers for this activity.

Last edited by Kathy West - June 2018