A new week calls for a new schedule! Why not take this opportunity to institute Rest Hour into your new routine at home? If your child has already been to camp, they will understand the concept, and if they haven’t then keep reading because we will explain it! The good news about Rest Hour is that YOU get a break too! Rest Hour at Camp is after lunch, from 1:30 – 2:30pm and its purpose is to give campers space and time to quiet both their bodies and their minds. The agreement between campers and counselors at Rest Hour is that everyone is quiet and still for the hour. It’s a chance to recharge and do something independently, during what can otherwise be a busy day at camp.
Materials Required: What is already in your child’s room and your house
How to Conduct Rest Hour At Home:
Step 1: Make an agreement with your child about Rest Hour, they need to be on board with it! Get their input about when it might be and be flexible with the timing – does it make sense to do it after lunch? Maybe it’s better before dinner? Are there other rules like no screens? Our age groups have different guidelines for Rest Hour, and you will need to adjust at home based on the age of your children, but here’s how it breaks down at Camp, with a few ideas of how you could modify it for your house:
- Lodgers (8-9 year olds) are to be on their own beds, with no talking. That could be the same at home, but keep the door to their bedroom open
- Middlers (10-11 year olds) are to be in their cabins on their own beds, or outside on The Hill, playing a quiet game independently. At home, that could mean they are in their room or outside, but doing something on their own. Wherever they choose to be, they stay there for the hour.
- Subseniors (11-13 year olds) are allowed to be in their own cabins or outside on The Hill doing something independently or with a small group of friends quietly. At home, they could choose which room they will be in or go outside. Maybe they are allowed to call a friend during this time.
- Seniors (14-16 year olds) can be in their own cabins, outside on the Beach, or on the stone pier. They can be with a small group of friends. Like Subseniors, at home they could choose which space to occupy for Rest Hour, and can choose whether it’s on their own or with another friend, virtually.
Step 2: Give a 5-10 minute warning before Rest Hour begins. This is when they can go to the bathroom and gather whatever activity supplies they will need for the hour (more on this below).
Step 3: Rest Hour begins! We blow a bugle for this at Camp, but at home, you could indicate the start of Rest Hour with a bell, or play a sound from your phone. Once they are settled in their chosen space tell them, “I’ll be in my room/office/kitchen/living room if you need me, but you shouldn’t get up unless there’s an emergency.” Ideas for what to do during Rest Hour include: reading, doing a puzzle, playing sudoku games, doing a crossword or wordsearch, coloring in a coloring book, drawing, writing in their journal, listening to a podcast (Story Pirates is a great one!), knitting or doing a simple craft, making a friendship bracelet (use this tutorial!), and/or writing a letter to a friend.
Step 4: At Camp staff members check in on campers more than once throughout the hour, but at home a single check-in should be enough to make sure everything is going alright.
Step 5: Rest Hour Ends! Ring the bell or play the same sound from your phone to indicate the hour is up, and move on with your day!
*Counselor Hack: Younger children will need ideas about what to do, so brainstorm with them ahead of time and make a plan for Rest Hour with them. Do you have two adults at home? Take turns being “on duty” during Rest Hour and if you aren’t “on duty” you can have the hour to yourself!