Sample schedule from last year (Approximate times)
Breakfast - 8:30am
Cabin Cleanup – 9:00am
Bible study – 10:00am
Seatrades block 1/Fleet Time – 10:45am
Lunch – 12:15pm
Sugar 30 – 1:00pm
Seatrades block 2/Fleet Time – 1:30pm
Free time! – 2:45pm
Dinner – 5:45pm
Evening Rec – 6:45pm
Mug-up – 8:00pm
Watch – 8:30pm
Crew Talk – 9:30pm
Bed-time – 10:00pm
First on the agenda in the morning is breakfast! Immediately after breakfast, the campers have Cabin Cleanup with some help from our "Crew" program. We like to keep our living spaces as clean as they can be and we find that daily clean-up time helps to keep the cabins in great shape. Afterwards, the kids hunker down with their cabins for a concise age-appropriate Bible study, designed especially for Keats by our very own Program Staff. The curriculum follows the doctrine of the Baptist Union of Western Canada and is not intended to persuade kids, but rather to educate them about Christian beliefs. Next comes the first block of Seatrades (see description) and Fleet time (see description). At this point in time, the camp is split in two. While half of the children are in small groups being taught activities, the other half takes part in either a large group activity or cabin time where they can bond with their counsellors and cabin mates.
A big lunch is our next priority and is typically accompanied by hilarious skits, which allow our staff members to find the theatre-sports talents inside themselves. The next part of the day, the kids enjoy greatly: Sugar 30! The counsellors gather orders for chocolate bars, candy and drinks through our tuck shop – The Mariner's Inn. The orders are delivered directly to the cabins so that the kids can hang out with their friends while indulging. After Sugar 30 is the second block of Seatrades and Fleet time. The halves of the camp that were divided up earlier, swap places to experience the activities that they didn't get a chance to in the morning. Because the afternoon is always packed full of wonderful things, Free Time is next on the schedule. At this point, the kids have free reign on the camp! They can roam throughout our campus and down to our waterfront, taking part in any of the activities that we offer. During free time, we also include activities that we can't teach during Seatrades, like tubing, giant inflatable waterpark toys and wasping. There is a short period of time before dinner when kids can get showered and warmed up before starting into our evening activities.
Dinner starts off the evening with a warm, home-style meal. After dinner, we start right into Evening Rec when we have wide games (some classics and some invented just for Keats) that are played by the entire camp. Sometimes the games are "each-man-for-himself", but often the kids are divided into their Fleets to foster a sense of team spirit. Just when the kids start toget tuckered out, everyone moves to our favorite evening event called Watch. The Keats Band starts Watch off with up beat Christian music, much of which was written especially for Keats. After the campers have had their fill of music, the Navigator (the speaker for the week) delivers their message for the evening, which is teaching about morals and values that can be applied to anyone's life, with Christian applications. These lessons often include skits, movie clips and other forms of illustration. When Watch is finished, the campers head back to their cabins with their Mug-Up (evening snack) for Crew Talk. This is when they can debrief with their counsellors and cabin mates about what the Navigator has just taught, as well as the day's events. Having just finished a long, activity-packed day, the kids and staff members all nestle into their beds for a good sleep before starting all over again.
*Your child will not need a watch: We have a bell that rings to signal the changeover of activities in the schedule.