TECS Summer Camp – TECS Employment

December 15, 2017December 13, 2017

3 Fun Games for English Class in Camp

Imagine you are a camper – you have spent the entire academic year in school, and now you’re on your summer holidays… and your parents send you to English summer camp, and you find yourself once again in a classroom, with a teacher and a book.

For this reason, we try to make English class on camp as fun and as dynamic as possible. We ask our teachers to make sure they include lots of games and communicative activities, in order to keep the campers motivated and to make sure they learn as much as possible. To help them with this, we provide comprehensive lesson plans to complement the student’s book. However, some teachers want to come up with their own activities, and it can be daunting to come to camp as a teacher and try to come up with new and exciting games for every class, especially if you do not have much teaching experience. Here are some tried and tested games that are sure to enliven any class, regardless of level!

Fly Swat

The simplest of games, perfect for practicing vocabulary. You need some fly swats, and flashcards, and then you are ready to go! Stick the flashcards on the board, split students into teams and each team receives a fly swat. The students then take it in turn to hit the flashcard the teacher or another student calls out. Some control is needed to make sure the students don’t try to hit each other with the swat!

Running Chinese Whispers

Another game that can be played to practice vocabulary – and best played outside. Students line up, relay race style, in teams. They must run to the teacher, who shows them a flashcard. Then, running to the back of their team, they must Chinese whisper the word to the front of the line – and the student there must run forward and tell the teacher the word. It may take a few tries for the students to get the hang of it, but the combination of running and whispering makes them work really hard to remember their vocabulary!

Noughts and Crosses

Students are bound to know this game, and it can very easily be adapted to help them to practice their vocabulary. Drawing the traditional 3 by 3 grid on the board, in each square you stick a flashcard. You can leave it face up, or to make it more challenging, face down. Students, in two teams, pick a card, and if they get the piece of vocabulary correct ( you can ask them to spell it as well), they can draw an x or an o for their team. The first team to have three in a row wins!

These are just three of a plethora of games teachers use on camp – during their planning time each evening, our staff also have an opportunity to share and develop ideas, resources and activities with one another, building a great environment of teamwork and professional development. If this sounds like the kind of environment you’d like to work in, apply now for Summer 2018!

And it’s not just teachers who use games – every monitor needs a game or two (or ten!) up their sleeve. Look out for our next blog about the best games for monitors to use on summer camp.

December 8, 2017December 21, 2017

Why Singing is so Important on Summer Camp

A key part of summer camp, and something that you are sure never to forget after working here, is the songs. We sing at every opportunity we have – meal times, sports, evening entertainments, excursions, even just walking from one place to another. We also sing a great variety of songs – so many that being only a week into camp you’ll find yourself impressed by your ability to remember so many lyrics, and having learnt them all so quickly! But why do we use camp songs, and why are they so important for monitors, teachers, and of course the campers?

Songs distract homesick or sad campers

It is part and parcel of summer camp that there will be some campers who are homesick, and also those who just have moments of feeling a bit sad – maybe they’ve fallen and hurt themselves, or lost a football match, and are feeling a bit down. But, when a staff member gets up and starts singing and dancing like a crazy person, all of a sudden the camper is distracted! Their focus completely changes, and by the end of the song they are struggling to remember that they were even sad beforehand.

They take the focus away from the food

One of the main times that we sing songs is during meal times. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacktime are all filled to the brim with staff members standing up and yelling ‘This is a repeat after me song!’. Mealtimes can be difficult for a lot of campers – not only does this time remind them of their family, but they may not like some of the food, as it may be different to what they are used to at home. However, when you introduce songs, the campers get caught up in the singing and dancing, and these issues become less important.

They control the campers

Managing a group of campers – be it your class, leader group or sports group – can be challenging at times. Each group will have a wide range of personalities and characters, and you’ve got to keep them all together, and listening to what you say, at all times. A great way to do this is singing songs with them. You wouldn’t believe how much easier it is to get the campers walking in a line, without messing, when they are all singing a song together.

They let us be silly

Perhaps the most important reason – songs let us have a lot of fun, and show the campers how silly we can be! Summer camp is all about making a fool of yourself, and songs allow us to do just that. Not many jobs allow you to have fun, be as silly as you can be and help give campers the best summer of their lives, but working with TECS allows you to do just that 🙂

November 30, 2017November 17, 2017

Hungry? The Quick Guide to Spanish Food on Camp

Working on summer camp, you have the luxury of having three meals a day (plus a snack!), made for you. There’s no need to worry about where your next meal is coming from – the kitchen will provide. Of course, our kitchens are normally catering for upwards of 100 campers and staff and also for a Spanish diet. This may mean that there will be dishes that you haven’t tried before, but camp is a time to try new things – food can be one of them! Here is the lowdown on the best Spanish dishes that you’ll have on camp – if you’re not hungry now, you sure will be soon.

Paella

Perhaps the most well-known of all Spanish dishes, it is a staple of camp food. Made with seafood, or meat such as chicken, and rice, it is sure to give you a great feed before running your afternoon sports sessions as a monitor. Filling, tasty and a part of Spanish culture – what more could you want from lunch?

Croquettas

It is no secret that the Spanish are fond of frying food, and perhaps the most delicious thing they have come up with are croquettas. The traditional flavor is ham and cheese, which is mixed with a béchamel sauce and flour, covered in breadcrumbs and then fried. Delish!!!

Churros

If you’re lucky enough, you may get churros served up for breakfast – but they definitely won’t be around for long as every camper will surely want at least one! Simply put, a churro is a long, thin piece of fried dough, covered in sugar, perfect to dip in coffee or hot chocolate. Have them once and you’ll be craving them again – if you find a café nearby to camp that serves them, they can be a great treat for your weekend morning off!

Pizza!

This option might not be even remotely Spanish… but when there is pizza for dinner, nobody can complain. Loved by Spaniards, Italians, Irish, English – whatever your nationality you are bound to have a big smile on your face when it is revealed that it is pizza time. Campers and staff alike have been known to cheer and chant when they enter the canteen and smell the glorious waft of pizza! A perfect way to end a day of teaching class and before an evening of planning classes for the next day!

These are only some of the dishes you may have the pleasure of tasting during your time on camp – other favorites include barbecue night, Spanish omelette (also known as tortilla) and salmorejo – a chilled tomato soup made with breadcrumbs – alongside staples that you know and love, like pasta salad, chicken, meatballs, and even baked potatoes!