Kids love summer camp — and so do the hosts of TODAY.
Al Roker, Carson Daly, Craig Melvin and Hoda Kotb pulled off a "TODAY Summer Camp Takeover," serving as camp counselors for a day at the Asphalt Green Summer Camp in New York City.
Hoda already had plenty of experience, noting that she had been a summer camp counselor and "loved every second of it," while Craig, Al and Carson debated who would be the best counselor.
"I wouldn't say that I'm going to be the best camp counselor," said Craig. "In fact, I'm probably going to be the most mediocre, but I'm going to have the most fun."
"It's not about being the best," Al added. "It's about making sure you're doing it for the kids. That said, I'm the best, because I'm the loudest."
The day started with basketball, as Hoda coached her campers through a practice. After her campers celebrated how much they loved the sport, Hoda said she wanted her kids to have the most fun, then walked them through some simple exercises like dribbling and a friendly game.
"The blue team has one (point) and the red team has one (point). This is where the game is ending, and I'll tell you why," Hoda continued. "What's the most important part?"
Hoda's campers knew just the answer. "Having fun!" they yelled in reply.
Up next, Craig started leading his campers through some field day activities, including a potato sack race. As the competitive activity commenced, he shared a notably different philosophy with his campers.
"The lesson I'm really going to try and leave them with is winning is easy, losing is hard. You can't go easy on the kids, gotta toughen them up!" Craig said. "If I have it my way, they are going to lose a lot. Nothing builds up a child like tearing them down."
On the third day of camp, Carson commandeered the science lab to teach campers how to make elephant toothpaste. While his activity might not have been as physical as Hoda's basketball game or Craig's potato sack race, Carson said that the camp helped make kids enjoy learning something new.
"It's that much better when it's fun to learn," Carson explained. "I think kids want to make learning fun."
Up last but certainly not least, Al took over the water slide races, inviting campers to cool off and have fun.
"I like water slide races because you get to run with reckless abandon and you get to get wet," Al explained. "It's the one time where the adults aren't saying 'Stop running! No!' It's 'Run! Get wet!'"
The campers took turns racing down a Slip 'N Slide, then switched to a larger version of the activity. Al cheered them on at every moment, celebrating both their victories and falls.
"I hope that my campers leave camp with a sense of togetherness," Al said.
As the temporary TODAY counselors reflected on their time at camp, all of the hosts agreed that they hoped their campers enjoyed themselves.
"This is like, a dream time for kids," Hoda said. "Summer camp's where it's at, baby!"