Confession time: I’ve never camped with my own child.
To those who know me well, this is no major revelation given that I’ve only roughed it a grand total of four times in my entire life, and all of those trips took place while I was swinging single.
What can I say? I’m not a big camper.
Still, I don’t want to deprive my child of the opportunity to commune with nature, so this summer I’ve decided to pitch a tent with my preschooler (and others). The only problem: all my camping experiences came while I was in college when outdoor fun was spelled B-O-O-Z-E.
This time around I’m adopting a more kid-friendly approach. Check out my list of fun camping activities for children, and then let me know if you have any creative projects to add:
Nature collages: Lead the kids on a hike to collect natural treasures, then head back to camp to make nature collages. (Note: Don’t forget to pack glue, paper and scissors.)
Natural light show: Forget about the portable DVD player and look to the night sky for entertainment by searching for constellations.
Family sing-a-long: Bring along a guitar and sing good old-fashioned campfire songs before bed.
Flashlight tag: Gather in the tent at night and play flashlight tag. Choose one person to be “it.” That person moves his flashlight quickly around the tent, while the other players use their flashlights to catch him.
Shadow puppet show: Crack those knuckles and get your hands ready to put on an entertaining shadow puppet show in your tent.
Read and learn: Bring along a book to help identify animal prints and birds. You can take it with you on nature hikes or have your kids sketch the prints while out on the hike and compare them with what’s in the book when you return to your campsite.
Games: Pack a deck of cards and/or small travel-size versions of games like UNO, checkers or Memory. They are good to have in case it rains.
Disposable cameras: Give each child a disposable camera and let him shoot a collection of his favorite camping memories.
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