We all agree there is so much to be prepared for when you go camping, you have to prepare everything beforehand and then get set for the trip. Parent campers have one more addition to their worry list named kids!
Just kidding! Camping is so much more fun with your kids and pets. They add extra joy to the trip. With the previous sentence being a fact, the next sentence is too.
Kids get bored easily, especially toddlers or preschoolers. They are always full of energy, so fidgety, and always driven to try out new things. Check ou tour article on camping with a dog.
Well, keeping them busy at home is not a big task as you are surrounded by toys, kid’s parks, and not to forget technology. You can not let your kid go out and about at a campsite as it can be a big threat to them.
The camping experience is new for some toddlers and their curiosity to explore a new habitat other than the home can lead to some trouble.
What do we do? We should find ways to keep them busy around your camp set up in your proximity. I do not need to teach the parents about how mandatory it is to always keep a watch on them. It is also mandatory to keep small kids engage as they do not have as many chores as adults do while camping.
There are innumerable activities to do with kids and for kids and they all are fun. It’s also easy for parents of toddlers or preschoolers as kids tend to enjoy anything and everything new and out of the house. The activities do not require much effort from parents as well, it could be as simple as a walk in nature.
The activities we are going to suggest are so interesting and based on a rule-
“More fun less fuss”
These activities will keep your kid busy and give you ample time to sit back and watch as your kid takes up new hobbies and get all creative and imaginative. Don’t we all love a creative little toddler?
Before we get started with the activities there are some important and practical preparations are required.
Things To Prepare Beforehand For Camping With Kids.
Since we are arranging activities for them, we also need to prepare the supplies and safety gear for kids.
- Pack easy to eat snacks.
- Pack bug and mosquito repellants
- Bring sunscreen and extra wipes for the kids.
- Carry extra pairs of clothes and layering for temperature fluctuations.
- Plan and prep meals ahead.
- Be aware of the campsite location.
- Teach the kids about camping essentials.
- Make sure to have a map.
- Don’t let them go near the campfire.
- Pack shelf-stable milk.
Well, to your surprise these are only 10 out of 35 tips for camping with kids.
Let’s get started, shall we?
Activities For Your Kids While Camping
Why is all this fuss about keeping toddlers busy? Well their boredom is different from adults and children
“Babies have mechanisms built in to prevent them from wasting time on things that don’t have sufficient amounts of learning value,” explains baby-researcher Dr. Celeste Kidd. “You could think of that as boredom.”(view source)
Anyways, these activities are fun to arrange and will make your camping memories worth remembering. Any kind of activity is productive for these kids as it helps them in building skills.
1. Crafts
With the advantage of being fun, doing crafts is also a very creative skill to learn. Doing crafts or origami gives the kids a sense of achievement. They take pride in something they made out of scratch and on their own.
It is a nice way to keep the kids busy in a productive way and also when you want them to stick to a table, inside the camp, or one place.
Fill a container with all sorts of craft material like crayons, papers, coloring books, origami sheets, playdough, and much more. Doing crafts when surrounded by nature will help in getting your kid’s creative juices to flow and grow their imagination.
You can also find innumerable videos on origami or crafts on youtube. Maybe you can teach them to make something new from origami and ask them to make something with paper cuttings for a camping theme.
2. Painting
Your kid is going to love this. You can just leave them with watercolors, brushes, and papers in your tent with scenery ahead. Ask them to paint the scenery in any way they want.
This can be an opportunity for your kids to build a new hobby or polish his/her skills if they are already into painting. This sounds like a grown-up job to draw live landscapes, your kid gets a sense of doing something they wish to do.
Make this activity interesting by letting them paint on rocks. They will never get tired of finding stones and painting them in into something new. These painted rocks can be taken back to your home as a memory and you can also use them as paperweights later.
3. Blow bubbles
You know what they say about bubbles- there is no dull way to say bubbles! Even adults can’t get tired of playing with bubbles. Bubbles are a great way to lift everybody’s mood. They never fail to cheer up kids.
You can buy it from the store or dollar store. You can help them to blow the bubbles and they can pop them. Do not let kids below 3 years play with bubbles as it could be dangerous if they ingest the soapy water.
Consider buying a bubble machine that will blow the bubbles for you. Kids will never get tired of chasing the bubbles around the campsite and you would never get tired of watching them run happily.
Playing with bubbles at a campsite is a bonus as it provides you with a lot of space than you would have at home. And now you don’t have to worry about the soap bubbles all over the floor.
4. Start or continue a collection
Tell me if I am wrong. We all collected something or other when we were kids. Having a collection makes your kid feel unique and differentiates him from his other peers. They feel it is so cool to show off their collection to their friends and tell a story behind each item in the collection.
You can introduce this idea to your kid and tell them about all the perks of having a collection. You can also guide them on how to start a collection. Campsites are a great place to start or continue your collection of stones or various kinds of leaves.
You will be able to spend quality time with your kids while searching for the items for collection around the campsite. You just require contact paper sheets if your kid wishes to start a leaf collection. Stone collection is relatively easier as you would only require a container to store.
Preserve your collected leaves between the contact sheets. It’s not necessary to complete your collection at the campsite you can go home and complete it.
5. Scavenger hunt
This game is a camping version of the treasure hunt. Parents will enjoy preparing their personalized scavenger hunt games and kids will enjoy exploring the campsite.
Preparing this game is super easy as you are just required to print some pictures of some things that your Kid would be able to find on the Campsite. Stick the print outs on cardboard or a stick. Send your toddlers in search of these items with the scavenger hunt and a pen in their hands.
The list could involve very random and obvious things found on a campsite like-
- Acorn
- Dry leaves
- Backpacks
- Small leaves
- Large leaves
- Smooth stones
- Bird
- Twig
- Campfire
- Ants
- Squirrels
- A bird on a branch
With this game in their hand kids are influenced to explore and observe the tiny things present in nature around the campsite. This will help them to develop their observing skills.
6. Build A Rock Tower
You won’t deny the fact that you have seen these random stone sculptures made with balancing stones one on one, on the roadsides, or anywhere rocky.
You can help your kids to collect all sizes and shapes of stones in a bucket and bring them back to the campsite. Start balancing these on another. You might require to guide them and balancing the stones, demonstrate for them if they don’t know how to.
Be safe around playing with stones, and always make your kids wear shoes all the time. Don’t let them roam around barefoot even on the beach. Building rock towers gives kids a sense of accomplishment that they have built something stable even if it is temporary.
7. Build A Stick Castle
You can get them to collect twigs and fallen sticks around the campsite and ask them to build a castle or home out of it.
Provide them with scissors and glue to make the castle. They can be very creative with the shape and structure of the castle they are building.
Always keep an eye on them if they are safe with scissors or not.
8. Enjoy The Rain
If you are out in the wild and nature with the kids, and it suddenly rains. What is better than this?
Why keep the toddlers under the tent bored and crying maybe, when you can just use the raining boots and raincoats you packed in case of emergency. This is that emergency, why waste the raining gear.
Allow your kids to dance, jump, walk, hop, and what not in rain. Just be careful if they have their rain gear on, otherwise, they might fall ill due to rain.
Let them have fun in the puddles, and float paper boats in the small water streams. You can teach them how to build mini dams out of stones and soil to stop the tiny stream in front of you.
9. Ask Help From Them In Cooking
As we mentioned earlier kids love doing what adults do. Ask them to help in preparing the meals such as while preparing foil food packets or wrapping the pre-cooked potatoes for cooking in the campfire.
If you don’t know about pre-cooked potato meals at a campfire, read our article on how to do it. These meals help a lot if you are traveling with kids, as they are so easy to prepare.
Ask them to help in setting tables for meals. Don’t let them be near a campfire.
10. Shoot The Cups
This game is perfect for some fun game activities. Also, this would be great if there is more than one kid on the campsite.
Bring squirt guns and arrange a tower of decomposable cups on the table. Divide the kids into teams play in the individual point system. Ask them to shoot the cups with water guns. Whoever drops more cups gets the point.
Your kids can get competitive or grow bonds with the other kids.
11. Bring A Frisbee
Bring any type of sports equipment to the camp that can be played in an open ground. Equipment like ball or frisbee works best for beach camping.
Something they can play without much technique and enjoy. You can also turn the dining table into table tennis when not in use.
12. Boards Or Card Games
One of the best time pass and fun activity to do while outside in wild. If you want your kids to go far away from the campsite and glue them at one spot, bring out the board games and card games.
These games are fun when played with many people, and you can make some good memories while playing with family.
Board games develop thinking skills in them. You don’t need to get worried about the card games, you can play UNO or trump cards with them.
13. Sing Songs Around The Campfire
What’s better than singing your favorite songs around the fire. You can sing your toddler’s favorite songs while you roast marshmallows in the fire.
You can also play games like rapid fire or Chinese whisper around the campfire. This can be such a fun and quality time with the family. Letting your kids sing in front of everyone can even boost their confidence. Who knows?
14. Storytime
Trust me, this is the most favorite part for every kid. Stories are like spoon-fed food their curiosity. Kids love listening to stories, and every time can be storytime, you don’t need to wait for bedtime.
You can tell them how you started camping? Or how was your experience as a kid about camping? Or any fictional story also works for them.
You can also encourage your kid to tell any stories they know, this might be their foundation for imagination and public speaking. We should always look for positive things in the bigger picture.
15. Kids Love Pets
How exciting would it be if your pet and your kids are both enjoying camping? Sounds fun right? The pets will play with your kid or vice versa. Your pets also take care of the toddlers very well.
Remember the frisbee you packed for camping, now your kid and your pet are taking care of it.
The list is never-ending, but we tried to list down some of the best activities.
FAQs
Conclusion
As much as they sound, they are even more fun to play. You can just sit back and sip tea/coffee or read a book, while they are busy satiating their curiosity or driving the energy boost they have.
If I had a choice if would try every one of these activities. In this super urbanized world, we are running out of quality time and kids playing in the outdoors and enjoying themselves.
I am sure you have more ideas and plans to do camping with the kids. Feel free to write them in the comment section below. We would love to hear those.
Check out more guides and camping related everything on our website.
Until then happy camping!
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