25 Camping and Yard Activities for Kids
Aside from getting in touch with nature, one of the best things about camping is the chance to bond with children who come along for the adventure. Youngsters need a variety of activities to keep from getting bored. Planned activities will help them make the most of their journey while building memories along the way!
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Build a survival shelter from branches and twine
In the days before smart phones and high tech video games, children spent endless hours building forts and shelters. Keep this tradition alive by teaching kids how to build primitive structures using natural materials such as sticks, branches, rocks and leaves. Tie your creations together with twine and enjoy them all summer! Your kids will have so much fun that they won't even realize you're helping them to develop wilderness survival skills. Classic designs for tepees, leaf huts, lean-tos and yurts can be found online.The degree to which you duplicate these designs will depend upon the length of your vacation and the amount of time you have to spend.
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Play house in a popup tent!
Fireside chats - a thought provoking conversation game
Need something interesting to do around the bonfire? These standard playing cards are printed with thought provoking questions to help lead friends and families through many exciting topics. What is the one thing you really appreciate about the person seated to your right? What's the greatest thing you've learned in the last 12 months?
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Try a game of laser tag to promote exercise
Give an emergency survival quiz
Develop a list of the top 30 items that a hiker or wilderness survivalist might carry in his or her backpack. Water filter? Hunting knife? Fire starter? Cooking Pot? Give each child one turn to think of a necessary survival item. Each time a child names an item on your list, write his or her name beside the item. The child who guesses the most items wins the game!
Learn how to build simple tree houses in two days
Hold a nighttime scavenger hunt to find glow-in-the-dark pebbles
Water slides have come a long way, and this one is extra fun!
Make crafts with dried flowers and seashells
Depending upon the location of your campsite, you may be able to organize a scavenger hunt to collect beautiful materials such as seashells and wild flowers. If these materials aren't plentiful in your surroundings, they're cheap to buy in bulk. You can get as many as 100 shells for $9.99 or $200 shells for $12.99. Such materials can be glued to wooden plaques, incorporated into shadow box themes or used to make necklaces and bracelets. Stash them in mason jars, glue them to straw hats or use them to decorate fairy gardens.
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Copy the fairy garden elements you see in pictures
Take a peek at mass produced fairy garden accessories to see if you can build your own structures using natural materials like sticks, stones, shells or old silk flowers that mom doesn't want anymore.The possibilities are endless! Can you make a fairy pond with an old wooden salad bowl? Can you glue dried flowers to little huts made of sticks? How about a fairy garden bench made of popsicle sticks? Treat your finished crafts with UV protection spray to keep them from fading in the sun.
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Make permanent cabins with Lincoln Logs and wood glue
Can you make this bird house with Lincoln logs?
Have a firefly catching contest
Catch and release bugs for examination
Play frisbee with a glow-in-the dark flying disc
T-ball is still as fun as it always was!
Make animals with modeling clay
Play racquetball until you drop!
Try target practice with a Nerf gun
Play the ring toss game
Remember lawn darts? They're designed to be ultra safe now.
Reward game winners with unique, inexpensive prizes
Sand boxes never go out of style
This extra sturdy portable hammock can be taken anywhere!
Skill OneInvestigate common mosquito control myths and find out what REALLY works.
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15 Tricks to Keep your Tent CoolLearn how to block out the sun and simulate air conditioning within a tent.
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Glamping on a Budget ThreeTips for designing the most comfortable and pleasing camp setup possible.
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