You might have spent days, even months to plan, pack and final hours of driving to get your camping trip; but what if your kid says “I am bored”? Camping with kids becomes joyful only if you keep them entertained. But how; here we bring 11 camping activities for kids to keep your young campers fully busy and happy throughout the camping trip.
- Crafty camping activities for kids
- Nature camping activities
- Campfire fun
- Camping games for kids
- Bring along toys for kids
- Read books with kids
- Play in water
- Hammock times for relaxing
- Quiet camping activities
- Cook up new meals with kids
- Stargazing at night
Kids today are more addicted to the internet and devices and not much easy to entertain and keep occupied in the wilds. But outdoor experiences can turn memories worth and make kids environmentally sensible. Here we covered the best camping activities for kids to keep family camping smooth and joyful.
Crafty camping activities for kids
For kids, nature is very motivating, and crafty camping activities can make them more creative. Just take some colored papers, glue, and crayons and every other thing if from the surrounding.
Rock painting:
If you got paint along with your kid’s craft materials, rock painting is a fun activity for kids to keep them engaged for some time. You can let them use non-toxic water-based paint to color rocks find around the campsite.
If you have chosen a campsite where rock picking is not restricted, you can bring home these painted rocks as memories. Even adults can join rock painting with kids and enjoy some quality hours.
Do nature paintings:
When you take kids camping, they can find so many interesting things from their surroundings. And these nature paintings can do by them as one of the best outdoor craftings. Bring finger paints along and keep them occupied for more than an hour.
Fun play with clay and nature treasures:
If you can find some clay or mud in your camping area, you can let your kid mold shapes, and this going to be so much fun and plenty of time taking. You can add some nature treasures into campground play even with or without clay and are so interesting to get involved and creative. Just leave them free to carry sticks, collect stones play in the dirt, throw pines, and anything.
Fun with stick Mazes:
Mazes using sticks at your campground is another interesting option for camping activities for kids. If you are going to where there is so much fallen wood on the ground, this can bring so much joy to kids.
Build shelters for kids:
If you are going anywhere there is a lot of fallen wood, you can build shelters for kids by getting them a lot involved. Even without too big sticks, you can let them set up small tents. Pack up an old sheet or tarp and help them with the building.
This is one of the best camping activities for kids to keep them occupied for longer. And in the other way, this helps to improve their skills of making shelters. You can build up a great young camper by involving them in such activities at the same time helping them with developing skills. There, during the period of your stay, kids have a private spot for the best play.
Along with them, there are more camping crafts you can let your kids try.
- Do treasure hunt
- Make a creative nature collage
- Build a paper airplane and have a flying competition
- Decorate hats with leaves, dried flowers, and twigs
- Maintain a camping book and write about every nature finding at the campsite
- Create a campground map with kids
Nature camping activities
Nature learnings are more effectual and no better place is there over a campsite. With adequate time, freedom, and a little bit of encouragement, kids can start exploring and learning through continuous questioning.
Field guides for kids:
Kids love finding new things and your campsite will be a great place to start with. Leave them free where they can move safely and let them find stones in different shapes, dried leaves, bugs, little animals, sticks, and things. Then, they can compare their discoveries with the guide and learn.
Even kids who can’t read can still enjoy by looking things in hand with what they see in field guides. These types of camping activities for kids can make them fast learners.
Nature scavenger hunt:
Some kids are eager to explore but some are not. So to give them a little encouragement with nature scavenger hunts. And it is interesting with a number of different hunts. You can try color hunts, touch and feel, animal hunts, and more. The scavenger hunt can be a lot more interesting with different sounds, a variety of quantities of various items, actions, and more natural items.
Make a nature journal:
Camping trips bring a time for nature consideration and you can let your kid does journaling in day-to-day life in camping. Even though there are nature’s journal templates and printables offered, you can easily bring a blank notebook and start journaling.
It is fun as you could ask your kids to note down the observations of each camping day. And for little kids, you can ask for them to draw what they see.
Campfire fun
Without a campfire, your camping experience will not be completed. And with the campfire, your kids can have a lot of joy. Older kids can help you with breaking sticks, collecting wood around, and even help with starting a fire under your high inspection.
Fire play is really important for kids with support to a lot of activities around. And among all that around the campfire, s’mores is really important for kids. Just bring the supplies and it is a really fun and cool treat kids should definitely try.
Camping games for kids
When adventuring with your kids, camping games are a must and there are so many different camping games kids can try.
You can teach traditional camping games for kids like capture the flag, kick the can, camping bingo, and more. And if you like lawn games, consider bringing lawn darts, cornhole, or ring toss from home.
When it comes to games for kids, campfire games should not be left ignored. Even some of the campfire games are odd, they are really fun for kids, adults, and the whole family. From hundreds of options, alphabet games, telephone, would you rather, name that song are best as quick circle games to keep your kids happily occupied for hours.
If you are camping with older kids and there is a lot, consider hosting outdoor Olympics with a set of camping activities. You can put them in teams and set up various events to compete with one another. Include firewood collecting games, pitching the tent, starting a fire first, and more camping-related activities to bring more joy.
Bring along toys for kids
With big toys, kids can have bigger joy. If you are going where there is enough space and ensured safety, you can definitely preserve some extra space for big toys to take along with camping essentials. They can be wagons, bikes, kayaks for kids, floating items/ toys, slacklines, play tents from home, and more like sand toys, pails, and shovels for kids.
Read books with kids
Reading books with kids is one of the best camping activities all the time when considered family camping. Even this might not be the top choice of kids; this can offer some quality family time for you to spend with kids. Especially for young kids, reading books can be of so much fun and let them enjoy picture books of nature.
You can find various sorts of amazing reads to match with nature including Run wild, Campfire stories, Let’s Go on a Hike!, S Is for S’mores: A Camping Alphabet and so much for different ages. And this is going to work on rainy days or unexpected days that you have to be stuck in your tents too.
Play in water
You will probably find water a source at where you decide to camp and summer is calling for water plays. But when it is not always a good idea to let kids play in them, you can take your own kids’ pool to where you camp and let them play in the water. If you are planning for expanded camping trips, this going to be a great idea to keep your kids entertained for longer. And for the best part, you do not always have to fill this kiddie pool with water; instead, fill some noise-making toys and let them enjoy!
Those who are having older kids can also enjoy water games like water balloons, water guns, etc. Or simply, just leave them with a 5-gallon bucket of water for super flashing.
Hammock times for relaxing
At a campsite, kids will never be eager on taking breaks. But if you really want to put them on a break, the hammock is a great idea. Not only for kids, but the hammock is also one of my favorites at the campsite for a fun-loaded break. Make sure you bring your hammock for kids and let them have a peaceful break and a camping-style nap.
And if you have a plan to read with kids, you can bring kids’ favorites to the hammock and let them spend nice times. Take your kids and read for them in the hammock.
Quiet camping activities
Kids are really enthusiastic to be active when camping and they would not respond much to quiet camping activities. But I owned most of my memories from quiet camping activities during my childhood. Believe me, they are so much fun and kids would feel inspiring to engage when at the campsite.
All-time favorite quiet camping activities for kids include card games, UNO-like games with fancier cards, board games like scrabble, checkers, etc. if you have something different as a favorite family game, bring it along for great times together.
If your kid is not a type of card or board game fan, you can teach him or her photography. Camping opens up space for various types of nature learnings and there will be no better place to learn photography for kids. For those kids who have an interest in this, camping is the best place to grow and shine.
Cook up new meals with kids
You can turn your camping trip into a fun chapter at the same time a lesson for your kids. And it is a must to play with some cooking skills when you are camping with the family.
Start with simple meals like oatmeals over a campfire, a pot of macaroni, fruit kebabs, chicken skewers, cheesy toasts, and more under your inspection. And let them serve you too!
It is so much fun to cook while camping and it is more when you let kids involve. This is another among must-try camping activities for kids to keep them highly occupied. And these types of camping activities will teach them to be perfect campers one day!
Stargazing at night
After a long tiresome day, stargazing is a perfect way for kids to end up an existing camping day. You do not need a lot of pre-planning on this and it is simply about lookup ahead when the darkness surrounds you.
I suggest adding up some extra blankets, some simple snacks, and a Bluetooth speaker-like thing to make a good background feel to lift your stargazing experience so high. If you are too eager about this, bring a pair of binoculars, a telescope, or a start map for better guidance.
Stargazing is a popular camping activity at many campsites but there are some times you will not find it cooperating. However, watching the night sky at the campsite is a great relaxing way for a kid and will find a perfect end to the day. Not just for kids, it is a great way for the whole family to lay and rest peacefully.
Camping is the best place for kids to be active and learn. With these camping activities for kids, you can keep them occupied and fascinated. Give them the highest opportunity to be free at their own pace and be surprised with what happens after.
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