Contributing article by Chris Cole
One thing a parent never wishes to hear on a camping trip is “I’m bored.” To make sure this never happens any parent should have a plan in mind of what they can take with them, or they can get their kids and the rest of the family involved in to make the trip fun for everyone.
Although it would be great to ban all electronic gadgets from kids, this can cause some seriously stern faces, but limiting their use after a day’s activities have unfolded can be okay.
Camping, after all, is all about getting back in touch with nature and experiencing new things. Once your children find out there is so much fun to be had, they should naturally want to do this as well as spend time stuck to a screen.
Scavenger Hunts
The can be as easy or as hard as you wish to make them. Kids do love them, and they are a great thing to do while camping.
All the players can collect pinecones, maple leaves, snail shells, small rocks or anything you can see around the campsite.
You can even go technical and make use of the cellphone cameras and include a photo hunt where they have to snap specific things. This can satisfy their gadget need for a while they are searching for their bounty.
Small clipboards and pencils are ideal for the hunters to keep track of their findings. This can involve all the family and friends, and the losers get to wash the dishes.
Rainy Day Explorers
Bad weather doesn’t have to stop fun camping stuff. As long as everyone has rainwear and extra dry clothes the rain can be embraced because it will give a very different outlook on the surrounding environment.
Walking through woods with steam rising and splashing in puddles, it can bring a plethora of fun, and then you can all head home and get wrapped up dry around a campfire and enjoy a hot cup of drinking chocolate.
Kayaking
This can be for the more adventurous family. If you are camping close to a lake or a river, you can make use of kayaks and head downstream or saunter around a lake.
For the older children, you can even include a spot of fishing with the promise of fish for dinner if you are lucky.
Younger children might not be so keen being stuck in a kayak for a couple of hours. Any trip with a small child should be kept to a minimum so they can get back on dry land and do some running around.
Ball Games
There are many ball games a family can play soccer, football, and although not exactly a ball
you can play badminton pretty much anywhere.
Keep out of the wind and string some rope between two trees and you have a makeshift net. This can also double as your volleyball net.
If you are playing soccer, all you need is a couple of rolled up jackets for the goalposts, and then you are set.
These types of activities are great for kids, and they have the side effect of tiring them out so they won’t be as active during the evening.
Night Time Games
Fun when camping doesn’t have to end once the sun has gone down, and can be the most enjoyable time of the day.
Just sitting around the campfire can give you plenty of fun things to do such as:
- Telling ghost stories – this depends on the age of children present
- Playing truth or dare
- Singing campfire songs
Other nighttime activities can include the following and can get you away from the campsite for a while before tucking up for bed.
- Night Bowling- place glow sticks in bottles of water and then use a ball to knock over the glowing skittles. Be sure not to send the ball too far, or you might have a hunt in the dark.
- Nighttime walks – These can make any place appear different. Strap on your headlamps or grab your flashlight and take a walk around the local pathways.
- Hide and seek – if this wasn’t hard enough in the day, then at night it can be almost impossible, but it does bring another element of fun.
- Releasing sky lanterns – if you have the chance to do these with no danger of fire, they can be a great way to brighten up any evening. The last night is probably the best to signify you have been camping and all the family has survived and had a great time.
Time to break out the S’mores.
About the Author
Chris Cole is an outdoor sports and leisure expert! For many years he has published article to helped people enjoy the outdoors
Thank you and welcome to Boler.ca Chris.
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