Camping Theme and Activities

Submitted by ~ Ruth - A Child's Place

Camping Songs

Over the River
Over the river, along the trail,
The hikers march along.
And as they go, they love to sing
Their favorite hiking song.

Over the river, along the trail,
They love to hike and sing.
They're filled with all the wonders
A nature hike can bring.

Camping Crafts

Campfire Picture - blow red and yellow paint with a straw and then add popsicle sticks painted brown for the logs.

Leaf Prints - gather various types of leaves and dip into paint and press the print onto paper.

Boat - paint a large cardboard box and decorate.

Birch bark paintings - gather pieces of birchbark and paint on them. *note: never peel the bark from a living tree

Leaf Brush Painting - tape several leaves to a stick and use for painting.

Diarama - lay a shoebox on the long side and paint blue for daytime scene/ black for night time.

Daytime Ideas - add cotton clouds, trees, fabric tent, lake, boat, fish, clay 3D people, etcv

Nighttime Ideas - fabric tent, campfire with toothpicks and tissue paper, glow-in-the-dark stars, tipped over canoe by a lake, 3D people etc.

Stuffed Fish - stuff a paper lunch bag with newspaper and add an elastic near the top. Fan the end out for the fish's tail and then paint.

Fish Prints - this is WAY COOL!!! Get a fish from the meat department, cover with paint to make fish prints. If doing on t-shirts, use fabric paint and if doing on paper, use regular paint.

Rustic Frame - Gather large twigs and use twine to attach together to a frame shape. Have the children paint a camping picture to attach to the frame.

Fish Prints - This sounds 'gross', but is WAY COOL!!! Buy a fish from the meat department in the store. If doing prints on t-shirts, use fabric paint on the fish and stamp the fish onto the t-shirt (I have done these and they look AWESOME!) If you are making fish prints on paper, use regular paint.

Camping Science

• Gather leaves and have pictures of trees - have the children match the leaf to the correct tree.
• Set up an aquarium and learn about fish.
• Animal Tracks - Set up animal tracks on the table and have children match plastic animals or pictures to the correct tracks.

More Camping Theme Activities

Dramatic Play
set up a campground using paper towel tubes with red,yellow,orange tissue paper for the fire. Add the boat from craft and set up magnet fish/fishing rod set. Include fishing net and pail for the fish. Set up a picnic area and indoor tent.

Outdoor Play
Set up a tent or covered area with a blanket, books, and toys.

Scavenger Hunt - have children find different types of trees, leaves, acorns, etc that can be found on the playground.

Field Trips / Special Days
Have an overnight camp out with the kids or a Camping day. Set up sleeping bags, indoor tent, fake fire (logs/blocks and red,yellow,orange tissue paper). Have an old fashioned sing-a-long around the fire - dim the lights and set up a flashlight in the centre of the fire for a night-time atmosphere. Set up the boat you made for fishing and add fishing rods with magnets. Attach paper clips to the fish the children made. Add a net and pail for scooping up and saving the fish.