Plan a fun backyard camping activity for kids!
Before the frosts and school start, plan a fun kids camping activity in your backyard. Invite some friends and neighbors to camp in the backyard. A small group of children is recommended, 6-8 school-age children. Borrow several tents, at least one for every 2-3 kids (unless you have a large family tent!), or lay sheets flat on a clothesline to make a tent.
Ask the children to make tent announcements, which include information such as:
- Backyard Camp Date
- time to show up
- What to bring such as: sleeping bag, pillow, pajamas, toothbrush
- Time to be picked up the next morning.
- Companion Information
When the kids show up for the kids’ camp activity, plan a cookout with grilled hot dogs on a stick, fries, veggie sticks and salsa, and nutritious drinks. Make cupcakes decorated with shredded coconut (dyed with green food coloring for “grass”) and paper “carps” on top. Put the child’s name on each “tent.”
Before it gets dark, go over safety tips, where to locate the bathroom at night, and even a place they can go to sleep if they need to. Issue each camper to have a flashlight or litestick. Have an insect repellant and a first aid kit available.
After dark, play games of catching flashlights and finger shadows. Gather the group in a circle (or semi-circle) and place a camping lantern in the center. Turn down the lights and tell “scary camp stories.” Or play a storytelling game in which the guest of honor (the child whose backyard is being used) starts a “fairy tale” and each person around the circle has to add to the story until finished with the guest of honor. honor. With a small group, it can be fun to go around the group several times before finishing the story.
If the night is clear and cloudless, have everyone lie on their backs and look up at the night sky. Who can find the North Star, Polaris? Who can locate Ursa Major and Ursa Minor? Find the constellations in the summer sky for your area. See if you can locate any of them.
In the morning, before the campers go home, serve breakfast and have everyone “pack up.” If you want to send home small party favors, a whistle, compass, and stylus are popular with kids.