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Family Life: Great Activities for the Family Camping Trip
by Stuart Yalethorpe
http://www.faircamping.com
Camping is a great way for families to spend time together,
and is often the backdrop for cherished childhood
memories. For those who have decided to take camping down
to its most basic level and go tenting, there are no
electronic conveniences that will keep the kids occupied
during those times when there's a lull in the day or
evening. As a result, you're going to have to get creative
and provide their source of entertainment. That being the
case, here are some great camping activities that your
whole family will love.
Making Nature Bracelets is one way to both entertain and
educate your children. You use natural materials you find
in the area around your camp grounds. All you have to do
is wind some masking tape around the wrists (adhesive side
facing out), so this is easy even for the youngest child.
Now all you do is attach interesting items you find as you
all take part in a nature walk. As your children try to
identify various leaves, wildflowers, seeds and bits of
shell from a hatched birds egg, you can are making an
interesting game for your budding naturalists. Be sure to
inspect everything before allowing your youngsters to
touch or attach anything. Don't take a chance on a
bracelet made of poison oak or ivy!
Hayrides are a lot of fun, and quite a number of camping
facilities provide them for the enjoyment of their
families. In some cases, depending upon the time of year
,there are other activities that are woven into the
hayride theme, as in the case of Halloween. Just be
careful not to send young children on their own, and
watch out for those allergies. Many people are allergic to
hay, so it's important to remember to take a dose of
allergy medication, if you or your children tend to suffer
from that type of thing.
When you are sitting around singing around the campfire,
why not shake up tradition a bit, by making up you own
songs instead of singing the old traditional songs? Pick a
song everyone knows, and then have everyone take turns
making up a new, original verses.This is a fun way to liven
up an old tradition. If you encourage everyone to be as
silly as possible, you'll come up with some interesting
versions, as well as lots of laughs. However, don't sing
too late into the evening, or you'll have angry neighbors.
Young children will enjoy using common campground items
to put on a puppet show to entertain the whole family. You
will be stimulating little their imaginations as they use a
spatula as a person or mess kits as space ships. Do you
remember making shadow figures using a flashlight when you
were a kid? You can teach your children to wiggle little
fingers into dogs and rabbits, just as you did when you
were young. Memories are made of just these kinds of shared
experiences.
Teach your children to use a compass so they will be safe
while camping. Be sure they will understand the lesson by
making it into a game. First, do a serious review of the
compass directions and how to read them. Then, hide
some items close by and give them compass coordinates to
find them. Watch how quickly they will learn if the items
they have to find are prizes. Make sure the prizes are
within close range of the campground for safety's sake. You
should discourage your children from wandering off by
themselves. You don't want your children to go into the
woods away from your supervision at any time.
Camping is fun, healthy and good for promoting family
interaction. Consider spending your family vacation this
year in the 'wilds'. You'll come home relaxed and
energized, and your family will have new memories to share.
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