BlsdMama Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 (edited) I'm a little excited as we are taking the kids camping this week for our longest camping trip. :D Ideas? We have no little babies this year AND I'm not pregnant so it should make for a (fairly) energetic mama. I have my tidepool books, my Apologia journal coloring pages, lol, and a few other ideas to keep them occupied. I'd like to think of fun little things to work in throughout our day. Suggestions appreciated! Ideas so far: Magnesium for the fire Glowsticks Taking Nature Journals to make for the middles Walkie Talkies A flag and camoflauge face paint for a serious game of Capture the Flag Deck of Cards for late night card playing for the older kids Portacrib for the baby and duct tape for the toddler :D Bug Jar Container to collect treasures Obviously s'mores and hot cocoa Spare shoes (Lesson learned from our last coast camping trip) Camp Mats (another lesson learned from last year) Crab Pot for crabbin' Excited and feeling like a road trip! :auto: Edited May 15, 2012 by BlsdMama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Buckets and shovels? My dc like to take cars and small plastic figures/animals. They turn tree roots/bushes/piles of leaves/rocks into new playscapes. If you are going for a week and want another sweet campfire treat, try wrapping chocolate and marshmallows in a tortilla and wrap it in foil. We love these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I agree with a bucket/small container of small plastic toys/matchbox cars/McDonalds toys, etc. Pick ones that they can have fun with but won't really miss if they get left behind, lost in the sand, ruined with dirt/water, etc. My girls could entertain themselves all day with a few plastic animals and water, sand/dirt, leaves, sticks, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Water guns and water balloons. They are tradition on our camping trips. We also have a horseshoe set that gets used a lot. The older kids enjoy playing card games with us at night, think Phase 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpatty Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 We're going soon & I just purchased a fun chapter book for my kindle to read aloud in our tent before bed. Did you mention a ball or a frisbee? A jump rope? My kids entertain themselves with exploring the creek/woods near our campsite. They usually bring toys, but don't even pull them out of their packs while we're there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 A nature scavenger hunt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 A small set of paints and brushes so they can paint rocks and sticks. This was a huge hit for us last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted May 16, 2012 Author Share Posted May 16, 2012 We're going soon & I just purchased a fun chapter book for my kindle to read aloud in our tent before bed. Did you mention a ball or a frisbee? A jump rope? My kids entertain themselves with exploring the creek/woods near our campsite. They usually bring toys, but don't even pull them out of their packs while we're there. That reminds me to count ball gloves - Thank you! We are in the middle of Cheaper by the Dozen so it's the perfect book to take camping - visiting Mrs. Murphy and all. ;) Water guns and water balloons. They are tradition on our camping trips. We also have a horseshoe set that gets used a lot. The older kids enjoy playing card games with us at night, think Phase 10. DH is making a bean bag game tonight for all of us. We can get competitive, but Grandma and Grandpa own it so we need a set. :) A nature scavenger hunt! We have the GPS and geocache to do! :) Good idea! Thank you one and all for the suggestions! I'm excited. Now I just need to figure out how to keep a birthday cake safe and good for two days??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 You've gotten some great ideas! And I've jotted down some of yours. May I respectfully suggest that you leave water balloons at home, though? In brush it is difficult to find all the little bits of burst balloon, but those bits are a real hazard for small animals and birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 You've gotten some great ideas! And I've jotted down some of yours. May I respectfully suggest that you leave water balloons at home, though? In brush it is difficult to find all the little bits of burst balloon, but those bits are a real hazard for small animals and birds. :iagree:I was thinking the same thing. A wet sponge or sponge ball fight can be lots of fun instead, and the dirt/muddiness can add to the fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 You've gotten some great ideas! And I've jotted down some of yours. May I respectfully suggest that you leave water balloons at home, though? In brush it is difficult to find all the little bits of burst balloon, but those bits are a real hazard for small animals and birds. We couldn't do water and/or balloons here... We're expecting a grand high of 61 degrees on the nicest day. Oregon coast isn't quite the same as sunny SoCal, lol. ;) Wet and cold makes camping less fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Education Explorers Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Your family is large enough for a relay race that I do with my Girl Scouts and they LOVE it--Reflective Tape Hunt. Take black construction foam sheets and cut out book mark shaped rectangles. Then take reflective tape and make two sets of identical geometric designs. (Shouldn't take very long to make and I got everything at Wal-Mart very cheaply.) A few examples would be: two horizontal lines with a circle in between them, four triangles, a big circle, a "plus" sign etc. Once it is dark, you hide one set of the cards in a small area when the clan is otherwise occupied. Bring everyone together and form teams. Show the first person of each team a different design to find. The first person for each side then uses a flash light (hence the reflective tape) to find their assigned card. If the person can't find their design shape, they come back and the next person in their line is shown what to look for and then tries to find it. The organizer checks as each person brings back their assigned design to make sure they got the right one. If not, the player puts it back where they found it. It is a lot of fun and especially helps younger kids enjoy the dark rather than feel spooked by it when camping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.