We are going camping out on the California coast next week so we are taking the opportunity to do some indoor camping this week as preparation for the kids. They have never been camping before so we are ‘practicing’ at home so they know what to expect! It also gives me opportunities to talk about things like fire safety etc while they are engaged.
We setup 4 stations in our living room; a tent, a fire pit, a fishing area and a cooking/picnic spot. Each area has activities to do, in addition, each day we will be eating themed food and doing either a science, art or sensory project. So stay tuned for A LOT of fun and hopefully some good ideas!
1) Tent Area:
I used our sectional couch and 2 kitchen chairs to make the tent. A fitted sheet made a fantastic roof and was quite sturdy. Then I used flat sheets to drape over the sides and create curtains in the front so that we could close ourselves in. We also made wall signs to distinguish the areas and talk about signs you might see at a campground. I made these out of scrapbook paper but Oriental Trading has a great set.
The inside of our tent has blankets and pillows along with camping related books and camping stickers and paper. We spent a nice chunk of the morning just sitting and reading and eating Cheetos (a special treat!) in our tent.
We made the lantern by putting a glow stick in a water bottle.
2) Fire Pit:
Our fire area consists of basically chairs and a pretend fire. I keep the materials for it in a basket so that the kids can practice building fires.
The basket has toilet paper roll logs, felt flames and tissue paper to crumple up.
We ate our meals by the fire today, hot dogs for dinner and bear sandwiches for lunch!
3) Cooking/Picnic Area:
I put some pretend food, a grill and plates and utensils here for some great play! The kids love pretend cooking and by somehow bringing the grill in from outside it seems new to them! I’ll take it.
We are also using the black bucket as a dish washing area. I gave the kids wet sponges to use in it rather than filling the bucket with water inside.
4. Fishing Spot:
All of the kiddos are in heaven with this one! It’s a great motor activity for babies and a great introduction to magnets! I’ve tried to accommodate both a baby and a preschooler with this station and they are both pretty pleased.
I made the fish by cutting simple figures in felt and putting a paper clip on the end of them.
M’s rod is just a stick with a piece of rope and a magnet tied to the end of it.
Because the pole is tough for A to maneuver, I just gave her a magnet wand to fish with and it is just perfect for her.
She has been fishing all day and has really gotten the hang of finding the paper clip and holding the wand the correct way. She calls them her ‘dish’ 🙂 I just love watching them learn through exploration. Mack read his first word today by saying each letter and it’s sound and then reading the word ‘camp’. Seeing him learn like that keeps me doing these types of activities for them (even though sometimes I should be cleaning ;)).
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