With warmer temperatures kids everywhere love being outdoors but now that we all need to stay at home what can we do?
You can set the mood for having a great camping adventure with a backyard tent or an indoor creative setting.
Begin by reading “We are going camping” or “Vamos de campamento”. This is a fun picture book with colorful illustrations about young animals going camping with their teachers.
Take advantage of the setting and the characters in the story to introduce children to new vocabulary about camping and animals and their babies.
After reading the story have your little one point out what they need to go camping for a day. Encourage children to engage in the fun interactive activities in English and in Spanish related to “We are going camping” or “Vamos de campamento.”
Talk about the things children can see at a camp and the things they can do at a camping site.
Arts and Crafts
Encourage children to go on a nature walk. Have them bring homemade or toy binoculars, magnifying glasses and a basket for collecting different size stones and leaves in different colors.
Stones with stickers
Children can:
Paint a picture on the stone
Decorate the stones with stickers
Draw on their stones with permanent markers
Decorate the stones with magazine cut-outs or fabric scraps
Leaf animal crafts
Show children pictures of leaf animal crafts to guide them. Have fun and foster their creativity.
Prepare Traditional S’mores for snack
Ingredients:
Graham crackers
Chocolate bars
Marshmallows of various sizes
Ask children to break a graham cracker in half. Put a square or two of chocolate on it and a marshmallow. Add a second graham cracker on top to make a sandwich. Place it in the microwave for about 20- 30 seconds until the marshmallow and chocolate start melting. You’ve made a delicious S’more! YUM!!!!!!!!
After snack
Open a tent and have children bring their sleeping bags. I f you don’t have a tent make a pretend one by using bed sheets and cushions as in the picture below.
Sit with your children in a circle, read the story again and sing some camping songs.
Do the Bear Watch skit and have fun!!!
This is a traditional song where the children repeat every line after the leader.
We’re going on a bear watch!
(Tap legs and sing)We’ve got our binoculars!
(Make a circle in front of eyes with thumb and pointer fingers)
Open up the door, squeak!
(Pretend to open door)
Walk down the road
(Tap legs and continue singing)
Coming to a wheat field!
Can’t go under it.
(Make motions with your hands as going under)
Can’t go over it.
(Make motions with your hands as going over)
Have to go through it!
(Make arm motions like you’re going through the field and make swishing sounds.)
Swish, swish, swoosh, swoosh.
Got through the wheat field.
(Tap legs and continue singing)
We’re going on a bear watch!
We’ve got our binoculars!
Coming to a bridge.
Can’t go under it
Have to walk over it!
(Tap legs and make a clicking noise with tongue)
Click, click, click.
Got over the bridge.
(Tap legs and continue singing)
We’re going on a bear watch!
We’ve got our binoculars!
Coming to a river.
Can’t go under it.
Can’t fly over it.
Got to swim across it.
(Pretend to swim and make splashing sounds.)
Got across the river.
(Tap legs and continue singing)
We’re going on a bear watch!
We’ve got our binoculars!
Coming to a cave.
Can’t go under it.
Can’t go over it.
Got to go in it.
(Pretend you’re in a cave)
Tip toe , tip toe…
It’s dark in here.
I see two eyes!
And a big furry body…
RUN! IT’S A BEAR!
(Motion as to running back)
Back to the river!
(Swim and make splashing sounds quickly)
Run to the bridge!
Cross it!
(Tap legs fast and make a clicking noise with tongue)
Run through the wheat field!
(Swish, swoosh noise cutting through the wheat quickly)
Run down the road!
(Tap legs fast and sing)
Open up the door, quick!
(Pretend to open door)
Close it!
(Pretend to slam door with a big clap sound)
Whew…
(Sighing in relief wiping your forehead)
Phew! That was close!
For more information on the things you need to know if you are taking your children Camping this Summer check out this Post on Caribu’s site.
