Kids Camping Activities 101

Kid's camping activities and camping games for children are boundless. They are something that you and your family can enjoy year after year.

First, I'll mention some of the "camping game standards" – these are the must do’s when it comes to kid camping activities. They are camping games that families have enjoyed for ages.

• Shadow Puppets - Making animals on darkened kid tent walls with a flashlight.
  
  

• S’mores - Melted chocolate and marshmallows between graham crackers.
  
  

• Night-time Star Gazing - Lie close together in kids sleeping bags and look up at the stars. Without the lights of the city it’s easier to see the planets and constellations.
  
  

• Cloud Gazing - Finding funny shapes in the afternoon sky.
  
  

• Ghost Stories - Spooky tales told by one person around a campfire or a ‘round robin’ where each person adds a sentence to the story and the next has to build on it.
• Kid Camp Songs - Sing their favorite melodies around the crackling campfire just before bedtime.

Some lesser known but still very enjoyable camping games to try are:

• “I spy” game – You see something at the camp site and have others guess by providing clues.
   
• Scavenger Hunt – A great kids camping activity is finding stuff in nature from a list. For example you could say go find a leaf colored orange, a pink flower, etc, just pick 10 or so items you've noticed around your campsite. An even better adaptation to this age-old game is trash scavenger hunts. They collect various items and whoever gets the most wins – plus they’ve done something to clean up the environment too!
   

• Funky Feet – Years ago in the late 1970’s, Big Foot was the rage. Many stores sold plastic ‘Big Foot’ feet as a novelty item to make tracks. Today you can make them yourself with Styrofoam or wood for an original twist on the game of hide and seek. One child is ‘Big Foot’ and the other goes in search of them following the prints. This is a camping game that kids and grownups alike enjoy.
   

Get everyone together and plan some fun kid tent camping activities before you leave on your trip. Use a camping gag gift to spice up your camping adventures. Or just take a simple nature hike to learn more about the local plants and animals.

Camping games and camping activities for children are only limited by your imagination. Go ahead and start having fun!
 

So, what's your kid's favorite activity for camping?