Camping in Your Backyard
Before we had kids, my husband and I went camping quite often. We would pack everything we needed for two days into our backpacks and set out on a grand adventure through the Colorado Rockies, eating food cooked over a gas stove and sleeping in a tiny tent. We naturally wanted to share this love of the outdoors with our children, but we found that camping with kids is not exactly the same experience. Kids require way too much stuff, they might get scared in the middle of the night and they don’t have the kind of stamina it takes to hike in 8 miles before setting up camp. So, we compromised and started off by camping with our kids in the backyard. Camping at home is a great way to get your kids used to camping before trying a campground, or it can simply be something fun to do on a nice weekend. Here are some fun ideas on how to make camping at home a grand adventure!
- Plan Ahead. If you want your first try at camping to be successful, plan it for a mild weekend with no rain in the forecast. Gather camping supplies from friends and family or pick up a few essentials if you plan to make a habit of camping. Garage sales are a great place to find used tents and camping supplies. At a minimum, you will need a tent, sleeping bags and flashlights…everything else you can improvise!
- Set up Camp. Sure…your house is 10 feet away, but when you set up camp, make sure to pull out all the stops! Put up your tent, sleep in sleeping bags, bring flashlights or lanterns and set up camp. Have your kids pack what they need in a backpack (including pajamas, favorite toys, glow sticks, etc.). Try not to go inside unless nature calls! Oh, and leave the cell phones, game systems, iPads and laptops inside!
- Gather ‘Round the Fire. If you have a self-contained fire pit, that will make a great campfire. If you don’t have one, even a couple of candles make good marshmallow roasters in a pinch! And if you’re leery of using real fire, make a pretend fire by collecting sticks around the yard and crumpling up orange, red and yellow tissue paper. Proceed to sing songs around your campfire.
- Take a Hike! You may live in the middle of the city, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go on a hike. Create a scavenger hunt for your kids by making a list of things for them to find (such as birds, types of trees, seeds or other things they can observe or collect) and set out on your mission. Or do as Kansas City mom Jill Nelson suggests and go on a “Quarter Walk,” which involves walking until you hit an intersection, then flip a coin. Heads, you go right; tails, you go left. See where you end up!
- Fun and Games. Play good old-fashioned games in your yard, like tag, hide and seek and Simon says. Make crafts of outdoor materials, like dream catchers from twigs, twine and flowers, or decorate a birdhouse or stepping stone to keep in your backyard as a reminder of your fun campout. Keep things simple…the kids will love the change of pace!
- Roast Some Weenies. If you’ve got a campfire or a flame of some kind, roast hot dogs and marshmallows for s’mores over the fire (use real sticks…it’s more woodsy!). You can also try banana boats. Slit each banana lengthwise through the peel, making sure not to cut all the way through to the other side. Stuff the bananas with marshmallows and chocolate chips, then wrap each in foil and cook over a fire, in the grill or in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the chocolate chips are melted.
- After Dark. The real fun starts when the sun goes down! Print out constellation maps before your campout so you can star gaze and pick out the ones you recognize. Make shadow puppets in the tent, make forest animal noises, play flashlight tag, tell scary (or not-so-scary) stories around the campfire—and forget getting them to sleep by “bedtime.”
- Sweet Dreams. When the evening winds down, snuggle into your sleeping bags and enjoy the fact that if it starts to rain, or if someone has a bad dream, or if the kids refuse to stop giggling and go to sleep or if it gets too cold or hot, you are only steps away from the comfort of your home!
Sara Keenan camps with her husband and two kids in Brookside occasionally and will be trying a real campout this summer.