Activities with Amber - Camping at Home
We hope you all are having a good week and staying healthy! One of our favorite things to do at CSG is to have evening campfires. While it may be difficult to recreate a typical camping experience, we encourage you and your family to get creative and bring some aspects of camp into your home. Whether this means putting up a tent in the backyard, building a blanket fort in the living room, or sitting around in a circle singing camp songs, bring some summer fun to your family!
We know that building forts are messy, but they're so much fun! David Sobel, children's author, talks about the importance and benefits of unplugging and building an indoor fort:
Increases independence
Fosters imaginative play
Provides kids with a sense of accomplishment
Encourages collaboration
Rachel Seis, author of "The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Camping" shares her tips on camping at home. We have added some of our own to help you get your campfire started:
Make it magical, set the scene, and buy into it. Add some string lights, turn the lights off, and hand out flashlights to give it more of a camp feel. This is going to be an activity they want to do, if you buy into the experience, they will too.
Cook up some camp snacks. You don't need a campfire to eat like a camper! Pack sandwiches, popcorn, trail mix, or any other family favorites. If you're feeling adventurous, try roasting hotdogs or smores in the oven or on a backyard campfire. Try banana boats for a barely healthier option.
Plan on playing games. What's a camp-out without camp games! Go traditional by playing games like Telephone, Simon Says, or 20 questions. Plus, they don't require any equipment. Other games include a nature scavenger hunt, flashlight games, or telling silly camp stories.
Sing some songs. With campfire being one of our favorite parts at CSG, we've got you covered on fun camp songs. Click here to download a full list of songs your kids will love. If your camper is a returner, they'll remember a few of the highlighted songs, just be prepared for the loud, constant singing that may follow.
We hope these tips are fun and help you create your own camping experience at home. Also, be sure to keep checking out our webpage of CSG at home resources if you have missed any of our information and activities to help during this time. We love you all and hope you enjoy this family activity. Stay healthy, and happy camping!