Make your at-home camp educational and exciting
Summer camps offer time for kids to play games, try new things and bond with other campers. They are also expensive and not feasible for some families.
But many parents have vacation time coming in the summer. Why not use that time off to have a camp experience and bond with your own family?
“Creating an at-home camp environment is an excellent way to interact with your kids, learn how good their communication skills really are, find out things that they become overwhelmingly interested in, save money and, best of all, create lasting family memories,” says Jodie Lynn, an internationally syndicated parenting columnist.
That’s what Susan Zimmerling of St. Charles, Mo., did two years ago when she opted for a summer camp at home with her two girls – Sara, then 14, and Corie, then 11 – and husband Tony.
A parent educator for the Francis Howell School District, Zimmerling knew the value of what she was about to do.
“Camp is all about building relationships,” Zimmerling says. “Camp allows kids to experience new activities and define their interests. They get a sense of freedom from daily life, which allows them to express themselves in different ways.”
To that end, Zimmerling let each family member pick what to do on their day of camp. For one of her daughters, it meant a day of board games; for another it meant exploring the Lewis and Clark museum and trails.
“It was fun to see what they picked and where their interests were, and we cheered each other on and supported each other,” she says.
It also meant no outside world: no cell phone, no texting, no working and no friends over.
“We all came away from the time spent together feeling like we knew each other better,” Zimmerling says. “Having that fun, uninterrupted family time helped our kids feel like we valued being with them.
“When kids feel valued by their parents, they do better in all relationships in life, including school.”
But, let’s face it, kids become bored quickly – so make your at-home-camp different, educational (without them knowing it, if possible) and exciting.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Pick a theme: Yours can be a theme for the whole week or a new theme each day. Consider a Hawaiian luau with water games and playing in the sand. Serve fancy drinks with umbrellas. Learn the hula, crack a coconut.
Or try international day, where you learn about different countries and sample different cuisines. The World Cup offers the perfect opportunity to talk about other cultures, and you can play a little soccer, too.
Check your stresses at the door: Organize your camp early (plan activities, food, supplies) so that when the week comes, you are not a disorganized mess.
“Keep in mind that the planned event should be fun and not necessarily sticking to hard, fast rules,” Lynn says. “Eliminate high expectations and stay flexible.”
Role playing: At some point, let each kid take the reins, even if only for an hour (say, they get to plan what you do for a craft or an outing). Zimmerling let her kids each have their own day to plan.
“Role playing is an excellent way to enhance your child’s imagination, creativity and promote self-esteem,” Lynn says.
“Leadership skills can become immensely polished through role-playing, or perhaps enlighten parents into intricate mini-details of certain areas where a child needs additional help.”
Make a T-shirt: Every good camp begins with a really cool T-shirt. Have your kids make their own by buying cheap tees at the dollar store and decorate with fabric paints or markers. Come up with a name for your camp and put that and the year on there.
Circle time: A little structure will help get your day started. For younger kids, you can begin with a little reading or singing time. Go to the library the week before and choose books to fit your theme.
Nature walk: Make a scavenger hunt out of it. Create cards ahead of time with photos (or, especially great for early readers, words) of things they might find on a trail: a cardinal, a clover, a squirrel, a turtle, a brown leaf, etc. Have your kids mark off the item once they spot it.
Art of crafts: Try to have a craft every day. It can be as simple as drawing a picture of the day’s activities or a little more elaborate like a keepsake box, decorated with everything from stamps and stickers to ticket stubs and photos.
Mom Julia Sandvoss of South County, Mo., who writes a craft column, suggests a journal jar.
“Take a Mason jar or any container, decorate it and fill with questions written or typed out,” she says. “Then decorate a journal. Then each day pull a journal strip out and have the kids answer the question in their journal.
“Maybe the question is, my favorite color and why? Where I’d love to go travel? My favorite animal? What would I do with $5?”
Time for lunch: Make lunchtime learning time. Kids can learn a lot about following directions, reading and math by working from a recipe. Even if your campers are young, they’ll get a kick out of stirring some ingredients together.
You could also use this time to introduce new foods to your kids. For example, choose an Indian food day and teach your kids about the spices that go into making those dishes.
Or choose a new fruit or vegetable (maybe a papaya or eggplant) and make two or three dishes with those ingredients. Older kids could even create their own recipes.
Be a good sport: Organized games are great. Soccer only takes a ball (you can make goals out of driveways or garage doors) and kids of all ages can play. Or try jump rope or hopscotch or even four-square.
If you really want to get creative, grab all your sports equipment – the bats, the nets, the balls, the hockey sticks – and put it on the lawn and tell your kids to make up their own game.
Sleep outdoors: For at least one night, consider pitching a tent in your backyard, or even in your basement. Build a fire (if codes allow) or use your patio fire pit, roast marshmallows, play a harmonica and tell ghost stories.
At-home fun: Try something new, maybe horseshoes or badminton. Or go treasure hunting with metal detectors. Set up the sprinkler in your yard. Have a water balloon toss. Or set up a mini obstacle course.
Field tripping: The zoo, local botanical garden, museums, farms, science centers, waterfront, etc. offer obvious choices for field trips. But also try some places you might not have thought about, such as an animal sanctuary or nature center.
Talent show: Cap off a great week with a talent show. You could have your kids sneak away and plan one for you, or you could help them put on one for the neighbors.
It can be as simple as singing the alphabet or as elaborate as a one-act play. Either way, give them a box of props (try old hats, scarves, bags and Halloween costumes) and let their imaginations do the rest.