I am taking my little girls camping this weekend. We've got Barbie fishing poles in tow for the little stocked pond at the campsite.

What sorts of things would you teach or show little girls (under 5 years old) on their first camping trip? Any fun outdoor games you can think of?

I'd like to make certain that I'm giving them a very positive memory so that there's a desire to go camping with daddy again.

My daughter (now 5) is always interested in the names of plants and birds. You could take her on a short walk/hike w/ a field guide and try to teach her a few different names/IDs. Of course a 4 year old is a lot different than a 3 year old.

Other than that, wilderness tea party.

I did a quick google search of "camping with kids" and got lots of good hits.

One in particular - http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/camping-kids.html

Go on a nighttime spider hunt. Hold your flashlight up by your heads and their eyes will reflect light back at you.

If your girls don't HATE bugs, or course. The sisters of all the Cub Scouts always love this more than most of their brothers!!

s'mores around the campfire, storytime in the tent... just have fun and enjoy the time while you have it!!

I only have boys, but I'm not sure how different they are at this age. When I took my boys "camping" at that age I was amazed at the simply things they were attracted to:
1. I made them a "camping lanyard" that consisted of a mini flash light, whistle and pill bottle to store "fossils / rocks / bugs". I also put a name tag in case they somehow got lost (my wife's idea). (FYI...take the whistle away when it's time for bed).
2. I got them a spork....somehow this is a magical "camping" treasure.
3. Let them make their own tin-foil meal.
4. Find "animal/dinosaur" tracks
5. Throw rocks at everything.
6. Bring extra shoes because throwing rocks will lead to muddy feet.
7. The clip-on Off mosquito thing works fine, but get a Thermocell.
8. Marshmallows go without saying.
9. "Camping Wienies" (Vienna sausage) are a favorite
10. Playing "will this melt" is a great past time
11. Carve them a hiking stick...it will be used to smash whatever objects they can't smash with a rock.
12. Introduce them to Conway, Ronnie, George (Strait & Jones).
13. Make up constellations.
14. Anything you/they cook over an open fire will be delicious.
15. Lastly, just talk to them and have them explain how they think things work (i.e. a cricket's "cricketer")

[This message has been edited by FIDO 96 (edited 5/2/2013 10:36a).]

[This message has been edited by FIDO 96 (edited 5/2/2013 8:55p).]

If it is a clear night locate different stars.

Blue star for taking your girls out.
Let them explore and do whatever, don't get hung up on the activities you planned. My daughter was more interested in playing with the worms than fishing. Depending on where you are camping, bikes are always good. Pray for good weather. A girl's time with Dad is always treasured.

I'll be taking my two little girls (3 and 4) camping for the first time the following weekend. Have fun and be safe.

Keeping an eye on this thread too.

My kids go RV'ing with my parents a few times each year. They're 5 and under.

They could walk hike/bike trails all day long. As was said, get them a container and encourage them to discover new plants, rocks, bugs, etc. Be familiar enough with nature so you keep them from rummaging around in poison oak/ivy/etc. or picking up a poisonous insect, but don't be worried about becoming an expert. Just make something up. Remember: they're kids. The experience with dad in the outdoors exceeds the intrinsic satisfaction they'll get from knowing the genus & species of every plant and insect they come across.

Oh...and have plenty of wilderness tea parties.

quote:

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I only have boys, but I'm not sure how different they are at this age. When I took my boys "camping" at that age I was amazed at the simply things that were attracted to:
1. I made them a "camping lanyard" that consisted of a mini flash light, whistle and pill bottle to store "fossils / rocks / bugs". I also put a name tag in case they somehow got lost (my wife's idea). (FYI...take the whistle away when it's time for bed).
2. I got them a spork....somehow this is a magical "camping" treasure.
3. Let them make their own tin-foil meal.
4. Find "animal/dinosaur" tracks
5. Throw rocks at everything.
6. Bring extra shoes because throwing rocks will lead to muddy feet.
7. The clip-on Off mosquito thing works fine, but get a Thermocell.
8. Marshmallows go without saying.
9. "Camping Wienies" (Vienna sausage) are a favorite
10. Playing "will this melt" is a great past time
11. Carve them a hiking stick...it will be used to smash whatever objects they can't smash with a rock.
12. Introduce them to Conway, Ronnie, George (Strait & Jones).
13. Make up constellations.
14. Anything you/they cook over an open fire will be delicious.
15. Lastly, just talk to them and have them explain how they think things work (i.e. a cricket's "cricketer")

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You done this before. This sounds like an ideal little kids camping trip.

Best advice is lots of clothes, I always get glow necklaces to keep up with them at night and that cheap pack of flashlights at Home Depot go a long way towards your sanity and being able to find your flashlight when you need it.

"When the government fears the people, you have liberty; when the people fear the government, you have tyranny." Thomas Jefferson
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke

I bought my niece her first fishing pole (Tinker bell) with a foam hook. I had her practice by trying to hook the pacifier out of her 2yr old sisters mouth. They both loved it.

Do you have an iPhone? I have the Starwalk app and my kids love it.

Bring a good set of binoculars and get a star map app for your android or ipad/iphone.

Droid Sky view (Android)
Starmap Lite (iPhone)

[This message has been edited by LoudestWHOOP! (edited 5/2/2013 4:52p).]

Leave the damned smartphone and all the Apps at home or lock the phone in the car.




Dammit!

My 3 yo son loves looking at tracks. We start with assorted canine and deer/hog tracks, and work our way down to rodents/frogs/lizards. We also work on basic plant id, especially if it involves counting. I don't particularly care for birding, but he gets a kick out of using the binoculars. He likes pointing out the assorted he knows to his daycare teacher.

Every kid loves a headlamp flashlight. Great for exploring!

Let the kids be your guide to what they find interesting & expand from that. Go into as much detail as they can tolerate then move on. Right now, most of the wildflowers here fall under the "yellow daisy" umbrella. That's close enough for a four year old & technically correct in a very broad plant tax. sense. Expand on it by looking at difference in some of the yellow daisies.

I sometimes "plant" things along the trail to be "discovered" later. Shed antler, random bones, fossils, shed snake skin, and other things that might be found off the trail.

Make a game of observing by placing ten items that don't belong along a short 100 foot section of trail & tell them to find the things that don't belong. Candy wrappers are too obvious so I go for half of a hamburger bun (crust side up), long piece of string "crawling" across some rocks, or a camo cap or coat hanger hung in a tree. Things hung in trees are always missed. Everyone is focused on the ground. Even adults like this game.

Look for scat & figure out what animal it came from. If it's good & dry, I go so far as breaking apart coyote scat to look for hair, bones, & teeth of whatever was eaten. Kids think I'm crazy for touching it (admittedly I am). They are initially grossed out, but within 60 seconds they are all in the, "Let me see. Let me see." mode. They will always remember picking up scat. That's the first thing the tell mom about when they get back.

Let them look through the binos backwards for a really cool magnifying glass view of literally everything. They will spend the next ten minutes looking at everything then can find up close.

Basically, expand on whatever you find out there, show/explain it to the kids, let them tell you when they have learned all they want, then move to the next interesting find. When they find something you know nothing about, Google (& Texags OB) is your friend

life gear flashlights from walmart or academy. You can get each their own color.

Or the target $ bins...we usually find them there. I buy them year round and keep them for rewards/treats, small gifts for friends, stocking stuffers, etc. Those flashlights are awesome too.

I've incorporated a bunch of these ideas into our weekend prospects. Thanks for the great suggestions. I'll advise if I stumble upon anything great.

Leaving this afternoon - the ideas are much appreciated!

-d

Since the weather is cooler, I have bought us all some matching Carhartt duck bib overalls and some rubber ruck boots. The place we're going has had some copperhead issues lately so I'm going for some heavier coverage.

And dang if my little girls aren't cute in these:

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10. Playing "will this melt" is a great past time

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This is still one of my favorite camping games and I'm 34 years old.

Two thoughts come immediately to mind.

1. Great move on your part.
2. Keep this away from the General Board.

Great thread. I'm definitely taking some of these ideas.

Skubalon, let us know when they've outgrown those overalls. I'm sure there are plenty of us on here that will be willing to take them off your hands!

Hate I got in late. Lots of good ideas. I had three little girls and we camped a lot. I found a substitute for smores called campfire banana splits. I told a friend that leads safaris in Africa in the summer and he made them and the natives were in awe of them. You take a banana and split it on the inside of the curve. Open I a little and stuff in some mini marshmallows and pieces of Hershey's bars, or semi-sweets. Wrap the banana in foil and throw it on the grate. The peel will keep it from burning. Remove and open peel and scoop out with a spoon.

Bookmark

I love those banana things.

The May issue of tx highways has an article on camping with kids.

Worth a read

Well, keeping up with a three year old and a four year old wore me smooth out, but we had a great time.

We fished (didn't catch anything. We cooked hotdogs and smores a bunch. We played "let's see if this will melt" and talked about why campfires start with little bitty fires before they become great big fires. We sang some songs. And some other stuff:


We talked about why there was "smoke" on the water when we woke up:



We blew bubbles:


We went on a hike in the forest and had a scavenger hunt for the biggest leaf, the smallest pinecone, the tallest tree, the weirdest looking bug, etc., and found hiking sticks:


We loved our matching coveralls:


We shot BB guns:



We played shadow puppets in the tent:


We found and ate some fresh wild blackberries:


We stayed up late and saw the Milky Way:


We fed a fat goose and some ducks:



And mostly we just had a good time together and drunk in nature:




I'll try to think of some pointers and post them after a while.

the Go Sky Watch app on your phone or tablet is great for looking at and identifying stars and constellations. (leave the phone in your car protected)