Fun Indoor Camping Trip with Your Kids

Get out of the winter doldrums and gather your family round for easy, indoor family fun. It only takes a few common household items to make a day indoors feel like a summer's day camping trip. I do the indoor camping trip with my daycare kids all the time. It is one of their favorite indoor activities.

Set up a Tent in the Middle of the Room

The first step is to set up a tent. If you have a camping tent, set it up in the middle of the room. If you do not have a tent, use blankets or sheets draped over chairs. I used to make blanket tents when I was a child, so this old idea is just as fun for kinds now as it was years ago.

Gather a few camping supplies and put them in the tent for your kids to enjoy. Essential camping items include flashlights, sleeping bags or mats, lantern, thermos or canteen.

Make a Campfire with Your Kids

After setting up the tent, create a campfire with your kids using construction paper flames, paper towel tube logs, and crumpled newspaper campfire stones.

Cut out red, orange, and yellow flames from construction paper. Paint paper towel tubes brown to look like fire logs or roll up brown construction paper to form a tube. Glue the flames to the logs. Have your kids crumple up newspaper into the shape of rocks and paint them gray or black.

Arrange the campfire rocks into a circle inside the tent and place the logs and flames in the middle of the rocks.

Time for Campfire Songs

Gather your family around the campfire and sing old time campfire songs. You can find the lyrics to many of these songs online and print them out for a sing-along. Some of the traditional songs that come to mind are "The Ants Go Marching", "Waltzing Matilda", "Red River Valley", "Home on the Range", "Oh Susanna", and "Hokey Pokey". You can also sing your kid's favorite popular songs.

Make Microwave S'mores

What is a camping trip without s'mores? It is easy to make s'mores in the microwave. Have your kids assemble the s'mores, layering a graham cracker, a piece of chocolate, and a marshmallow, and another graham cracker on the top. Place the s'mores in the microwave and cook for about 20 seconds, melting the chocolate and marshmallow. Head back to the campfire and enjoy the s'mores treats with the family.

Indoor Fishing Fun

Fishing and camping go hand in hand and most kids love to fish. Set up a fishpond outside the tent using fish cut out of cardboard and homemade fishing poles. Have your kids cut out fish shapes from cardboard and color in the fish eyes and scales. Glue a magnet onto the fish.

Make fishing poles out of household items. One idea is to straighten a wire coat hanger and tie a string on the end. Glue a magnet on the end of the string to use for hooking the fish. Scatter the fish around the room and have the kids cast their lines to catch the fish.

Being house bound does not mean you and your kids cannot have any fun. Adapting outdoor games and activities for indoor play makes the winter blues disappear!

Resources:
Personal Experience
Karen's Family Day Care