Activities to Do While Camping with Kids

I am not much of a camper, and the only camping I’ve done with my daughter is going to the lodge at the Girl Scout camp (which is indoors and climate controlled).

But I know a lot of people like camping with their kids, and while I like to idea of it, I don’t think it’s for us.

If your family likes to get outdoors and you need some ideas for things to do while you’re hanging out at camp, read on.

This camping lapbook from Homeschool Share would be a great one to set up before your trip and use while you are camping. It has some informational sections like different kinds of poisonous plants and things to keep in a first aid kit, but a lot of it is set up for kids to record their observations of trees, birds and other things they want to remember from the trip.

Adventure in a Box has a printable nature journal with tasks and questions for kids to think about that includes things like finding different flowers and leaves, which they can collect on their pages or draw in (some like rocks and insects would need to be drawn, so make sure you pack your tools!). If you like bird watching, make sure to grab the printable bird book for kids to track their observations form Buggy and Buddy.

Park Ranger John has some great ideas for games you can play while camping, and Thrifty Jinxy has more ideas for games you can bring along when you go camping. I love the National Parks edition of Yahtzee, which includes facts about the national parks you can discuss while you play.

If your campsite has a lot of space (and a lot of sticks) kids can build a maze or a labyrinth that everyone can walk through. Mother Natured has all the details.

And in case you need some camping crafts, check out how to make a camping lantern from head lamps and plastic bottles (get the DIY from Home Cleaning Family) and the classic camp craft — a sit upon! This brings back memories of my own Girl Scout camp adventures, and you can make your own with instructions from There’s Just One Mommy.

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Camping Activities to Use at Home or at Camp

Shark Week generally happens in July, but any time is a good time to learn more about sharks.

First, start with some fun whale facts like these from Kids Craft Room. Here I learned about the dwarf lantern shark, which is the smallest shark and only grows to about 6-8 inches (about 15-20 cm) long. It also emits light. How cool is that?

Natural Beach Living has some great printable shark information guides, where kids can learn about different kinds of sharks, match the facts to the pictures, or print out doubles and do a shark memory game.

Living Life an Learning has some great shark activity pages including the parts of a shark, types of sharks, a crossword puzzle and more. Also check out their parts of a shark and word scramble download, and a life cycle worksheet.

Learn about how sharks float with this great activity from JDaniel4’s Mom.

Need more facts about sharks? This fact pact from The WOLFe PACK on Teacher Pay Teachers includes fact sheets, a printable flip book, informational text, vocabulary, comprehension questions and more.

Living Montessori Now has a great collection of shark themed activities with a Montessori inspired twist. You’ll find a shark roll and cover, shark phonics and lots more shark activities Deb has collected from all over the Internet.

Remember the “Sharknado” movie? A Few Shortcuts turned the combination of sharks and tornadoes into a fun science activity. You’ll need a bottle connector for this project but otherwise should have everything you need on hand. Use their template to make your sharks out of aluminum foil. So fun!

You can also do some shark themed coloring with these coloring pages from Encouraging Moms at Home. Or make a cool 3D shark with this template from korkotak. And there are tons of different shark crafts collected in this post from Kids Activities Blog.

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