“The love in our family flows strong and deep leaving us memories to treasure and keep.” -unknown
During a normal week, the girls and I spend a fair amount of time at home but we also enjoy spending many days adventuring out into our community. You can often find us at the library, a local park, a local business, or adventuring to places we have never been. However, right now, due to the current situation of the worldwide pandemic, we have found ourselves (like most everyone else) left to adventure at home and within our neighborhood. This has allowed me the opportunity to be even more creative with the activities I plan for our little ones.
So when I came across an advertisement from Trail Life USA about a National Backyard Family Camping Campaign, I knew this was something we should do! Our four year old has been begging us to take her camping. What better way to try out a first camping trip than in your own backyard!? Being in your own backyard makes the camping process much easier with two children under five years old. The girls had tons of fun, learned a lot, and we made sweet family memories that we will cherish forever.
I encourage you to do your own backyard family camp out. It takes a little planning but overall is pretty easy. Even if you don’t like camping, it is something different and fun to do with your children. It is also a great opportunity to teach them many skills they can use throughout their life. Since my passion for education carries over to almost everything I do, I will show you the skills we were able to teach our children during this family camping adventure.
Pre-Camping Planning
Planning skills are important for children to learn. Learning how to effectively plan for events and tasks is an essential life skill. They will use this skill for their entire life in both their work and play.
For this adventure, I had our girls sit with me to make lists for the various things we would need, as well as, help me with the actual packing. It would be easier to turn on a TV show to have the kids watch while you pack, however, by allowing your children to help it teaches them to plan, fully think through a situation, and to understand their needs & wants.
Grocery List for Dinner, Snacks, & Breakfast
Gather Necessary Supplies
(food supplies, tools, sleeping supplies, clothing, etc)
Toys & Games
We tried to think of some appropriate toys and games that our family would enjoy doing outside. Of course, I did a little Pinterest search to help with ideas. Below are some links to helpful resources that you could use before or during camping. We ended up doing a Nature Hunt, I Spy, Shadow Puppet Storytelling, Stargazing, Gooing on a Bear Hunt song, listening game (paid attention to the sounds of nature), charades, and my husband & I shared some of our previous camping stories.
List of children’s books with camping theme
Don’t forget stuffed animals! 
Make sure the dog has his toy too!
Camp Set-Up Skills & Teamwork
The entire family participated in setting up our campsite. This was a great way to teach our children about teamwork. By working together, we were able to quickly set up which then gave us more time to eat, play, and relax.
Prepare a Place for the Tent
Tent Set Up
Make a Comfy Place to Sleep
Gather Sticks for Fire
Great for the little ones too! 
Grill Cooking & Fire Safety Skills
It’s great for children to learn that we can cook food in a variety of ways. While you camp, you can teach them all about cooking over a grill and fire. It is essential to teach them how to properly cook using the grill and fire and how to properly act when they are around those hot tools. We taught our girls to pay special attention, not to run or play around the grill or fire, and what would happen if they touched it. I always make sure to thoroughly explain why there are certain rules put in place. This helps them to understand the importance of what we are trying to teach, encourages them to think through their decisions, and shows them that I respect the questions they have about the rules.
Campfire
Not only did we learn about campfire safety but they also had the opportunity to learn how to start a fire, how to make S’mores over the fire, and then how to put a fire out. The girls absolutely loved making S’mores! Some of us enjoyed the marshmallows more than the actual S’mores though.
Breakfast & Morning Time
Our girls had a bit of a “princess glamping experience” for breakfast. Their daddy brought out a little table and made them pancakes with maple syrup. They woke up to a warm breakfast right next to them. We ate together, discussed our camping experience, and asked what their thoughts were about sleeping outside. After breakfast, we walked out of the tent and explored. We discussed the differences between outside at night and in the morning. We certainly noticed that it was wetter outside in the morning than at night because of the dew.
Clean Up & Pack Up
Teaching kids how to properly clean up after themselves is important too. If we want to have fun we also have to do the hard work that goes with it. Both girls played a part in packing up their toys, sleeping bags, and made sure to help pick up any trash we had from breakfast. They helped wipe down the tent and helped sweep any dirt or leaves out. They helped pack up our camping chairs and carried items back inside the house.
Overall, we had a really great time together and the girls learned a lot of new skills! It’s getting warmer here in Florida so, unless we travel out of the state, we will probably wait until the fall for another family camping adventure. The girls are looking forward to taking their new skills on a camping adventure away from home, even though, Ava did mention how she is a little scared of possibly coming in contact with a real-life bear.
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