Camping Activities for a Toddler...

With the summer quickly approaching, camping is right around the corner.  Taking a toddler is definitely more work, but can also be more rewarding, than I ever remember camping to have been in the past.  So, I have been collecting outdoors ideas I've come across (besides the typical nature walk) to use with our Little Man and figured now would be the perfect time to start sharing some of them.  Of course, I'm always thinking about how to make even our camping moments learnable!    

Activity Ideas:

-Rock collecting: Provide a container with compartments such as an egg carton for sorting the rocks by size, color, or texture.  Make sure to include some counting activities with the beloved rock treasures as well!

-Digging: This can be helpful when searching for a variety of rocks, or can add to fun in the sun on the beach!  Don't forget to bring a couple different digging utensils and buckets.

-Flashlight Fun: Make shadow puppets on the walls of the tent or the ground.  Or, shine the light on the ground and have the toddler chase it around trying to catch it.  For the older crowd, start up a game of flashlight tag!

-Light up/Glow in the Dark Play: Bring along bouncy balls that light up or glow in the dark bubbles and glow sticks for plenty of fun after the sun goes down!

-Found Object Sculpture: Use rocks, sticks, leaves, and branches to build a sculpture, tower, bridge or building. These can then be used for imaginative play during the rest of the trip.

-Writing in the Sand: Find a nice sturdy stick and a smooth patch of sand or soft dirt and get drawing.  Practice with letters, numbers, shapes, and words or simply have a blast drawing your favorite things around the campsite.

-Homemade Lantern: Fill a large clear container (such as a milk jug or two liter bottle) with water and secure the lid with glue.  Attach a headlamp to the jug (shining into the water) and watch it
glow!

-Beach ball Catch/Ping pong Ball Throw: Whether at the campsite, at the park, or at the beach, camping is the perfect time for a toddler to practice throwing and catching.  Bring along a beach ball for some fun catches and ping pong balls are perfect for tossing!  Neither will hurt anyone and both will float if thrown into the water. For older kids practice bouncing the beach ball in the air and count how many times it gets hit before it hits the ground.

Lots of fun to be had!  Next up...delicious and EASY toddler friendly campfire recipes.  Yum!

Check out more ideas at Carrots are Orange, Simple Homemade and here on Squidoo.