I’m going camping with my goddaughter and some of her cousins. I am in charge of the cool craft or thinky activity for the rugrats because Uncle Cellphone showed them cool stuff like a coyote-eaten deer carcass and the shell of a cicada last year.
In short: HELP!
Cousins are 5 and 6, my goddaughter has Downs and is sort of pre-schoolish as far as her cognitive abilities.
I need ideas for crafts that would also be a learning opportunity. I was thinking like maybe building Barbie-sized canoes out of tree bark (note they’re all girls - Oy! - but they like getting dirty and building stuff with tools) or something with paper mache, but something related to the great outdoors or maybe introductory outdoor survival stuff, like what you would learn in Cub Scouts.
Last year, they particularly thought the explanation about the cicada leaving its shell was cool and the basic anatomy lesson of how tendons work in a deer’s leg. They were remarkably not squeamish, luckily the deer had been cleaned thoroughly and was pretty much a clean skeleton, save for one foreleg that still had hoof and hair. Then we all drew skeletons back at the campsite. (Although, one kid had “Skeleton’s going to get me!” nightmares later.)
So anyone remember cool activities from Cub Scouts that I can recreate? Preferably not involving nightmare-inducing dead animals this time?
Look for critter footprints – especially cool if you can identify them from a chart like one of these.
Looking around by a creek you can usually find something of interest – frog, fish, crawdad, etc.
How many different kinds of nuts can they find?
Learning a handful of basic knots (overhand knot, square knot, clove hitch, half hitches) would give them something to do with their hands. The square knot done with loops (technically, bights) is the shoestring knot.
They could make a simple meal to be cooked in aluminum foil and wrap it themselves. They’d need supervision to cook it on the campfire, which is a great opportunity to learn about fire safety.
There is some simpler version made with colored plastic cord that you would braid. I remember not getting the hang of it at summer camp, but the girls seemed to really like it. I don’t think my goddaughter could do that though, it’s a little to fine for her. The others could probably do it.
Got a digital camera? You could do a photo-scavenger hunt. Give each child say 15 minutes to list 10 things they think will be found in/around the campground, then take the kids for a walk, photographing each listed item you find. Things like: Ranger Station, Squirrel/Chipmunk, picnic table, boat ramp, etc. Then they can do a montage/video thing with a song with a theme for the trip.
They weren’t perfect but the kids really enjoyed it. We also have archery, card weaving, and a lampwork bead station set up but those require close supervision and special supplies. Oh, and we sometimes let them take ‘charge’ of campfire cooking duties too.
If you’re going to be anywhere around a lake, rock or shell collecting is good. You can explain about glacial retreat depositing rocks from different areas, what is sedimentary and igneous, that sort of thing.
How about a simple nature bingo. You could preprint cards with graphs showing pictures of different wilderness things (squirrels, oak leaves, pine trees, etc). They cross off items as they spot them and the first one to get a row crossed off is the winner of a small prize.
Give each of them a cheap, colorful plastic whistle to hang around their necks. Tell them if they can’t see the tent and don’t know how to get back, they can whistle. It emphasizes safety (don’t get lost!), is bright and colourful, and could actually help if they do get lost.