Before the frost and school start, plan a fun camp activity for the kids in your backyard. Invite some friends and neighbors over for backyard camp. A small group of children, 6-8 school-age children, is recommended. Borrow several tents, at least one for every 2-3 kids (unless you have a large family-sized tent!), or set up flat sheets over a clothesline to make a tent.
Ask the children to make tent announcements, which include information such as:
- Backyard camp history
- It’s time to come
- What to bring with you: sleeping bag, pillow, pajamas, toothbrush
- Time to pick it up the next morning
- Trustee information
When the kids show up for a kids’ camp activity, plan a barbecue party with roasted sausage on a stick, potato chips, veggie sticks, dip, and nutritious drinks. Make cupcakes decorated with shredded coconut (dyed green food coloring for “grass”) and paper “tents” on top. Put the child’s name on each tent.
Before it gets dark, review safety tips, where to go to the bathroom during the night, and even where they can come to sleep if they need to. Each cart emits a flashlight or flashlight. Be sure to bring bug spray and a first aid kit.
After it gets dark, play finger shadow and flashlight tag games. Gather the group into a circle (or semi-circle) and place the camping lantern in the center. Dim the lights and tell the “camp scary stories”. Or play a storytelling game where the guest of honor (the child whose backyard is being used) starts a “long story” and everyone around the circle has to add to the story so that it ends again with the guest of honor. With a small group, it can be fun to run around the group a few times before finishing the story.
If the night is clear with no clouds, have everyone lie on their backs and look up at the night sky. Who can find the North Star, Polaris? Who can locate the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper? Look for constellations in the summer sky for your area. See if they can locate any of them.
The morning before camp to go home, serve breakfast and tell everyone to “pack up.” If you want to send little party favors home, the whistle, compass, and speech letter are popular with kids.
