Entertaining Young Campers

[Newanderthal]

the survival skills idea is cool, entertaining and useful.

Show them how you can boil water in a plastic bottle (tie a string around the neck of a 2 liter bottle and hang it from a stick. fill the bottle halfway with water and dangle it over the fire. As long as the flames don't come up over the waterline, the bottle will not melt and the water will boil.) you can turn stream water into drinkable water this way.

teach them how to start a fire with one match. show them how to gather dried grass and small twigs and build a little tee pee out of tender.

Get some cheap sharpening stones and show them how to sharpen a knife properly. None of these kitchen sharpeners with the V shaped rods. Just a simple stone and a little spit.

Teach them to tie a bowline knot.

Challenge them to each find five pieces of trash in the immediate area and toss them in the fire or trash bag. Tell them the importance of keeping the place free of litter. Make sure they understand that it's not a chore, but that they're playing a part in preserving nature. Make them feel accomplished that they picked up a few gum wrappers and cigarette butts.

Get some rope and sticks and have some of the campers make a splint for another. He can be the 'injured' one. They have to make a splint for him and a crutch. This is rarely taught or practiced, but twisting or breaking an ankle is quite common. I've done several miles on a quickly-fashioned crutch after a sprain on a solo trip. It's a good skill to learn.

[Trekker]

Oh wow, so many great ideas! Thank you for all of the games, guys, especially the flashlight tag link! Some games will be harder to do because, yes, it will be dark and this isn't an open field campsite. I'll work with it, though, I think I can adjust flashlight tag to fit my needs.

[hweiner]

So happy I came across this post because I will be going on a camping trip with my husband and his sister's two teenaged boys, ages 13 and 15, in a few weeks and I wasn't sure what I should be doing with them to keep them engaged and having fun.. please keep the suggestions coming!!
P.S I played flashlight tag as a child too ::sigh:: the good ole days...

[Grandpa]

For bigger groups try these;

water balloon toss, fill small balloons with water, teams of two, pass the balloon to partner, take a step back, toss again. Team lasting the longest wins. Adults get ready to duck !!

If you have a grassy area on a slope, a water slide is great. Again, adults get ready to duck when it turns into a water fight.

At our family reunions we always have a "guess how many pieces of candy in the jar".
Fill several small jars with various candies, pennies, etc. Closest guess wins the jar.

Get a set of water based craft paints, have a rock painting station where the kids can paint up a rock. (make sure the paints are water soluable so they can wash off)

For small groups such as single families, it depends on kids interests. The above mentioned survival skills, name that plant on a nature hike, etc. We usually have the kids do a survival skill program where each one is given a task before hand to learn and present to the rest. Since we usually have a fire, one kid is chosen to build that fire. After he/she finishes preparation, we have a little ceremony while they ignite it. (their first time is with a single wood match, after that they have to use another method.)

[MtMakiling]

War game at night is so much fun. Make them wear dark clothes. The aim is to capture the flag of the opponent without getting captured. Once a member is captured he is dead.

[BUUZBEE]

Originally Posted by Live2Camp

How about a treasure hunt?

I was thinking the same thing... a scavenger hunt (for daytime) done in say groups of 3-5 so no ones out getting lost!

nightime... maybe a camping/outdoors/nature themed charades?

[oldsarge]

Originally Posted by 2coastcamper

I don't know ... scary stories might be a little juvenile for teenagers. I think something a little more interactive might work better. Perhaps teaching them some survival techniques. Like how to make an emergency harness out of rope. Or how to make and bait deadfall traps. I'd suggest teaching how to make a lean-to shelter using only what you can find in the woods ... but I realize it'll be dark during your "down" time. Perhaps you can still do that if you gather the materials beforehand. You could teach the basic construction of the structure.

Absolutely, conduct some type of adventure training. Rope & knots, rope bridges, basic rappelling. Have some materials on hand to practice alternative ways to start fires. Field expedient litter to move someone who's injured. Something that pertains to the situation they are in.

[hweiner]

Thank you for the suggestions!

[CozInCowtown]

Just turn them loose, they will entertain themselves.
When we take the kids camping we intentionally don't provide entertainment. No phones, tvs, radios or anything like that. Fishing poles and .22s are some of the exceptions depending where we are at.
Set up a set of rules and parameters then kick them out of camp for awhile.
JMO,
DC