Bring the camp experience home
Camping can be an exciting adventure. The fresh air, warm sunshine and waking to the sounds of nature can be a soul strengthening experience. If you are the one responsible for the planning, however, it can become stressful trying to remember everything: shopping for‘ camp food’, booking the campsite and ensuring the camping supplies are clean, ready and packed. If the thought of planning for such an excursion makes you want to give up before you start, here are some ideas for a‘ camp at home’ experience your family will surely enjoy! Unplug and connect with your family, fill your soul, enjoy nature, without the stress of planning a traditional camping experience!
Set aside a weekend with your family: two full days without electronics or scheduled activities. Grab some blankets from the closet and create forts in your living room. Bring out the family games and have a weekend long tournament. Teach your children how to play cards! When is the last time you played Crazy 8’ s, Go Fish or Hearts? Or maybe grab a flashlight and sit in the dark, taking turns telling scary stories.
If you are fortunate to have a backyard, this can be a great place to camp and connect with nature, without the planning. If you don’ t own a tent, see if there’ s someone who can lend you one. If you don’ t own sleeping bags, use your extra blankets and pillows to create a cozy sleeping space for you and your family. Bring some flashlights along and go on a scavenger hunt in the dark! You’ ll be creating wonderful memories for your children! If you want to make a campfire but are not permitted an open flame, gather together several battery operated candles and place them in a circle on the lawn. You can now sing campfire songs without having an actual fire!
If you have a relatively sheltered patio attached to your home, create a sleeping area for your family. Again, bring extra blankets and pillows outside to create a soft, cozy sleeping area. Have you ever star-gazed with your children? Lay out on the grass on a warm summer evening, contemplate the vastness of the universe or perhaps try to name the planets and constellations that are visible with the naked eye. If you happen to own a telescope, even better! Providing quiet, uninterrupted time for your children to open up, ask questions and share their secrets can be an eye-opening experience for a parent. Be sure, however, to listen without judgement and criticism to what they have to say.
In whatever way you choose to camp, be sure and keep it as low-stress as you can. Have different members of your family be responsible for different things. Maybe your four-year-old can gather the pillows; your sevenyear-old can gather the blankets and your spouse can be responsible for the tent / fort / patio preparation, or the food / snack shopping( don’ t forget the marshmallows and hotdogs!)
Happy camping!
Contributed by Jodi Quibell- Word to the Wise Editing Services. www. wordtothewiseservices. com
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