The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer and summer is almost here! Time to break out the camping gear and have some fun. I loved camping as a kid, and I cannot wait to take my daughter someday. On days when the weather is against us, we will settle for having our own camping fun at home!

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There are lots of fun children’s books about camping. We decided to read a few of our favorites at our own indoor camp out!

Curious George Goes Camping follows Margaret and H.A. Rey’s adorable monkey as he and the man with the yellow hat venture out into the woods for a camping trip. As his attempts to be helpful cause havoc around him, George finds himself wandering the woods, where he ends up being able to save the day. This book offers a great opportunity to talk about fire safety tips.

Check out this post for more fire safety tips and activities!

Ladybug Girl and Bingo was written by Jacky Davis and illustrated by David Soman. Join Ladybug Girl and her family as they head out on a family camping trip. They set up camp, explore the woods, paddle canoes and eat outside. When Ladybug Girl and her trusty dog Bingo head off for some exploring, Bingo gets loose and it’s up to Ladybug Girl to save the day and find him. This story is a great way to introduce kids to all the fun things you can do on a camping trip, as well as what you should do if you get lost, and how to memorize landmarks in a new place.

A Camping Spree With Mr. Magee was written and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. Mr. Magee and his dog Dee head out for a quiet camping trip in their camper. However, when their camper starts rolling downhill, their quiet camping trip takes a radical turn! This fun rhyming story is hilarious and a lot of fun to read aloud.

Indoor Camp Out – Who doesn’t love a good camp out? We love setting up tents in our living room, and creating our own campsite added to the fun! To start out, we set up a tent by pulling a sheet tight across 3 chairs. We then filled our tent with the camping essentials: a sleeping bag, some pillows, a stuffed animal friend, some flashlights, and of course some camping books. To simulate the night sky, I poked some holes into the bottom of a paper cup and put it over the top of the flashlight.

Check out this post for more tent and fort building fun!

Fun Snacks for Camping Indoors

Indoor Campfire Snacks – During a recent spell of rainy days, we were having lots of indoor camp outs. Since we couldn’t roast marshmallows over a real fire, I decided to create some indoor snacks instead. First, we set up a play “campfire” and pretended to roast mini marshmallows over it. I set up a large plastic bowl in front of our “campsite” and filled it with red and orange towels. Next, I put mini marshmallows on the end of skewers and we pretended to roast them over the “flames”. (This was obviously my daughter’s favorite part).

We also made s’mores in the microwave. I broke a graham cracker up into two pieces and laid a few small pieces of chocolate on top. I then added mini marshmallows on top and put the whole thing into the microwave for 10 seconds. We could see the marshmallows beginning to puff up through the window. When I pulled them out, I pushed the second piece of graham cracker down on top of the whole thing. They get a bit stickier this way if you let them sit too long, so you want to eat them quickly!

Campfire Songs – Her other favorite activity is singing campfire songs, and we can sing them no matter where our campsite is! From Going on a Lion Hunt (her current favorite) to Princess Pat, there are lots of camp songs that can help kids practice important skills while having fun. Lion Hunt helps her practice storytelling skills (the emotion she puts into it cracks me up every time), while songs with actions help her with her coordination. Look up some of your favorite camp songs as a kid and share them with your little ones!

Fine Motor Camping Crafts – We had lots of time to make camp crafts as kids, and I loved all of them. I am so excited to teach them to my daughter as well. From God’s Eye crafts created out of sticks we found around our campsite, to boondoggle lanyards that we used to identify our luggage, there are so many fun ways that you can help kids pass the time while using their creativity and practicing their fine motor skills. These types of activities are easy to do inside and can really help pass the time when you’re stuck inside on a rainy day! Check out this post by Creative Family Fun on how to make God’s Eye crafts with sticks and yarn!

Do you enjoy camping out at home with your kids? What types of activities does your family do while camping?

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