The number one question people ask when I tell them we're a camping family, is "how do you do it?! I couldn't be in such close quarters with my family for long periods of time, no thanks."
But the truth is, what a freaking privilege to take our kids outside of societal norms and all of the digital age, and teach our children about this incredible earth rather than let them sit on their tablet for a weekend.
Have you ever heard of the saying, "see the world through children's eyes?" Camping with children is the most amazing experience from this perspective. Recently the hubs took our oldest little one down to the river by our house and intentionally stopped to slow her thinking and really soak in the scenery. "Look at the bright green grass...look at the trees without leaves on them...look at the clear, cold water..." He could physically see the excitement in her eyes to see something new and different. A lot of times kids seem to notice what you want them to notice...if you are checked out, they are checked out.
Practically speaking, we have had a HUGE box of toys under the storage of our camper and have only pulled it out maybe once in the last two years. In it, it has:
- Bubbles
- Chalk
- Clipboards with paper
- Markers, lots and lots of *Ultra clean* markers (truly they come clean from EVERYTHING like magic)
- Play-Doh kit
- Velcro ball game (what is this thing called?!)
- Assorted Glow Sticks
- Inflatable cactus ring toss game (it IS Texas, y'all)
- Assorted Art Supplies
- Mini purses (my girls fill them with dirt and rocks, which is kind of how I am in a sense...girly on the outside but a get-your-hands dirty nature lover on the inside)
It packs up pretty neatly into a shallow, but long storage container with a sturdy lid. I used to keep this in the inside of the camper but the girls would ransack it when we weren't looking (I know, scary!), so I started storing it under the bed. It works great there and also allows the girls a bigger thrill when they forget what is in there.
Its a pretty awesome backup kit in case you have an unexpectedly rainy weekend, or if you are staying put at a campsite rather than leaving the grounds to explore a town or something.
In all honesty, camping with littles can be challenging. Ours are on a pretty strict schedule which involves a daily nap between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. sometimes causing us to stop everything just to get them down. But we play it by ear and see what works at the time. Sometimes we will put them down for bed at night and just take a deep breath and a big swig of wine because we survived the day. Other times we can't get enough snuggles from them thinking about what an incredible journey we've had. Camping with littles can be unpredictable to some extent but for me, that is also what makes it exciting! What are your best tips for camping with little ones?
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