Make your at-home camp educational and exciting

AMY BERTRAND

JULY 13, 2010

(LSJ.com)Summer camps offer time to play games, try new things and bond with other campers. But they also are expensive and not feasible for some families.

But many parents have vacation time coming in the summer. Why not use that time off to have a camp experience and bond with your own family?

Jodie Lynn, an internationally syndicated parenting columnist who lives in St. Louis, says, "Creating an at-home camp environment is an excellent way to interact with your kids, learn how good their communication skills really are, find out things that they become overwhelmingly interested in, save money and best of all, create lasting family memories."

That's what Susan Zimmerling of St. Charles, Mo., did two years ago when she opted for a summer camp at home with her two girls, Sara, then 14, and Corie, then 11, and husband Tony.

A parent educator for the Francis Howell School District, Zimmerling knew the value of what she was about to do.

"Camp is all about building relationships," Zimmerling says. "Camp allows kids to experience new activities and define their interests. They get a sense of freedom from daily life, which allows them to express themselves in different ways."

Camping at Home

PICK A THEME: Yours can be a theme for the whole week or a new theme each day. Consider a Hawaiian luau with water games and playing in the sand. Learn the hula, crack a coconut. Or try international day, where you learn about different countries.

CHECK YOUR STRESSES AT THE DOOR: Organize your camp early (plan activities, food, supplies) so that when the week comes, you are not a disorganized mess." Keep in mind that the planned event should be fun and not necessarily sticking to hard, fast rules," Lynn says.

ROLE PLAYING: At some point, let each kid take the reins, even if only for an hour. Zimmerling let her kids each have their own day to plan. "Leadership skills can become immensely polished through role-playing, or perhaps enlighten parents into intricate mini-details of certain areas where a child needs additional help," Lynn says.

MAKE A T-SHIRT: Every good camp begins with a really cool T-shirt. Have your kids make their own by buying cheap tees at the dollar store and decorate with fabric paints or markers. Come up with a name for your camp and put that and the year on there.

NATURE WALK: Make a scavenger hunt out of it. Create cards ahead of time with photos of things they might find on a trail: a cardinal, a clover, a squirrel, a turtle, a brown leaf, etc. Have your kids mark off the item once they spot it.

CRAFT: Try to have a craft every day. It can be as simple as drawing a picture of the day's activities or a little more elaborate like a keepsake box, decorated with everything from stamps and stickers to ticket stubs and photos.

SPORTS: Organized games are great. But if you really want to get creative, grab all your sports equipment - the bats, the nets, the balls, the hockey sticks - and put it on the lawn and tell your kids to make up their own game.

SLEEP OUTDOORS: For at least one night, consider pitching a tent in your backyard, or even in your basement. Build a fire (if codes allow) or use your patio fire pit, roast marshmallows, play a harmonica and tell ghost stories.

AT-HOME FUN: Try something new, maybe horseshoes or badminton. Or go treasure hunting with metal detectors. Set up the sprinkler in your yard. Have a water balloon toss. Or set up a mini obstacle course.

FIELD TRIP FUN: The zoo, local botanical garden, museums and science centers offer obvious choices. But also try some places you might not have thought about, such as an animal sanctuary or nature center.