Family Camping
Nature For Kids presents ….Family Camping
Tent - $150, sleeping bag - $90, Mallows - $1.78
Silence on the drive home….priceless!
Camping Simplified
Today I had a friend post this comment on my personal blog… “you guys look like you are always having so much fun. we really need to get out and camp more but it takes sooo much work to plan and get ready.”
Well, I have a sign hanging in my house that says, “Live Simply”. It’s constantly reminding me to do just that in all aspects of my life, including camping with my kids. Here’s how we minimize the work involved with preparing a family camping trip.
- Have one or two large totes dedicated to your camping equipment. Simply pull them out and load them into your vehicle when it’s time to go. When you get home put them back on the shelf.
Tote #1 holds - sleeping bags, sleeping pads Tote #2 holds - tent, cook stove, pots, utensils and odds and ends. Buy totes that close tightly and don’t try to overload them. The lid is imperitive in keeping any additional dirt out.
Here’s a picture of our equipment shelf. I won’t show you the rest of our garage. YIKES!
- Put your camping trip date on your calendar and tell your kids about it. Giving yourself a visual notice of when it’s going to happen usually helps in gradually becoming prepared. Plus, if you tell your kids, they won’t let you back out of it!
Check in tomorrow for more ways to ‘Camp Simply’. Or if you already have some ideas to share, leave a comment.
*These ideas are for car camping. Backpacking is a whole different story. But rest assured there will be future backpacking posts on Nature For Kids!
Tent Camping: Part I
This week I had a friend, who is preparing to have her second child, ask about helpful hints on camping with new infants and small children. Her and her husband already have a camping trip planned and their baby isn’t even born yet…high five from across the U.S. Sadie!
This got my wheels turning in my rusty cobweb filled head and I had to refer to my journal for reminding…
September 13, 2004 - This is an entry I wrote when Corbin was almost 3 months old.
“Corbin slept through the night for the first time on Friday. The funny thing is we were camping out.
All four of us squished inside our tiny tent. But it was fun. He slept 8 hours straight. It was so nice.”
*What I do remember from this trip, besides my first restfull night as a new mom, is what he slept in that night. I got Corbin’s car seat and put it in the tent and lined it with warm blankets. I had him sleep in his normal pajamas and then put a fleece bunting over the top. I then topped it off with a little beanie on his head. Once I laid him in the car seat I just put a couple more layers of blankets over him. Fleece and synthetic down materials work best, I think. Because he was raised a little from the ground inside the car seat I knew I wouldn’t roll over on top of him. It allowed me to sleep better because we were pretty crammed…but warm!
April 28, 2002 - This entry was written when Cru was almost 3 months old.
“We’re on our way home from City of Rocks right now. We had a blast! I wasn’t too excited to go because the forecast said it would be rainy and cold; and it was, but not too bad. Cru was great. It was his first camping experience. We made the tent nice and cozy so we could all sleep in it. The first night was kind of rough but last night we stayed really warm and Cru slept all night. The climbing was rad!”
*I totally remember what made the difference between the first night and the second night. We learned a new trick that we still use to this day. When we set up our tent, and know it’s going to be cold and wet, we put a tarp under it. then we lay a fleece blanket over the top of the tent, where our air vents are. Then we put the fly on over that. It works extremely well. The heat stays in better but so does the stale air. Gets kinda stinky in there with three boys!
Mand
Great advice and so cool that you could look back on your journal to see what you did. I need to do better about the whole journal thing.
Thanks again,
Sadie
tent, camping, outdoors, adventure, summer fun, outdoor recreation
