Camping Crafts For Kids can be a great way to be creative in the great outdoors! You can use simple materials and you and your kids can enjoy some great Camping Crafts For Kids.
These Camping Crafts for Kids are inexpensive and portable. You don’t have to pack a huge craft bin of supplies and carry them with you. The kids can enjoy them while they are camping and even at home. Also, these camping crafts make for great rainy day activities!
Kids’ Binocular Craft
This Kids’ Binocular Craft uses paper rolls (you can use toilet paper rolls or cut a paper towel roll in half to have two pieces) as the main craft supply for this camping craft. It’s a great art activity for kids of all ages.
You will need:
- 2 paper rolls
- Tape
- String
- Scissors
- Optional: things to decorate the binoculars. Stickers. Markers. Paint. Crayons.
How to make this Kids’ Binocular Craft
- Start by decorating the paper towel rolls however you like. Be inspired by your campground. Some things you can do are: draw or stick stickers of stars, flowers, trees, tents, canoes, rainbows, bugs, sun, clouds. You can do this as slowly or quickly as will keep the attention of the children.
- Next, place the two decorated paper rolls side by side. Then, tape around them to fasten them together. NOTE: You can use glue instead if you would like.
- Then, roughly measure enough string to go around the neck of your child and hang it down to their chest. Then, using scissors, cut the string.
- Finally, use tape to fasten the string to the binoculars (so the binoculars can hang around your child’s neck). NOTE: If you are concerned about choking hazard – you can opt to not add the string and just use the binoculars as handheld ones.
- Your kids will enjoy looking at nature through your very own, kid-made, binoculars.
Some things you can do with binoculars when you camp…
- Look at sunsets
- Birdwatch
- Search for frogs
- Scavenger hunt
- Sightsee while you canoe
- Look for wildlife
Will these binoculars work?
While they won’t magnify things in a distance, these binoculars will help your kids focus. Looking through the rolls, they will not side all the “side noise” (other kids’ playing, boats, wildlife). It really creates a tunnel for the kids to look through.
Related: The Ultimate Camping Checklist + Free Printable
Though camping is a ton of fun…there is downtime you might want to fill. Printing out and packing our 50 of the Best Camping Jokes to share around the campfire can be a great way to have a laugh while you all relax together.
You can cut up the jokes. Put them in a jar. And go around the circle reading them out. Again, it’s also a great rainy day activity to do together in your tent while you wait out a summer storm.
Camping Crafts for Kids – Rock Art and Kindness Rocks
Rock Art and Kindness Rocks are very popular with families as well. This camping craft for kids is a creative activity that spreads some encouragement to be found later by someone else.
What you do is decorate a rock and then leave it somewhere in the woods, on a beach or in a picnic area. Think of it as surprise geocaching.
This is a great activity for older kids, tweens, teens, and adults.
You will need:
How to make Rock Art and Kindness Rocks
- First, find various size rocks. The flatter the better for drawing on. Pebbles also work as well.
- Then decorate the rocks using the paint pens/marker pens
- Once the rocks are decorated, leave the rocks (or take them home as a souvenir)
50 Ideas for Making Kindness Rocks
Here are some ideas on what to draw and/or write on your art rock and kindness rocks…
- A heart
- Unicorn
- Fishing rod
- Campfire
- Tent
- rainbow
- Ladybug
- Butterfly
- Bird
- Fish
- Sun
- Moon
- Stars
- Love
- Smile
- Joy
- Peace
- Magic
- Trust
- Spread love
- Be kind
- Faith
- Be brave
- You rock
- Live laugh love
- You are beautiful
- Live laugh love
- Dream
- You are loved
- Be the change
- Inspire
- Be happy
- Believe
- Make a wish
- Hope
- Forgive
- You are awesome
- Spread joy
- Family
- Friends
- You are strong
- You got this
- Shine
- Relax
- Live your best life
- Be you
- Breathe
- You matter
- Yes you can
- Wings
You can sprinkle these rocks around the woods. Or make a pattern with them on a beach. People can add to them as they visit that camping area. It’s a great surprise to leave for someone to find.
Camping Crafts – Found Art
This is a no-cost activity that you don’t plan or pack supplies for because everything you need for found art is in your campground!
Have the kids create a pile of “found” supplies around your camp area. These can include:
- Sticks
- Rocks
- Feathers
- Leaves
- Acorns
- Flowers
- Pinecones
- Snakeskin
- Mud
- Clay
Now you are probably asking “what kind of art can my kids make with found forest things?” The possibilities are endless! This is an open-ended art piece that can be anything which the artist interprets.
Here are some Camping Found Art themes:
- Collage
- Sculpture
- Mask or face (lay the materials on the ground to make eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair)
- Teepee/tent
- Undiscovered animal
- Flag
- Animal habitat
The best thing about found art in nature is that you are using Mother Nature’s materials to create your art!
BE A FRIEND OF THE ENVIRONMENT: If, when you are looking for your found art materials you find plastic and trash out in nature…be a friend to the environment and pick it up.
Plastic bags, cans, plastic spoons, and forks can all be handy when you are camping but they need to go in the garbage when you pack up. Discarded trash can be a threat to the wildlife in the camp are (both on land and in water) as the animals can eat or get caught in the garbage.
These camping crafts for kids are fun for kids while camping and at home. What camping crafts do your kids love? Share in the comments!
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