Category: Activities

Materials
Pretend campfire
Small picnic basket with fabric for a table cloth and small plastic plates
Recycled squares of corrugated cardboard for graham crackers
Dark brown felt for chocolate
Cotton balls for marshmallows
Stick for roasting marshmallows

Directions
Create a pretend campfire using sticks, colored tissue or construction.  Place rocks around the campfire. Invite your child to roast a marshmallow over the pretend fire, blowing on it when it gets too hot! Set the fabric table cloth out and invite your child to assemble her s’more – graham cracker, chocolate, roasted marshmallow, and another graham cracker on top. Enjoy pretending to eat the s’more. 

Materials
Construction paper to make a pretend campfire (red, orange, yellow, brown) or fabric to sew a pretend campfire
Rocks to place around the campfire
Large Campfire Marshmallows
Bamboo Marshmallow Roasting Sticks

Directions
Invite your child to place a large marshmallow on a bamboo stick and pretend to roast it over the campfire.  Allow your child to eat the marshmallow once she feels it’s roasted.

Materials
Favorite Books
Flashlight
Cozy area for reading

Directions
Invite your child to choose a cozy area for reading favorite books.  Provide your child with a small flashlight and dim the lights.  Invite your child to read/Look at pictures using a flashlight. It’s lots of fun to read by the “campfire”!

Materials
Large feathers  (i.e. sea gull, turkey, pheasant)
Tempera paint on a paper plate
Large paper
Tape

Directions
Tape paper to the table.  Invite your child to dip a feather into the paint and move it across the paper. Encouarge your child to explore using the tip and the sides of the feather to make various paint designs on the paper.  Hang when dry.

Materials
Small plastic fish
Small fish nets from a pet store or small plastic handheld strainer
Large plastic bin with water
Blue food coloring (optional)

Directions
Place a variety of small plastic fish in a large plastic container filled with water. Add food coloring if preferred. Invite your child to use the net to fish. How many fish did you child catch? How many did he catch at one time? Sort the fish by color. Count the fish. What color fish does your child have the most of?

Materials
Natural Log Waldorf Blocks
Plastic animals

Directions
Invite your child to explore with natural log blocks. Add aminals to the blocks for some extended fun pretend play.

 

Materials
Assortment of rocks
Mess Kit Bowls
Magifying glasses

Directions
Provide a large assortment of rocks of different colors, shapes and sizes. Provide several cups or bowls (mess kit bowls would be great for this preschool camping activities theme!) and magnifying glasses. You’ll be surprised at how many attributes the children decide to sort by!

Materials
Kinetic Sand
Toy frogs, turtle, lizards
Small logs
Leaves

Directions
Place kinetic sand in a large plastic container and invite your child to explore. It’s moldable and has a very different feel and texture than play sand. Add fun toys animals like frogs, lizards, turtles, and logs and leaves to create habitats.

From day one, tummy time should be a regular part of your baby’s routine. This important time helps strengthen the baby’s neck, back, and core, which is essential for learning to roll over, crawl, and walk. Tummy time provides your baby with a different perspective, and encourages your baby to reach for and focus on objects.

It is recommended that babies have 15–30 minutes of tummy time each day.  Start with 5 minutes, three times per day and gradually work up to 10 minutes each time. 

To help keep tummy time interesting for your little one, try propping your baby up by using a Boppy pillow, rolled up beach towel, or tummy-time activity pillow. Get down on the floor with your little one or lie them on your chest or over your leg.  Make faces, sing, and talk to her.  Place colorful, interesting objects within reach. Provide toys that have various textures or make different sounds, like a crinkly book or squeak toys.

Try placing lightweight objects that are easy to grab in shallow baskets (e.g. bath scrubbies, plastic rings, teethers). 

Fingerpainting is another fun tummy time activity. 

Materials
Crayola Washable Fingerpaint
Gallon Ziploc baggie
White construction paper or card stock
Clear duct tape

Directions
Place a few drops of fingerpaint onto white construction paper or card stock. Carefully slide it into the Ziploc bag and seal it. Tape all edges of the bag to the floor. Place your baby on a Boppy and invite him to mix the colors with his fingers and hands. Remove from the baggie and allow it to dry before displaying.

Materials
Tempera paint in red, orange, and yellow
Light brown construction paper
Dark brown construction paper
Glue
Scissors
Spong paint brushes
Cottonball
Wooden Skewer

Directions
Paint one hand of your child’s yellow; the other hand, red. Invite your child to press his hands onto a piece of light brown construction paper. Paint one hand orange and press it onto the construction paper. Once the paint has dried, invite your child to cut or tear dark brown paper into strips to resemble logs. Glue them under the “fire” handprints. For added fun, stick a wooden skewer through a cotton ball and tape it to the paper. Display.