A camping we will go

Last week of school we set up camp grounds inside the classroom.  I have parents bring a tent and a small pool becomes a pond.  This year we have ducks and nets in the pond.  Some years there are fish and other things.  I also bring rocks and dirt for a sensory digging center.  We have horse shoes, a pretend campfire and some pretend cooking equipment. I have a plastic cast iron kettle that I bought after Halloween one year.  It is use for cowboy unit, campfire units, really anything that is cooking outside, and also my pioneer unit.  Worth keeping and eye out.  I even use it in sensory for ladling beans in and out of the pot.

Two friends roasting pretend marshmallows at the pretend camp fire.  Notice the logs are blocks, and the fire is tissue paper. The marshmallows are cotton balls and skewers are 18" dowels.  the kids just push the cotton balls onto the dowel and roast away.  They had a blast with this, and it was just a last minute brain storm of what could I use as pretend marshmallows.

Cotton balls are handy for a lot of brain storms, lambs wool, fluffy clouds, snow and now marshmallows.

 We use compasses to learn about finding our way.  We use flashlights to help us find our way in the dark  Lot's of night time books, because my actual unit is called outdoor fun day and night.  It is a great way to end our year as a class family. Notice from the picture the tent inside the classroom.  It was such a blast.
another fun year of classroom camping. 
We purchased water bottles and flashlights for the kids to have as camping gear, and thanks to
Chick-fil-a  we got compasses as well.  Their toy for this month was spy gear compasses, and they generously donated 16 to our end of the year camping event. 

If you don't teach a class, try an indoor camp out at your house.  The kids will love it and you will be a hero. You don't even need a tent because sheets and blankets work
 great.  Use your imagination and have fun with them.  Surely you had some fun indoor camping adventures as a child.  I know my girls did. 
Here is a a good camping rhyme for nightime noises
Night time noises


The children love this one. I use it when we do any night time activities, slumber party, campout, God made the night and day.

Chant this:
I was laying in my sleeping bag  and I couldn’t get to sleep.
The winds began to howl (howl)
And the bugs began to creek ( creek)
So I rolled to the left ( roll left)
And I rolled to the right ( roll right)
And I heard all the sounds that you hear late at night.


Repeat the rhyme with other sounds like people began to snore, frogs began to croak, owls began to hoot, dogs began to bark. Have children think of noises they

hear at night.
A few good books for camping theme.