Marshmallow Art: For younger children, mini marshmallows can be glued onto paper to make 3 dimensional pictures. Using a flour and water paste will take the worry away of the younger ones 'eating their art'. Older kids can use toothpicks with the mini marshmallows to create sculptures.
Nature Art: The children can collect nature items from outside such as leaves, rocks, twigs, etc. and use them in many forms of art. Leaf prints can be made by taping leaves on a paper and painting over them and onto the paper. Once dry, remove the leaf.
Tuck leaves under a white piece of paper and use a crayon or pencil to make leaf rubbings.
Rocks and sticks can also be used to make nature prints.
Rocks can be turned into "pet rocks" with a little paint and some googlie eyes.
Older children can create stick creatures with various art supplies such as pipe cleaners and tissue paper and lots of imagination.
Science acitivities that relate to a camping theme are numerous.
Large branches (or even a tree stump if you can find one) can be used to count the rings to determine the tree's age.
Examining different types of leaves, how they look, feel, smell and their colours.
Learning how different plants have defence mechanisms (ie rose thorns)
Carnations or celery can be used to show children how plants absorb water. Trim the bottoms of white carnations or celery stalks on an angle for maximum water absorbtion.
(Leave the leaves on the celery)
Place them in cups of different coloured water (dyed with food colouring) Within a few hours the children will be able to see the flower or celery leaves take on the colour of the water.
It would be ideal to have a 'wienie or marshmallow roast' for this theme but having children around an open fire is not advisable. So we make some interesting substitutions.
Vegetable stew: Have the children help you select various vegetables to put into the stew. (It would be great to take them to the grocery store to see the winde variety, but if that's not possible have a large variety at home for them to choose from.) Younger children can peel such vegetables as carrots and potatoes, while the older ones (under very close supervision) can cut the vegetabels into bite sized chunks.
Explain to the children that anything can be cooked outdoors over an open fire.
Once the veggies have been all cut into bite size chunks, put all the vegetabes together into a tin foil pouch with a couple of tablespoons of water. Put the pouch onto the barbecue to simulate the open fire and cook there until the veggies are tender. (times vary depending on the size of the chunks.)
