Setting up a fun indoor camping experience for kids

Just because the weather is a little cold, or you might not be able to travel far, doesn’t mean you can’t create a fun camping adventure! All you need is a little bit of space and a big imagination…

Why not camp inside your own home – in the family living room or anywhere other than your usual beds?

Things you will need

• Pillows, sleeping bags, blankets
• Torch
• Cushions or mattresses
• Sheet to create a tent-like atmosphere.

 

How to Do It

Choose a night that suits your family and make a tent by throwing a sheet over the back of a sofa or a big blanket over the dining table. Put mattresses or large cushions down to make a soft bed (make sure there’s enough room for all campers and a safe sleep environment for all).

Add some sleeping bags, pillows and blankets. Turn off all or some of the lights and use torches to create a camping effect. You can snuggle up, look at family photos, read or tell stories, sing songs, and maybe even have a ‘midnight feast’. Otherwise, you can just spend time cuddling up and drifting off to sleep!

 

Age Considerations

Babies: create a cosy cave outside – babies will enjoy the fresh air and new perspective. Use pillows to create a soft space to lay down, and drape scarves and sheets for babies to observe from below. NB. Young children should not be encouraged to sleep or rest in soft sleep surfaces, rather in their proper cots. Families should be guided by Red Nose Sleep

Toddlers: take your soft toys for a camping adventure! How many soft friends can fit in the tent with you? If you don’t have a tent, use sheets to create a cubby tent in the garden or on the lounge

Kinder: plan a picnic to have outside on your camping adventure. Children can plan the snack; help make it and prepare everything you need for a beautiful picnic.

Transition to school: encourage your child to plan and problem solve in order to build a tent that they can crawl inside of. If outside, can they use branches and rope/string to build a tent? Back inside, can they make a tent out of couch cushions or on their bed?

What Learning is Occurring?

• Problem-solving skills – how to get the tent to stay up
• Imagination and creativity – storytelling
• Sharing and listening skills as everyone takes their tum to share a story or  a song
• Planning skills to create a cosy space.

 

Additional Resources

• Red Nose

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