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A lot of people tell me they get overwhelmed by the amount of planning and preparation that goes into a family camping trip. While a little prep does go a long way, I want you to know you don’t have to go all out, over the top crazy with the planning to have a fun and memorable trip.
Campgrounds often have themed weekends and activities going on, as well as other amenities to occupy your time. Still, you might find yourself hanging around the campsite with antsy children. I’m all for letting them figure it out on their own, but sometimes, just giving them a little nudge in the right direction will spark some of their own creativity.

5 Lines
This first activity was inspired by Hands On As We Grow’s 5 Activities to do with 6 Lines of Tape. Instead of tape, we drew lines in the dirt with a stick. Even Mommy and Daddy had fun seeing how far we could jump with both feet together and we got some awesome action shots for our family photo book.
We also practiced jumping from line to line on one foot.
If you want to, you could also put down actual sticks instead of drawing them in the dirt.
Practice Writing
You can also let kids practice writing their names in the dirt with a stick. Or they can draw their own shapes and pictures.
Dirt City
The kids brought some of their action figures and cars along, so we used a stick to draw them a race track and city in the dirt, complete with the bat symbol. They imagined evil plots and then had their heroes save the day.

Wooden Car Track Races
After they got tired of playing in the dirt (yes, much faster than you’d expect), we used firewood to build a ramp for the cars to race down. This activity was inspired by the the track at the Yogi Bear Campground in Elmer, NJ that has a really large wooden track as one of their “attractions”. They even hold adult only Matchbox car races there, and it’s surprisingly fun.

Balance Beam
Finally, We rigged up this balance beam out of firewood. The photo shows it was pretty simple, but the kids still had fun with it.

I’m a big fan of simple activities and all of these can be done with basically some dirt and a stick or two. That makes them perfect for when your kids start getting antsy and you need to fill some time, especially at a camp site.
Do you have your own simple ideas to share? I’d love to hear them!
More Activities and Tips for Family Camping
