indoor camping
We’ve been doing a lot of this lately because the weather has been not much fun (either hot and sticky or raining).
What you’ll need:
a tent – you could have a blanket fort like we’ve made or you could pitch a real tent inside
a campfire – I got my idea to go indoor camping and my campfire inspiration from itty bitty love (her fire is much prettier than mine so I won’t give you my tips for making one, go and read itty bitty love). You might want to combine this with marshmallows for (pretend) toasting.
torches
sleeping bags – lots of fun to be had wriggling around like worms and crawling through a sleeping bag tunnel
What can you do once you’ve set up camp:
tell stories or sing campfire songs (again, itty bitty love has a song and game)
go fishing with this magnetic fishing game from the Powerhouse Museum
look at the stars in a pretend planetarium. 2 ways to make one are suggested in Making Make-Believe by MaryAnn F. Kohl.
- Spray paint the inside of a cardboard box black. Place glow-in-the-dark stars inside. Climb inside and explore the night sky.
- Make a star projector. Draw dots to represent a constellation on the bottom of a paper cup. Poke holes through the dots. Turn off the lights and shine a torch through the dots to project the constellation on to the wall or ceiling.
place stuffed toy animals around the house and go on an animal safari
and the ultimate adventure – spend the night in your tent.