Nature can teach many different lessons about life and family. One way we can start introducing these lessons to our children is by camping with them. Camping may seem so simple at first glance, but there are many lessons kids can learn from camping such as communication skills, teamwork, nature appreciation, survival skills and more.
Below are my top five lessons that kids can learn from camping:
Communication Skills
Even before families, drive away from their homes, they must start communicating what is needed for the trip. Clothes will need to be packed; some survival items will need to be identified and purchased; and rules about the do’s and don’ts of camping should be shared.
I remember when my daughters went on their first camping trip a few years ago. The very first night we had to walk through the woods to go to the bathroom several times that night. By the second night, both girls shared their needs early, so they didn’t have be wakened for bathroom breaks in the middle of the night.
The Power of Teamwork
Frankly, on a child’s very first camping trip he or she will learn how to work cooperatively with others. For instance, when pitching a tent children learn teamwork by assembling the poles and driving the stakes into the ground. Children also learn teamwork from participating in scavenger hunts and adventurous outdoor games.
A Sense of Appreciation for Nature
Our world is vast and there is so much to learn. While not everyone who camps is an environmentalist, there can be common sense of appreciation for nature. As parents or guide leaders children can be taught about the trees growing in the area, and local wildlife.
One of the easiest groups of trees to identify in the Maryland area are Sycamore tree because their bark looks faded and sickly like the trunk has a form of leprosy.
Wilderness Survival Skills
Camping at a State or Federal park can be a beautiful experience. Parents can also help children identify edible plants, teach them how to make and sustain camp fire, share the proper way to extinguish a fire in the woods, and catch and cook food to eat if needed.
How to Treasure Simple Luxuries
You can always go glamping which is glamorized camping in a decked out cabin, with many of the luxuries that most are use to having. However, if you choose to take your kids on a traditional simple camping trip one of the simplest lessons they will quickly. recognize is the convenience of electricity, the close proximity of plumbing, heat and air-conditioning, warm beds, and the luxury of a full kitchen.
While my family definitely misses the luxuries of home when we camp, there are some things about being out in nature that are priceless like not hearing cars go by, eating s’mores over a campfire, viewing brilliantly lit stars on a dark night, and so much more.
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Also check out:
20 Practical Family Camping Resources And Supplies