Customer Reviews

Sleeping In A Sack: Camping Activities for Kids (Gibbs Smith Jr. Activity)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is where ordering a book through the internet is a little disappointing, as you can't browse the book before purchasing it. "Camping Activities for Kids" is very light on the "activities." It does a good job of laying out items that should be brought along on ones first camping trip, but falls short on suggesting outdoor activities for kids. The activities that are suggested are a little simplistic. For example, "laying sticks apart from one another and pretending it's a river, and then have the kids jump over it and playing golf with sticks and using pine cones as balls." I was hoping for more endepth activities. If it's your first time camping this books okay, but if you've camped for awhile and your kids are a little older the book falls short so look for something else.

I found this to be a great resource for kids new to camping. Checklists, ideas for low-impact camping, and activites abound in a very user-friendly format. Not necessarily great for more experienced campers, but perfect for my first-grade Girl Scout troop!

A great book for pre-teens and their parents. It has ideas on how to involve your child in the planning of a camping trip. They tell you not to hesitate to make a trip first just to your own backyard, something that I always reccommend as a test run of your skills and your gear. And you can have repeat visits to the yard anytime you like, cause the kids just love it and it's easy on you. Naturally it has advice for longer trips into the real woods, from gear selection, to packing lists, how to pack it all in, how-to put it toghether, how will you cook, how to light a fire, and more. But it also has a great emphasis on what to do when you get there, how to plan fun for the kids, (or how to keep them busy) and includes nature activities, games, and songs. It also has some great but simple camping recipes. 64 pages with full-color illustrations. Try the other book from theses authors, "Cooking On A Stick", it is mostly recipes but a great book for any camping library.

OK, clearly not a "1001 idea book" for parents that are taking their kids camping. If you need those kinds of ideas look online, they are readily available. This is one book that I'd hand to the kids to look at before we set out on a camping trip - we have others like this, too - to get ideas and start thinking about things they'll want to do while camping. For some it may be too simplistic, but for my family it was right on, getting the kids to think about games they will set up with sticks and pinecones and things around the campsite. Don't get me wrong, we bring sports gear and games and books when camping, but I don't want my kids to always look for "canned fun" if you know what I mean, one of the great things about camping is that it gets you away from the tv and passive entertainment and lets kids use their imaginations in the great outdoors.

My children and I were introduced to this book through a friend who'd heard the author speak. We've used several of the ideas in our latest camping trips and found it very useful.