Can We Talk About Camping?

My daughter loves the outdoors and nature so we bought a nature book for kids to help identify trees, animals, insects, everything nature-ish & keep it in our camper. She loves it and learns while hiking/roaming the campground. We also take a bug box with a magnifying glass on top so she can collect & observe whatever she finds.

CLAMP ON KIDDY CHAIR. It is awesome to have that safe and secure place to have kids eat right on the picnic table. I wish I new a brand? Maybe Anna is too tall for it?

Bring Balls: volleyball, kickball, bouncy ball, frisbee. It is neverending entertainment!

Bring that small tent for the dog (don't laugh) It keeps the dog a little cleaner and no chasing small animals in the middle of the night.

Lastly, buy a screened in tent "room." It's nice to get away from the bugs, and have a place to sit at night when the dew sets in. It keeps things dry.

I am taking my daughter to Silver Springs horse camp this summer and we were going to hang out in Salem while she is there. Any good suggestions?

sounds like you have rec'd great info. love camping with the family. the best thing we take is a rope and several cheap plastic boats for the water 7-12 inch variety. amazing what kids can come up with those two items. the boats lead to races, the harbor, going down the falls....the rope, swinging from the trees, jump rope, cowboys...changes as the kids get older....have a lot of fun. the dirtier the kids get, the more fun they are having!

My husband and I bought a tent from REI last summer and tried camping in the back yard with our two boys then around 1 and 5 years old. We decided after a night in the tent to buy a trailer!haha! We love our little trailer and love that we can bring "everything we need" and basically keep it packed and keep dry. But, with all the great ideas being posted here it makes me want to bust out the tent again :) Have fun camping!

A few tips...
- prep some of your food in advance. ie fajitas = precut all the veggies (less mess and less dishes that need handwashing!). I like to take liquid egg (or crack all my eggs and put in a container). eggs always seem to break in the cooler for me. Egg salad made in advance is an easy lunch.
- bring lots of containers/ziploc bags for the cooler so everything doesn't get soggy.
- We use paper plates when camping...and use them for starting the fire :)
- Dry ice for the cooler means less mess and it should last for a weekend or more (vs having to get fresh ice every day)
- Lysol wipes are a lifesaver!
- If you're going to be camping near a beach, a bike trailer is awesome to transport your stuff to the beach. Fits lots of beach toys, towels, etc.
- I second what someone said about rubbermaid tubs. I do the same thing, including using a small one for my dishpan, and I put all my dish stuff in it when not in use (dishbrush, dishsoap, cloths, etc)
- Don't forget things like salt & pepper, sugar and a can opener!
- Crocs are great as they are easy to take on and off going into the tent and are a must for the public showers.

have fun! We love camping :)

Make sure you have shoes that slide on and off easy for middle of the night bathroom trips (and early morning/late at night when you are tired). Also, check to see if there are geocatching sites near where you are camping - maybe Simon would like doing that? We also take card games with us to play around the campfire in the evening. As for food, easy is better - cooking in foil packets is way more fun than the standard hot dogs and hamburgers. I'm sure you can google some fun things to make. Oh and pancakes cook well over a campfire. You can make the batter ahead of time and put it in a squeeze bottle (think empty ketchup bottle) and make fun shapes for the kids :) Have fun!!

We love camping! I've been going almost 30 years and my husband started going when he married me. We have two children (both boys) and they've been going since they were in diapers. We've graduated to a pop up camper now but we still have our tent and still use it when we need to camp with the cub scouts. We usually go to state parks but sometimes they leave us searching for things to do. The kids play in the water (if present) so I bring them extra clothes (ALWAYS). If rain is expected I plan to play in the rain (make the best of what you got right?). Plastic rain boots and a poncho can be your friend. I have a wooden clothes rack for clothes/towel drying. Not all parks allow you to hang lines from their trees. We play a lot of card games when we camp (Uno, war, swap, etc) My biggest issue when tent camping is shower time. Teaching the kids to stand on their shoes while dressing/undressing and making sure they wear their crocs IN the shower. If bugs are an issue in the area we bring a box fan for the outside seating area. When the fan is blowing mosquitos have a harder time flying into it's path. Food covers are also a must. We have umbrella like covers that fold up when not in use to make packing easy. http://www.amazon.com/Set-of-4-Food-Umbrellas/dp/B001B7K3SA/ref=pd_sim_ol_2
My next tip is pack extra clothes in a seperate bag (jackets, pants, things you may need but won't be a daily staple). No need in digging through extra clothes to find the days outfits. That brings me to another point - outfits. I pack them in large ziplocs (http://www.amazon.com/Ziploc-Double-Zipper-Large-5-Count/dp/B003U6A3C6). The kids can just take their ziploc to the shower with another (empty) wal-mart type bag for dirty clothes and their things stay dry (and if they fall on the floor they stay clean). Nothing like getting out of the shower to find your only pair of clean underware is soaking wet or dirty from the floor! Packing enough but not over packing when tent camping is key. Each of my children has a plastic container with a lid. I allow them to bring personal toys in a box with the requirement that the top must close. These toys are for down time when mom's cooking and dad's fishing. It's impossible to entertain them every second and still keep my sanity. So much more I could tell but we'll go with that for now. Hope you have great fun!

Seriously, your readers have covered nearly everything! what fun comments. therefore I leave you with our family's absolute camping essential: HEAD LAMPS. The kids love them, much needed for everything after dark (for s'mores prep, bedtime reading, navigating to brush teeth, check tent for creepy crawlies, etc). Bring an extra set or two in case one gets trampled, and extra batteries.

We love our Kelty tent! Truly a cut above any other tent I've used or seen. Regardless of brand, I highly recommend a tent that's built so that you can stand up at the entry to the tent. Many tents are high enough only in the middle, but being able to walk into the tent standing makes a huge difference for me.

We're also big fans of hobo dinners (foil wrapped meals cooked over hot coals), but a word to the wise: If you want to include potatoes, either par-boil them or use canned new potatoes. Carrots can be tricky too, but if you chop them nice and small, they'll cook through in the same amount of time as your meat.

Have a wonderful time!

We LOVE camping! We have four kids who are currently ages 4, 7, 9, and 11. We have camped with them at all ages!
There are too many comments for me to read them all so I don't know if my comments are a repeat...
1. Just take it easy! Do not stress about anything. There will be great moments and there will be crazy ones, with kids there always is. Just keep a cool head and you can enjoy the entire time.
2. Bring card games or coloring activities...you always need tent games for it is rains.
3. Don't be afraid to run to WalMart after you arrive to buy something that will make the weekend. Sometimes once there a realization comes...just go get it.
4. Stop at the camp registration site and ask for maps...all my kids love having their own maps of the camping ground and of the trails! When we go on a hike we often stop to look at the trail map, trust me when I say get each kid their own.
5. We have a two room tent (8 man) and it works great for our family of 6. I would get a 6 man tent for a family of 4, so you have room for all the luggage.
6. Don't forget to pack an air matters for you and the hubby! It is sooo much more comfortable that way!

Hope it is a wonderful trip!!

One other thing:

Going on your first trip can take tons of prep work, don't let that discourage you from going again! We have worked over the years to make our camping boxes as stocked and ready to go as possible. I even have a set menu that I usually use so I know what to go get. I don't have to pack all that camping stuff up (pots, utensils, first aid, bug spray, tent rug, small broom...) it lives in our camping boxes and is set to go.

One more thing. If it's going to be chilly in the morning (I saw your long sleeves in your Anna baby book post) put your clothes in the bottom of your sleeping bags. When you dress in the morning your clothes will be nice an toasty from your body heat over night.

the REI website has some really good advice and checklists about camping ... REI expert advice. the kind of camping we do here in HI is a little bit more low-key (i guess what's called "beach camping"), so a lot of the advice doesn't apply to us but there's an article about camping with kids and i loved printing out activities from the "family adventure program".

and omgosh, i just found this: SO PERFECT for simon.

If it is feasable, I would consider renting an RV. If not, you will do fine. One good rule to remember, don't worry about lunch, just have snacks, and if they want them good, if not, let it go. Breakfast-snacks-dinner=easier on you.
Don't forget cocktails, and your pillow.
Have fun.

Looks like you're gotten some great tips already. I'd also add those netted covers for your food on the table. I'm not sure what they are called but they keep flies and bugs off the food you have out. Since you will be by the lake don't forget water toys like floaties and sand buckets and shovels. Also my hubs would never not bring his fishing gear and poles for the kids. It's one of their fave things to do with their dad.

Like others have suggested -- as much of the food prep before helps. I freeze my chicken breasts in the marinade so they are tasty right quick. You can even cube chicken to easily make kabobs. Pasta salad -- I would keep the chopped veggies separate from the cooked pasta and mix it right before serving.
Like others have suggested - those sandwich irons are cool - we used those to make mini-personal pizzas, grilled cheese, sandwich smores. :)
I like to have extra towels b/c there's something nice about drying off with a clean, dry towel -- and if it rains - things are slow to dry.
If you can bring bikes -- there are often cool paths for bike riding and it's a nice way to get to the camp shop if you needed extra this or that.
A power strip is nice for recharging.
ENJOY!

These are all awesome! I'm going camping for the first time with kids tomorrow. Thanks for posting this Ali. :)

We actually bring our griddle because we get sites with electricity. We cook pancakes on the griddle in the morning. Yummy, quick and the kids favorite! We get the mixes where all you have to do is add water to the plastic container. Easy to pack and make!

We've been camping forever!! Loved reading through all the comments though, since there are some new things I've never thought of! We're off on our first "camp-out" this coming weekend as we help paint the new Oregon Country Fair billboard - we'll be on site, working in the sign shop, camping in our tent nearby.

Some ideas we do - for ice we freeze water in clean Darimart milk jugs in our big freezer, always available & last longer than crushed ice.

Bring a couple of beach blankets - they're great for on the beach of course, but also back at camp they're cozy to fold & place on the picnic table bench.

Speaking of that picnic table, we like to bring 2 plastic/vinyl/oilcloth tablecloths - one is never big enough. We usually sweep off the table with a little whisk broom before laying on the cloths. One end of the table is usually where we put our camping stove, with the cooler underneath. Works for our family of 4 but when we're with more people, it means people have to eat in shifts around the table, or utilize the camp chairs, leaving the table for the kids.

We have 2 dishwashing tubs - they nest together, and one is used for soapy water, the 2nd for rinse water. This chore was always given to the kids - when with a big group, it can rotate between 2 - 3 kids at a time. At first they might grumble, but kids love playing in water, so if you start them early, they'll probably enjoy the opportunity---and it can keep them occupied for a while as they play, wash, giggle, & chat together!

One year my husband brought a rope & made a zipline for the kids using climbing harnesses & attaching the rope on a slope. Lots of supervision during the use, but tons of fun memories!

We also brought scads of "inflatable plastic" (floaties) & would pile them all into the back of a pick-up to take to the beach/lake. This way you don't have to deflate them each day!

We also don't worry about laundry, letting the kids wear the same things as long as they were dry.

One more idea - make hard boiled eggs ahead of time - easy quick protein snack for everyone.

You're going to have so much fun introducing your kids to camping - so many great memories to make! We squished our family of 4 into a 5 person tent - which we're going to use again this coming weekend. My "kids" are 22 & 26 now, and still love camping. We had a blast backpacking with our 22 yr. old daughter last June and all 3 of us squishing into our 2 person tent... What a luxury to have a 2 room tent!! You'll love it!

We always bring books to read in the evening around the campfire. One camping trip we were in the Chronicles of Narnia series. We were by ourselves as a family so after dinner we dug into the book we were in the middle of. It was a great evening.

Meals: Hobo type meals are great. But I love going camping and having a big cooked breakfast too. We usually bring on the eggs, sausage, and cheese and make burritos. We let go of 'diets' when we camp and go ahead and have hot dogs on sticks and of course s'mores.

We have a big 10-man tent so hubby and I would put two cots together with a mattress on top for a nice double bed. The kids always got cots too (if we go as a family). If the boys rough it for scouts they take smaller tents and just sleep on the ground.

We always make a big batch of trail mix (the kids mix it up) then divide up into bags and they go in the cooler so nothing chocolate melts.

Hope the tidbits help.