Kids Benefit From Summer Camp Activities at Home

Nashville, TN. Summer camp activities keep children engaged, both physically and mentally. While most children attend camp for a week or two, parents can extend the camp experience with a variety of fun, inexpensive activities at home. “Summer is an ideal time for children to get away from desk work and computers and enjoy creative, outdoor experiences,” says Silvana Clark, author of 301 Bright Ideas for Busy Kids. (Sourcebooks Publishing) “Parents can easily adapt crazy camp activities in their own backyards.”

With the epidemic of childhood obesity, it’s important to keep children active. Parents can try some of these camp-type activities:

Hang an ordinary sprinkler from a tree branch or the top of a swing set. Kids love playing as the water shoots down on them.

Go on a hike with crayons and paper. Stop occasionally to make rubbings of trees, cracks in the sidewalk and brick walls.

Invite neighborhood kids to a bike rodeo. Offer prizes to the best decorated bike and helmet. Try events like the “slowest” race, riding while singing a song and an obstacle course made of simple plastic waste baskets.

Rehearse a family cheer where family members jump, clap, twirl and skip as they yell something like, “2-4-6-8 why is the Carter family so great?
We like to bake chocolate cake…and eat it at the lake!”

Have a contest to see who can balance a broom handle on their open palm the longest.

“Keeping children engaged with a simple activity everyday is a springboard to helping them create their own imaginative fun”, says Clark. At her parenting workshops, Clark encourages parents to think like camp counselors and get silly playing games or doing crafts with their children. “It’s amazing how discipline problems diminish when parents and children are playing tag or making S’mores.” Her book, 301 Bright Ideas For Busy Kids provides parents with hundreds of ideas for low-cost and easy activities.

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Silvana Clark

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Silvana Clark

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