pretend CAMPING props

I received a great response to the Pretend Play Grocery Store post I did a while back, so I decided to show off another pretend play experience we’ve been LOVING this past week.  Camping is one of our favorite family activities, so naturally pretend camping has been a big hit!  I keep adding new props, I just can’t help myself.

what you need:  tent ~ fire ~ s’mores ~ roasting sticks ~ fishing pond

I made all of these props with stuff I’ve been saving.  Check out my how-to on building a fake fire.

I wanted the kids to be able to roast food over the fire so I used a hot glue gun to attach empty thread spools to some thin dowels.  (They are marshmallows, by the way).  I used some of the left over beads from my free beaded seat cover to make a hot dog.  And a construction paper cut out worked as a fish…until I had the great idea for a fishing pond.

We’ve had quite a few visitors in our little campground.  Cousin TJ being the first.  Hubs made the tent using a large box.  He folded and taped the back to make the top stay in a V shape.  For us this simple design works best, but there are a lot of ways to make a tent.

And of course….what would pretend camping be without a little fire side sing along?

Want more camping ideas? How about tips for camping with kids? 

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