I have early teens that go with us, but we always have a new people joining us every year.

I don't want the kids holed up in the tents at night and I want them to learn backwoods skills, so we've learned many ways to start fires, Cooking, History of the River, Paracord Braiding and Bracelets, Flower/Tree ID...

What do you do to keep your kids Busy, Active, and Learning?

mine are 9 and under but we have never needed to entertain them. They always find something to do. But they have been doing this since they were babies. We learn all those skills at home then they practice them how ever they want out camping. In the evening we go fishing

+1 on the fishing. If the bugs are tolerable the evening can provide the best action of the day.

Card games

UNO
Old maid
War

It is my favorite part of the day with my kids. No video games or tv to entertain them. It is great to just hang out and play old fashion games and they love it.

Our kids are 9 and 11 and they seem to like exploring the camp site, building fairy houses, exploring the shoreline and fishing. Camp chores are great way for them to participate and buy-in to the whole experience :). Uno and other card games are also a big part of the tent experience when we can't be outside due to rain or bugs in late evenings. Stargazing is another good activity as well as animal track identification. We also bring books to read as we wind down for bed. Always looking for new ideas though--Thanks for the thread!

Star gazing is on this years list along with Swedish Torches, but the idea is to get them out of the tents and away from the cards.
In 7 years we've only gone to cards once when held up by weather.

I have kids 15, 12 and 9. We generally don't bring too much as they seem to create things to do themselves (plus evening is a great time to just talk)...however it's fun to pull out something they weren't expecting.

Some of our evening activities have been...

-read semi-scary stories or really funny stories
-read great animal stories such as those by William J Long (naturalist)
-cook/bake dessert
-identify constellations, planets, etc
-small set of colored pencils and small journals to record days events
-knot tying
-whittling
-early evening (when there is still light) we do rock bowling. stack/pile rocks, bowl with rock and whoever knocks them all over wins
-stick throwing. create medium size hoop out of leftover tinfoil, hang from tree, gather sticks and see who can shoot through the target.
-glow sticks
-verbal "would you rather" game, without cards, just make it up as you go. could also turn this into a fun way of learning about survival, first aid, etc.
-look over tree/flower/animal reference books, identify stuff spotted during the day
-joke book

kids are amazing! I am amazed in a time when they have electronics available to them nearly 100% of the time they are awake, sometimes the coolest things happen when they are in the wilderness. A few years ago (I am going to guess that my girls were in 1st and 4th grade), they spent an entire afternoon (4 or 5 hours) watching a dragonfly change from a nymph to the flying form. I would have never guessed they would do that, but they did and still remember that to this day. They layed down on a rock near the shore, and spent hours just watching, observing, and having the time of their lives!

our job as parents is just to help bring alive that sense of wonder that our kids have, and hopefully restore some of the wonder to ourselves!

kids are amazing! I am amazed in a time when they have electronics available to them nearly 100% of the time they are awake, sometimes the coolest things happen when they are in the wilderness. A few years ago (I am going to guess that my girls were in 1st and 4th grade), they spent an entire afternoon (4 or 5 hours) watching a dragonfly change from a nymph to the flying form. I would have never guessed they would do that, but they did and still remember that to this day. They layed down on a rock near the shore, and spent hours just watching, observing, and having the time of their lives!

our job as parents is just to help bring alive that sense of wonder that our kids have, and hopefully restore some of the wonder to ourselves!

kids are amazing! I am amazed in a time when they have electronics available to them nearly 100% of the time they are awake, sometimes the coolest things happen when they are in the wilderness. A few years ago (I am going to guess that my girls were in 1st and 4th grade), they spent an entire afternoon (4 or 5 hours) watching a dragonfly change from a nymph to the flying form. I would have never guessed they would do that, but they did and still remember that to this day. They layed down on a rock near the shore, and spent hours just watching, observing, and having the time of their lives!

our job as parents is just to help bring alive that sense of wonder that our kids have, and hopefully restore some of the wonder to ourselves!

~ Help gather/process firewood, then build log cabin style fire.

~ roast marshmallows for smores. Choosing just the right stick being part of the process.

~ Evening paddles, perhaps mixing in some fishing.

~ color on pieces on birch bark we've found.

~ swing in the hammock.

~ talk about the day, what was her favorite parts.

~ explore in & around camp.

+1

We bring a book or two for tent time or any chill time in the hammock. But they stay busy or I put them to work; they want to participate and carry their weight. Washing dishes, building fires, setting up tents and so on. On their own they are finding frogs, exploring, swimming and on and on. Now 8 and 9, started at 3 and 4.

I find that by sunset in the summer, they are pretty much toast. Fall and winter camping I may bring Uno or Yatzee to cap off the night.


John