Suggestions for quick projects to try for camping trip

I'm going camping in a about a week. Nothing hardcore, the parents are coming with us with the RV and the family and I will stay in a tent.

What I'm wondering is if you have a suggestion for some quick and easy bushcraft projects that I could try. Perhaps even something that I could work on with the kids, this is the perfect time for experimenting with them I'm intending to take the plans and equipment for a simple solar oven

 

fire building.... show them how to start a simple fire with

battery and steel wool
flint and steel
2 matches
fire lense

 

build a small woven stick wigwam for the kids
work on starting fires without lighters or matches
look for foragible edibles
make a small batch of soap
purify some drinking water
make a small bow and arrows
set up a snare or box trap
make a cooler for your food ( damp hole in the ground with a cover)
identify local trees and plants for possible use and uses ( oak, maple, ash, willow, basswood, cedar)
collect rocks and look for usable ones (flint for knapping, or granite as tools)
lol, theres a lot you can do and your kids can learn from

 

Thanks, those are great, and a lot of them we already do (Thank goodness)
You're right, there's so many things to do. I just needed a bit of a kick to come up with some of them. I get into a box and just do the things that are familiar to me, so I was just looking for someone else's suggestions so that I might end up doing something that may not have occurred to me.

 

take some plastic sheeting/tarps and let them build their own shelter...

 

sounds like playtime ya'll...

Shanna...Have a treasure hunt for your children...hide some items in different locations and give them maps...teach them the basics and let them learn basic map reading/terrain association and have fun while doing so...Also,play hide and seek...this,with a few tips from you or your husband, can teach your children the basics of camouflage and concealment...regardless of any tasks you decide to use, make it a fun game...just my thoughts...

 

Make some char-cloth!

Byte

 

the maps with a little compass reading would be great experience

 

Thanks again for the great suggestions. There's so many we're going to have a busy trip. Besides these things my husband is going to take the two older girls fishing as much as he can. He's doesn't get much time to fish though the year, so he makes sure he gets out as much as he can with the kids.

ghrit: I understand what you're saying and I fully intend to go through the whole forum, but there's so much information that it's daunting. With only a week to go, I just didn't feel like I had the time to go through everything and was hoping that people would be willing to point me towards what they thought would be good for a beginner.

 

Looks like you already have a bunch of excellent examples. I like to do a little carving while I am out. Give that a shot. Make some utensils for the kitchen.

 

Hispeed: My Dad used to do that. He'd carve little swords for all of the kids that were on the camping trip with him. It was great.

 

My wife is still using a kitchen spoon I made her out of mesquite. Its her favorite. BTW... mesquite is a super hard wood.... I would recommend something softer

I've been looking out for a burl. I want to do a cup/bowl like Stick did. Check out his old posts for ideas... he is full of good ones.

 

Pick up a boy scout manual and learn basic knots and lashings.
(tying saplings together with rope / heavy twine or paracord)

Being able to do this lets one build everything from a tripod to hang a cooking kettle, a frame to turn a tarp into a tent, or even a watchtower.

Last time I went along with my son's scout troop they built two 12' tall towers 30 feet apart, slung a rope bridge between them, praticed traversing the bridge and then took it all apart. (in one weekend no less)

OK that last one's a bit ambitious but you'd be amazed at what you can do with a few saplings and some cord.

 

^ knots are another good one. Months ago, my daughter was amused by watching me tie different knots. She was a bit young to learn herself, but was pretty good at learning the names by the looks of em'. Now may be a better time to teach her how to tie them.

I bought a little card deck that has a knot on each card. Its really fun. Choose a few learn em' one at a time. My daughter enjoyed drawing one and making me tie it. Its a good test of your skills. The card deck was a bit expensive if I recall, but really detailed. The poor mans version can probably be made from printing off online instructions and two different colored boot laces or cords.

 

Knots...there's a challenge for me. I have a tough time with a square knot occasionally. Definitely room for improvement there.

Logout: My kids would love it if we made that bridge...I'm not going to, but they'd love it. Especially the 2 year old. She'd be like a monkey up that pole quicker than you could yell "Get the baby off the bridge!!"

 

Just be carefull with sharp knives.
I made a great spear last camping trip and in the process I also got the opportunity to put 3 stitches in my index finger. Everything happens for a reason so next time I will be more carefull with my knife and even more confident in my 1st aid stitching skills haha

 

woodcarving is an excellent skill to teach and learn
tho it seems like a waste of time carving for fun
its good practice for when you need it
the most important thing to learn tho is
always pushing the knife away form you
not pulling it toward you
pulling toward is how you wind up with stitches the most

 

Building an emergency shelter. My daughter and I built a lean to one afternoon in the woods behind our house. It's still there years later.