Camping-Themed Games for Preschoolers

Teach children about camping activities and camp safety from the classroom.

Playing games in preschool is a great time to teach children to use their imagination and pretend they are elsewhere. If you want your preschoolers to pretend they are camping, use a camp-themed game to spark their imaginations. Games can include candy fishing, building a campfire, the flashlight game and classroom camping.

Candy Fishing

Simulate fishing on a camping trip with your preschoolers by using small candy canes, string and gummy worms. Arrange your students in a circle and place a plate of gummy worms in the middle of the circle. The gummy worms will be the "fish." Tie string around small candy canes to create a fishing pole. Give each preschooler a fishing pole and have them each try to catch a "fish" with their "fishing pole." To add a competitive element to your game, give your students one minute, and then name the student who caught the most fish as the winner.

Building a Campfire

Give each of your preschoolers a paper towel roll and have each of them place it in the middle of the room. The paper towel rolls will serve as logs. Pass out glue sticks and pieces of orange paper cut into triangles and have them glue the pieces to the paper towel rolls to represent fire. Once your students are done building the "fire," ask each of them to name as many fire safety tips as they can. Award a sticker to the preschooler who can name the most fire safety tips.

Flashlight Game

Help improve your preschoolers' counting abilities by using a flashlight. Cut stars out of paper and tape the stars over the tops of flashlights. Give a flashlight to each preschooler and have them lie in two rows on the floor. Turn off the room's lights and have your preschoolers look at the ceiling. Have row one flash their lights onto the ceiling and ask the class how many stars they see. Have the second row flash their lights and ask the same question. You can call out the names of students who you want to flash their stars and ask the class how many stars they see again.

Classroom Camping

Have your preschoolers bring in sleeping bags and arrange them in a circle. Have your students get into their sleeping bags, but sit up. Have each student name something they would do while camping. Ask where would they like to camp and who they would like to go with. Afterward, you can have your class name animals they might see while camping, as well as foods they might eat.

References

• Step by Step: Preschool Camping Theme