SCM Discussion Forum

1. 

   Misty
   Member

   Suggestions needed:

   I grew up camping my dh grew up camping.  We tried renting a pop up one time and going camping and well our daughter who was one ended up with an ear infection Friday night and we went home.  So 1st trip was a bust.

   I really feel that memories happen while camping and I want to give this to my children.  My dh on the other hand doesn't think they can do it and though he is really a great husband training is not something he does well.  No he does it well he just don't like to take the time to do it.  So I am planing (w/ tent) to go during the week (Sun night-Tues or so) to our local state camp ground (10 miles away) and practice with the kids.  How our voice needs to be, what needs to happen at night.  I know it's a lot on my part but I think in the end, if God wills it, it will be great for our family.  As hotels are not in the budget with 9 people.

   So the questions:  How to make it a great expericence but still instill these needed values in camping ediquite?  Foods that are easy to bring when you have no electricity, and need simple yet somewhat healthy foods (which fruit, veggies, and home made snacks pre-made will help).  What equipement is a MUST to bring that I might forget?

   What other advice and suggestions would you offer.  Please know I understand I am trying to tackle a lot, but I feel in my heart I am ready for this.  Also, my dh will come to the camp ground and have dinner with us and we'll come home for a quick chicken/duck chores in the morning.  Also, my dh offered to bring our 8  bikes so we have that option with the little ones.  He says if we do good with this he is very willing and can't wait to go for weekends as a "family"!

   Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
2. 

   Katrina in AK
   Member

   Misty, I am so excited for you! You will have a great time.

   Are you planning on doing a campfire one night? Maybe the night your husband comes for dinner, you could roast hotdogs over the fire, and do s'mores, with fruit like grapes ( prewashed in a Rubbermaid) to balance it out. Can you borrow a camping stove? It is nice to have for heating water for dishes, heating stuff up. You could premake a big batch of spaghetti and sauce, and reheat it out there. Snacks to consider: trail mix that the kids can mix and make ahead of time, grapes, apples and oranges can hold up well, popcorn. Breakfast burritos are a great make ahead option, with eggs, potatoes, cheese, and possibly meat wrapped in a tortilla. Otherwise, we do instant oatmeal and Poptarts (I know, breakfast of champions there.). Carrots, ants on a log are yummy, too.

   Some things to bring, in no particular order. Extra socks....at least 2 pair more than you think, for everyone. Lantern. Flashlights and or headlamps are great for many purposes. Toilet paper just in case the bathrooms run out. Paper towels. Bug repellant. A great read aloud for bedtime. A game or two in case of rain. Buckets, shovels, trucks for dirt or gravel play. The bikes will be great! Containers for " treasures" that get discovered. We've found a bluebird egg, owl feather, and muskrat skull on a trip....the egg didn't survive the Baggie it was in. Charge you camera battery!

   Have a fantastic time. I am sure others will have input as well.

   Katrina

   Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
3. 

   sara p.
   Member

   I'm also looking foward to what others have to say. We are going camping for the first time next weekend with our chruch family. My hubby doesn't think it will be a sucess. While I on the other hand, think the kids will love it.

   Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
4. 

   crazy4boys
   Member

   Before I hit you with a long list, will you be cooking by fire or have a cook stove of any kind?  Cooler?  Or will hubby be bringing fresh food up every night?

   Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
5. 

   bethanna
   Member

   Before we went camping for the first time, we "practiced" in the backyard a couple nights. It helped the littles get used to the idea and helped me figure out (a little) what to pack.

   Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
6. 

   Charlene
   Member

   Here are a couple websites I look to before we go camping:

   http://www.scoutorama.com/recipe/

   http://camping.about.com/od/campinggearchecklists/l/blchklist.htm

   http://maddogmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Down-and-Dirty-Guide-for-Website.pdf

   http://www.scoutlists.com/

   HTH, Charlene

   Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
7. 

   Misty
   Member

   This is all wonderful.  Ok so I do have a coleman stove we can bring.  We have coolers!  I will have all food with me.

   We have tried to let the kids practice and if they stay up late or we are very busy during the day it's ok.  If not then it's not good.  You know haven't burned off enough energy.

   Thanks again I knew you'd all come through with ideas.. can't wait to hear more!

   Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
8. 

   crazy4boys
   Member

   Food -

   frozen yogurt tubes (doubles as "ice" until it melts)

   fruits and veggies already washed and cut (some need refrigeration and some don't) - grapes are great, apples (uncut), baby carrots, bananas, sugar snap peas, peaches, nectarines, melons, lettuce (washed and ready for salads) - bring a cutting board and a knife

   instant oatmeal for breakfast - we make our own mixes

   dried nuts and fruits for snacks (I dry as much of my own fruit as I can)

   I also cook up lots of energy bars, granola bars, breakfast cookies, stuff like that and package them in meal-size baggies or containers.  Most don't need to be refrigerated.  We'll eat them for breakfast with fruit or as snacks.

   Ye olde traditional hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers, etc.

   Tinfoil dinners.  So many variations.  Recently I found something that works SO much better.  I pre-cook the potatoes, carrots, onions, etc all separately.  Cook up various meats separatly as well.  I put them all in separate baggies.  When we want to cook the meal I give each person a large sheet of heavy duty tin foil and they add what they want in it.  Wrap and throw in the coals.  It was warmed through in less than 5 minutes.  You can do so many variations - tator tots, fries, diced potatoes, hashbrowns.  Cooked rice or other grain.  Chicken, beef, sausage (Italian or breakfast), bacon.  Cheese, raw egg, veggies, etc.

   Any chili, soup or stew can be cooked on the stove.  You can also heat sauces (think spaghetti) and cook noodles or rice.  

   You can do Thermos cooking.  I don't have recipes for this yet but the concept is that you take some oats or rice and seasoning/sugar/meats or veggies and put it in a thermos, add boiling water and cap.  Let sit overnight and you have a hot meal in the morning.  Or do it in the morning for dinner.  Rice pudding, tuna casserole, brown sugar oatmeal, soup, etc.

   We like headlamps for kids.  They put flashlights down and lose them or drop them in yucky places.  Be prepared for dirty and stinky - it's a part of camp and it makes it more fun!  Paper towels.  Baby wipes or wet wipes for washing hands (they are good for scrubbing dirt off too).  You can even use them for impromptu baths.  Some sort of antibacterial/disinfectant soap because most bathrooms won't have soap!  First aid kit including Benadryl or something for bug bites (and bug spray to keep them away in the first place).  Water bottles for everyone.  Otherwise you go through a bazillion cups and they all blow away.

   Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
9. 

   Sue
   Member

   This is so funny--what is it with some guys and camping? I laughed when I remembered my first camping trip with my husband nearly 30 years ago. He had never been camping in his life, kept telling me that he didn't want to sleep outdoors in a tent "with all those snakes and things!" We got there late (took a couple of wrong turns), kept having to stop putting up the tent (in the dark) to allow the resident camp skunk to stroll through our campsite, and finally got to bed around midnight. Despite all of the unexpected turns our first evening took, he kept lying there, wide awake, chuckling and saying over and over, "I LOVE camping....camping is our friend!"

   It was so funny....of course, we didn't have kids then, but my kids have enjoyed a few tent camping trips in their lifetimes!

   Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
10. 

    Sue
    Member

    Oh, I did think of a few tips.

    If you are camping in a tent, try to take a large box lid or two (like something you would get from those grocery stores that display canned goods by the case--Aldi's--bring home the shallow cardboard the case of canned goods came in) and use it to put shoes in when you take them off to go into the tent. Just make sure to bring the box of shoes inside the tent at night or they will all be very wet with dew.

    Strictly enforce the rule about not wearing shoes inside the tent. This will cut down on the amount of dirt tracked in.

    Despite your best efforts at the aforementioned rule, dirt will get inside the tent....especially if you encounter a rainy day. Don't sweat it....just bring along a small broom or a whisk broom and dustpan, and making a morning and evening sweepout of the tent someone's daily chore.

    Speaking of chores, think of the many tasks you need to take care of to preserve the fun of the trip and assign them to each child ahead of time. Things like washing, drying, and putting away cooking & eating utensils, tying up the garbage (if you can't take it to the camp dumpster before bed, tie the closed bag as high up on a tree as possible, as far away from your tent as you can....better still, double-bag it and put it in your car trunk overnight if you can), dressing/washing/toothbrushing the littles ones, meal prep, etc. all can be assigned as "your camp job" before you get there.

    Oh, and in case it does rain and you need to be in the tent for awhile, pack a travel-sized game, a couple of books, a deck of cards, and plan to have a game afternoon. Or, see if there is something inexpensive to do nearby that is indoors. Or, just go for a drive for a little while....well, maybe not with today's gas prices! If it rains, you can always just go for a hike in the rain (if it's pretty warm) and enjoy the fun of purposely getting soaked to the skin, then everyone enjoys a quick warm shower (assuming your campground has a shower house and not just toilets) before changing into dry clothes. Leave the wet muddy clothes on the clothesline you've hung between two trees at your campsite....it's not going to hurt the clothes to be left out in the rain, right? You can rescue them the next day.

    If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

    Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
11. 

    Sue
    Member

    Oh, and freeze whatever you can that will be packed in the cooler, especially if it is in larger "chunks." (Such as, freezing a block of hamburger meat, or stacking pre-made hamburgers with waxed paper to separate them & then freezing the entire stack in foil.) This will act as additional blocks of ice in your cooler and will thaw more slowly. Things will stay cold longer in your cooler.

    I also reread the post about practicing in the backyard first. If you do that, make a note every time you go into the house for something you "forgot" or just decided you want. That will help you add to your list of what to pack.

    Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
12. 

    Misty
    Member

    thanks gals this is great.  You are all well prepared campers.  I'm excited and my kids are I can't wait to give it a try they want to go this Sunday but I said no.. as we have some colds I don't want to deal with :0(  Maybe next week sometime.

    Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
13. 

    jeaninpa
    Member

    I usually freeze a couple of gallons of milk (take some out first!) so that it doubles as keeping the cooler cool, and we drink it as it thaws.  I also freeze gallon containers of water instead of using bagged ice.  A rug at the tent door is also a necessity for me, along with a dust broom to sweep out the tent.  

    Ziploc bags come in very handy.  Take soap in a soap container and make sure you bring all toiletries in a zipper pouch so that you can just grab that when it's time to head to the bathroom.  Also on my must-have list is a clothesline to string between some trees.  I have a small first aid kit in a plastic container with a lid -- bandaids, antibiotic cream, allergy meds, pain reliever, tweezers, hand sanitizer, bug spray, after-bite, -- I actually keep that in my vehicle at all times.  Another good idea is Clorox wipes.  If you suspect you've been exposed to poison ivy, wipe down with the bleach wipes.  

    I use a heavy-duty shower curtain instead of a tablecloth on our camping picnic table.  There will be raccoon prints all over it in the morning.  Make sure you put all food items in your vehicle at night and when you're not at the campground.  If you leave your cooler outdoors, put something VERY heavy on it or the coons will feast on it.  

    Whenever we go camping, the first job for the smallest children is to gather kindling sticks for the fire.  Keeps them busy while we set up and makes them feel like a part of the team, plus you'll need kindling.

    Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
14. 

    chocodog
    Member

    Well, after you freeze those gallon jugs of ice water you can use the jug as a hand washer.  I am sure the kids will get dirty. What we did is hang a gallon jug of water, in a tree, with a rope.  We put a hole in the side near the bottom with a golf tee. and we wrapped a bar of soap in a nylon around the handle of the jug. (to keep it from falling off into the dirt.) You could put paper towels on the rope before you hang the jug on the rope if you want to use paper towels. You could use a towel that hangs on the fridge to wrap around the rope also. This way the kids don't have to run to the lake or bathrooms everytime they get their hands dirty. You will also know if everyone washed their hands. :)  

       I am not sure if you use bowls from home or not or what kind of cereal ect.... But, one time we forgot the bowls to eat breakfast out of. We use big red cups. It was so much easier and I am glad we had them because they were more handy then bowls (and cheaper). If you make oatmeal in a pot you could just scoop it into their bowls. Bring a couple of extra totes. So you can have extra water on hand for those dishes. 

        I always have a few extra tarps around. One for under the tents. This keeps rocks, ect. from ruining the tent. It also helps keep moisture out.  Another one for outside the tent to keep grass/dirt from coming in. You can also cover the shoes up with one side of the tarp at night to keep the dew off. If it rains you can lift the tarp up and away from the tent and their won't be any mud in the tent area.  Plus you don't have to bring 9 pairs of dirty shoes in the tent.  Another tarp for over the tent just in case their might be a leak in the tent. They work wonderful for picnic tables also. you can use the bungies and put them threw the holes and get them tighter without the table cloth blowing off the table. (unlesss you already bought those cute little table cloth hangers.)  I usually get the 8x10 tarps at Menards. They only cost about 3 or 4 dollars each. When they are on sale you can get them for  1.99.

        To start a fire that will burn really hot and quick use birch bark. This is better then tons of lighter fluid. Plus it stays lit.

        If you are going by a lake make sure to pack fishing line, hooks and maybe some small bobbers.  This way the kids can take a tree branch and try fishing with their own rods. They may catch some small bluegills this time of year. This will keep them busy and tell them they are trying to catch some dinner. :)  Have a scavanger list made up so they can look for things in the area.  Maple leaf, acorn, catapillar, cacoon, spider eggs sac, web, four-leaf clovers. :)   You get the idea....  I recently started reading to them while they were swimming. They liked it and I felt like we were accomplishing something in the process. :)  I got to relax and read my books and theirs. I would take breaks from reading to them to read my book to myself. It was wonderful. They often asked for me to read somemore.... :) One day I forgot the book and they were disappointed. I must admit so was I.

       Which reminds me to tell you not to forget the comfortable chairs and some sit-a-pons.  (Sit-a-pon)-  A peice of plastic made sometimes out of old plastic table cloths. The center has newspapers or foam as a cushion. Put together by yarn which has been put through holes punched into the table cloth and the yarn weaved around the square to keep the newspaper sandwiched between  the plastic cloth. This keeps their butts clean and dry. Also can easily be taken to the beach, docks, around the campfire and to sit on hard picnic benches, ect...  These are great because they can be set on wet grass and you just wipe them off. 

       Which reminds me don't forget the extra diaper wipes. These are great for a quick clean ups. Less wear and tear on the dish cloth that seems to become guncked up with tons of dirt.  Rope and clothes pins for those wet clothes and swim suit/towels too. Make sure you have at least two trees where you are camping. :)

        Oh I almost forgot. Don't forget the black marker. This I use to write on cups. This way everyone knows their cup and don't keep using all of them up or each others.  You will also know who left their cup on the ground ect...Slip the marker into the cups before you leave. This way you will be ready as soon as you give them their first drink. 

                   Hope you have an enjoyable camping experiance and remember what Dobson says. The best and rememberable experiances will be when there is a tragedy. So, if something goes wrong everyone will remember it and that is what they will remember for the rest of thier lives.  So, if you have something bad happens don't fret. It is a memory for the  future.

                                                 Blessings!

     

    Posted 9 months ago # Report Post
15. 

    Sue
    Member

    These are all great ideas. Chocodog's post triggered a memory. What we used to call a "sit-upon" was an old metal tin that potato chips came in. (Okay, we're talking modern era history here--I've seen these in museums as part of a 1950's display!) They are round, about 18-20 inches tall and maybe 12 inches across the top lid. You could pack some of your stuff in them and "sit-upon" them around the campfire.

    I think we still have a couple of them in the attic. Our home is sort of a modern era living history book!

    Posted 9 months ago # Report Post

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