Teach Your Child How to Set Up a Tent

There are probably just as many kinds of tent available as there are campgrounds in the world. Choosing a tent that fits your family or your child (if you are allowing them to have their own personal tent) is your first step. Be sure the tent you choose is easy to assemble and comes with ample directions for putting it together and extra ground spikes or bars, just in case one or two get lost or broken.

Make sure the tent you choose is waterproof, if not you should purchase water repellent for tents. Once you have your tent in order and are ready to go on a camping excursion, make sure you find the right spot to set up your tent (as set out at http://www.abc-of-hiking.com/hiking-tents/camp-layout.asp). Your spot should be safe and close to bathrooms (especially for small children), cooking areas, and protected from direct sunlight (such as around trees or other concealing landscape.)

Preschool
To get your children acquainted with putting up tents you can always buy a small tent that can be placed in their bedroom or in the backyard. There are many different ways to set up a tent and every tent you purchase has instructions that will come with it to show you step-by-step how to put your tent up.

Have your child look at the pictures on the instructions and tell you what to do, most instructions come with drawn up pictures as well as written instructions. Children enjoy showing their parents how to do things so this will probably be a lot of fun for your preschooler.

Main points to address:

• Buy a small tent to put up in their bedroom or the backyard.
• Allow your child to instruct you on how to put the tent up  Eusing the drawings on the instruction paper for your child to instruct you step-by-step.

Grades K-6th
After you have found the perfect campsite be sure to find an area that is completely level before you pitch your tent. You don’t want to sleep on a hard, bumpy ground. Have your child find the best spot that is both soft and level.

You and your child can also make a tepee for your campground or in the back yard. Details for tepees can be found at http://www.abc-of-hiking.com/hiking-tents/camp-layout.asp and http://www.ehow.com/how_13450_build-tepee.html. Tepees are a little harder to build than tents, but it can be a great experience for you and your child. Tepees have more room then tents and can sleep more people. Tepees can even have small campfires in the center of them, as long as you are extremely careful.

Main points to address:

• Make different tents, such as tepee tents for a great educational experience.
• Have your child be a part of finding the perfect spot and putting up the tent.

Resources
Resources that can help you in your venture include:

• Everything Preschool – http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/camping/index.htm
• Go Camping – http://gocampinguk.co.uk/blog/?p=5
• Family Tent Camping – http://www.familytentcamping.com

Posted in Leisure.

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