20 + Camping Themed Activities for Toddlers with Printable

Summer is here!

Let’s kick it off with a classic summer theme: CAMPING!!!

We’re breaking this post down into four catagories:

Outside Activities
Sensory and Open Ended Activities
Art Projects
Printable Tray/Shelf Work Activities

Outside Activities

*In case you’re looking for more outdoor activities check out this post for ideas!*

It should come as no surprise that we spend as much time outside during this theme as possible. I mean, camping is outdoors!

We’re big walkers over here. During our camping theme we like to call our daily walk a hike and add a few fun elements to set the scene.

Binoculars are a must along with a rucksack full of bug catcher equipment, flashlights, and a scavenger hunt.

A simple “Field Notes” journal or clipboard can give older toddlers a chance to draw what they see along the route.

Another fun way to spend time outdoors is with a creepy crawly hunt. I found a few packs of plastic bugs and reptiles at the dollar store and hide them around the backyard. The kids ran around with their bug hunting supplies to capture them all. Make sure you remember how many you hid!

These also make fun water table toys!

Speaking of water tables, lets jump into the Sensory Activities.

Sensory and Open Ended Activities

You know I love a themed sensory bin! (just check out this tab for more!) However, camping lends itself to much more role playing and open ended playing. I tried to combine both ideas with a small world tray.

Inside I placed: rocks, green and brown moss, wood pieces, wooden trees, twigs, and wildlife figures. This would also make a great Going on a Bear Hunt booktivity!

A camping theme wouldn’t be complete without cooking over a fire and s’mores!

I found this cute felt set at Target last year. There are many to be found with a google search.

My little friends are just discovering the fun of playdough! I set up a playdough tray with sticks, rocks and our animal figures.

We also used the rocks and wood pieces from some stacking practice.

Art Projects

Getting messy with art projects is one of my favorite things, but not so much with my charges! I try every few months to get them excited about painting.

These hand print camp fires were super easy to make! I cut some strips for wood, I wish it was brown, and had the kids glue them down to make the fire. After painting their hands, I showed them how to make the fire flames with their hand prints.

I love a recycled craft! These paper towel tube binoculars where a hit. You can paint them, color them or add stickers!

I’m kinda a fan of large scale art. It gives kids a chance to move while they create and collaborate. These next two projects do just that!

Even though the jury is still out on painting with these two, they did have some fun with marshmallow painting!

Adding sticks to the marshmallows made the sticky factor go way down, which was a plus for my friends!

We love We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. I found this fun pre-writing map idea from Teach Investigate Play and thought it would be perfect for our camping theme! We love anything with Do a Dot markers.

I love the art and language elements along with all the pre-writing skills this activity provides! Pr

This next idea came from one of my instagram friends, Michelle or Randall’s Rose Buds.

How fun does this “Ketchup and Mustard” painting look?! She simply added orange and yellow paint to dollar store condiment bottles, added a few kitchen utensils and let the kids work! I love it!

Printable Tray/Shelf Work Activities

These shape match s’mores are one of my favorite DIY’s. I traced some cookie cutters on the cardboard and white felt. Once the kids mastered matching, we play a few games to extend our fun like hiding a shape and asking what’s missing. Another game could include asking a young toddler, “Can I have the____ please?” or asking them to find a certain piece in the basket.

These last activities can all be found in my latest 30 page printable. This is just a sample of the activities included, the link to purchase can be found at the end of this post!

These five frame counting cards include two sets, one with pictures for each number one without. We used marshmallows to count. You could also use small rocks.