Adventist Adventurer Awards and Answers/Camper

- Discuss with your family important rules for camping.
When you are camping, your campsite becomes your "home away from home". Since that is true, the following are some guidelines in order to respect that home:


 * Teach Adventurers respect for other people's campsites by not walking through them.
 * Have Adventurers ask permission or "knock" when entering another campsite.
 * Respect quiet hours. Many public places have set quiet hours. If you are at a facility that does not, set your own quiet hours and then abide by them. Remember that adults need to abide by the quiet hours as well as the Adventurers.
 * Make sure that Adventurers know not to wash hands, dishes, etc. at the water spigots or lavatories. Instead, make sure there is an appropriate place provided for this at your campsite.
 * Take care not to create mud puddles at spigots by having Adventurers using water bottles or cups rather than using spigots to get drinks. Providing a water dispenser at your campsite helps alleviate this situation.
 * Respect your neighbor's wish to enjoy the out-of-doors and leave your radios at home. Instead, listen to the birds singing! Likewise, loud and boisterous behavior is inappropriate.
 * Use bathrooms for intended use only, not for changing clothes, etc.
 * Respect others in your cabin/tent by picking up your belongings.
 * Leave your campsite cleaner than you found it.

- Go on a campout with your family and Adventurer group.
We use these helps for our Adventurer Area Campouts:
 * 1) Camping with children six through eight years old →
 * 2) Camping checklist for Adventurer Club →
 * 3) Adventurer Area campout program example →
 * 4) Games for Adventurer Club campouts →

- Help to Pitch a tent.



 * Practice at home in your back yard. Or even in your living room. That way you can be sure it won't be raining, it won't be blowing 40 m.p.h. winds and it won't be 21 degrees with frost nipping at your stiff fingers as you practice. Even if you can't drive the stakes into the shag carpeting, at least you'll get a feel for how the rods pop together, which eyelets the stakes go into and how the rain-fly fits over the top.
 * Pack the instructions back in the tent bag to bring with you camping-just in case.
 * Try to time your first trip with the tent so that you're pitching it in daylight. My friend Hali borrowed a tent from a friend and arrived at Joshua Tree in the dark. And it is VERY dark in Joshua Tree (read: middle of nowhere) at night. She'd never erected that tent before which made doing it in the dark even more challenging (see step 1).
 * Select a site that is not in an indentation or valley. If it rains-and it will-you don't want all of the water collecting under your tent.
 * Step 5 Sweep or clear the tent site of rocks, branches and general detritus as best you can. Remember, whatever is on the ground is what you'll be sleeping on.
 * If there is a tilt to the site, consider where you want your head. I like mine higher than my feet.
 * Look overhead: are there pine trees dripping sap or dropping pine cones? Not good for your tent or your sleeping.
 * Have a ground cloth of some sort and place it under the tent. Make sure the ground cloth stays tucked under the tent edges. That way if it rains-and it will-the rain will slide right off the tent and onto the ground--not onto your ground cloth. If it collects on your ground cloth, then it'll run right under your tent and the bottom of your tent will get soaked.
 * For many tents, driving the stakes in first works well. THEN you put the rods in that make it pop up.
 * Adjust the position of the stakes, making sure they are positioned as far out as you can pull the tent. A taut tent means you have more room inside. Make sure the stakes are in the ground securely-if high winds come up, you don't want your tent blowing down.
 * Put the rain-fly on, making it as taut as possible

- Help to set up your stove or to build a campfire.


''' Starting a campfire is easy. A few simple steps and you'll be relaxing around a cozy campfire. '''


 * Before starting any campfire, check to be sure that campfires are permitted at your campsite.
 * Where it's permitted, gather wood for your campfire. You want to collect everything from dry leaves and twigs, to small sticks and branches up to 2-4 inches in diameter.
 * If a fire ring is not already available, clear an area that's away from any trees or brush. A circle of rocks will help contain the campfire's ashes.
 * Place a small pile of dry leaves and twigs in the center of the fire ring.
 * Build a tepee of small sticks around these dry leaves and twigs.
 * Next, build a square wall of larger sticks around and up to the height of the tepee.
 * Place more sticks across the walls so as to cover the tepee.
 * Add another wall of larger branches, but do not cover the top.
 * Drop a match or two into the dry leaves and twigs until they catch fire.
 * As the fire begins to grow, add some larger branches across the top, being careful not to collapse the existing walls of the fire.
 * Continue to add larger branches and pieces of wood to keep the campfire going.

 Tips: 


 * Don't start a bonfire; campfires do not have to be large to be enjoyable.
 * Do not use flammables such as charcoal lighter, gas or kerosene to start a fire.
 * Do not burn "green" wood, it has too much sap, which will cause it to burn slowly and pop. Also, do not cut any wood from standing trees

- Help to prepare at least one meal while camping.
Children love to get involved, and the beauty of camping is that the recipes get really simple, easy and fun. Before your next family camping trip, consult these various kid-friendly camping recipes. The kids will enjoy them even more if you let them modify the recipes and have some cooking fun.

Foild Camping Recipes:

Use these fun and easy foil camping recipes for kids. The beauty of foil cooking is that kids literally just have to spray with non-stick spray (or you can use non-stick aluminum foil), assemble and fold it closed. Cut up the ingredients at the campground, or even before you leave and keep them all in separate containers in the cooler.


 * Foil Roasted Veggies

If you think kids won't eat vegetables, you might be surprised how they change their minds when the fun of some foil and a campfire are involved. Pick their favorites (they must like a couple, right?) and add a couple others. Give them the diced veggies and the foil, and let them have fun. Place closed foil wrap onto campfire or camping stove, and cook for 30–45 minutes.


 * Campfire Foil Fries

Spray foil liberally, and spray cut potatoes lightly. Place in center of large piece of foil, and sprinkle seasoning like Old Bay on top. Close and roast over fire or stove for 45 minutes.


 * Foil Apple Cobbler

Take sheet of foil and spray. Place several diced apples inside, and add granola. For fun, toss in some caramel or peanut butter chips. Close and roast for 20–30 minutes.

 Smores Camping recipes: 

Smores are such a campfire tradition that it is almost mandatory that you make smores when you camp with kids. Shake things up with creative smores recipes for kids. Everyone has memorized the traditional smores recipe by age 8. You poke a stick through a marshmallow, hold over fire and hope it doesn't burst into flames. There are some more ways to eat smores:


 * Nilla Wafer, White Chocolate and Banana Smores

Put a half-banana on a stick and hold over campfire. Take two vanilla, or 'Nilla, wafers, insert chocolate and banana. Tasty, and even kind of pretty.


 * Fudge Stripes and Mini Marshmallow Smores

Why carry something extra camping if you don't have to? Bring some Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies, which conveniently come with both a shortbread cookie and chocolate coating on one side and some mini marshmallows. Place the chocolate side up, and ring the mini marshmallows around the circle of the cookie. Place a second cookie chocolate side down (touching the marshmallows), and smoosh closed. Cook over your campfire until all melty and messy.

- After your trip, help to put camping supplies away.
When you arrive home, help to clean and store camping supplies. Put your dirty clothes where they belong.

- External Resources
How to Pitch a Tent ehow.com

How to Start a Camptfire About.com

Free camping lapbook Homeschool Share

Camping pencil/pdf About.com