Garden Tenders: Camping Adventure II

This weekend we went camping. We decided that we wanted to spend 4 nights this time. I am destined to think that we will be learning something new each time we camp out. We have been using our small four man tent and I think we are now ready to venture into our bigger tent. Hopefully it isn't too big, we bought it years ago, before Bear was even thought of. I guess we were preparing our field buying a family tent long before we had children.

We went camping this past weekend at Belfair State Park and we really enjoyed it. It was busy Saturday but Sunday the park thinned out a lot. I think going during the week would be really nice, but even so it was a great experience.

We had changed some of our equipment a bit; a new mattress for us, an awning to use in case of rain and a great new little lantern. We found a Kelty Lantern which we thought would be a good addition and boy was it. it lit up the inside of the tent like it was daylight. Very worthwhile purchase and I highly recommend it. It's lightweight, sturdy, and the light is much brighter than our Coleman we bought a few years ago. We still have and used our gas powered lantern as well, we even loaned it to some people that came in late Friday night as they set up their site. Bear and I were using the Kelty to walk to the bathroom and get ready for the night, or we would have loaned it as well.

Kelty Lantern

Old lantern that is over 40 years old and
works like a dream!

Of course with water so close, we spent hours on the beach. It really and truly was a relaxing vacation and coming home last night was a reality shock. I think we would really be able to get use to spending more time outdoors and camping. We rode our bikes every day and all over the park, plus we went on walks. We rode our bikes so much my bottom is sore! Bear's bike skills grew by leaps and bounds in a safe place to practice her skills. It was much more of an experience than the parking lots and city park paths that we have used until now. I think we will plan some more trips in August after Bear's 5th birthday.

Bear was amazed at her Daddy's ability to start a fire with nothing more than slivers of wood. She loved watching him cut wood with our camping hatchet. One thing I found, we were all ready for sleep by 9 pm at night, before it was dark! Bear got ten or more hours of sleep every day we were camping. She was that relaxed.

Our second adventure in the world of camping went very well and the rain held off for us. Do you have any camping adventures to share?

Bear insisted on helping the hubs set up the tent.
When it came to the big poles she stepped aside and
began exploring the "nature" around the camp site.
We had littke trails all around us.

The tent all set up.
Its a very roomy 4 man tent, but I still think
we are ready to venture bigger.

Watching mommy get all the stuff set out.

All set up and ready for a relaxing weekend.

So what does camping have to do with homeschool? A lot. Some things Bear learned this past week as we prepared and went camping:

Organizing and packing
Setting up the tent as she helped her daddy
How to rope a calf and the parts of a lariat
How clams look when they are still in their shells
The meaning of the word cadence
Social skills with adults and children she never met before
How you can use sticks to write in dirt and how to sharpen that stick against a hard surface like the cement sidewalk or blacktop road.
The difference between clams and oysters
Bird watching
Searching for pretty rocks for our tumbler
cooking over and in a camp fire
and more....