Ready, Set, Go Camping

What do you think of when you hear the word "camping"? You might think of sleeping in a tent or in a cabin. You might think of hiking in a forest or playing games. You might think of cooking over an outdoor fire. Camping can be a lot of fun when you're with other Girl Scouts and your leaders.

#1. Roll-a-Bag Relay
Play the roll-a-bag relay so you can practice rolling up your sleeping bag or bedroll. You can also use two or more blankets tied together.
Divide into two teams. Each team needs one sleeping bag. The first person runs with a sleeping bag to a line that has been set. She unrolls the sleeping bag and runs back to tag the second person. That person must run up to the bag, roll it up, and bring it back to the next person in line, and so on. The first team to complete wins!

#2. Bandanna Tricks
A bandanna is a wonderful thing to take on a camping trip. You can do many things with it. Fold a large bandana so you can:

• Carry your lunch or snack on a hike

• Bring home a treasure you find on a trail

• Wear it to keep your hair off your face

• Wear it as a neckerchief

• Use it as a cowboy mask on a dusty road

• Make a hand puppet

• Use it as a sit-upon

• Use it as an apron

• Use it as an emergency bandage

Can you think of other ways to use a bandanna? In some countries, children carry their things to school in a bandanna.
Japanese children call it a furoshiki.

#3. A Camp Stew For You
One-pot meals are easy to make and clean up after when you are on a camping trip. Work with an adult to prepare and cook a meal using this Girl Scout recipe for a camp stew. You will need:

• 2 pounds of hamburger

• 1 onion, pealed and cut in small pieces

• Two 10 3/4 ounce cans of condensed vegetable soup

• 1/4 teaspoons salt

• wooden spoon for stirring

• can opener

1. Add salt to the hamburger meat. Separate the meat into small pieces.
2. Put the meat in the bottom of the pot. Stir it as it heats.
3. When the hamburger is starting to brown, add the onion pieces. Stir the onion pieces until they are soft.
4. Add the vegetable soup and some water. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon so it doesn't stick to the pot.
5. Cover the pot and cook the meat slowly until it is cooked all the way through. Serve the stew hot.

#4. Storm Warning
There are many types of storms. Make up your own "group storm". In a clear space, each person acts out one part of the storm -- the wind, the thunder, lightening, rain, snow, hail, etc. Then create a giant storm by having everyone act out a part at the same time. How will each person's part change as the "weather" changes?

#5. Knowing Your Knots
Practice tying a few simple knots before you go on a camping trip. This will help you wrap up your sleeping bag and other gear. Besides, it's a great skill to have!

An overhand knot is a knot on the end of a rope. This knot is made with one piece of rope.

This is the simplest knot of all. It is commonly use to temporarily "stop" the end of a fraying rope. The overhand knot is commonly tied in a bight formed at the end of a rope, forming the Overhand Loop.

Tip. The Overhand knot jams easily so it is far better to use a Figure of Eight knot to stop the end of a fraying rope.

A square knot is used to tie two ropes together or to tie a package. It is also the knot used to tie a bandanna around your neck. Tie two pieces of rope together, following the steps in the picture. Remember this poem to help:
"Right over left and left over right makes the knot neat and tidy and tight."

to make your knot look like this

Use a square knot to tie the ends of a rope together. A square knot allows you to loosen the knot after it has been under tension. When improperly tied (a granny knot), it is difficult to untie.

#6. Hiking Scents
Go on a scent hike.
Ask a pair of girls or an adult to lay out a simple scent trail. They will need an onion or cotton swabs dipped in oil of clove or peppermint oil. Ask them to rub the scents on trees, rocks, or signs. Try to follow the trail by using your nose. What other types of strong-smelling things can be used to make a scent trail?
Create a scent trail for another group of Girl Scouts.

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1. With a can punch, place holes through the sides of a #10 can or a 3 lb. coffee can around the bottom edge. Be careful not to punch through the can seam.

4. When briquettes are ready, remove with tongs and place where needed.

Supplies needed:

2 Dish washing cloths (the kind that are loosely woven out of cotton string)
Needle with large eye
Heavy duty thread
Twine

Take the two dish washing cloths put them together. Thread the needle with the heavy thread and tie both ends of thread together so you have a double thread to use for sewing. Start at one corner of the cloths. Hold the thread knot with one hand and push needle up through a open loop of the fabric and down through the next loop with the other hand. Push the needle between the two threads to tie your sewing thread at the corner. Stitch several more times at that corner to make sure your thread does not pull out as you sew the two cloths together.

Now, sew the two cloths together on three sides with the heavy duty tread by pushing the threaded needle through every one of the open loops around the edge of the cloths. Sew up through a loop, then down through the next one until three sides are sewn together. Tie off the thread again at this corner by pushing your needle up and down several times but do not cut your thread. After the thread is tied off, sew the three sides again but this time if you went up through a loop the first time go down through it this time. When you get back to the corner you started from tie off the thread like before. When you finish it should look like you were weaving the threads around the edge of the cloths.

Cut a 40 inch piece of twine. Separate the pieces of cloth on the open side so you have a bag. Starting at one corner on the outside of the bag, thread the twine through all the loops around the top of your bag back to the beginning. Tie the two ends of the twine to make a draw string for your bag.

Put your mess kit in the drip bag and enjoy.

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Other Helpful Links:
"Cookit" Foldable Solar Oven - Build this powerful solar oven from cardboard and aluminum foil.
Weather Activity Sheet
The Fossil Hunter
Mount Rushmore - Official site for the four most famous guys in rock!
100 things to do with a Bandanna!
 

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