Summer Camp Activities for Pre Teens

Nature Scavenger Hunt

• No stay at summer camp can end without a nature scavenger hunt. Bring your kids together and give them a list of things to look for while they walk around in the woods. Items on the list can include something as specific as a particular tree's leaf to a general idea of something, such as a plant they have never seen before. Divide the groups into teams if you want to provide a little competition while they search for the items. Otherwise, let the groups take turns looking for the objects on your list. If you like, equip each group with a camera so that they can take pictures to prove that they saw things such as birds that they can't bring back with them. The hunt ends when the first group finds all of the items on the list, or just whenever everyone finishes.

Befriend A Tree

• Another game to get the kids into noticing the natural world around them can begin after you have identified a handful of trees that are somewhat distinguishable from each other. When ready to play the game, blindfold each child and lead her to a tree. Every player must spend time with the tree, about ten minutes or so, just feeling and maybe even smelling the tree. In other words, the kids have to try and produce a memory of the tree through only the sense of smell, touch and maybe even taste. Tell the campers to stop and bring them to a different area. Take their blindfolds off at this point and lead them back to the cluster of trees but don't tell them which one is "their" tree. They now have to find their tree friend by again using those same senses of touch, feel, smell and/or taste. Those who distinguish their original trees win.

American Eagle 1-2-3

• Assemble all of the players in a circle. Pick two or three campers (perhaps the biggest of the brood) and assign them to the middle of the play area. All of the other players get placed on the edge of the circle. The game begins when you shout "Go." The players on the circle's edge must rush past those in the middle to get to the opposite side. The kids in the middle have to try and pick up as many kids as they can, shouting "American Eagle 1-2-3" as they hold them in the air. If they complete this task, the prey now becomes the predator. The last person standing, without having become a predator, wins the game