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Family Camping tips: (from KOA and posted on about.com):

• Play flashlight games. Bring your favorite board or card game and play a flashlight version outdoors, in a cabin or tent.
  
  
• Host a shadow puppet contest. Transform everyday objects and camping supplies, like cooking utensils or branches, into animated stories illuminated by flashlight on cabin or tent walls.
  
  
• Make nature bracelets. Attach a circle of masking tape around children's wrists, sticky side out. Add colorful leaves, seeds and shells found on nature walks.
  
  
• Get some exercise. Rent or bring a bicycle, consider a trail ride or nature walk. Take a hayride or play miniature golf as a group. Join other families for a game in the pool.
  
  
• Surpass S'mores. Get creative at the campfire. Ask children to dream up a new combination of favorite foods, like hobo pies made from slices of bread and apple pie filling.
  
  
• Sing a song. Compose a new song about the family's camping adventures and set it to a familiar tune, like "Oh Susannah."
  
  
• Learn the directions. For younger children, teach the directions of sunrise, sunset, north and south. Get more complex for older kids who would enjoy using a compass.
  
  
• Stargaze. Wind down after a fun-filled day by finding a quiet spot away from lights for looking at the stars. Find and name your own constellations.
  
  
• Bring the family pet. Take the family dog for a nature walk instead of the customary turn around the block!
  
  
• Start a family photo contest. After the trip is over, look at photos as a group. Take a vote and award a grand prize for the winning image.

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