12 Camp Guide 2020 Camp @ HOME Camp activities to enjoy at home By Madison Van Nortwick I f your children aren’t attending summer camp in the coming months, you can bring summer camp to them. Enjoy time with your children and make lasting summer memories with camp activities right at home. Here are five stay-at-home summer camp ideas to help brighten this year’s summer break. CONDUCT A PLAY Let children get creative and work together by creating a theatrical production. Parents can help write a script and bring out some old clothes for costumes. Once outfits and props are set up, invite the whole family over to watch the performance. Don’t forget the popcorn! Here’s a website that can help get you started: mykidsadventures.com/create-a-family-play. MAKE FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS Have the kids make friendship bracelets for all their friends, or have their friends over and have a friendship bracelet-making party. All you need is some colorful string and a few YouTube tutorials. Here is a link that provides some examples: theneonteaparty.com/friendship-bracelets. TIE DYE T-SHIRTS Nothing says summer like a tie-dye T-shirt. All you need is a plastic tub for soaking, cotton T-shirts and tie-dye mix. Kids will love designing new clothes and seeing how their creations turn out. Here’s how to do it: Step 1: Set up your station with gloves, dye, plastic bags and rubber bands. Set out a plastic tarp in your work station to avoid staining any surfaces. Step 2: Prep your dye – you can buy dye at any local craft store. Mix the dye in a plastic bottle with a bottleneck cap and don’t forget to hold the opening when you’re mixing to avoid spills. Step 3: Lay the T-shirt on a clean surface. Start crumpling the fabric. Keep scrunching the shirt until it’s in a crumpled mound. Hold the shirt in place with rubber bands. The tighter you make it, the more patterns will show. Step 4: Apply dye using squeeze bottles. Don’t hold back – really soak the tee. If using multiple colors, liberally apply the different dyes for a more vibrant, random final result. Flip the shirt over and repeat on the other side. Step 5: Once dyed, seal the T-shirt in a Ziploc bag to keep it damp as the dye sets. Let it sit for six to eight hours or overnight. And voila! In one day, kids will have a new T-shirt to wear and new memories made.

13 Camp Guide 2020 Camp @ HOME MAKE S’MORES No summer is complete without tasty snacks. Sticky fingers, chocolate-covered faces and the smell of “campfire” in your hair can make any summer night feel special. Make a campfire in the backyard or use an outdoor firepit and grab chocolate bars, marshmallows and graham crackers. Spread out a blanket, maybe even throw on some old-school cowboy tunes and get to roasting. WATER BALLOON FUN The hot summers in Phoenix are perfect for water balloon fights. Kids can have an all-out water war using balloons and soaked sponges as grenades. Here are some other ideas for water balloon games: Back-to-Back Race Pairs hold a water balloon between their backs and race to the finish line without popping it. If it pops, they must run back to the starting line to retrieve another. Duck Duck Splash Played like “Duck, Duck, Goose”, but the chooser breaks the water balloon on the head of the person they choose to be the chaser. Spoon Race Holding a spoon in your mouth, place the water balloon on it and race to the finish line. First to the end with an intact balloon wins. Squat Relay This is a relay race where kids run to the finish line and sit on a water balloon – popping it before running back. Volleyball Divide a group into two teams on either side of a line or net and give each team a sheet or towel to toss the water balloon back and forth.