I like camping, most of the time, but not much in the rain. How about you? Camping with kids has some wonderful learning opportunities that will help little ones with readiness for kindergarten. This blog will explore camping and emotional development in children.
Kindergarten will put some extra pressures on kids’ emotions so it’s helpful for little ones if they know the names of feelings and have some experiences talking about them. For instance, night time can be especially scary because a tent or trailer is so dark. Having to share so much time and space with a sibling may be fun and frustrating. The whole adventure of camping is more than exciting. Help your child match the feeling with the name for it. Some children are confused when they feel both a positive feeling and a negative one at the same time, like happy and scared, or when someone else feels 
something very different than they do.
Because kids do not yet have all the words they need, parents and caregivers need to help them talk about their emotions. If needed, sometimes a story can be used as a starting point. In “Olivia Goes Camping” by Alex Harvey, Olivia enjoys camping and can hardly wait to go but her friend has very different feelings. Knowing basic emotions is part of kindergarten readiness and, like so many other skills, learning about them starts long before school does. Have a great time camping–and learning! How do you feel about camping?