Themed Lesson: Camping

ACTIVITY OPTIONS

Go hiking! Take a short walk outside. Bring paper and pencil to write or draw at least three things they notice and/or sounds they hear. Either before or instead of hiking, watch this video that shows the Vienna Woods where the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven liked to go for a daily hike.

Go canoeing! Have students choose a canoe partner and sit down one in front of the other as if they are in a canoe. Pretend to row to the beat. (Note that this song is not included in the YouTube playlist, but is embedded below.)

Swat flies! Sometimes camping means being around a lot of bugs! Have students pretend to swat away those imaginary bugs while listening.

Set up your tent! Pretend to hand each student a hammer to set up the tent. If you’re familiar with camping, talk them through setting up the poles and putting the canvas on top. When it’s time to hammer in the stakes, hammer to the beat of the song.

Tell stories! Pretend to build a campfire. Then turn out the lights and tell scary stories. (As teachers, you know if this is fun or too much for your students. Skip if they are very young.)

Stargaze! If possible, hand out flashlights to the kids. Have students lay on their backs and turn out the lights. Students may use their flashlights to make shapes and swirls on the ceiling.

ALL SUGGESTED LISTENING