Summer Camp: Military Style

The summer sun is bearing down, and we are definitely feeling the heat! At the Crooks house, summer is full of front yard play, complete with sprinklers and snow cones. This summer, though, as I looked across my front lawn, I saw the most peculiar sight: Through the drops of water and sticky syrup, all of the neighborhood children were playing “Army.” It made me laugh (in the civilian world, no one would have understood their madness), and then I was inspired to find more ways to encourage their creative play.

We have now set up summer camp “military style.” I gathered some of the fun resources that we’re using during our adventures, and I thought I’d share them with you.

Dress Right Dress

A true military adventure cannot begin without proper uniform and attire. Head out to your local surplus store or Clothing & Sales, and pick up some military uniforms (Clothing & Sales even offers them in children’s sizes for very little cost), hats, and boots (we found that black rain boots work great).

Pitch the Camo Tent

Yes, that means drag out a bunch of your service member’s camo netting, 550 cord, 100-mile-an-hour tape, and round up some tent stakes! We found that covering our regular tent in camo netting was a lot more stable than creating one from scratch.

Create a Mess Hall

No camp would be complete with a bright orange Gatorade container (my kids affectionately call this the “water buffalo”) and some MREs.

Time for PT 

Military summer camp has no time for lazy! Set up an obstacle course. Play a game of ultimate frisbee or ultimate football. You could even take them for a run. Want more fun? Add in timing and give them a true PT test.

Build a Tank 

Out of cardboard boxes, that is. You can find step-by-step instructions on how to build one here. You can go big or small; either way, having the kids make their own toys is a blast!

Arrange Carwashes and Bake Sales 

Or even a lemonade stand! Get them ready for those FRG fun(d)raisers! Set up a car wash complete with signs, and have them wash all the neighbors’ vehicles. Take them inside to cool off and bake up some summer treats, then let them do a mock bake sale outside to share their goodies.

Don’t Forget the Pomp and Circumstance

Finish off your summer camp by attending one of the numerous changes of command that take place during the summer, or you could visit an Independence Day celebration at your installation.

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Retired Blogger

Retired Blogger

Army Wife Network is blessed with many military spouses who share their journey through writing in our Experience blog category. As we PCS in our military journey, bloggers too sometimes move on. Their content and contributions are still valued and resourceful. Those posts are reassigned under "Retired Bloggers" in order to allow them to remain available as content for our AWN fans.

One thought on “Summer Camp: Military Style

  • July 2, 2010 at 7:17 am
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    These ideas are so cute!! Can't wait to have kids (maybe I'll just borrow my baby cousin and Godson) and try them out! 🙂

    -Abbey
    TradingDiamondsForDogTags.blogspot.com

    Reply

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