The summer season allows for so many fun themes that really resonate with preschoolers. Water parks, ice cream, deserts, and of course ocean themes. But one of our favorite preschool themes is camping, and I always like to introduce our summer fun with something extra fun like a printable bingo game. And this one is a camping preschool printable bingo game.
This post includes a free printable, so be sure to grab if from the end of this post.
Free Bingo Game – Camping Preschool Printable
I happen to live in the state with the largest contiguous wilderness area in the lower forty-eight. I know this because thirteen years ago my husband of then only five months and I and went camping in Frank Church Wilderness area where at every trailhead we were reminded of how remote this area can be, and signed in at each checkpoint.
We were avid mountain bikers then, you know…before kids… and biked among the pencil-thin pines into a hot spring only accessible by foot. (Or mountain bikes).
This trail was not the faint of heart, and honestly, we were a little outside our element. We lost the trail completely on several occasions, had to portage our bikes across the Salmon River multiple times, hiked through deep mud (again carrying our bikes), and traversed alongside the steep sides of the mountain as we rode to the promising hot springs.
It was a 17 mile mountain bike ride that took us all morning and part of the afternoon.
Partially because the ride was long, arduous, and we were a little over confident in our mountain biking skills, but also because I crashed my bike, 14 miles in when the trail teetered on the edge of the mountain and just the right rock in the trail sent me cascading down the mountainside.
About 50 feet down the side of the mountain I finally caught myself with my elbow, causing it to jamb into my shoulder, chipping away a chunk of bone while tearing my rotator cuff.
We were three miles from the hot springs, 14 miles from our campsite, and 35 miles of windy road from the nearest town, but 62 miles from the nearest town with a medical center.
I chose to push my bike the last three miles to the hot springs rather than turn back and find a hospital. We were only one day into a four day camping trip and I was not about to cut it short.
Because where I come from, camping is a big deal.
No matter that I couldn’t lift my arm and my shoulder pain was excruciating, (probably the worst pain I’ve ever experienced), I was not going to let the accident spoil the rest of my camping trip.
Where I live, everyone loves camping. And whether you’re the glamping type in the state or the art fifth-wheel or a mountain man who only comes to town for a bar of soap, camping is the thing to do. The things we all do. Where some districts have moved to only four days a week to accommodate all the families taking time off to go camping.
Yeah, that’s totally a thing here.
So summer preschool would be amiss if we didn’t include a camping theme. The kids already have such a relationship with this theme! And I love this camping preschool printable for that reason.
Printable Camping Theme Bingo Game for Preschool
A simple bingo game is a fun way to begin a camping theme in preschool.
As always, I offer five other ways to use this camping printable, so be sure to read all the ideas at the end of the post. And don’t forget to grab your free camping preschool printable, too.
Materials
- Free camping bingo game (found at the end of this post)
- Bingo chips (or math counters)
The Set-Up
Simply print, cut, and laminate.
Give each preschooler a game card and a small bowl of counters and then invite them to join you in a game of camping bingo!
The Camping Theme Bingo Game
This game is played like all other bingo games. A facilitator draws a card and calls out the picture for the children to find on their cards. If they have the matching picture on their cards, they use a math counter to cover it up. The first player to get five in a row wins the game!
One of the reasons I like bingo and blackout games is because they can help develop vocabulary and oral language skills. You can challenge your preschoolers by asking them to first name the picture or beginning sound on the calling card before you name it.
More Ways to Use This Camping Bingo Game
You know I adore a printable that can be used in more than one way. Here are some other ideas for using this printable.
- Make two copies of the calling cards and play a memory game.
- Invite younger preschoolers to describe the pictures they see on their game cards. Have them talk what they see and share their experiences.
- Use the cards as inspiration to tell and make up stories about camping. As the teacher or parent, you can write down the children’s stories to demonstrate awareness.
- Challenge the preschoolers to find the differences between two cards. Compare two cards to see what pictures are the same and which pictures are missing.
- Make two copies of each game card. Cut the rows from the second game cards and invite preschoolers to match the cut rows from the second card to the complete game cards.
Looking for more summer printables for preschoolers?
Summer has some of the best themes for teaching preschool! Try some of these free preschool printables.
Get your camping preschool printable here!
Think this bingo game is one your preschoolers will love? You can grab your free camping bingo game by clicking the image below.
Then keep reading for even more printable summer activities for preschoolers!
Need some simple summer themed preschool centers?
Make your summer lesson planning a breeze with these printable preschool ocean centers!
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
Thanks for the blog post. Really thank you! Keep writing.