Having canoed with our kids regularly since their toddlerhoods, I find the whole topic to be rather puzzling, since my own kids never showed any signs of boredom on a canoe trip.
So, with my curiosity tweaked, I have gone through journals, photos etc. to remember just what we did that made the trips not only tolerable, but often even exciting for the kids. It turns out that most of these the kids figured out for themselves. Some of these are posted on the Lemonade website's family camping pages, and some of these I will list here:
- we stick close to shore where we can observe interesting features including cliff faces, rocky outcrops, interesting trees, wildlife, tracks in the mud, etc. This provides shelter from strong breezes as well as some occasional shade, and easier access to land for emergency bathroom breaks
- cloud glazing, from sharing "cloud pictures" to predicting the weather
- water gazing, sometimes using underwater viewer (found on the camping pages on the website)
- singing--when the kids were young (and often still now that they're teens), we sing on the longer stretches and crossings during our trip
- rock dropping--fill a bucket with rocks or twigs and drop them one at a time to watch the ripple patterns and also show the speed of travel etc. This is surprisingly amusing for 2-5 year olds
- float a boat--bring along a small toy boat and tie it to the canoe and watch it float
- bring an extra map so kids can begin to learn map reading skills; be sure to point out obvious features etc. regularly
- small paddles or even a whittled dead branch can let young paddlers try their hand at paddling
- the alphabet game that you can play in a car (finding letters on signs etc.) can be played by kids learning the names of different trees, plants, wildlife, lake and river names, etc. To make it easier, allow letters from any part of the name, not just the first letter
- becoming the trip photographer
At the site, the kids always found lots to do:
- pouring water over rocky areas and building stick and rock dams to alter the flow
- exploring (when younger, we had them wear their PFD with attached whistle to cushion from bumps, provide emergency signal if needed, easy sighting and emergency flotation in case of a fall into water)
- helping out (gathering firewood, pumping water, putting up tents, finding a good spot to hang the food, etc.)
- making obstacle courses for each other
- photography (they really like macro pictures in particular)
- star gazing
- hide and seek (with each other, or hiding natural objects)
- imagination games, such as when a log hanging out over a small bay became their pirate ship etc.
- swimming
- wildlife tracking
- using a pocket microscope to explore the tiny treasures they find
Things we found valuable to bring along on trips:
- at least one kid-proof bucket and shovel
- a toy boat, or a knife to whittle one
- binoculars
- swim mask or goggles (snorkels were also popular with the kids)
- a pocket microscope (a later discovery we wish we'd thought of earlier!)
We never paddled for more than 2 hours continuously, always stopping for lunch and a needed leg-stretch part way through. When paddling with the very young, for us anyhow, distance was never the primary goal. We made a point to move at a slower pace so the kids would have time to make and share their discoveries. Doing so gave us a whole new perspective on the wilderness we love so much, and (I hope) helped to foster a love of nature in our kids.
More family camping tips can be found here: http://llemonade.com/camp
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