List of ideas for unplugging and reconnecting with nature while camping

by Julie de De Saison, Art of living and working

Oh, the campsite! Are you ready to reconnect with nature and rest your mental space away from screens? Oh yes, and we can't wait!

When we go camping, we change scenery, but… We don't always change pace or state of mind instantly.

Planning, packing, making sure you don't forget anything, composing meals, camping has this funny nature: you can easily fall into the trap of doing more in order to do less. This is why, in our case, the watchword is simplicity. You might be afraid of getting bored when camping and dragging everything with you, but according to our experience, it is better to purify to leave all the room for what the campsite has uniquely to offer us: space, time , calm and nature in abundance.

Experience has taught us that dropping out is a random process that can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. In our case, it is really in contact with nature that the magic operates. Both with children and parents.

And when we're trying to get off the hook, it's possible that the children's energy won't match ours at all times. Between babies who want to be breastfed and who keep us away from the heat of the action or the most energetic who prevent us from reading quietly in the hammock, we have developed some tips to soothe our mental space and reconnect us to nature.

As in many situations in parenting, sometimes it is enough to lead by example rather than trying to control.

So if you want your kids to “stop fussing and enjoy nature around them instead”, all you have to do is maybe take the first step…

Take advantage of the early mornings

6:30 am camping: it seems that the whole campsite is sleeping late, except our family, of course (and maybe the 4th neighbor whose baby is crying a lot - and you can guess his dismay). The solution: outside! There's nothing I enjoy camping more than early mornings, when you have nature to yourself. Often, I go for a walk with my children (or the one who is awake). The slow movement and the observation of nature offer us a soft awakening in addition to moving us away from the camps, thus silencing my fear of waking everyone. We often take the opportunity to pick a bouquet of wild flowers to decorate the picnic table, collect treasures, play on the beach, observe insects. Often I just sit down and let them explore the natural playground. This is the very definition of emptying.

Playing and making art with nature

We've already talked about picking up a bouquet of wild flowers to decorate your camp, but hunting for rocks, leaves, flowers, branches and other elements of nature can keep my children busy for a long time. They make roads and garages for their toy cars, construction sites, they make witches' soup out of them, or even characters and abstract works of art. Sometimes the idea comes from them, but sometimes also the idea comes from me. Instead of giving them the idea, I start my own editing or creation, it's a little trick that I have to not just think about the next meal or the next activity and immerse myself in the present moment.

Meditation in action

During our hikes, we practice mindfulness of the nature that surrounds us. Listen. Look at. Sense. Breathe. And we draw everyone's attention to the little micro-details. We become aware, sometimes in silence, sometimes by discussing our discoveries, the details of the nature that surrounds us and what effect it has on us. So, instead of crashing into a beach chair with my book, I often prefer to follow my children on the beach with my camera, looking for bugs and frogs, beautiful textures and colors to contemplate and photograph. They are absorbed in their games and I in the landscape and the memories of my own childhood hunting crayfish.

The photo rally

Speaking of cameras, although I routinely put my phone in airplane mode when camping, I take lots and lots of photos. Of nature. of our activities. Of our rituals. And above all, above all, my moments of satisfaction.

You can also change your point of view by offering your children to take some pictures of what they find interesting in nature, or what they like about camping!

There are no better memories of our vacation than these photos of the details taken in the calm, or even in a hurry, in the heat of the moment.

Scribble, write, escape, sleep

One of our golden rules in camping is the mandatory rest period for everyone. Siesta in the hammock or in the trailer, reading, board games, quiet games or writing in the diary: it's up to everyone, but it's a must to really change the pace and cultivate the feeling of a holiday that breathes. Really.

Checklist for unplugging and reconnecting with nature while camping

• Take advantage of the early mornings
• Playing and making art with nature
• Meditate in action
• Do a photo rally
• Take time to do nothing and rest

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