Take preschoolers on a nature walk to gather items for a nature wreath. Provide them with bags and have them gather pine cones, pine needles, acorns, twigs and leaves as they walk. Upon returning to the classroom, provide children with a paper plate that has the center cut out of it. Instruct them to glue the items they collected onto the plate. When they are finished, string a length of yarn through the hole and tie the ends of it together, forming a loop. Use the yarn loops to display the nature wreaths.
Instead of using traditional paintbrushes to paint a picture, have students use a paintbrush made out of leaves. Gather leaves and glue or tape them to the end of a craft stick. Instruct children to dip the leaves into different colors of paint and use them to paint a picture. Discuss the difference between using a real paintbrush and using a leaf paintbrush.
Looking up at the night sky is a common activity on camping trips. After discussing the night sky, have students create their own images of the nighttime sky. Provide children with dark-blue construction paper and cotton swabs. Instruct them to dip the cotton swabs into white craft glue and press the glue onto the paper in a haphazard manner. Hold the paper over a bin and shake silver glitter over it, creating the look of twinkling stars.
Another common activity on camping trips is fishing. This art project allows children to create their own renditions of a pond filled with fish. Provide children white paper and instruct them to color a blue circle in the center, creating a pond. Have them glue goldfish crackers on the pond. Cut a piece of blue plastic wrap into a circle and glue it over the pond. Give children small rocks and instruct them to glue them around the perimeter of the pond. They may use green crayons to color grass around the pond.