Get your kids interested and involved in your camping trips like never before by using technology to your advantage! Heading out in your new or used RV can be a great time to put down the devices and unplug…unless you’re a tween or teen, that is. Our RV lifestyle tips for today are the outdoor apps you gotta have – and the ones your kids will love, too!
Survivor Time
No one’s getting voted off the island today! Put the Army Survival app and give your tweens and teens age-appropriate assignments in setting up camp. This is a great app for learning some great life skills and no one can argue that it’s a total flex when you’ve just made fire for the first time. There are lots of skills and tips within the app for more rugged adventuring, too, like building shelter. Find it in your app store.
The Night Sky
One of our family’s favorite outdoors apps is StarTracker. Keep the learning and exploring going once the sky gets dark. This interactive app is like a planetarium in your pocket – just point the phone’s camera at a star system or planet for instant identification. You’ll also gradually learn to orient yourself to the changing position of the constellations based on the season, and learn to orient yourself directionally based on the stars. The basic version is free in your app store, but the full version is only a few bucks – and well worth it.
Leaf Me Alone
Learn what’s safe to touch, handle, and taste – and what’s not! – with the iNaturalist app. This app helps you ID anything in your immediate surroundings. Take a photo, and plug it into the app. The in-app user database can help you instantly identify everything from plants to insects, amphibians to fungi. Since species can experience significant variation across different regions, make sure to turn your device’s location on so you can get more accurate identification. As a point of safety and precaution, of course, don’t touch anything you’re uncertain of, even if it looks friendly (or tasty!).
Set the Ground Rules
Prying the phones away from your tweens and teens may seem like an impossible task, but if you really want to focus on having quality family time, it’s important that you set the ground rules and expectations. Using apps like these can help you use the technology you want to your advantage while putting a pause on the technology you don’t. You might consider setting a ground rule that a set amount of “freebie” screen time is earned by way of using these apps to contribute around camp, learn something new, or share in new experiences with a family member. It may feel like a challenging balance to strike, but you can do it!
Finding the right new or used RV can also feel like a challenge. But we’re here to help you narrow it down and find something that’s perfect for your family. Stop in or contact us today!
