Indoor Activity for All Ages

We’re challenging our campers of all ages to participate in Pioneer Camp’s take of the popular “Floor Is Lava” game! If your child is younger, this activity is great for encouraging them to use their imagination and act out their own scenarios. Meanwhile, your older children will get a kick out of this activity by exercising their problem-solving skills and strategizing creative solutions for their own obstacle courses.

Below, we have outlined what you’ll need to get started depending on the age of your children (ages 4-9 or ages 10+). Since there are many ways to approach this activity, these steps are just a starting point. Feel free to get creative with it and share your obstacle courses with us on Facebook and Instagram!

“Floor is Lava” Challenge for Ages 4-9

What You’ll Need (Ages 4-9):

• An area in your home with empty floor space and ample room to create the obstacle course

• Placemats/pieces of paper/pillows or anything that be used as stepping stones through the lava

• Cards/toys/markers or anything that can be used as rescue items throughout the obstacle course

Set Up & Instructions (Ages 4-9):

1. First, scatter your stepping stones around the floor. Then, scatter your rescue items of choice around the stepping stones, where they are reachable from a stepping stone.

2. Next, designate a clear starting point for your child(ren) to begin the obstacle course (i.e. the couch or a starting line marked with tape on the ground).

3. Explain to your child(ren) that you will all pretend that the floor is lava and their job is to retrieve all the rescue items without touching the lava.

4. Before starting, establish a clear rule of how rescue items should be retrieved. Depending on your desired level of difficulty, you can ask your child(ren) to pick up each rescue item one-by-one and return it back to the starting point, or even specify an order that rescue items should be obtained by calling out the item name before each round.

5. Once they begin, watch their movements. If they touch the “lava” at any time, they must put any rescue items down and return to the starting point.

6. For added entertainment, you can introduce new elements of imagination throughout the obstacle course run (i.e. “Watch out for that fireball!”, “There’s a lava monster behind you!”, etc.).

7. Be sure to take photos and videos of your child(ren) navigating around the “lava” and share them with us on Facebook and Instagram! 

“Floor is Lava” Challenge for Ages 10+

What You’ll Need (Ages 10+):

• An area in your home with ample space and safe things to climb (i.e. couch or bed)

• Placemats/pillows/furniture or anything that be used as stepping stones through the lava

• Optional: Items that can be used as “moving stepping stones” and can transport a child in slow and controlled distances (i.e. office chair or skateboard)

Set Up & Instructions (Ages 10+):

1. Encourage your child(ren) to set up their own obstacle course and provide suggestions for stepping stones instead, so they can set their own level of difficulty and feel accomplished when they solve it.

2. Oversee their set-up to ensure that they can complete the course safely and within realistic expectations (i.e. not having to jump a very far distance to get to the next stepping stone). For older children (12+ years old), you can also introduce the moving stepping stones as an added challenge and establish safety measures to avoid any accidents.

3. Before starting, explain to your child(ren) that you will all pretend that the floor is lava and their objective is not to touch the ground the entire time.

4. Have a designated timer (such as a parent or sibling) to record how long it takes each child to complete the course, as well as someone who can film the entire activity.

5. Share your obstacle course completions with us on Facebook and Instagram!

Camp-Related Challenges

This challenge can’t be complete without some references to camp! Make sure to try out these additional challenges to represent the Pioneer Camp community:

• Play a camp song throughout the obstacle course run. Once the music stops, your child must stop what they’re doing and stay completely still until the music starts again.

• Encourage anyone watching on the sidelines to create their own cheers for the child participating in the obstacle course. These cheers can replicate the tunes of existing camp cheers and lyrics can be replaced with the child’s name instead.

• For younger children, pretend that you are all at a campsite flooded by lava and each rescue item is a camp object or one of their friends from camp. Bonus points if your rescue items are actually camp objects!

• For older children, the final stage of the obstacle course could be their own at-home flag raising ceremony to celebrate the victory.

Will you be trying the “Floor Is Lava” challenge at home? Share your pictures and videos with us by tagging us on Facebook at @AlbertaPioneerCamps and Instagram at @albertapioneercamps or sending us a direct message!

For more at-home camp activities, visit: https://www.pioneercampalberta.ca/camp-at-home/