I remember doing all of that when I was a kid. Many times I camp in the backyard “roughing it” for a night. I spend many years traveling and camping with my family and not realizing how well they have set me up for situations that involve being out in the woods. Thanks Mom and Dad!! Time to pass on to my little ones.

Give them a canteen of water. They will see how much they use and learn to conserve their “resource” if they run out quickly. Use blankets, wool if you have them, instead of a sleeping bag. Then, the next morning, use camping / hiking food to make breakfast, over another wood fire, if they are up for it.

You can teach as much in your own backyard in the beginning, without the expense of traveling, to get them used to the processes and thinking for more ambitious outings later.

Go fishing. Find your bait, rather than buying it. Dig for worms, catch grasshoppers or turn over logs or rocks to find things to use. Learn to use a minimal fishing kit. Show how to clean and cook what they catch, over fire, again.

Preparedness doesn’t have to be expensive. It is a matter of knowing what you have, how to use it, or improvising with what you can find or what you can repurpose.

Besides all that, your kids will remember all these experiences as good times as they look back.