Outdoor kids: 'Home camp' in review

Check it out. These are diamonds. And they are just laying around, all over my backyard! I wouldn't have realized these were diamonds, had it not been for the imaginative six kids who participated in our 'home camp' experiment this summer.

Simple idea: Six kids. Four hours. One mom. Scheduled three times over a week, once at each family's house. We held 'home camp' during two far apart weeks this summer. It gave the kids lots of time to play inside and out. And the moms a little bit of free time, after hosting one of the playdates.

I did my last 'home camp' hosting event today, and except for one wipe-out while playing hide-n-go-seek, it went fairly well. The first week we hosted it, I ended up doing some really fast talking when the veracity of the tooth fairy's existence was questioned by one of the 7-year-olds. But all in all, it was a pretty successful experiment. A great way to provide a little bit of structure, something akin to day camp, but with no associated cost.

The few other camps we paid to attend this summer were mostly top-notch, and the money saved during our 'home camp' weeks helped justify the price of the best (and most expensive) camp we did. I wrote about what we fondly call 'hippie farm camp' last year, and this year's experience lived up to our high expectations.

While I realize many of you have probably started back to school and may be in that frenzied attempt to regain a routine, what were your best outdoor moments this summer?