DIY Summer Camp: Pirate Week

Pirate week at Backyard Summer Camp is full of adventures, learning, and classic summer camp fun ideas for kids!

Collage of DIY summer camp pirate week ideas including an egg carton treasure chest, a paper flag, a paper tube telescope, and a child playing dress up.

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Turn a quiet summer at home into a fun DIY summer camp with our pirate week ideas. Below we’ve put together a simple plan that’s full of indoor and outdoor fun, plus suggestions for snacks, books, and more.

Our Backyard Summer Camp ideas are created for kids ages 5 to 12 and flexible so you can tailor them to fit your family.

Summer camp planning tips

Use our simple system to plan a summer-camp style staycation for your kids! It’s easy to organize a day, a week, or a whole summer of indoor and outdoor play ideas, easy crafts, and fun hands-on learning.

Become a Happy Camper!

Pirate week lesson plan

Indoor activities

Make a paper pirate hat
Turn an egg carton into a treasure chest
Build a cardboard box pirate ship
Decorate a pirate flag
Craft a paper tube telescope for pretend play

Outdoor activities

Make origami boats to sail in water
Play Simon Says with pirate actions like “walk the plank” and “talk like a parrot”
Build a box fort to defend from invaders
Make pool noodle water blasters and pretend they’re cannons
Borrow a metal detector from your library and see what you can find in your backyard

Family activity

After you make the treasure chest craft, fill it with treasure and hide it somewhere in your house or backyard. Draw a treasure map and go on a scavenger hunt to find it.

Themed snack ideas

Make mini pirate ships by slicing apples into wedges and slicing cheese into thin rectangles. Use a toothpick to attach the cheese “sail” to the apple “boat.”