DIY Summer Camp: Pirate Week

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

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.

This is so much fun, whether you’re learning about real-life famous pirates or sticking with fictional swashbucklers.

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.

Pirate week lesson plan

Indoor activities

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

Outdoor activities

1. Make origami boats to sail in water
2. Play Simon Says with pirate actions like “walk the plank” and “talk like a parrot”
3. Build a box fort to defend from invaders
4. Make pool noodle water blasters and pretend they’re cannons
5. 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.”

Books, movies, and videos

Browse our roundup of 18 Pirate Books for Kids.

Watch Pirates of the Caribbean, Hook, or Treasure Island.

Horrible Histories on YouTube has a video on how to live like a pirate. See all our favorite educational YouTube channels.

Field trip suggestions

Field trip options will depend on what’s local to you. Here are some places to look for:

• History museum
• Defend a fort at the playground
• Go geocaching and find hidden treasure

More fun ideas from Backyard Summer Camp:

• 12 Pirate Games for Kids
• 10 Educational Pirate Activities
• 15 Pirate Printables for Kids