Basecamp Commanders – Big Adventures Start At Base

Mission Brief #4: Basecamp Commanders — Big Adventures Start at Base

There’s something about a tent in the backyard that changes everything.

The washing line becomes a lookout. The vegetable patch marks the edge of the expedition zone. The lemon tree earns a new name: Checkpoint Lemon.

Even a small backyard can become somewhere entirely new.

This week, Mikie and Bella are opening Basecamp Command—and your Adventurer is invited to set up their own.

Their challenge? Draw a map, plan three expeditions and keep the whole operation running. There are discoveries to report, landmarks to locate and important notes to make before everyone returns to camp.

Afternoon tea can wait. There’s a mission underway.

🏕️ What is a Basecamp Commander?

Every expedition needs someone who can see the bigger picture.

The Basecamp Commander looks after the map, gives the Scout their next task and records incoming reports. When the Scout calls with a discovery, the Commander listens carefully, asks a useful question and adds it to the Mission Log.

The Scout heads out to investigate, follows the brief and describes what they find.

One explores. One coordinates. Both help the mission succeed.

And everyone gets a turn at both jobs.

🎯 Your mission

Build a working basecamp and complete three short expeditions. Then swap roles so both Adventurers can lead the camp and explore.

Your team: Two Adventurers—one Commander and one Scout.

Allow: About 30–45 minutes, including camp setup.

Mission zone: A backyard, an adult-agreed area of a park, or a few rooms at home.

🎒 What you’ll need

• A tent, cubby, blanket shelter or picnic rug to mark your base.
• Paper and pencils for your map and Mission Log.
• One paired set of walkie-talkies, if you have them.
• Water bottles.
• Optional extras: binoculars, a small backpack and a magnifying glass.

One handset stays at Base. The other travels with the Scout. With Mission Mates video walkie-talkies, the two handsets communicate within their own pair.

More children joining in? Make a Scout team that travels together and shares the Scout handset. Take turns calling in and running Base.

No walkie-talkies yet? You can still play: the Scout returns to camp with each report. Radio calls add another layer of fun when you have a set.

📋 Your briefing

1. Open Basecamp Command

Choose your base together. A tent is wonderful, but two chairs and a blanket can feel just as official.

Set out your map, pencils, Mission Log and water bottles. Give the camp a name.

Basecamp Gumtree? Lemon Tree Headquarters? Camp Biscuit?

The Commander’s first duty is to announce:

“Basecamp Command is open. Scout, prepare for your briefing.”

2. Draw your expedition map

Before anyone sets off, walk around the mission zone together with a parent or guardian and agree on the boundaries.

Draw a simple map showing Base and three easy-to-recognise landmarks. A tree, garden seat and flowerpot are plenty.

Give each landmark a name and mark it on the map:

• Checkpoint Lemon.
• Flowerpot Station.
• The Old Garden Seat.

Use places children can reach safely on foot. This mission needs observation, not climbing.

3. Plan three expeditions

Write down three tasks before the Scout leaves Base. Each needs a destination, something to investigate and a report to bring back.

Try these:

Expedition One: Landmark Check
Follow the map to a named checkpoint. Report one detail that will help the Commander recognise it.

Expedition Two: Leaf Detectives
Find three different fallen leaves. Describe their shapes and sizes, then bring one back to camp.

Expedition Three: The Observation Challenge
From an agreed spot, find something round, something rough and something moving. Report your discoveries without disturbing them.

Keep the tasks within your agreed mission zone. Leave living plants and creatures where they belong.

4. Send your Scout

The Commander gives one expedition brief at a time.

The Scout repeats the task back, takes their handset and heads to the checkpoint.

Commander: “Scout, go to Flowerpot Station. Find something round and report back.”

Scout: “Flowerpot Station. Something round. Understood!”

At the checkpoint, the Scout calls Base:

“Base, this is Scout. I’ve reached Flowerpot Station. I can see a round terracotta pot.”

The Commander can ask a follow-up question:

“Good spotting. Is it bigger or smaller than your backpack?”

Clear descriptions are part of the challenge.

5. Keep the Mission Log

For each expedition, the Commander records:

• The task.
• The checkpoint.
• What the Scout reported.
• Whether the expedition is complete.

Younger Commanders can draw a picture or ask an adult to help write. A leaf sketch and a big tick count as excellent recordkeeping.

The Scout returns to Base after each expedition. Compare their findings with the map, tick off the task and give the next briefing.

6. Swap command

After three expeditions, hand over the map and Mission Log.

The Commander becomes the Scout. The Scout takes charge of Base.

Choose three new tasks—or repeat the first three with a different detail to investigate.

Before the new Scout leaves, the new Commander makes the announcement:

“Change of command complete. Base is ready!”

7. Close camp with a debrief

Once both Adventurers have tried each role, sit together and compare notes.

Ask:

• Which report was the clearest?
• What did you notice that you hadn’t seen before?
• What helped you be a good Commander?
• What would you change for your next expedition?

Finish by choosing a favourite discovery and adding it to the map.

That ordinary backyard now has a story attached to it.

🌿 Take Basecamp somewhere new

In a small backyard: Three nearby landmarks are enough. The challenge comes from the tasks and teamwork, not the distance travelled.

At a park: Use a picnic rug as Base. An adult chooses the expedition boundaries and keeps children within sight. Walkie-talkie calls are part of the game; adults still supervise.

Indoors: Turn the lounge room into Basecamp Command. A bookshelf, hallway plant and kitchen chair can become checkpoints. Try finding textures, shapes or objects of different colours.

🧭 Adapt the mission to your Adventurer

Ages 5–6: Use picture maps and one simple instruction at a time. Keep checkpoints close. An adult can help the Commander record reports.

Ages 7–8: Add two details to each task. Ask Scouts to describe a discovery clearly enough for the Commander to draw it.

Ages 9–10: Let children design their own expedition briefs. Introduce map symbols, compass directions if you have a compass, or a puzzle that uses clues gathered from all three checkpoints.

💚 For parents and grandparents

This mission gives children two different ways to contribute.

At Base, they practise listening, organising information and giving clear instructions. Out scouting, they practise noticing details, following a plan and describing something to a teammate who isn’t beside them.

Swapping roles lets each child experience both sides of the conversation.

The most useful moment might be a small misunderstanding: “Which tree did you mean?” or “I couldn’t tell what you’d found.”

That’s an opportunity to pause, ask a better question and try again.

There’s no app to open and no feed to scroll. Just a shared plan, a few useful tools and an afternoon that belongs to their imagination.

📄 Your Basecamp printables

Use our Basecamp Command Pack to help run the mission:

• An Expedition Map sheet.
• Three Expedition Brief cards.
• A Commander’s Mission Log.

Download the Basecamp Command Pack

Or start with plain paper and draw your own. A homemade map is every bit as official.

🏅 Earn your Basecamp Commanders badge

Your Adventurers earn their completion badge when they have both:

• Taken a turn as Commander and Scout.
• Completed three expeditions in each round.
• Filled in their Mission Log with words, pictures or an adult’s help.

When the mission is complete, ask a parent or guardian to email hello@missionmates.co with the subject “Basecamp Commanders completed.”

A short message confirming they finished is all we need. They can include a favourite discovery if they’d like.

We’ll reply with the free printable Basecamp Commanders badge, ready to print, cut out and celebrate.

No photographs of children are required.

✨ New to the Adventure Club?

Join the Mission Mates Adventure Club free and receive your Official Adventurer membership badge, ready to print and share with your Mission Mates.

You’ll also hear about new missions, printables and ideas for your next adventure.

Your membership badge welcomes you to the Club. Mission completion badges celebrate the adventures you finish.

[Join the Adventure Club]

About Mission Mates Adventure Club

Mission Mates Adventure Club creates playful missions for children aged 5–10, turning gardens, parks and lounge rooms into places of discovery.

Our adventures bring together teamwork, walkie-talkies, binoculars, simple printables and plenty of imagination.

Inspired by founder Joan Murphy’s children’s book Mikie and Bella Go Wild, our recurring adventurers Mikie and Bella help bring each mission to life.

A world worth exploring, right where you are. 🌿