Camping and hiking is a great idea. I actually did do this in elementary school, and learned a lot of great things about making fire and tracking animals. It may have been extra-curricular.
Growing up I spent my summers in Armenia, and occasionally my dad would take me way out of the (only) city, pull over, and we'd just start walking into the hills. I would always feel uncomfortable and gross and basically piss myself every time something buzzed by my ear, but he kept me moving anyway. Now in the states, when it rains and my friends cower into a shop to keep their manicured carcasses from experiencing nature, I take my clothes off and run in the grass. I'm not saying you should do that, I'm just saying it's a lot more fun than not doing that.