Camping with a Five Year Old...

If you haven't bought them yet, you can do without the sleeping bags. Just bring some blankets and pillows.

camping chairs are wonderful,nif you can afford them.

Graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate are must-haves.

Have fun! I love camping with my 5yo.

I always take a box of cleaning wipes just in case you cant or dont want to make it to the shower.
A camp stove of your own is always good to have, with a camp coffee pot ... nothing like the smell of camp coffee brewing in the early morning with your campfire.
When we go, which the season IS upon us, we pretty much rough it... no bath except for in the river. It's nice to "let go" of the normal and really just call it "camping", hair in ponytails, not a lot of different clothes... why bother with that? You are there to RELAX. Now that you have your tent, just make sure you get your own air pump, get some good sleeping bags.
Make sure you take insect repellent, peroxide, neosporine and bandaids.
Take snacks that you like.
In case you dont want to get out of the tent at night to pee, take a large coffee can and lid ;)
Enjoy it, it's TOO FUN and different every time you go.

Keep your child w/you in YOUR tent & tell her she cannot leave w/o you.
Ever.
Extra blankets
Off Spray for sure.
First aid kit
Warm socks
Extra blankets
Pillows
flashlights
your own food & snacks. I am always hungry when the food isn't out.
So it never hurts to bring your own. Esp snacks, water, coffee & juice
mattress pad
a bucket
your own wood for a campfire
lighter
You've named most of the items but wanted to add these

Updated

Keep your child w/you in YOUR tent & tell her she cannot leave w/o you.
Ever.
Extra blankets
Off Spray for sure.
First aid kit
Warm socks
Extra blankets
Pillows
flashlights
your own food & snacks. I am always hungry when the food isn't out.
So it never hurts to bring your own. Esp snacks, water, coffee & juice
mattress pad
a bucket
your own wood for a campfire
lighter
You've named most of the items but wanted to add these

Depending on the temp in CA you may not even need sleeping bags, just blankets. Otherwise, your list seems complete.

If you are concerned about your child leaving the tent, just position your air mattress in front of the zipper. I doubt you'll sleep through her climbing over you! I personally can never sleep through the noise a zipper makes, so have never been concerned about that. Besides, camping wears out my daughter and she sleeps like a log... We've camped since she was 6 months old.

Oh, bring toilet paper, just in case. Some simple rubber balls, water guns, or nerf-type toys are fun for kids when camping. And when camping in a group, if you realize you need something, someone else will have it!

My kids have been camping since they were itty bitty. They've always loved it.
The more you go, the more you have your routine and packing down.
For us, comfortable sleep is the main thing and I do love sleeping outdoors.
I wouldn't worry too much about your daughter escaping from the tent.
One thing you can do is put an ice cooler in front of the zippered door. It's convenient if someone gets thirsty in the night not to mention the fact you would certainly hear your daughter having to move it and then unzip the tent.
I know your aunt is providing the food, but I'd keep water, juice, fruit, etc in a cooler in your own tent. Put the duffle bag with your clothes in it on top. You'll hear her rustling around to move things.

My kids konked and slept really great. I always woke before they did. But, if you're worried about it, just make a barrier of some kind. Tell her she is NOT to leave the tent until you give her permission. She may hear other campers awake and stirring, but that is not her signal to get up and try to go out.

I don't think you'll have a problem.

Bring a deck of cards or a board game. Bring some Elmer's glue so she can glue leaves, moss, sticks, etc to paper plates for a craft.

I noticed you didn't have towels on your list....don't forget those!
And sunscreen.

Have a great time!

Camping is so much fun and once you get your gear together it is an almost free family vacation.
We don't usually use the sleeping bags, if it's not too cold you can just make up beds on the mattresses, bottom sheet and blankets is all you really need.
Here's some things you may not think to bring:
Lots of towels (hand towels, beach towels, bath towels and dish towels)
A small rug or old towel to fold up at entrance to tent (keeps the dirt out)
wisk broom, essential to sweep tent before and after
ipod or boom box
deck of cards
any sports equipment you use (we bring mitts and gloves)
plastic table cloth
folding chairs for sitting around the fire
easy snack food
bottled water
fixings for s'mores
You are staying at a KOA so you won't be roughing it, I've never stayed at one but you'll likely be able to buy anything you might need pretty easily.
We did have a sleep walking 6 year old in Yosemite once, pretty scary but only for about 3 minutes. Unless she's like mine (who walks and talks in her sleep) just tell your girl not to leave the tent at night without waking you.
Hopefully you'll have fun and want to do it again. California (especially central and northern) is an amazing state to camp in. After you've tried a KOA try something a little less developed. I'm not sure you'll get the full nature experience at a KOA but I'm sure it will be fun.

Quarters for the showers and baby wipes. Baby wipes are great for wiping down everything. At the last KOA I stayed at you had to pay for the showers.
Most KOA camp grounds have community activities during the week that cost money or for a donation so I would bring some cash incase you want to check those out.
Instead of getting a glow stick you can buy a glow stick flashlight. It has the flashlight, glow stick, flashlight/glow stick combo, and blinking glow stick all in one. It is about $5 and you can find them at most walmart/Target or camp stores. It has a string so it could hang around your daughters neck.

I recently went camping at a KOA in St Augustine. We rented a two room cabin, it had electric and AC but we had to walk to the bathroom/showers. My daughter is also 5 and I had the same concerns. I would talk to her about being safe while camping and have her wake you up if she needs the bathroom.

Looks like you have everything you need and the KOA's have little stores if you forget something. You should bring some folding chairs for sitting outside by the campfire.

My daughter loved it and we are planning on going again soon.

Have fun.

Camping is the most fun & bonding in childhood. keep it simple & bring lots of books. My grandaughter pulled the plug at 2:00 A:M on our air mattress. She is 14yrs old & we still laugh at it & we all still camp out each year. Don't over pack. I camped with five small kids at a time & never had problems, must the time they like to snuggle & not leave the tent. Have a ball

towels, pony tail holders, extra batteries. Make sure YOU sleep at the zipper, so your child will trip over you to get out. Have fun!!

tents arent that quiet. you will hear her walking if she gets up. my daughter went tent camping for the first time at 4 and loved it. what you have listed seems like everything i would take.

My son is 4 1/2 and he has been camping since he was 4 months old. He loves it. I am sure you will be able to hear her trying to unzip the tent. You could always have her sleep next to one of the tent walls with you sleeping next to her. That is what I did with my son when he was really little, so he did roll all over the tent. He is a crazy sleeper. LOL!

As far as some items that I can't live with out that you dont have on your list.
baby wipes and anitbacterial wipes
board games
activity books
hat
ball
camera
Chairs

When my son was smaller I would zip tie glow sticks to his belt loops at might. He has a head lamp that he wears everywhere now. You can pick one up at walmart for less then $5. They are also good to zip tie to the inside of the tent at night. You would be amazed how much light they give off.

Craigslist has lots of deals on camping stuff also look under the garage sale section on craigslist.

Hope you have a wonderful first camping trip and many more to come in the future.

If she's going to be in the tent with you you will wake up. Put her in between you and Dad if you are nervous. It's very quiet at night when you camp though so you will hear her. Also she will likely wake you herself and not go into the dark night by herself! I find my 3 and 5 year old sleep like ROCKS because they are so tired. We always hike, rock climb etc so they are wiped at bedtime. There are lots of places you can rent equipment from if you want to cut down on price. You dont need air mattresses and camping pillows. I never put a tarp under my tent. It has lasted me 20 years of camping with no tear. You can probably rent things like lanterns, large cooler and even sleeping bags. My advice since you haven't done this is borrow or rent for this trip, see how you like it and then do some investing if you have a good time. I do back country camping with my kids (3 and 5) frequently. No amenities or camper! No running water and only a chemical toilet (small step up from a porta potty!) It is so much fun and the kids LOVE it! Honestly the less we go with the more fun it is. We go for two nights usually. If it were longer I would want a shower! One thing the kids really love to bring is lots of hot drinks (tea, hot chocolate) - even in the summer its cool in the morning and they love that hot drink in the morning and around the campfire at night. Basically don't overthink it. It will be fun and it will be more fun if you keep it simple! If you like it you will know better next time what your family needs! Another note - I never bring toys for my kids! Not even one. They play outside with nature happily all day long.

Frisbee, ball something for her to do (toy wise) with others during times you're otherwise occupied. Nothing with small pieces that can and will get lost. Don't worry about her unzipping the tent. My kids have done tons of camping trips and the last thing they want to do is to venture out in the dark. Have fun!!

First, to ease your mind, you can likely safety pin the zippers together so your daughter can't get out without a lot of fuss and effort. Just run the pin through the holes in the zipper tabs.

Depending on where you camp,(mosquitos!) some insect repellent and citronella candles or incense punks will help keep bugs away.

I also bring extra plastic bags for trash.

My biggest concern is usually making sure I have enough clothes for my son. Pack layers, because the day can go from hot to cold fairly easy. We also pack rain pants, just in case.

Some campsites have places to buy wood for fires; or you may need to haul it in. This is worth checking out. Same with basic fire tools.

Do you plan on eating/doing dishes with the RV folk? If not, double dishpans; one for washing, one for rinsing. Towels to dry dishes.

And lastly, stuff for your daughter to do. I prefer to bring more simple toys for my son, who's about the same age. Jump rope is great, a ball if there's space (frisbees tend to fly into other people's campsites, not so great), bubble stuff, and think about what else she might like to do. Card games, travel games are good. A few good books. Paper and markers or crayons--with crayons you can do nature rubbings of the local vegetation.

If you are looking for other nature activities she can do, consider borrowing this book from your local library: Mudworks by Mary Ann Kohl may give you a lot of ideas.

Have fun!