by Mike McDonnell
A bucket list for childhood? Sure thing. Check out these 50 things all kids should try during their childhood, and be sure to cross a few off the list before your kids grow up. Childhood passes in the blink of an eye, after all, don’t let it pass without taking advantage of some – or all – of these fun things!
Lick the beaters.
A fun treat for little ones who show an interest in the kitchen.
Dance in the rain.
Let kids be free to frolic and just enjoy childhood with unstructured play.
Make mud pies and serve them to imaginary friends.
Using their imagination will help later in life as they try to find a solution to a problem, plus it’s just plain fun.
Act like a monkey & climb a tree.
Climbing trees is not only healthy exercise, it also actually helps with cognitive development by encouraging problem solving.
Roll down a grassy hill.
This fun activity will encourage your child to get plenty of exercise and build muscles.
Make shadow puppets.
This simple activity is not only a fun, it also encourages them to use their imaginations.
Skip rocks in the water.
Not only does it take practice, patience and skill to do it well, it is also a quiet and relaxing activity.
Build a sandcastle.
Get the kids to be creative by trying different tools to shape and mold the sand to make the sandcastle.
Learn to swim.
Swimming is a survival skill that all kids should learn in order to stay safe when around water. It is also a smart way to get exercise.
Climb up a slide.
Let your child take a risk and experience climbing up the slide.
Fly a kite.
A child can learn perseverance to keep putting the kite up in the air and learn how the wind affects the kite.
Ride on a train.
This is a nostalgic way to see the country and is a truly unique way to travel that everyone should experience.
Milk a cow.
By doing so kids will learn that milk doesn’t just come from the grocery store.
Go fishing.
This is a survival skill that will be fun to take your child to do.
Attend a baseball game.
Create lifelong memories with your child watching the country’s national pastime.
Enjoy a sunrise.
Learn about colors of light by watching the sunrise and seeing the colors change.
Hand feed a wild bird.
This gets the wild birds used to the presence of people and teaches kids to respect birds.
Catch a butterfly.
Be gentle with the butterfly to avoid hurting it and learn to understand and respect one of nature’s beautiful creatures.
Have a best friend.
A close friend can help a child be less afraid and feel good about himself/herself.
Tell a joke.
Telling jokes improves social skills and allows a child to use his imagination.
Be part of a team.
You can become less shy and feel less isolated by being part of a team.
Attend a county fair.
It’s fun for the whole family and you can ride on rides and see the animals.
Put on a puppet show.
Kids learn to be creative by coming up with the story and figuring out how to tell it.
Blow bubbles.
Playing with bubbles develops fine motor skills and visual tracking.
Slide down a waterslide.
Getting up the courage to slide down a waterslide will help you overcome physical and mental challenges.
Make mom and dad laugh.
Laughter is still the best medicine because it helps reduce stress.
Make something from a cardboard box.
This exercise improves imagination because you can make many things from a box.
Jump in a pile of leaves.
Jumping in a pile of leaves is not only entertaining for kids, but it’s a sensory experience they can learn from.
Hang upside down.
This changes your perspective on the world and helps improve balance.
Travel abroad.
Expand your horizons by learning about cultures outside of your own and gives you firsthand experience with historical locations.
Visit the zoo.
Learn about animals and their habitats by exploring the zoo.
Go on a treasure hunt.
Improve your listening skills and learn to use strategies to find the treasure.
Finding shapes in the clouds.
The act of cloud watching reduces stress and promotes imagination.
Ride on a carousel.
Experience a piece of history by enjoying this old fashioned ride.
Build a gingerbread house.
Get creative and do something new by building and decorating a gingerbread house.
Do a cartwheel.
Doing cartwheels is good exercise and strength training.
Learn to whistle.
Carry on an old tradition and relieve some stress while you whistle your cares away.
Wear a cape.
Pretending and playing alone helps children improve their self-direction skills.
Wear a costume as clothing.
Using a costume as clothing helps develop a sense of self.
Collect something.
Creating a collection of something you love will help teach patience and organization.
Play with play dough.
Squishing and molding this entertaining dough improves fine motor skills explains.
Pick strawberries and eat them.
Kids can benefit from picking strawberries by learning where they came from and getting to pick the berries themselves.
Go bird watching.
Polish up observation skills by bird watching and learning about the many different species.
Plant a tree.
Help the environment and grow something that will most likely out live you.
Walk in the grass barefooted.
Get closer to nature by running your toes through the grass.
Have a milk mustache.
Acting silly brings laughter, and laughter is healthy for everyone.
Play with makeup.
Girls learn to explore who they want to be when they experiment with makeup.
Finger paint.
Children learn basic color mixing while developing creativity.
Feed the ducks.
Kkids learn by interacting with ducks.
Go stargazing.
Get an idea of how big the universe really is and become curious about what else is out there.
