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50 Things To Do Before you’re 11 ¾ – Easter is Coming

What’s 50 Things about?  The National Trust aims to get our pampered and cosseted kids out in the great outdoors.  We all know how important it is to get our kids outdoors but too many kids are still sitting inside when they could be out and about doing what kids should be doing.

When my kids were little, if there was any shouting in the house, the dog used to jump up and down, run herself ragged and race for her lead.  She had been conditioned to know that if the kids were playing up, we’d be heading outside for walkies or to the local park.

With the Easter Holidays coming up, we should maybe get our kids away from the front of their screens and outside to play more.

If it’s true that kids don’t get to go outside because their mums and dads won’t allow it, that’s sad.  Our worry about stranger danger shouldn’t stop our kids getting outside.  If you don’t want them to do it alone, go with them.  Think what fun you could have too.  Kids can join the website and get involved in the fun online.  That’s the best of both worlds.

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It can be hard to get going if you’re not the outdoors type, so the National Trust set up 50 Things to do before you’re 11 ¾.

We’ve done a fair few as we are tin tenting fans, so I’ve marked up the ones we still have to do in red.   Camping in the wild isn’t terribly safe these days, so I suspect that is one we’ll never manage.

How many do your kids still have to do?

1. Climb a tree

2. Roll down a really big hill

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3. Camp out in the wild – I guess our garden or a campsite just doesn’t count for this.

4. Build a den

5. Skim a stone

Country Kids Stone Skimming

6. Run around in the rain  

7. Fly a kite

 8. Catch a fish with a net – hoping a tiddler covers it.

 9. Eat an apple straight from a tree

 10. Play conkers

11. Throw some snow

12. Hunt for treasure on the beach

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13. Make a mud pie

14. Dam a stream

15. Go sledging

16. Bury someone in the sand

17. Set up a snail race

18. Balance on a fallen tree

19. Swing on a rope swing

20. Make a mud slide

21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild

22. Take a look inside a tree

23. Visit an island

24. Feel like you’re flying in the wind

25. Make a grass trumpet

26. Hunt for fossils and bones

27. Watch the sun wake up

28. Climb a huge hill – hoping Bennachie counts for the kids.  I’ve done Lochnagar about 10 times.

 29. Get behind a waterfall

30. Feed a bird from your hand

31. Hunt for bugs

32. Find some frogspawn

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33. Catch a butterfly in a net

34. Track Wild Animals

35. Discover what’s in a pond

36. Call an owl  (They live in the woods outside our house so this was easy)

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37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool

38. Bring up a butterfly (I’m not sure what this actually means)

39. Catch a crab

40. Go on a nature walk at night

41. Plant it, grow it, eat it

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42. Go wild swimming

43. Go rafting

44. Light a fire without matches

45. Find your way with a map and a compass

46. Try bouldering

47. Cook on a campfire (unless a barbecue counts)

48. Try abseiling

49. Find a geocache

50. Canoe down a river – I don’t think a boating lake would count.

18 thoughts on “50 Things To Do Before you’re 11 ¾ – Easter is Coming

  1. We have signed up to this as well and my little one has done a few even though he is only 2. Looks like your well on your way to doing all of them. Before having my son I did quite a lot of wild camping – I wild camped near a few lochs in Scotland and there where other people there doing it as well – with kids. So I think as long as your sensible it still can be done. Great blog, really enjoyed reading this post , stopping over from the linky

    Laura x
    http://www.sidestreetstyle.com

  2. Wonderful, we have done many, I’m not sure I want to catch a butterfly in a net but otherwise we have a few years to fit the rest in. My husband has great plans to take my 9 year old out in the wild camping and we are just beginning to learn geocaching. Great fun.

  3. This is a great post. I’ve not heard of the 50 things before so I’ve just taken a look at the national trust we site! We will definitely be aiming to work our way through these! I think there’s a couple we have already done! Thank you for introducing us to it!

    Xx

  4. I love this list and I’m really chuffed my wee girls have done quite a few of these things and our eldest isn’t 3 yet, so that gives us a good few years to work on the list. We don’t have that many owls here and none of the fabulous Tawny Toowhit Toowhoo ones, but we have time to find some proper owls x

  5. we are working our way through these too!!

  6. we have done a few of the things from the list before i knew such a thing existed and now i am determined to make a lost and strike some of this year. you have done well so far – good luck with the rest x

  7. We have been trying to work our way through these!

  8. Oh, we’re definitely going to have to do this now. thanks for sharing and looks like you’re well on your way to completing the 50 things 🙂

  9. gosh Im in my 50’s and havent done some of these. Will need to work our way through some of the list with the kids.

  10. I love this idea and I think we’ll have to give some of these a try

  11. Reading the list I realise how different today’s children are compared with my childhood and makes me sad. I’ve done all the list as a child I am hoping to experience the list again with my girls. I think outdoor play is much more fun

  12. I love to see blogs promoting the National Trust 50 things challenge. I must admit I haven’t visited it recently but it’s good to see I have covered 6, 11 and 32 in my post this week. For us this is not just a one off tick list but part of our every day play just as a childhood should be. Looks like we still have 4 to cover as a first, very similar to yourselves. Thank you for linking to Country Kids, it’s a perfect link up.

    1. Thank you. Lots of those activities my kids do often, but it would be nice to actually get to the end of the list and have them all done at some point, but looking forward to more being added too.

  13. Wonderful I have been doing lots of natural blog posts as well. Its fabulous for children to get outside.

  14. Wonderful I have been doing lots of natural blog posts as well. Its fabulous for children to get outside.

    1. Mine are not outside as much as they used to be, so now tin tenting season is almost upon us, they’ll be back out and about hopefully.

  15. Just wanted to say thanks for introducing me to this! 50things.org.uk We are ready for adventure! @Aresidence @Scottish_Mum

    1. It’s good isn’t it. Needs lots more added soon.

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