The other morning I read an article posted from the Globe and Mail about a bucket list. We all know how much I love bucket lists but this one really intrigued me. It was 50 things for kids to have experienced before they are 12. It made me think about how awesome my childhood was and how great my parents were at exposing us to so many things as youngsters.
I am also lucky to have grown up with an awesome family and extended family along with 3 grandparents who had amazing homes to visit, explore and experience a lot on this list. Plus, we had a family cottage in North Bay, Ontario that was in the middle of nowhere so exploring, being in the forest, animals and snorkeling were the best part of the trips.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/young-children/
The list
1. Climb a tree - loved tree climbing but hated trying to climb back down
2. Roll down a really big hill - still have the scar above my eye from St. Joseph's Hill with my brother
3. Camp out in the wild - Circle R ranch had the best camping along it's little stream, you could hear the water running all night plus there were a ton of stars to see
4. Build a den - we would take blankets and attach them to our front porch and live under there for the afternoon
5. Skim a stone - my brother once got 9 skips
6. Run around in the rain - Cardiff where my Little Grandma lived had the best rain showers
7. Fly a kite - every Easter we got kites as gifts and would go to the park and lie on our backs watching our kites up in the sky
8. Catch a fish with a net - my brother taught me to do this at Pawdash Lake
9. Eat an apple straight from a tree - we had the biggest, baddest apple tree on Dunboyne Cres and every fall we would pick them and make pies as a family. We got to climb the tree too but one day we all got on the same branch and broke it - needless to say, that was the end of the apple tree climbing.
10. Play conkers - never played but I did throw chestnuts at passing cars when I was a teen
11. Throw some snow - some snow? How about huge snow fights where you are soaked at the end.
12. Hunt for treasure on the beach - still love to do this in Florida and Grand Bend. I have found money, earrings, dead fish, and a lot beautiful shells.
13. Make a mud pie - my dad would set us up in the backyard and water a big mud hill for us to pretend to be chefs and make all kinds of mud items
14. Dam a stream - grandma and grandpa Z had the best creek for this
15. Go sledging - lots of hills, lots of spills
16. Bury someone in the sand - still one of my favourite things to do in Florida
17. Set up a snail race - we loved frog races better
18. Balance on a fallen tree - we would float down my grandparents creek on fallen logs
19. Swing on a rope swing - never could hang on long enough to land in the water :(
20. Make a mud slide - nope never did this because I wasn't a fan of getting dirty
21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild - how about blueberries in North Bay?
22. Take a look inside a tree - park behind our house had 2 old trees with tons of stuff living in them
23. Visit an island - Tilden Lake near North Bay gave us lots of places to explore
24. Feel like you’re flying in the wind - isn't that what picnic blankets were used for after you ate?
25. Make a grass trumpet - still can't do this an an adult
26. Hunt for fossils and bones - loved fossils on the beach
27. Watch the sun wake up - a million times
28. Climb a huge hill - the sand hills near Grand Bend gave us these adventures
29. Get behind a waterfall - Lennie actually got me to do this at his house with the amazing waterfall along side his home.
30. Feed a bird from your hand - how about chipmunks at the cottage
31. Hunt for bugs - loved zapping them with a magnifying glass
32. Find some frogspawn - never found any as a kid but our pool each spring is full!
33. Catch a butterfly in a net - I have terrible eye/hand coordination and I do not remember ever catching one, but I do remember running for an hour and laughing the whole time
34. Track wild animals
35. Discover what’s in a pond - Pawdash Lake had amazing small ponds around it where we saw all kinds of creatures
36. Call an owl - whooooooo
37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool - love love love water and checking out what is living in it
38. Bring up a butterfly - how about a chicken? Yep, had a pet chicken from science glass in grade 7
39. Catch a crab - crayfish work? Lots in Pawdash Lake
40. Go on a nature walk at night - I can't remember doing this but I love looking up at stars at night
41. Plant it, grow it, eat it - dad was a wicked gardener and shared all his success with us
42. Go wild swimming - Lennie took me in the Rouge River and it was WILD.
43. Go rafting - mom paid for me to attend a huge grade 11 trip to the Ottawa river where we camped and rafted for days.
44. Light a fire without matches - never could get it to light, I would fail on the show Survivor
45. Find your way with a map and a compass - I remember an awesome school trip to learn how to do orienteering
46. Try bouldering - I could never do this as I had and still don't have any upper body strength. I have done a ton of climbing though thanks to Fitness Ridge and the Utah mountains.
47. Cook on a campfire - camp YMAWACA gave me this experience a ton of times
48. Try abseiling - our grade 11 PE class took us to the Niagara Escarpment where I was the first to go over and down a huge rock face
49. Find a geocache - never did this as a kid but I bet I would enjoy it now.
50. Canoe down a river - favourite memory from North Park Youth group was canoeing down the Thames with my first love Brian S.
My honourable mention - 51. Pretend you have long hair by putting a poncho over your head
What do you remember from your childhood that makes you smile?