71 Things your Child should Try Before the Age of 12
Think back to all the fun, simple enjoyments of your childhood. What are some of your best memories or experiences? For many they are the simplest things. Here is our list of things for your child (and you) to try!

Life as a family gets busy so it’s really important to make sure we provide our children with opportunities to just be kids, to get outside, to explore the natural environment and to have some good old fun.
The list below includes ideas that encourage exploration and experimentation. Although some of the activities may be dependent on your child’s age, location and the climate, you’re bound to find some ideas that your tot will love and perhaps even you too!
- Build a fort
- Splash in puddles
- Blow bubbles
- Pick a fruit or vegetable
- Fly a kite
- Plant seeds and watch them grow
- Build a sandcastle
- Catch a bug
- Run through a sprinkler
- Dance in the rain
- Go tubing on water or snow
- Build a snowman
- Star gaze
- Stay up to watch fireworks
- Run a mile
- Learn to skip rocks
- Make an echo
- Feed an animal at a farm or pond
- Roast marshmallows around a campfire
- Blow a dandelion
- Find shapes in the clouds
- Have a picnic
- Make homemade ice cream
- Roll down a hill
- Make popsicles
- Dig in the sand or dirt
- Make and bury a time capsule
- Dance like no one is watching
- Laugh until you cry
- Make yourself dizzy by twirling around and around
- Tell stories around a campfire
- Make shadow puppets
- Read a book with a flashlight
- Go for a hike
- Write your own journal
- Learn to do a cartwheel
- Read a book in the shade of a tree
- Try to catch your shadow
- Learn to hula hoop
- Use a map to find your way
- Draw your own map
- Build a fairy garden
- Rake the leaves and jump into the pile
- Write your story
- Make a flower crown
- Watch the sunset
- Watch the sunrise
- Collect shells on the beach
- Draw your own hopscotch and play
- Paint a picture to hang in your room
- Write your own song
- Send a postcard
- Find or make a secret hideout
- Climb a tree
- Make your own musical instrument
- Start a collection- it could be as simple as collecting different rocks, leaves, sticks, etc.
- Have a wheelbarrow race
- Set up a lemonade stand
- Create a sidewalk mural
- Write your name in the sand/snow/mud with a stick
- Press flowers in a book
- Dig up worms
- Try to catch a butterfly
- Try to catch a snowflake on your tongue
- Have a camp out (this can be outside, your backyard or your living room)
- Make boats and see if they float
- Have a watermelon or cherry seed spitting contest
- Pick your own bouquet of flowers
- Make a paper airplane and measure how far it flies
- Find or make a walking stick and go for a hike
- Make something out of a cardboard box – the opportunities are endless! Here’s some Cardboard box craft inspo.
Hope this list inspires some fun for your kiddos and brings out your inner child!