Zero to 3 yrs

• Start a family sharable journal and document all of the following experiences

• Go to the Zoo

• Go to a pumpkin patch

• Care for a pet (Zoe!)

• Learn Spanish (Spanish words as we go-Duolingo)

• Have a picnic in the park

• Have a treasure hunt

• Build a snowman (Weather permitting!)

• Make a snow angel

• Fly a kite

• Play in a sprinkler

• Build a fort in the house

• Color with sidewalk chalk

• Finger paint

• Go to Miller Park splash pad

• Go strawberry picking

• Make homemade popsicles

• Feed ducks

• Make s’mores

• Blow giant bubbles

• Listen to an audio book

• Roll in a huge pile of leaves

• Make a balloon stick on the wall by rubbing your hair

• Make crazy sounds with a balloon

• Shedd Aquarium in Chicago

• Magic House St Louis - Here

• Toddler Summer Bucket List - Here

• Awesome Preschool Activities - Here

• Finish the sentence crazy story

YEARS 4-5

• Do basic Coding

• Design a Weebly Website of a favorite hobby or interest

• Fail at something and learn from continually trying and trying

• Make a video

• Make an audiobook with your fav story and do all the voices

• Stay up late and watch the stars

• Learn to whistle

• Play hopscotch

• Watch the sun rise

• Collect as many different colored leaves in the fall as possible

• Boil an egg and compare to a regular egg (with help)

• Tie dye t-shirts

• Make homemade ice cream with a crank & a coffee can

• Piano Lessons with grandma

• Learn to play the Violin

• Learn to play the drum

• Learn to Swim

• Learn to give a solid handshake

• Make a homemade gift

• Watch a tadpole turn into a frog

• Plant a garden

• Make a puppet and put on a show

• Build a massive lego creation

• Go roller skating

• Go ice skating

• Go skiing

• Climb a tree

• Make root beer floats

• Make homemade pizza

• Order your own food at restaurants

• Learn to draw

• Learn to paint with mixing colors

• Learn to build something crazy out of normal household items

• Hike Starved Rock

• Take and edit photos

• Build a snow fort

• Do word searches

• Roll down a big hill

• Skip stones on a lake or river

• Hunt for buried treasure

• Play soccer

• Make homemade play dough

• Make homemade crayons

• Make a candle

• Make paper boats and see if they will float

• Collect rocks by a river

• Use a rock tumbler

• Make a friendship bracelet

• Catch lightning bugs

• Go mini golfing

• Meet someone famous. Be prepared with 3 great questions.

• Go to Chuck E Cheese

• Make a homemade lava lamp

• Ride the Ferris Wheel at Scheels

• Build a bird feeder and take pictures of the birds

• Polish pennies

• Go on a natural walk in the woods

• Read simple books with funny voices

6-8 years old

• Dyson’s 50 Science Projects for Kids - Download 50 cards link

• Learn to ride a bike

• Learn the books of the Bible

• Play spoons

• Place an old baseball card on the spokes of the bike

• Work crossword puzzles

• Work sudoku puzzles

• Build a robot from a kit

• Make a beach ball float above a fan

• Learn to Hula

• Make an ant farm

• Go to a large parade

• Make homemade slime

• Swing on a tire swing

• Have a yard sale and sell any unplayed with toys

• Get a library card

• Use a telescope

• Play yard croquet

• Combine baking soda and vinegar

• Make a tornado in a jar

• Have a super soaker water fight

• Create a talent show and be the star

• Use a microscope

• Play with an old fashioned arcade pinball machine

• Write three poems

• Buy some ice cream from an ice cream truck

• Have a water balloon fight

• Wash the van

• Build a marshmallow (or gumdrop) and spaghetti structure

• Go Bowling

• Make a compost pile with the fall leaves

• Start a leaf collection

• Play Boggle

• Color Easter Eggs

• Have a dress up day

• Play frisbee

• Make and design a variety Christmas cookies (and give to neighbors)

• Go to a water park

• Learn origami

• Carve a cool face on a pumpkin

• Collect some favorite items and bury a time capsule

• Go raspberry picking

• Light a fire with a magnifying glass

• Learn to tumble and do acrobatics

• Go to Disney World

• Design and write about the Disney trip in a Shutterfly book

• Swim in the ocean

• Build a sand castle

• Collect seashells

• Collect old coins

• Visit another country

• Do several random acts of kindness

• Pen Pal with a kid from another country

• Go to a pro baseball game

• Design and sew a pillow

• Volunteer in a hands on way (ring bells at Salvation army bucket)

• Have a photo shoot with all of her stuff animals posed with other toys

• Write a story

• Visit a nursing home

• Write, shoot, and edit a short movie

• Make animals out of clay and then make a short claymation movie

• Visit Conner Prairie

• Visit Abraham Lincoln Library

• Do a progressive fast food supper (only 1 item per store)

• Try five new restaurants

• Visit the Museum of Science and Industry

• Visit the Field Museum (get a year pass and go at least 2x)

• Take an Amtrak

• Go on a family trip to explore grandparents stomping grounds

• Do a family tree from scratch (her own ancestry.com)

• Learn how to give and get constructive criticism

• Start a Lemonade stand summer business

• Go camping (roughing it)

• go to a drive-in theatre, if they are still around

• Build something with grandpa

• Bake a birthday cake for someone

• Make a pie from scratch

• Play flashlight tag

• Manage an allowance

• Go to garage sales

• Learn to bargain shop

• Give money to church or another mission or charity

• Rock climb

• Transplant yard flowers

• Learn to fish

• Visit a farm to milk a cow

• Witness an animal giving birth

• Interview 5 elderly people over 80 and notice similarities and differences

• Design and paint a large wall to scale

• Make paper airplanes

• Go on a road trip and use an old fashioned map to guide the driver

• Be a part of a team

• Attend a local play or musical

• Try out for a play

• Read a book in a hammock

• Watch a meteor shower or look for shooting stars

• Crochet or knit

• Run a 5K

• Build a model car

• Build a toothpick structure

• Witness a solar eclipse

• Make invisible ink (science project with lemon)

• Have a theme home movie night

• Build a homemade lamp

• Cut and decorate a real Christmas tree

• Go on a road trip with the windows down (or rent/borrow/test drive a convertible)

9-12 years old + Plus a lot of EXTRAS below

• Blow something up in a science experiment

• Build a wind turbine

• Build and shoot an Estes Rocket

• Go antique shopping and tell stories

• Swing on a tire swing and jump into a lake

• Go to Cedar Fair and ride roller coasters all day

• Write music

• Dye flowers

• Draw a shadow (set up a toy with a light. Draw the shadow)

• Make a homemade fully

• Tear apart a computer

• Make an electric magnet

• Do a coke bottle and mentos explosion

• Make a potato battery

• Learn some magic tricks

• Make stalactites in a jar

• Research a Guinness World Record that could be broken

• Buy a couple of stocks and track them

• Go canoeing or paddle boating

• Build a small train set and solder the electric wires

• Learn to play chess

• Play frisbee golf

• Learn to golf

• Learn to make balloon animals

• Bake homemade bread

• Take a helicopter ride

• Go Zipline

• Learn all the states of the US

• Learn Calligraphy

• Learn to shoot a bow and arrow

• Build a crazy boxcar and race it down the street (safely)

• Ride a horse

• Take pictures of a lightning storm (video it)

• build a tree house or outdoor fort

• Go to the cemetery of ancestors to place flowers

• Carve an animal out of wood

• Take a long countryside bike ride

• See a Broadway show

• Learn to juggle

• Learn to properly fold an American flag

• Learn to ride a unicycle

• Take a hot air balloon ride

• Build a terrarium

• Attend an outdoor concert

• Ride a four wheeler in a field

• Visit the Great Lakes

• Explore a cave

• Learn to tie a neck tie for someone else

• Learn several dance styles

• Learn to Water Ski

• Plan a family vacation

• Visit all 50 states (keep track)

• Jump off a diving board

• Go on a mission trip

Educational Experiences

• School House Rock