50 things to do before you turn 12

[+Andromeda321]

An article I stumbled across today mentioning geocaching- link

 

A pretty good list (no idea what on earth conkers are though?), plus I guess if you took your kids geocaching you could knock off several other things on it.

[+firestronaut]

An article I stumbled across today mentioning geocaching- link

 

A pretty good list (no idea what on earth conkers are though?), plus I guess if you took your kids geocaching you could knock off several other things on it.

I've done a large majority of those things!

 

Conkers are these things:

 

You put a hole in them and hit someone elses conkers. The winner is the one whose conker stays in tact

It banned from most places these days as a health and safety risk

[knowschad]

#22 is the one that gets so many of our caches muggled.

[+The Real Boudica.]

Spotted a reference to this article on the uk forum the other day but never looked at the list. I did most of them and trying to recall whether it was before I was 12 or not brought back lots of happy childhood memories I had all but forgotten.

 

However I hadn't even seen a waterfall until recently though I still haven't stood behind one, one to try and achieve definitely, its never too late to try any of them. Not sure I ever brought up a butterfly or set up a snail race either so should I think about that too

 

Edit to add that I definitely couldn't have gone geocaching before I was 12 either

Edited April 16, 2012 by The Real Boudica.

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

I am happy to be able to say I've done nearly all of them.

 

Even happier to report I've done nearly all of them with my kids.

[+MartyBartfast]

However I hadn't even seen a waterfall until recently though I still haven't stood behind one, one to try and achieve definitely,

If you're ever up in North Yorkshire then get thee along to Hawes and visit Hardraw Force

 

 

I've got a picture of me standing behind it when I was a nipper.

 

Coincidentally Geocaching is one of the few things I hadn't done before I was 12 'cos it hadn't been invented

Edited April 16, 2012 by MartyBartfast

[+oxford comma]

sounds like my childhood :-) I grew up in the woods in Maine. it was awesome.

 

@MartyBartfast..... do you put caches on all of your planets?

[+Planet]

I'm 55. I still do most if that stuff. I did several of those over Easter weekend. I flew a kite. (We even lost a box kite to a tree and talked it back down and flew it again, that never happens) On that same weekend I also climbed a New England mountain (1900') and kayaked a New York wilderness pond, visiting an island on it. Then I slept outside in my little camper and watched the sun come up in the morning. I'll never grow up, not me, not I!

Except that when I came home I ended up in the ICU so maybe I ought to keep an eye on myself. Don't do all that stuff when your are not up to par.

 

Edited for fat fingered auto incorrect.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Planet

[+sixsix210]

Lol. Guess I wasn't such a wild child after after all since these are recommended activities now. Besides, despite the fact my birth certificate says 1-10-1969 on it, my wife will swear I'm only 12 on the inside.

[+lamoracke]

48. Try abseiling. I do not even know what that is, I better look it up. Am sure my over protective mother hardly let me do any of the things on here.

[+Ambrosia]

48. Try abseiling. I do not even know what that is, I better look it up. Am sure my over protective mother hardly let me do any of the things on here.

Rappelling.

[+DragonsWest]

Everything but 17, 29 and 46.

 

In their place:

 

Raced earthworms -- snails were all too tiny to manage.

 

No waterfalls, but explored a six foot drain tunnel under 300 feet of road and parking lot (Winter and Summer )

 

Hopping down sand dunes along Lake Michigan, much less likely to get hurt when falling, but mind the saw grass

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Everything but 17, 29 and 46.

 

In their place:

 

Raced earthworms -- snails were all too tiny to manage.

 

I never raced earthworms but I once spent a day working on an earthworm farm in Gilroy.

 

 

No waterfalls, but explored a six foot drain tunnel under 300 feet of road and parking lot (Winter and Summer )

 

Hopping down sand dunes along Lake Michigan, much less likely to get hurt when falling, but mind the saw grass

 

If you want to see waterfalls, come to Ithaca. There are over 100 of them over 15' high within 10 miles of the center of town.

[+Planet]

I'll vouch for that. Ithaca is gorge-ous!

[+Ambrosia]

I still need to do 7 more things.

[+MtnMutt-ProDuckShins]

I must not be NORMAL, as I have done then all but not by 12. Then again, I'm still the child I hoped to be when I grow up.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

I am extremely disappointed..... no mention of parachuting. Maybe they are saving that for the over 12 set.

 

I'm 12 years (quite a few times over), and I've skimmed... but never a rock. I have skipped thousands, even did so two months after shoulder surgery. Maybe a language thing, eh?

 

I failed to get a geocache before the age of 12 -- heck, there were electronics, then. We did, however, have 'caches' of our own as kids. Does that count?

[+Ambrosia]

Ok, actually I only have 6 more.

 

My kids are 15 and 18, and they've done all but 11 on the list.

[+ohmelli]

A friend posted this on her FB page the other day. I was AMAZED to learn that I had actually DONE 36 of them!!! And I think my boys have done at least that many too... but my girls? Mmmm.... not so sure! They're all in their 20s & 30s now...

[+BCandMsKitty]

Well, I've done all of them, but not before 12!

 

39. Do crayfish count? then yes.

48. I was about 16, I think.

49. Geocaching before 1958? I don't think so!

50. Probably 20 or so before I did any canoeing. Was all hiking before that.

 

Great list, though!

[+Ohiosiouxfan]

On our summer vacation last year my 7 year old son spotted a frog in the lake near the shore as he was wading around. It was crystal clear northern Michigan water with a sandy bottom. He had the best time corralling that little frog, trying to hold it and watching it swim off. Every kid should do that. Thanks for starting this post.

[+Totem Clan]

I am happy to be able to say I've done nearly all of them.

 

Even happier to report I've done nearly all of them with my kids.

Same here.

 

I love the list by the way.

 

Now to go to the workshop with the kids and make some caches.

 

 

Edit: A quick check gives my kids 49 out of 50. (Never heard of conkers before this.)

Edited April 20, 2012 by Totem Clan

[+likelyladybug]

What is abseiling?

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

(Never heard of conkers before this.)

 

Here is a video of the BBC's Top Gear gang playing conkers on a "Top Gear" scale.

[+DragonsWest]

Oughta be a list of things to do after turning forty ...

 

Ride a bicycle 25 miles in the country.

Swim in a stream or pond.

Drink a cold Faygo Redpop from the bottle.

Sit on a river bank and watch the current slowly drift by.

Listen to one complete cicada song, beginning to end.

Write a poem, don't worry about meter or rhymes, write one about anything.

Get up before sunrise, pick a good spot, just sit and watch it come up and light the land.

Save the lives of earthworms after a rain (carry them from the pavement to grass or leafs.)

Draw a cartoon strip, doesn't matter how good you draw, just draw.

Sing among people. Don't be shy. Pick a song your are good at. EVERYONE can sing.

Walk on grass in your bare feet.

Chew grape (or watermelon, if you can find it) bubble gum. Blow the biggest bubble you can.

Sit among flowers and watch bees at work.

Spend a day greeting everyone you make eye contact with. 'Hi', 'Howdy', whatever, and smile while you are doing it.

Observe how some mechanical device works, nothing complicated, perhaps an egg beater.

Get a Donald Duck or Scrooge comic book, one drawn by Carl Barks, and read it.

Learn to identify 10 birds you are unfamiliar with and know them by their song.

Inhale helium from a balloon and call someone you love.

Make a snow angel.

Watch lightning and count the seconds to the thunder.

Hide a Geocache.

Don't comb or do your heair for a day, just let it be natural.

Carry soap bubbles in the map pocket of your car. Blow a few the next time you are in a traffic jam.

Find an old fashioned soda fountain (or make one at home if you can't) and drink a Malted Milkshake.

Make a toy out of odds and ends -- a car, a plane, an animal, whatever you like, be creative.

Put a big tablespoon of icecream in your coffee.

Get some finger paints, do a few of your own, handprints and all. Hang at least one on your refridgerator door.

Wear your most beat-up, worn out old sneakers for a day.

Eat Jello with a straw. Suck it up through the straw, that is.

Spend ten minutes examining at dew on grass, raindrops on flower petals or frost on grass or brush.

Whistle a tune from your childhood.

Play an favorite song and dance to it, even it you are only dancing by yourself.

Lay on the ground and watch a cumulus cloud. Watch it slowly churn and drift across the sky.

Toast a marshmallow over a fire - camp fire or fireplace at home, go on, you can do it.

Tell a kids joke/riddle to another adult. You know, like why does a fireman wear red suspenders?

Learn 5 constellations you do not already know, point them out to someone on a clear night.

Sharpen a pencil, smell the scent of woodshavings and slowly write your name with it, listening to the lead on paper.

Put your face in a big pile of laundry just pulled from the dryer.

Eat a peanut butter (or alternate if allergic) and jelly sandwich, have a glass of water with ice cubes with it.

Plant some seeds, keep them watered and watch them grow.

[+Ambrosia]

What is abseiling?

Rappelling.