50 Things To Do Before You Turn 12

A child’s imagination is limitless and the best way to learn is through creative fun. Growing up, how many times did you go on an adventure in the ‘forest’ being chased by dragons and giants? How many times did you climb a tree? Did you ever build castles in the sand?

With the advent of technology and the media, it is thought that children are spending less time outside and more time using technology and consuming media.

The National Trust (in the UK) developed an initiative called 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 & 3/4 – but let’s be honest, it should be 50 Things To Do Before You Turn 12. The full list is below and I am surprised at how many I ticked off! But I guess it is fairly easy to complete most of these as a child growing up in Australia – we have lush, green parks and warm sandy beaches.

Below I’ve highlighted the activities according to this key:

Completed before age 12 [43]
Completed after age 12 [4]
Not yet completed [3]

1. Climb a tree
2. Roll down a really big hill
3. Camp out in the wild
4. Build a den
5. Skim a stone
6. Run around in the rain
7. Fly a kite
8. Catch a fish with a net
9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
10. Play conkers
11. Go on a really long bike ride
12. Make a trail with sticks
13. Make a mud pie
14. Dam a stream
15. Play in the snow
16. Make a daisy chain
17. Set up a snail race
18. Create some wild art
19. Play pooh sticks
20. Jump over waves
21. Pick blackberries growing in the wild
22. Explore inside a tree
23. Visit a farm
24. Go on a walk barefoot
25. Make a grass trumpet
26. Hunt for fossils and bones
27. Go star gazing
28. Climb a huge hill
29. Explore a cave
30. Hold a scary beast
31. Hunt for bugs
32. Find some frogspawn
33. Catch a falling leaf
34. Track wild animals
35. Discover what’s in a pond
36. Make a home for a wild animal
37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool
38. Bring up a butterfly (But I have brought up silkworms)
39. Catch a crab
40. Go on a nature walk at night
41. Plant it, grow it, eat it
42. Go swimming in the sea
43. Build a raft
44. Go bird watching
45. Find your way with a map and compass
46. Try rock climbing
47. Cook on a campfire
48. Learn to ride a horse (I’ve ridden horses, but never learnt to ride solo)
49. Find a geocache (This wasn’t a thing when I was growing up in the late 80s/90s)
50. Canoe down a river

How many did you tick? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.