What do you think every child should have the opportunity to experience, see or do before their childhood is over – a bucket list for Kiwi kids?
What would be on your kids’ bucket list?
A bucket list for kids may include:
- Activities from your own childhood, or things you wish you had done
- Places that you think would be amazing for kids to visit
- Experiences that can only really be appreciated before you become an adult
Whatever goes on the bucket list doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Simple things like building a blanket fort under the dining room table, fishing for tadpoles, or baking a cake may have been regular occurrences in your childhood but sometimes we overlook these simple ideas when passing on activity ideas to the kids. Growing up in New Zealand, there are some experiences that are unique to a Kiwi childhood – like eating whitebait fritters, digging a hole in the sand at Hot Water Beach or getting your picture taken with the Ohakune carrot.
What mums and dads say
When we asked for parents’ suggestions on what to include in a Kiwi kids bucket list – here’s some of their favourites.
- Visit a marae
- Eat hangi food
- Go fishing
- See a kiwi
- Go camping
- Toast marshmallows on a fire
- Attend an Anzac Day dawn parade
- Grow vegetables in your garden
- Watch the clouds go by and imagine what they look like
- Climb a tree
- Make a mud pie
- Play in autumn leaves
- Learn to swim
- Learn Te reo Māori
- Go to Rainbow’s End
- Go on a sleepover
- Play a sport
- Ride a horse
- Play on a home made-water slide
- Play in the snow
- Collect shells at the beach
- Roll down a grassy hill
- Pick your own fruit
- Look at the stars at night
- Own a pet
- Learn how to ride a bike
- Go on a plane
- Go to the Easter Show
- Learn how to roller skate
- Build a temporary dam on a stream
- Collect eggs from a chicken
- Swim in a river
- Find the Southern Cross in the night sky
- Go to an A&P Show
- Visit a farm
- Feed calves or lambs
- Make a sandcastle
- Build a tree hut
- Play on a flying fox
- Grow your own flowers or herbs
- Blow bubbles
- Eat candyfloss
- Play dressups
- Go snorkelling
- Read as many books as you can
- Draw on the concrete with chalk
- Visit Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Adventure
- Open a bank account and save some money
- Ride in a fire truck
- Bake a cake
- Cross the Cook Strait on the ferry
- Make wishes on dandelions
What would you add to the bucket list?
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Written by Julie Scanlon
Julie is Editor for Kidspot NZ and our MVP. Her hobbies include laughing uncontrollably at her own jokes, annoying her family by asking questions about movie plots, and never taking anything too seriously. She speaks a little Spanish and a lot of Yorkshire.
Favourite motto to live by: “It ain’t nothing but a thing”
Not a lot left to add to this comprehensive bucket list! I love that a lot of these activities are free or of little cost. With money at an all time premium these days, it is nice to be reminded that there are things we can do with our children that don’t cost a lot.
Oh wow! I love this. I have already seen a couple of things in the list that we haven’t done but we totally need to. Having a real hangi is definitely now on my list. Oh and going Berry picking. For me taking my kids to live shows is always a must. I grew up going to pantos and every community event on.
I think that the best things on the list are ones that do not cost much – the flying fox, building a fort, camping outside, growing vegetables. I also think doing a family tree is a good one as well as looking through all the old family photographs
Wow this is a good idea. Sometimes we take for granted that our kids have all the time in the world to do everything, but at the same time not be able to do anything at all. So it’s a good idea to have a list that we all work together towards a goal in mind.
This list is awesome!! Our son has recently got into the whole bucket list concept and has started adding a few ideas of his own. I would love to get him to write these all down and tick off the ones he’s completed. Awesome!
I have done all but one of these, im not a morning person and have never attended an ANZAC dawn parade, my kids have done a lot of them but not all, I will have to take them to do more of them!
I love this idea so many cool things to do even the simple ones like climb a tree which most kids love. This list suggests that it doesn’t all involve money which I love. What kids don’t love eating candy floss or blowing bubbles so much fun I will be doing this with our kids for sure.
Hmmmmm not sure what my 6 year old would say but I’m going to ask her!! I’m sure she would say go camping as she has never been. Fishing would be another one and we are actually going to do that at the end of the month, my Dad lives in Alexandra sowe are going to stay with him and go fishing 🙂 Another would be to go on a plane and for a holiday as again we have never been on a holiday overseas together, that’s due to budget.