100 Things to Do Before Kindergarten

Here is a list of 100 Things to Do Before Kindergarten from one of the many parent-based emails I've signed up for over the last 3 years. Actually, I do like this particular group, The Savvy Source. So let's go through and see what we've done and what we can shoot for this year.

In no particular order....

1. Go to the zoo: CHECK, and we will be renewing our zoo membership soon. I want to show Kaylee that elephants are Enormous! (We are reading our new books, My First Bob Books, alphabet series, and enormous is obviously an "E" word.)

2. Visit a farm: Does feeding a beef cow and swinging in a hay loft (Wisconsin, last summer) count? Yes? Then CHECK. But maybe we can check out another farm between now and September 2014 (when Kaylee enters kindergarten).

3. Go on a hike: CHECK, and we will do plenty more.

4. Play with kittens or puppies: CHECK, at Petco pet adoptions where we think fora nanosecond that we want a dog.

5. Catch a frog: CHECK, but she didn't want to touch it (happened at Indian Springs park).

6. Make a gigantic mess: Isn't that every day? Okay, we haven't quite done this, so it's on the to-do list.

7. Help clean up a gigantic mess

8. Master the monkey-bars: Almost mastered everything thanks to gymnastics.

9. Swing high up into the sky all by themselves: Practicing, until then Mommy will swing the two of us super high and Kaylee swings on her belly.

10. Try ice-skating: Will do Christmas 2013. Considered this year but worried she was too small and we were too uncoordinated.

11. Go sledding: We have the sleds so we are waiting for another local storm!

12. Make a snow-man: See #11.

13. Blow bubbles: CHECK

14. Plant seeds and watch them grow: CHECK, and we will expand our garden to snap peas.

15. Have a pillow fight: CHECK, her first pillow fight was actually with Great-Grandpa while staying at AFVW.

16. Jump on a big bed: CHECK, see YouTube video, "Ramada bed jumping".

17. Jump on a trampoline or in a bounce house: CHECK

18. Hang out in a tent: Something we really want to do.  Maybe we will start in the backyard.

19. Spend days at the beach: CHECK

20. Build sandcastles: CHECK, thanks to Auntie Sam, Kaylee has high expectations on sand castle building.

21. Go fishing: ummm, passing this to one of the grandfathers.

22. Go out on a boat: CHECK, see YouTube video, "Convo in Chicago".

23. Play with blocks and puzzles: CHECK & CHECK

24. Read the classic picture books: CHECK, and we are always looking for good books.

25. Read a classic chapter book: To-do, probably next year.

26. Check out library books with their own library card: CHECK

27. Get a passport

28. Carve a pumpkin: CHECK

29. Hold a newborn baby (to see how much they've grown): In 9 months she will.

30. Love a special doll or stuffed animal: CHECK

31. Bake cookies and cakes: CHECK

32. Help plan their own birthday party: CHECK, and we will have her more involved this year. She already told me she doesn't want a Hello Kitty party.

33. Go to the circus: Picking up Addy and Austin from school doesn't count?!

34. Go to a museum on a quiet weekday: CHECK, San Diego Natural History Museum

35. Play hide-and-seek: CHECK, and it often leads to a bathroom trip.

36. Play a board game: CHECK, with made up rules too.

37. Do nothing whatsoever all day: CHECK, Often! Curtis usually asks, "So, what did you guys do today?". I look at my pj's and think, hummm, cuddled until 10, breakfast at 11, played until lunch, which we just finished right as he walks in from work.

38. Try a sport: Backyard t-ball? Okay, so maybe bumble soccer is on the to-do list, AND it is for foot coordination only, not for anything beyond grade school (Curtis hopes and prays it doesn't become an actual interest of Kaylee's).

39. Watch a sporting event: CHECK, baseball, baseball, and more baseball.

40. Learn to swim: In the process of.

41. Be tickled in hysterics: CHECK, until she says stop. We want her to know that when she says stop that we listen (in regards to being touched) and other people should as well.

42. Paint and draw as much as desired: CHECK

43. Have the use of scissors and glue: CHECK

44. Display artworks and other creations around the house: CHECK, and I am thinking of setting up a more central display area, or those frames that easily swap out artwork.

45. Learn to use a camera (and keep an album of the results!): Neat idea.

46. Play with clay

47. Pick flowers: CHECK

48. Climb a tree: CHECK, her aspirations are beyond her physical tree climbing skills, and I am an expert tree climber :)

49. Gaze at the moon and stars: CHECK, need to do more of.

50. Toast marshmallows

51. Learn to eat an ice-cream cone: CHECK, it's her prefer method for eating ice cream.

52. Watch a sunset: CHECK

53. Learn to write their own names: CHECK, although it appears to be an amazing one time event, for now.

54. Learn their addresses and telephone numbers: We quiz her every time we get the mail, she usually gets it right. She knows what state and city she lives in. Phone numbers are slowly being introduced.

55. Learn their parents' full names: CHECK, sometimes have to remind her.

56. Set the table: Need more practice, and so do I.

57. Clear the table: She takes her plate to the sink when asked and we are working on the whole "May I please be excused from the table?".

58. Help wash the dishes: CHECK, and would like to have her do more of.

59. Learn to say their pleases and thank yous and excuse mes: CHECK, Our favorite phrase that she says now that always makes us smile is when you ask, "Kaylee, would you like some (fill in the blank)?", and she replies,"Oh, no thank you.", and she goes about what she is doing.

60. Watch fireworks: CHECK

61. Go to the ballet or theater or a puppet show: CHECK, she didn't like the puppet show but dug the theater.

62. Put on a ballet or play or puppet show at home: Got finger puppets, now need a stage.

63. Face paint

64. Dress up in costumes at will: CHECK, she was rocking her Super Girl costume the first week of October!

65. Learn rhymes and poems and songs by heart: CHECK

66. Have a dance party: Almost every day.

67. Enjoy friends at preschool and at the park: Preschool starts the end of August!

68. Invite friends over to play: Need to do more, and I am even considering we make friends with our neighborhood kids. Baby steps.

69. Get to know grandparents: CHECK

70. Play with cousins: CHECK, and need to do more.

71. Become attached to a wonderful preschool teacher and/or babysitter

72. Learn the name of our president

73. Know the name of their town, state and country: CHECK

74. Be familiar with a map of the world: Working on that, and we also need an updated world map.

75. Listen to music from many different ages and genres: CHECK

76. Hear and learn words from a different language

77. Learn the difference between trash and recycling: Consciously working on that.

78. Grow their own vegetables: CHECK, now she just needs to eat them!

79. Learn to ride a bike (or try!): CHECK, with training wheels. Practicing proper stopping technique and how to get up the driveway.

80. Take a road trip: EXPERT road trip taker!

81. Draw a self-portrait

82. Slurp alphabet soup

83. Learn to twirl spaghetti on a fork

84. Pick apples

85. Star in a home movie

86. Learn a magic trick

87. Try different hair-dos: Ever once in a while she lets me braid her hair.

88. Practice writing letters: CHECK

89. Practice counting to 100: CHECK, she can count to 100.

90. Make up stories: CHECK, maybe I should transcribe one of her stories.

91. Send a letter

92. Receive a letter

93. Ride on a merry-go-round: CHECK

94. Give away toys and books to less fortunate children: She knows about donation, but it is still a concept we are working on.

95. Learn the value of coins and bills: Working on. Her first experience was when we had a $20 credit for her LeapPad. At first she picked out a $25 book, and normally I would have just paid the remaining balance, but that time I told her we didn't have enough. We continued to look for other games/books and each time she found one she liked she asked if we had enough. We ended up with 4 new actives for her LeapPad instead of one. And she was very pleased with her new acquisitions.

96. Keep a piggy bank: CHECK, but I eventually want to teach her the Save-Spend-Donate money management system.

97. Try a musical instrument: CHECK, a natural at everything right?

98. Have a heartfelt wish granted

99. Have a heartfelt wish denied

100. Receive a million (make that a billion) heartfelt kisses and hugs from their parents!: CHECK