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101 Things to Do Before You Grow Up
There's a lot to do before you get old and boring! Live it up with 101 activities that celebrate childhood, discovery, and just plain having fun. Have you ever made a time capsule? Do you have a signature dance move? Do you know the secret for folding the perfect paper airplane? This ready-made bucket list for kids is a journey through art, science, writing, and all the memory-making and exploring that is the best part of childhood. Take this travel-friendly guidebook with you and check off each adventure along the way.
- GenresNonfictionMiddle Grade
144 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2015
About the author
Weldon Owen
318 books53 followersWeldon Owen is an imprint of Insight Editions, a publisher of illustrated books on food & drink, photography, music, and popular culture. Elegant and informative, Weldon Owen titles showcase the best of art, photography, and design in exquisite presentations of the bookmaker's craft. They are located in San Rafael, CA.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 2, 2015
I knew this book sounded like fun when I first heard about it, but it exceeded my expectations! My oldest is only 6 right now, so many of the activities are above his level, but I loved this book so much, I plan on adding it into his homeschool "curriculum" in a year or two. This would also make a great after school or weekend set of projects, too.
Within this book are 101 activities. Each one of them have pictures and directions, along with a "done" place for a checkmark, and a spot for the "date completed". Some of them even have extras, like "why not?", where you'll get a little extra challenge to go with that activity. I love that the activities are fun, yet educational. They vary in difficulty and education value, but they're all pretty gender neutral, and there's room for much more learning, and even fun, depending on how much you want to put into the activities.
Just a few examples of the activities: Spot five animal footprints. Shake some ice cream. Create your own obstacle course. Deal with an emergency(being prepared). Use chopsticks. Tell the time without a clock.
*I was provided a review copy, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Within this book are 101 activities. Each one of them have pictures and directions, along with a "done" place for a checkmark, and a spot for the "date completed". Some of them even have extras, like "why not?", where you'll get a little extra challenge to go with that activity. I love that the activities are fun, yet educational. They vary in difficulty and education value, but they're all pretty gender neutral, and there's room for much more learning, and even fun, depending on how much you want to put into the activities.
Just a few examples of the activities: Spot five animal footprints. Shake some ice cream. Create your own obstacle course. Deal with an emergency(being prepared). Use chopsticks. Tell the time without a clock.
*I was provided a review copy, in exchange for my honest opinion.
June 7, 2015
Using one or two colorful pages each, this book does indeed detail 101 different activities and accomplishments for kids to master. The variety is huge and ranges from inventing a super-secret handshake, to making rock candy, to becoming a mad scientist. While one or two pages may not always be enough to actually "Get Map Smart" (#38) or "Master the Art of Origami" (#97), it's a perfect introduction to the skills and will likely inspire further research for kids who want to learn more. Which, hey, is actually a good thing. Some of the activities will be fine for independent children to do on their own, but others require the guidance of an adult, making this a fun tool to guide family or classroom activities. Best of all, I love that this book is gender-neutral -- nothing about any of the crafts, skills, or experiments specifically being for boys or girls. After all, many girls and boys love to "Grow a Worm Farm" (#34), "Be a Ventriloquist" (#50), and "Go on a Scavenger Hunt" (#76) -- often all in the course of a single weekend.
July 22, 2015
When my Kiddo was young, we always took our vacation in August, so right about now I would begin hear the words "I'm bored." Those words are the reason I always kept a few activity books in my secret mom-stash. Activity books always had something in them to catch her fancy on any given day.
My Kiddo may be older, but I still have plenty of young nieces and nephews who come to visit. I love have them but I can't take them out every day to do things, so I still hear those whiny words "I'm bored." Expecting that, I was naturally very happy to discover a new activity book for older readers (age 8+), which is perfect for my kids.
Done in an easy to use spiral notebook format, 101 Things to Do Before You Grow Up offers a wide variety of interesting activities covering activities kids can do alone or with each other. The activities require few materials, mostly things that can be found around the house, so they are cost effective, and need little adult supervision. There is nothing that will cause injury to a child, or blow up or burn down the house.
Some activities, like (#48) making a funny flip book, (#19) learning how to make shadow puppets or (#31) making three different secret codes, which pairs nicely with (#68) making and using invisible ink, are among some of the great indoor, rainy day projects, while making and using a compass, (#27) making and flying a decorated brown bag kite, (#76) inventing and going on a scavenger hunt with friends or (#14) learning some basic constellations and going stargazing, which pairs nicely with (#61) learning the phases of the moon, are nice outdoor things to try.
Each activity gets its own colorful page. sometimes two pages, with illustrations are clearly drawn thanks to Dan Bramall and Katie Knutton. The instructions are written simply enough for even an 8 year old to follow, and at the bottom of each page, there is a box for kids to check off and record the date they did that particular activity. Best of all, the activities will appeal to boys and girls equally.
Most of the 101 Things listed aren't new, but really tried and true activities, sometimes with a new spin to them, however. It's nice to have them collected in one book, so when kids need something to do, they can easily go through it and find something. One of the things I really like about activity books is that they get kids away from their screen life for a while and back into real life.
101 Things To Do Before You Grow Up is a sure winner for those moments when your kids are looking for something to do.
This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was purchased for my personal library
An activity book endorsement: When my Kiddo was about 10, and had just finished reading Harriet the Spy, she naturally wanted to spy the way Harriet did. In an activity book she had then, there was the suggestion to take binoculars and see how many different kinds of birds you could spot in your neighborhood. We made her a belt a la Harriet with all kinds of spy paraphernalia, like a flashlight, her Girl Scout compass, binoculars, pen, notebook. We also borrowed a book about birds from the library and went to the park to "spy" on as many different kinds of birds that we could find. She had fun "spying" and playing Harriet, got a lot of compass and writing practice in, and learned a great deal about birds, something she never would have done otherwise.
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
My Kiddo may be older, but I still have plenty of young nieces and nephews who come to visit. I love have them but I can't take them out every day to do things, so I still hear those whiny words "I'm bored." Expecting that, I was naturally very happy to discover a new activity book for older readers (age 8+), which is perfect for my kids.
Done in an easy to use spiral notebook format, 101 Things to Do Before You Grow Up offers a wide variety of interesting activities covering activities kids can do alone or with each other. The activities require few materials, mostly things that can be found around the house, so they are cost effective, and need little adult supervision. There is nothing that will cause injury to a child, or blow up or burn down the house.
Some activities, like (#48) making a funny flip book, (#19) learning how to make shadow puppets or (#31) making three different secret codes, which pairs nicely with (#68) making and using invisible ink, are among some of the great indoor, rainy day projects, while making and using a compass, (#27) making and flying a decorated brown bag kite, (#76) inventing and going on a scavenger hunt with friends or (#14) learning some basic constellations and going stargazing, which pairs nicely with (#61) learning the phases of the moon, are nice outdoor things to try.
Each activity gets its own colorful page. sometimes two pages, with illustrations are clearly drawn thanks to Dan Bramall and Katie Knutton. The instructions are written simply enough for even an 8 year old to follow, and at the bottom of each page, there is a box for kids to check off and record the date they did that particular activity. Best of all, the activities will appeal to boys and girls equally.
Most of the 101 Things listed aren't new, but really tried and true activities, sometimes with a new spin to them, however. It's nice to have them collected in one book, so when kids need something to do, they can easily go through it and find something. One of the things I really like about activity books is that they get kids away from their screen life for a while and back into real life.
101 Things To Do Before You Grow Up is a sure winner for those moments when your kids are looking for something to do.
This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was purchased for my personal library
An activity book endorsement: When my Kiddo was about 10, and had just finished reading Harriet the Spy, she naturally wanted to spy the way Harriet did. In an activity book she had then, there was the suggestion to take binoculars and see how many different kinds of birds you could spot in your neighborhood. We made her a belt a la Harriet with all kinds of spy paraphernalia, like a flashlight, her Girl Scout compass, binoculars, pen, notebook. We also borrowed a book about birds from the library and went to the park to "spy" on as many different kinds of birds that we could find. She had fun "spying" and playing Harriet, got a lot of compass and writing practice in, and learned a great deal about birds, something she never would have done otherwise.
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
November 3, 2015
Although many adults enjoy crossing items off their bucket list, this book encourages youngsters to complete 101 different fun activities before they grow too old to enjoy them. Most of them are pretty easy to pull off too while providing hours of enjoyment and staving off any possible boredom. Some activities are described, step by step, in one page while others require a couple of pages. They range from No. 7 "Send a Message in a Bottle" to No. 21 "Make Two Natural Instruments" to No. 56 "Be a Mad Scientist" and conclude with No. 101 "Make a Papier-Mache Bowl. The suggestions include lots of arts and crafts, some science, and even some practical suggestions for how to remember important information for school. Although no one will become an expert at any of these activities overnight, the book will surely appeal to curious youngsters who will use it as a guide to even more fun. I really enjoyed its spiral-bound format and the check-off element with completion date at the bottom of each activity. For anyone who relishes a sense of accomplishment and feels empowered by checking off things as they go, this one will have great appeal. I often watch how diligently my college students record and mark things off in their planners, and I know they would have loved this book when they were younger. Originally published in Great Britain, the book might also entertain some adults or offer them ideas to keep their younger charges occupied.
June 15, 2015
FTC Disclosure: Book received at no charge from publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The long awaited summer vacation finally arrives and it's not long before you hear, "I'm bored." Either that or those young ones can't seem to get away from video games. It's enough to make any parent crazy. With activities like making rock candy and putting together a survival kit, children will want to get off the couch and start their active bucket list.
Spiral bound pages make the book easy to keep open while going over instructions and gathering supplies. Most supplies can be found around the house or purchased inexpensively. While some things are not unique, like playing charades, and others are not activities but educational opportunities, like learning about the seven wonders of the world, there are enough ideas that will keep the reader captivated for weeks. Even parents will want to join in on learning new dance moves. For those few activities that might worry a parent or bore a child, the pages make it easy to glue your own activity over the top.
A good book for summertime fun.
This review as it originally appears on my blog, Boys To Books
The long awaited summer vacation finally arrives and it's not long before you hear, "I'm bored." Either that or those young ones can't seem to get away from video games. It's enough to make any parent crazy. With activities like making rock candy and putting together a survival kit, children will want to get off the couch and start their active bucket list.
Spiral bound pages make the book easy to keep open while going over instructions and gathering supplies. Most supplies can be found around the house or purchased inexpensively. While some things are not unique, like playing charades, and others are not activities but educational opportunities, like learning about the seven wonders of the world, there are enough ideas that will keep the reader captivated for weeks. Even parents will want to join in on learning new dance moves. For those few activities that might worry a parent or bore a child, the pages make it easy to glue your own activity over the top.
A good book for summertime fun.
This review as it originally appears on my blog, Boys To Books
July 2, 2016
Grown-ups will delight in this fun book for youth and just pretend it is for the kids! This has various types of fun things to do! ...A Hundred and One of them!
Would you like to make a kitchen volcano, or blow giant bubbles, or learn to weave? These are just a few. My personal favorites are "Tell the Time Without a Clock", Make Your Own Compass", and "Build a City Out of Boxes"!
There are magic tricks, artistic things and literary things to do, plus, so much more!
The instructions are brief and easily followed. It lists items needed for each exercise.on each item, it has a square at the bottom of the page to check off when it is completed.
This Book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review, of which I have given.
I rate this with Five Stars
Would you like to make a kitchen volcano, or blow giant bubbles, or learn to weave? These are just a few. My personal favorites are "Tell the Time Without a Clock", Make Your Own Compass", and "Build a City Out of Boxes"!
There are magic tricks, artistic things and literary things to do, plus, so much more!
The instructions are brief and easily followed. It lists items needed for each exercise.on each item, it has a square at the bottom of the page to check off when it is completed.
This Book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review, of which I have given.
I rate this with Five Stars
July 12, 2015
The must have book every parent and teacher should have for when children have nothing to do. Most of the activities can be done with items found around the house. The variety of activities is huge and eclectic with something for everyone. I wanted to try some of these myself. Includes how to do ventriloquism, count to 10 in 5 different languages, juggle, etc. Complete instructions are given.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews