1001 Things Your Kids Should Do and See

As we have started this blog and put a name to our adventures – Lagom, I have been realizing on many different occasions that I have always been living a Lagom life.  I just didn’t know what it was called. I have always felt the need or urge to do things, learn things, to experience life.

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Years ago, probably 10 -12 years ago, I bought a book for Hunter that I wanted to guide those adventures and moments- 1001 Things Your Kids Should See & Do  (Or Else They’ll Never Leave Home) by Harry H. Harrison Jr..  I bought it with the intentions of it being a guide to lead Hunter to all the “things” he needed to do or know growing up.

I referred to it often when he was younger.  We would lie around and read it together discussing the things he had done or wanted to do.  We would physically check them off and even date them as they were completed.  As he has gotten older, I’ve gotten lax in keeping up with it as much as I should.

We haven’t gotten anywhere near completing all 1,000.  Some of them just aren’t/ weren’t feasible.  And some of them you don’t need to be a kid to do.  They can be completed at any age, so I will continue to  refer to the list and check things off as they are experienced.

The book is divided 20 different sections:

1. They Need to Visit Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
2. They Need to Grow Up
3. They Need to Exercise
4. They Need Culture
5. They Need to Be Good in Science
6. They Need to Learn to Cook for Themselves
7. They Need to Learn about Money
8. They Need to Be a Computer Geek
9. They Need to Understand What Is Going on in Today’s World
10. They Need to Know God
11. They Need to Travel
12. They Need to Prepare for College
13. They Need to Read 100 Books
14. They Need to Be Good Citizens
15. They Need to Learn How to Handle Life
16. They Need to Know What to Do in an Emergency
17. They Need to Know the Facts about Alcohol and Drugs
18. They Need to Know More about Sex than They Think They Know
19. They Need to Become Responsible
20. They Need Encouragement

Now I will admit we have checked more off our list in the fun areas than some of the other stuff.  And I can’t say that I agree with 100% of every item, but overall it is a good list.

Here is just a sampling of some completed ones:

#29 – They need to go to camp. To learn they can live without you. And you, without them.  I will say that Hunter probably proved this at the young age of eight.  He and Logan went to a week long baseball camp in Branson, MO.  He was gone from Sunday to Thursday and didn’t call home once.  Didn’t answer the calls I made to his phone.  Apparently didn’t need to hear from me for five days.

#37 – They need to go fishing. And learn the mystery of anticipation.  I believe there is no doubt that Hunter has marked this off his list.

#61.  They need to eat weird foods:Tofu. Miniature corn.  And dried bananas.  Hunter checked this one off in Tybee Island.  He ordered a chili dog because he refused to eat anything else when we ordered, but he ended up sucking the juice out of the crawfish heads.

#327 They need to ride a horse. Without injuring themselves or the horse.  Checked this one off in daycare when they went on a field trip to visit a horse.  Hunter was super safe while wearing a motorcycle helmet.

#528 They need  to talk to a veteran, who was there, in Vietnam.  This was probably checked off before Hunter was out of the womb from the stories that my dad tells.

#623 They need to visit Arlington Cemetery. The Vietnam Wall. The National WWII Memorial. Get an idea of the price of freedom. We were fortunate enough on one of our baseball trips to have time allotted to visit Washington DC.

#698 They need to pick a college based on what they want to do in five years. We are currently doing this now with the decision of wanting to maybe try to continue to play ball or go to a technical school.

#857 They need to respect the flag and honor their country.  Timely.

#986 They need to be on time. This is not an issue for Hunter Drake.  He hates to be late.  Hates it.

As with everything, we need to look at the good and the bad or in this case – the completed and still need to work on.

#207 They need to plan ahead. Start with lunch.  Hunter’s current plan is to wait for me to leave something in the office of call Pepa for delivery.  He needs to work on this one.

#417 They need to plan, shop, purchase, prepare, and serve dinner for the family at least once a month.  Without Mom.  This would absolutely  make my day.

#712 They need to learn to prioritize things.  This will serve them well at 3 a.m. while studying for two test and a paper due the next day.  This is definitely a work in progress.

The last and probably the hardest one is for me.

#1001 – They need to learn to fly. This is fast approaching for me and it’s easier  said than done for a parent.  I know that it is our job to raise them to be independent people.  I just hope and pray that he will have at least some of the tools and skills he needs to live a successful and fulfilling life.  A life filled with his own successes and his own Lagom Adventures.

 

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