100 creative kickstarters for families

Thursday, February 23, 2012 this is a project i have been working on for a long time, mostly in my journal. these are things we have done with great fun together with our kids. i expect i will write more elaborate posts on many of them in the future - but in the meantime, i think you get the idea of what we were trying for. there is a link at the bottom for a printer friendly version of this. and as always, please share your family's kickstarters! i would love to hear what you do. 1. say “yes” more than “no” 2. let your kids wear whatever they want 3. keep money in your pocket to do photo booths more often than not 4. do play doh and sculpty together 5. throw a party for a mundane reason (like it’s Tuesday) 6. read and believe in fairy tales 7. make seed bombs 8. cook together. alot. 9. skip school and eat breakfast at the oldest diner in your town 10. conduct a taste test (on apples, cheese, candy, whatever...) 11. eat by candle light 12. throw some food coloring and glow sticks into the bath tub 13. make (and photograph) a detailed time line of one day 14. create a set of family paper dolls 15. write a family manifesto (or at least a motto) 16. freeze things in ice and play with them (flowers, toys, beads...) 17. make lemonade from scratch 18. paint a wall in your house with chalkboard paint 19. go on a texture hike. make rubbings along the way 20. organize a museum exhibition in your dining room 21. write the front page to your family’s newspaper 22. take apart electronics 23. play board games together 24. make your own board game with elaborate and changing rules 25. throw a bunch of boxes and a few rolls of duct tape in the yard with a gaggle of kids 26. walk in the rain. on purpose 27. make a little altar somewhere in your house 28. explore vintage media (slide projectors, record players, film strips...) 29. make a hopscotch inside with painters tape 30. learn 5 native trees/birds/flowers/butterflies 31. act out your favorite scene from a book 32. have a weekly movie night 33. make a fort 34. blow bubbles inside 35. make some environmental art 35 1/2. go to the hardware store and let the kids look at everything they want for as long as it takes 36. have a fabric bin available 37. think of a random act of kindness and do it together 38. serve breakfast cereal from huge mixing bowls with big ladles 39. volunteer somewhere together 40. blow up a bunch of balloons for your kids to find when they wake up 41. take turns doing a puppet show for each other 42. create a club, complete with membership cards and t shirts 43. give each kid a roll of crepe paper - see what happens 44. create fancy drinks 45. make vision or wish boards together 46. read lengthy chapter books. every night 47. make some big public art together 48. wrap up small gifts and leave at the breakfast table for NO REASON 49. put candles in your meal and blow them out 50. write a song together 51. buy dress up clothes at goodwill 52. make masking table and newspaper sculptures 53. eat popcorn for dinner 54. take a class together in something new 55. gather and spend some time practicing your signatures together 56. chalk quotes in public places 57. find one free event in the paper and go - no matter what it is 58. tell a story about when you were a kid 59. plan some inter generational field trips 60. if your kids are older, bring out all the blocks and build together 61. buy dry ice, put it in the sink for a foggy bath 62. make a family flag 63. visit a local museum and then go home and make art inspired by the trip 64. get in the habit of talking to strangers 65. play a video game with your kids 66. lay on a blanket outside, eat popsicles and look at the sky 67. learn a parlor game 68. give your kids all the laundry baskets in the house to play with 69. spend the whole day in your pajamas 70. go canoeing or kayaking 71. buy a birthday cake from the grocery store and have something weird written on it 72. get a microscope and look at stuff under it 73. go to yard sales together 74. make a time capsule and bury it somewhere 75. eat at a new restaurant 76. have everyone in the family wear a hat or scarf or gloves when you go to an event 77. dig a hole 78. play with fire 79. draw comic strips 80. decorate your bikes with crepe paper and have a parade 81. write a letter to a business complaining about or complementing their work 82. raise butterflies, tadpoles, grubs... 83. get lost together 84. design your dream house with the Ikea catalog and old magazines 85. camp 86. ride public transportation 87. have an impromptu dance party 88. visit a skate park 89. stock up on cheap beans, flour, rice, herbs for a sensory pantry 90. visit a local nursery, give each kid a few bucks to buys a plant that speaks to them 91. create a map of an invented land, design the government, money, flag, national costume... 92. send a message in a bottle 93. take an oral history of a family member 94. paint everyone’s toenails - even dad’s 95. go to a local fair that celebrates a harvest (garlic fest, strawberry fest...) 96. research your favorite candy/food/drink/car 97. grow mushrooms from a kit 98. visit the farmer’s market and give each kid a few bucks to buy a fruit or veg of their choice 99. learn a song in another language 100. start your own list of adventurous things your family has done or is planning to do - share...