Looking for things to do with your Little? Here are some ideas!
150. Take your Little on a tour of your work and describe what you do.
149. Watch a local parade or festival.
148. Celebrate a half birthday.
147. Make a thin layer of Jello-O and carve it into letters, numbers, figures, etc.
146. Together, write a family newsletter for friends and relatives.
145. Learn a new craft together like knitting or making a mosaic.
144. Go for a hike on the Greenbelt and bring a picnic lunch.
143. Design a holiday card together.
142. Make a bug cage and catch bugs.
141. Write and illustrate a short story together.
140. Watch the bats at Congress Ave. Bridge.
139. Visit the state capital building.
138. Visit the Baylor Street Art Wall.
137. Try new food at a Austin food truck.
136. Use a globe to locate friends, travel destinations and current events.
135. See live music in Austin.
134. Learn clay or pottery with your Little.
133. Make a collage of your lives with pictures cut from magazines.
132. Make giant soap bubbles.
131. Plan an imaginary vacation.
130. Roast marshmallows with toothpicks over the flame of a candle.
129. Learn a simple magic trick and amaze your friends.
128. Play a round of disc golf.
127. Paint an original T-shirt.
126. Go for a walk through a hardware store and explain the function of various tools.
125. Compliment a child’s character and skill three times during an outing.
124. Find all the living things on a one-foot square of grass.
123. Do a science project together.
122. Learn to count to 10 in a foreign language.
121. Go to a volleyball or basketball game at the high school your Little will attend or attends.
120. Write a letter to your Little on your match anniversary telling them what you’ve noticed about them in the last year.
119. Have an art show featuring your Little’s masterpieces. Invite your friends and family to come and buy original, signed artwork.
118. Go for a walk in the foothills or along the river and collect some interesting rocks.
117. Make homemade potpourri with dried flower petals.
116. Help your Little make a list of everyone who loves them.
115. Visit the Blanton Museum of Art.
114. Make a ‘bucket list’ with your Little.
113. Wash the car.
112. Make a calendar of the big events of the year.
111. Take a self-guided tour of a local historic location.
110. Feed the birds.
109. Look through a book of house plans and pick out your dream house.
108. Help your Little write a letter to the author of their favorite book.
107. Visit the Austin Dog park.
106. Start a coin or stamp collection.
105. Visit the many Austin painting murals.
104. Create a tornado in a bottle; put colored water in a two-liter bottle, connect another bottle to it like an hourglass, turn it over and give it a swirl.
103. Go on a camera scavenger hunt. Let your Little take the pictures.
102. Tape record messages to send to grandparents or other loved ones who don’t live nearby.
101. Stencil a border pattern around the top of a wall.
100. Go on a newspaper scavenger hunt.
99. Read biographies of people who did great things and let your Little know they can do great things too.
98. Learn to program a computer in BASIC language.
97. Finger paint with chocolate, lemon or strawberry pudding.
96. Make mini-pizzas using English muffins.
95. Make maracas by coving light bulbs with layers of paper-mache. When they dry, gently break the glass and paint.
94. Write a letter to your Congressional representatives regarding an issue important to both of you.
93. Teach your Little how to change the tires on a car.
92. Check out a tree identification book from the library and discover which trees grow in your neighborhood.
91. Using the letters from a big word, see how many smaller words you can create.
90. Train together and participate in a local fun run.
89. Role play meeting new people so your Little will have more confidence in unfamiliar situations.
88. Invite someone who has lived in a foreign country over for dinner to talk about life in that country.
87. Use of book of names to find the meaning of your names.
86. Build a log cabin out of Popsicle sticks and glue.
85. Watch a potter throwing on a wheel.
84. Use a magnifying glass to examine all kinds of little things.
83. Send a letter or care package to US troops.
82. Teach your Little to use a fire extinguisher.
81. Squeeze fresh orange juice.
80. Tape record yourselves reading your favorite stories.
79. Tour the state capitol and maybe even meet the Governor.
78. Go to the airport for lunch and watch the planes take off and land.
77. Share photographs and home movies of you as a child.
76. Roast pumpkin seeds in the oven.
75. Take your Little with you to vote.
74. Volunteer to ring a bell for charity during the Holidays.
73. Get creative with some lumber, hammer and nails.
72. Volunteer to visit your Little’s class to tell students about your profession.
71. Open the hood of a car and point out various parts of the engine.
70. Visit the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center
69. Ice-Skate at Central Market
68. Research famous inventors, writers, or other famous people that intrigues your Little.
67. Visit a local orchard or fruit stand to enjoy some fresh fruit.
66. Watch the activity at a construction site.
65. Build and paint a birdhouse.
64. Learn to tap out your names in Morse code and to sign your names in sign language.
63. Order sea monkeys or Chia pets and watch them grow.
62. Skip rocks on water.
61. Photocopy each others hands on a copy machine.
60. Buy a yo-yo and learn how to do tricks with it.
59. Go exploring on South Congress Avenue on the weekends.
58. Have business cards printed with your Little’s name and a catchy slogan.
57. Go to a photographer’s darkroom and learn how negatives and prints are made.
56. Visit a farm and milk a cow.
55. Look in the phone book to find people with your same last names.
54. Set up a roadside lemonade stand.
53. Using play money, show your Little how you spend the money you earn.
52. Get a chemistry set and perform your own experiments.
51. Write to the President and ask for a photo. (You’ll receive a picture and a whole packet of information)
50. Build a house of cards together.
49. Build paper planes and see whose can fly the furthest, longest, etc.
48. Pick and deliver flowers to a nursing home.
47. Teach your pet a new trick.
46. Visit a college, then tell your Little stories from when you were in school.
45. Visit the Ulmaf Sculpture Garden.
44. Learn to identify three constellations.
43. Paint, refinish, or decoupage an old piece of furniture.
42. Learn CPR.
41. Visit the Mexic-Arte Museum
40. Learn 10 new words in a foreign language.
39. Rent a bicycle for two and tour the Greenbelt.
38. Visit your local fire station.
37. Go ice-skating, get hot chocolate afterwards.
36. Wander through a craft shop to see if anything stands out as a project you could do together.
35. Help your Little make dinner for their mom on her birthday.
34. Have a Monopoly tournament.
33. Visit a hospital and look at the new babies in the nursery.
32. Visit the Bullock State History Museum
31. Learn how to fix your bikes. Maybe visit Austin Yellow Bike Project
30. Visit a nursing home and read or sing to the residents. Or, ask them to describe what life was like when they were your Little’s age.
29. Whack golf balls at the driving range.
28. Read the same book together then discuss it.
27. Walk around the dog park and count the different types of dogs.
26. Bake and frost cutout cookies.
25. Rent a canoe on Lake Travis.
24. Build something together. This could be anything from a board game to a model.
23. Work on home improvement projects together – painting, wallpapering, or a small remodeling. It provides great talk time and quite a few laughs, too.
22. Make foods from around the world and learn how people live in that country.
21. Go to an antique show and compare things of the past with things of the present.
20. Learn to play cribbage. It’s a fun game and helps with math skills.
19. Maintain a scrapbook of all the things you do together. Include ticket stubs, menus, pictures, brochures, programs and other mementos.
18. Browse local thrift stores for hidden treasures.
17. Visit a coffee shop to sip hot chocolate or soda while playing chess, checkers, or backgammon.
16. Research an important event or issue at the library. Tour UT campus or LBJ Library
15. Sit at the mall or in a park and watch people.
14. Create s’mores with graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate chunks. Heat them in the oven, microwave, or over an open fire.
13. Make a loaf of bread from scratch.
12. Take turns styling each others’ hair.
11. Pick a new recipe, then go shopping and prepare the food together. You can even make a cookbook of your favorite recipes that you make.
10. Attend a local farmer’s market
9. Decorate eggs – not just at Easter.
8. Plan a trip around the world or around the USA. It’s a great way to sneak in a geography lesson.
7. Tell each other stories. Start by giving the other a starting sequence, such as “I was walking to school the other day and I saw…”
6. Create a necklace or bracelet. There are some basic ideas here.
5. Volunteer to build a house with Habitat for Humanity, help people at Special Olympics events or serve Meals on Wheels.
4. Make a fondue meal or a fruit-and-cake fondue for dessert.
3. Take an art class or lesson together.
2. Shoot a round of pool.
1. Learn to make homemade root beer or ice cream.