We’ve tried a lot of this and are often very unsuccessful but it’s all about trying isn’t it! We got these fab fishing rods on our St Mawes Holiday in Cornwall. No9 Eat an Apple Straight from a Tree – 50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4 This is definitely still one to do! No10 Play Conkers –50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4 Things achieved record web and social media traffic compared to previous NT campaigns. It has also been hugely successful in encouraging participation from Trust properties who have been running events and have permanently changed the way they communicate to visitors. Over 90% of visitors engaging with the campaign at properties in the first year said they would spend more time outdoors as a result. The idea really caught the attention of the media, attracting 131 pieces of media coverage on launch day alone (including 7 TV features) We also helped crowd source the list of activities from a broad range of practitioners within the Trust. I’m going to say that we haven’t done this enough and that it should still be on the list! No36 Make a home for a wild animal– 50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4 I feel like there needs to be a trip designed around this task this year. No44 Go Bird Watching– 50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4

If your child has autism, you may find that they are motivated by the idea of looking at pictures of themselves over the years. You may find that this is a way of interesting them in the concept of history. Bradford Industrial Museum is a great place to take children with a wide range of SEN. You could start by calling the museum and asking when a quiet time to visit would be. There are lots of things to look at, smell and touch and for a lot of children the old cars, trains and trams are incredibly exciting! Often transport can be a huge motivator for children with Autism.

Impact

Best of all, there has been a lot of laughing. He has made me laugh, made other people laugh, laughed himself, and laughed at himself. “It has made turning 50 a good thing,” he says. “It could have easily gone the other way.”

The Fifty Things link is here and below are the ones we have managed so far. So why not get started yourself – loads of them can be done for free! No1 Climb a Tree –50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4 We have done this with a variety of things and failed miserably at all but herbs (which the girls don’t want to eat!) No 42 Go Swimming in the Sea – 50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4 I don’t think my kids can say they can ride a horse but they have definitely tried! No49 Find a geocache – 50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4 A safari at night yes, but I don’t think we’ve done a nature walk. No41 Plant it, Grow it, Eat it – 50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4 Now I guess it depends on what you regard as long but for mine at the moment 8 miles is about the maximum but I think this is pretty good for little ones! We get the 5 bikes around with a combination of carriers from Thule.

Intervention

You can visit at any time of the year, although some museums are not open on Mondays, except for bank holidays. They are also closed on Christmas, Boxing and New Year’s Day. We went through quite a phase of doing this and it’s definitely a great free activity. No50 Canoe down a river – 50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4

Lots of scary beasts at a session whilst on holiday in Swansea Bay at Easter a few years ago. No31 Hunt for Bugs –50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4 Sadly I don’t actually have the photographic evidence but there was a lot of rolling down this hill when we spent the weekend at Timber Festival in 2018. Now I’m not sure I even knew this was a thing! One for this Summer! No 18 Create some Wild Art–50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4 Give lots of (genuine) compliments this week. If you have a nice thought about someone, let it out!

Insight

We don’t seem to have managed this ourselves so still on the list, but we do have some great tips from another writer aboutFossil Hunting on Charmouth Beach.