If I had to make an initial list of things to do this summer for the future lost tribe of childhood members it would go something like this:
Climb in a tree and hang out
Jump across a stream to a grassy bank on the other side
Capture (and release) frogs and salamanders
Jump into thick piles of fresh hay
Play hide and seek in the dark with a tribe of friends
Pick flowers and make bouquets
Build a fort
Pound some nails
Make a homemade toy
Make a paper airplane
Make a toy parachute
Ride a bike across the lawn with no hand
Skip rocks really well
Learn to tie a good knot
Make a lean-to tent from blankets
Camp outside under the stars
Walk with a flashlight in the night woods to spot deer and other nocturnal creatures
Gaze night sky and just try to make sense of those stars ( or learn the constellations!)
Run outside for hour and hours until exhausted
Fall into bed for a good night sleep after running for hours and hours
Learn to swim really well, without fear
Learn to canoe or kayak and paddle down a river or across a lake
Tube down a stream and get bumped around and holler with joy and fear
Have a pet (or many similtaneously)
Plant a small garden and tend it
Grow tomatoes and eat them fresh from the vine
Pick wild blackberries
Pick quarts and quarts of strawberries and eat your fill as you go
Have unlimited strawberry shortcake as a special summer lunch
Plan a neighborhood carnival with friends and family and build all the props from cardboard boxes. Donate the proceeds to a favorite charity.
Ride a bike down a soft grassy hill that end gently at the base (with one or two friends on the seat and handle bar)
Roller skate
Play with jacks
Master the game of marbles
Jump rope (double dutch)
Learn how to build a campfire
Fish (catch and release)
Hook a worm
Gut that fish (not me!)
Make a pie
Make a birthday cake
Make lemonade from scratch
Play barefoot in the grass
Dip toes into soft mucky mud or silt along a brook or stream
Slit grass and make a whistle
Pound rocks and sticks with no other purpose than to pound
Read a favorite book on the lawn, in a hammock
Make a good friend for life
Sleep for hour and hours late into the morning and awake to find a loving parent there to make you breakfast
