Report Card: 99 Things To Do in Austin Before Kindergarten

Posted by Nicole Basham on Jul 18, 2011 in Austin, Main | 10 comments

With a five year old, you begin to lose track of milestones. No longer are you concerned about your child’s first words or first steps, and you can’t seem to remember when he or she dropped the morning nap when your friend asks.

But a major milestone still looms large: the first day of kindergarten.

Over two years ago, I wrote a column as City Editor of Savvy Source with a list of 99 things to do in Austin before your child starts kindergarten. After having spent hours compiling this list, you’d think I would have carefully been checking items off the list over the years…right?

Wrong.

An avid listmaker (but apparently not stellar on follow through), I eagerly combed through the Austin Monthly‘s May 2011 edition, which included 111 Things to Do This Summer, as well as one person’s account of her attempt to complete the magazine’s 2010 list. This jogged my memory, and encouraged me to unearth my own list and see how I have done (there are 34 days left of summer, after all…not that I’m counting..?..)

First, here is the list, which was published in January of 2009. I put an asterisk next to the activities which, for one reason or another, are obsolete. After the list, you can see how I did.

99 Things To Do With Your Preschooler in Austin Before Kindergarten

1. Hike to the top of Enchanted Rock
2. Pick strawberries at Sweet Berry Farm
3. Go to a UT game (try soccer, basketball, or baseball if you don’t want to shell out the dough for a football ticket)
4. Cool off at Hamilton Pool
5. Watch the bats
6. Stuff your faces at Stubb’s Gospel Brunch
7. Take in a free show during SXSW
8. Canoe on Ladybird Lake
9. Take bluebonnet photos at the Wildflower Center
10. Stomping in puddles after (or during) a rare rainstorm
11. Fantasize about in-state tuition at Explore UT
12. Buy local – plants, that is – at the kid-friendly Barton Springs Nursery (check out the birds!)
13. Pick up breakfast tacos and spend a morning and your favorite park
14. Ride a pony at Kiddie Acres
15. Split a snow cone at the stand outside Barton Springs
16. Get soaked at the Liz Carpenter Fountain at Butler Park

17. Skipping rocks in Shoal Creek
18. Broaden your literary horizons at the Texas Book Festival
19. Order a birthday cake from Amy’s Ice Cream
20. Have cobbler at the Salt Lick
21. Create at Maker Faire* (location rotates)
22. Swim at Barton Springs
23. Go to the Kite Festival
24. Introduce your kid/s to a new vegetable at Boggy Creek Farm
25. Catch a movie at Deep Eddy Pool during the summer
26. Shake your booty during a Biscuit Brothers concert at Central Market
27. Join the dance party during Ms. Staci’s (every other) Friday storytimes at Family Connections* (sniff sniff)
28. Experience the “spaghetti” sculpture outside of the Blanton Museum of Art* (although the Museum still exists and has some great storytimes to check out, the spaghetti structure is no longer on display)
29. Sit back and listen at a library storytime
30. Take a family photo in front of the Steve Ray Vaughan statue on the south side of Lady Bird Lake, close to the Long Center
31. Buy some boots or a hat from Callahan’s
32. Eat at Mr. Natural
33. Learning about Texas wildlife – now and centuries ago – at the Texas Memorial Museum (do note that the Museum is closed until October 2011 for renovations)
34. Feel the sand between your toes in the Dino Pit at the Austin Science & Nature Center
35. Going to a Round Rock Express baseball game
36. Getting lost minutes from downtown on the grounds of the Laguna Gloria Museum
37. Ice skate at Chaparral Ice in Northcross
38. Have a picnic with the peacocks at Mayfield Park
39. Fly the Texas flag on March 2 – Texas Independence Day
40. Dangle your bare feet in the water after a walk along the Greenbelt
41. Bring a picnic lunch and listen to local music during Music on the Plaza on the grounds of City Hall
42. Feed the ducks at Lou Neff Point
43. Exhale during Free Day of Yoga
44. Retrieving hail from your lawn after one of those bizarre spring storms
45. Take in some culture during Austin Museum Day
46. Climb on the cows at the Arboretum
47. Visit the petting zoo at the Austin Zoo & Animal Sanctuary
48. Pick out plants together at Barton Springs Nursery or the Natural Gardener
49. Camp at Inks Lake
50. Watching the owner of Rootin’ Ridge make yet another wooden toy
51. Sit at the counter and order lunch at Nau’s Drugstore
52. Go exploring at McKinney Falls State Park
53. Imagine life before Tivo at Pioneer Farms
54. Take a cruise without packing a suitcase with Capital Cruise
55. Make a day of it at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Expo* (event was cancelled due to budget constraints)
56. Take a visitor from out of town on an Austin Duck Tour
57. Stop to smell the roses at the Zilker Botanical Gardens
58. Teach your child how to Keep Austin Weird by buying one item at BookPeople, Waterloo Records, and Over the Rainbow
59. Take a walk on the Hike and Bike Trail around Lady Bird Lake
60. Get photos from the photo booth at Phil’s Ice House
61. Take a tour of the Capitol
62. Exposing your charge to some live music at a daytime Waterloo in-store performance
63. Take a spin at Playland Skate Center
64. Bake cookies for your neighbors
65. Listen to Joe McDermott play free at Pottery Barn Kids in Barton Creek Mall
66. Go to First Night Austin* (organization which put on the event dissolved)
67. Taste at least five flavors before making a decision on what to get at Teo Gelato
68. Miniature golf at Peter Pan
69. Ride the Zilker Zephyr
70. Take the bus to Symphony Square’s Children’s Day Art Park during the summer
71. Spin yourself dizzy under the Zilker Tree during the holidays
72. Imagine the roar of the dinosaurs at the Hartmann Prehistoric Garden
73. Make wishes at the fountain at Mandola’s in the Triangle
74. Take in some history at the LBJ Library & Museum
75. See if your little one can make it all the way up to the top of Mt. Bonnell
76. Cool off in the summer heat at the Austin Ice Cream Festival
77. Stay up a bit past bedtime dancing at Blues on the Green
78. Enjoy an afternoon treat, sunshine, and fresh air at Mozart’s Coffee Roasters
79. Volunteering at the food pantry at the Capital Area Food Bank
80. Take him/her with you to vote!
81. Find your own secret spot to watch the 4th of July fireworks
82. Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at the Mexican American Cultural Center
83. Meet some friends for afternoon fun, food and music at the Triangle Farmers Market
84. On a hot summer day, stopping for some frozen custard at Sandy’s on Barton Springs
85. Running, walking, strolling, or people watching during one of Austin’s many 5ks
86. Buy some Kerbey Lane pancake mix and whip up a batch as a family
87. Get a bird’s eye view of Austin from atop the UT Tower
88. Take in a free summer performance at the Zilker Hillside Theater
89. Wear shorts in January!
90. Get on your boots and head to Rodeo Austin
91. See how many celebrities you can recognize in the “museum” at the Broken Spoke
92. Go to First Thursday on South Congress
93. Volunteer for a park project during It’s My Park! Day
94. Draw on the tables (OK, the paper covering the tables) at Hoover’s on Manor Road
95. Celebrate the Chinese New Year at Chinatown on North Lamar
96. Recall your favorite scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding at the Texas Greek Festival
97. Finally visit the Barsana Dham during the Mela Fair (that temple-like building on the way to the Salt Lick)
98. Head to Rosie’s for some yummy tamales during the holidays
99. Enjoy all the Austin Powwow & American Indian Heritage Festival has to offer

Report card time

Reviewing the list certainly brought back some memories. Afternoons spent checking out toys from Family Connections. The allure of the recently-installed fountains at Butler Park and the outrage when they were shut off. Sharing the first milkshake (hopefully, of many) at the same soda fountain my friends and I would visit in elementary school.

When I actually check the list against what we have done over the past five years, I’m embarrassed to admit that we can cross a mere 58 items off this list — barely more than half!

Part of me says, no problem, we have time to do it all. Then, I realize, Enchanted Rock? Mount Bonnell? Blues on the Green? I start sweating just thinking about attempting any of these during a hot Texas summer.

Then, I remember the wise words of my son’s teacher on the last day of preschool. She urged us parents to live in the moment, like our kids. To be present. Not to worry about the next thing. Doing this, she assured us, would guarantee we would grow old with no regrets.

Maybe that’s what I learned the last five years. It’s not about finishing a list or ticking off the milestones, but about getting out there and experiencing my hometown again, through my son’s eyes.

So, maybe my lack of follow through isn’t so bad after all.

How many of these items could you cross off? Do you have any favorites? What did I miss on my original list?

Written by: Nicole Basham