(Check out my intro post for context!)

Here’s the list of 100 things that Big Kid Ellen plans to do in 2022 (in no particular order):

Climb a tree
Complete a coloring book
Rock some colorful overalls
Jump rope, double dutch
Make a robot
Play foursquare
Play tetherball
Create a magazine collage memory box
Make a science fair entry (complete with trifold poster)
Decorate my bike and have a bike parade
Pick out a bag of geology rocks
Write a fan fiction story
Barrel roll down a hill
Decorate cupcakes
Eat frozen hot dogs and peas
Make homemade root beer
Plant a flower garden
Go sledding
Write a poem
Play with a puppy
Host a themed birthday party
Braid a gimp keychain
Braid a friendship bracelet
Braid someone’s hair
Do a handstand in a pool
Jump off the high dive
Roller blade
Use a piece of grass to whistle
Paint a self-portrait
Make a sand castle
Ding dong ditch
Prank phone call someone
Buy a pack of basketball cards
Sculpt something totally useless
Paint my nails
Paint my face (or someone else’s face)
Read a Goosebumps book
Go to a book fair
Wear a bunch of different watches at the same time
Make a short video
Go to an aquarium
Go to a planetarium
Go whale watching
Catch lightning bugs
Play Scrabble
Watch Malcolm in the Middle with my family
Eat Blue Moon/Superman ice cream
Play a game of “calabaloos” at night
Play with Nickelodeon slime
Make homemade popsicles
Run through a sprinkler
Have a water balloon fight
Slide down a slip and slide
Make homemade paper
Twirl a baton
Make an ironed bead art design
Make an embroidery project
Play a game of HORSE
Buy some crazy, colorful shoes
Play an old video game
Do leaf rubbing art
Jump on a trampoline
Star gaze
Invent a sandwich
Hop scotch
Build a fort
Ice skate
Go camping
Put on a puppet show
Play dress up
Compete in a pie-eating contest
Skip stones on the water
Fly a kite
Dance and run around in the rain
Catch a fish
Go apple-picking
Get buried in the sand
Swing on a rope swing
Raise butterflies
Learn a card trick
Do kitchen experiments
Play Spud
Make up a handshake
Have a picnic in the park
Feed the ducks
Get someone to sit on a whoopee cushion
Interpret my dreams
Memorize the lyrics to an entire song
Design a treasure hunt
Hit a piñata
Make a fortune teller/cootie catcher
Send a message in a bottle
Hula hoop
Make an obstacle course
Have a Field Day
Play a game of mini golf
Create melted crayon art
Play M.A.S.H.
Play with a Skip-It
Keep a Tamagotchi alive

For each one, I will document my experience — I’ll let you know why little kid Ellen loved each activity and how Big Kid Ellen fared in attempting to recreate the joy.

And remember: if any of these sound particularly interesting to you and you want to participate with me, please let me know! I’d love for a secondary outcome of this project to be reconnecting with my community after two years of isolation.

Cheers to being a big kid!

Click to see all blog posts: That Big Kid Ellen