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50 Things to Do Before You're Five

50 Things to Do Before You’re Five is an initiative that features 50 fun, low-cost, or no-cost activities tailored to Cambridgeshire for families to share with their children, to help support them in being ready for the next stage in their education.

The 50 activities, low- or no-cost activities, include fun indoor, outdoor, seasonal, home-based, and out-and-about ideas that will get your child off to a flying start with their learning and language development.

Each experience has been suggested by parents, carers, and professionals and developed by early years experts and language specialists, to create a resource for children under five and the grown-ups in their lives.

Alongside the 50 activities, when accessing the initiative via the app or webpage, you can also browse low or no-cost live events across Cambridgeshire, tailored for families with children from birth to five. The 50 Things to Do local events page is updated monthly, providing a one-stop shop for ideas at home or whilst out and about, for families with children from birth to five years.

Parents and carers can download the free app from the Apple App Store and Google Play:

If you are not able to access the internet regularly or would like to record which of the 50 things you have done on paper, please reach out to Philippa.Sutton@cambridgeshire.gov.uk for a free 50 Things to Do fold-out leaflet.

​​​For further information, please visit the 50 Things to Do | Cambridgeshire & Peterborough website, or contact Philippa.Sutton@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

Support for practitioners

50 Things to Do Before You’re Five can be a great way to support parents with home learning by suggesting different activities that they can enjoy with their child. To support conversations with parents, you can access several webinars below.

Strong attachments in early childhood are vital to children’s resilience and self-regulation in later life.

In the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five - Attachment webinar, we explore the importance of attachment, how we can support it in our practice, and how 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five can be used to share activities supporting attachment with families. 

This webinar was funded by the Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area. 

This short 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five - Communication and Literacy webinar, funded by the Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area, explores how to use the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five to work with parents to help develop children’s communication and language skills with practical ideas and examples. 

Good motor skills are essential for our children as they support independence, as they learn to do up coats and shoes, and make marks, as well as healthy living, as they take part in gross motor activities.

In the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five - Motor Skills webinar, we look at how we can use activities from the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five to support motor skills development.

It is important that children with SEND have access to a wide range of experiences to support their needs and development.

In the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five - SEND webinar, we explore how the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five can be used to support families of children with SEND to enable them to try new activities and experiences.

This webinar was funded by the Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area.

In the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five - Transitions Webinar, we explore how we can support transitions for children attending our settings using 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five activities.

This webinar links to the Transitions Toolkit, which can be found in the Library - Cambridgeshire County Council Early Years Leaders (PVI) - Knowledge Hub.

The percentage of children classed as overweight or obese has increased and is a national public health concern.

Many of the activities on the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five encourage families to be out and about and active.

Find out more about how to use the app to support healthy living in the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five - Healthy Weight Initiative webinar, supported by Cambridgeshire Public Health.

In the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five - Supporting the Home Learning Environment webinar, funded by the Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area, we explore the importance of supporting the home learning environment, the barriers that parents may face, and how to utilise the 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five to support home learning, including during holiday periods.

The How to include young children’s voices in your arts and culture strategy webinar provides further ideas on how to incorporate 50 Things to Do Before You’re Five into your home learning offer for families – skip to 46:01.