Fall Fun!

Here are some fun ideas for including nature into your fall activities. There are also a few activities for the days you’ll be indoors.


Climb a lookout tower to get a great view of the fall colors.

To find the best colors check out one of the many fall color trackers online...like this one for Wisconsin.

Take a hike! Watch the leaves fall and try to catch them.

•  See how many different kinds of leaves you can find on your walk.
•  Make a collage of items found on the ground in nature (sticks, fallen leaves & acorns, pebbles etc).  
•  Take a walk at night or sit outside and listen to the crickets.
• Find a Halloween hike in your area. Check your local state park listings for these events that offer short hikes at night on lighted pathways. They’re loads of fun and often have other activities like arts & crafts, stories, bonfires with S’mores and apple cider and more.

Go to a local farm and pick your own apples.  Taste all the different varieties.

• Make homemade applesauce. It’s really easy and SO tasty. Try this recipe from Taste of Home.

 Do some leaf art!

• Take a walk to collect leaves that have fallen and do a leaf rubbing. Find a great image and easy instructions here.
• Make a leaf print t-shirt. Besides using leaves you can also use apple halves and different grasses. Find instructions here.

Rake leaves and then jump into a big pile of them…a classic that my son loves every year. You can even make these super-scoopers to gather up a big pile of leaves to toss.

Go to a local farm and pick your own pumpkins.

•  Many farms also offer tractor rides, animal petting areas, corn mazes, fresh cider and caramel apples. Do a search for U-pick pumpkin farms in your area.
• Remove and save the seeds from a pumpkin and make your own seasoned pumpkin seeds. They’re a great nutritious snack!

Try popping different kinds of popcorn seeds! October is National Popcorn month and I’ve started to see different varieties being sold at our local farmers market. Oh the colors! There’s yellow, red, white, blue, black and more! Who knew there were so many! Each is supposed to have their own distinct flavor (we haven’t tried them all yet). Find recipes, learn all about how popcorn pops, and discover the history of popcorn here.

Stuff a scarecrow. Use the picture below for inspiration.  Grab an old pair of jeans and a flannel shirt and stuff it with straw or leaves (newspaper works too). We set ours up on the porch with a bail of straw for a seat. For the head we use an old pillowcase, stuff it and draw a simple face on it.  You could also use a witches mask if you'd like.  An old hat makes a great addition too, as well as work gloves for the hands.  Have an old pair of mens boots laying around that are too worn to be donated?  Use those for the feet!

I hope you enjoy spending time outdoors in the crisp, cool and colorful days that fall has to offer.



Please feel free to leave me comments!

Have a great idea that I didn't include?

Suggestions for future post topics?

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If you enjoyed this post, you might like the post “Find a Natural Space in Your Area!”

To reference this post directly, use this link.

Grow something edible!

Children may try something new if they have a hand in growing it.


If you haven’t tried growing vegetables or herbs, give it a “go” by picking one edible thing that would grow well in the space you have. Growing your own food is a wonderful experience for children. It provides a chance to be out in nature together, shows them how things grow and what kind of care a plant needs to grow and produce, and gives them the personal satisfaction of eating something they’ve grown themselves. It can also get children interested in fruits and vegetables they normally don’t (or won’t) eat.

BENEFITS…

I’ve noticed that my son is more likely to try something new if he picked it (or grew it) himself.  For example, when he was little he wouldn’t eat apples. I was surprised since it’s typically a popular fruit with kids. No matter how hard I tried at offering them, he’d taste them, but wouldn’t eat them. Then when he was 3 we started taking a yearly trip to a local apple orchard where you can pick over 15 varieties of apples. Something about that trip clicked with him and he took a bite of every variety of apple that we picked! He’s been eating apples ever since.

This happened again with green shelling peas. We started growing them in our garden last year and getting our son involved with picking and shelling them prompted him to try them again, on his own. He’s been eating them ever since.

WHAT TO PLANT…AND WHERE TO PLANT IT.

We do the planning together too.  Early in spring we go through the gardening catalogs and decide what we’re going to grow. Living in Wisconsin, with a somewhat short growing season, we start much of our seeds indoors. We have a pretty small garden, but as usual I’ve got about 60 seedlings growing in little peat pots in my living room. And we’ll find a space for them, we always do. Last year we had the majority of our vegetables in our small backyard garden, but we also grew herbs in beautiful pots on our deck, and red peppers hung from our deck in those new upside-down plant holders you see in the market.

Another space we utilized was the edging of our flower garden.   We found a wonderful mini Alpine strawberry that grows great as a border plant. It comes up early, seems to be fairly resilient, is nice to look at, and gives us berries. We have also tilled up a few sunny spots here and there in the yard where tomatoes have really flourished. Be creative in where you grow your garden…you may find you have more room than you think!

We experiment and try planting new things in new places each year. Many vegetables can be successfully grown in containers and pots. We also saved room in our garden by making a tepee-shaped trellis for the cucumbers to climb. Behind it, you can also see the sticks leaning up against the fence, which our snap peas use for climbing.

Of course we don’t grow every type of vegetable…we don’t have the space (or the climate) for it. But I love that we’re teaching our son where food comes from in our own small way. We also do this by shopping at local farmers markets, farms and food stands. You can also try taking your children to the grocery store with you and letting them pick out some fruits and vegetables. Try picking out a new fruit or vegetable to taste each month!

I hope you’ll consider growing something edible this season! Drop me a note if growing food with your children got them eating something new!

Please feel free to leave me comments!

Have a great idea that I didn't include?

Suggestions for future post topics?

Just let me know in the “comments” section, thanks!



If you enjoyed this post, you might like the post A Springtime Scavenger Hunt.

To reference this post directly, use this link.