Fall is just FULL of so much wonderful goodness, am I right? For as long as I can remember, I have always anticipated the autumn season and all of the fun activities that go along with it. But the great thing about having kids is that they make everything about fall SO. MUCH. BETTER. Amen and amen.
I thought it would be fun to share some of the fun (and some FREE) things that I enjoy doing with our little family, in particular geared towards our little toddler, Nora, but that I could still tote my newborn around to. Some of these are things that I grew up doing with my family in Kansas, some of them are things that I’ve learned about with our first fall here at the farm and some of them are just happy random fall-ish things that make me smile. So here we go!
1. Pumpkin Carving and Painting
I think this one is pretty standard in most families, but pumping carving and painting is so fun! Last year, we pretty much did everything for Nora, but this year she got to paint her own pumpkin using whatever colors and designs she wanted. Her poor pumpkin was completely doused in thick, goopy paint and had no distinct pattern or drawings on it….and she loves that pumpkin! She had a blast painting it and was so proud of her finished product!
2. Leaf Gathering and Crafts
This year, Nora, Andersyn and I headed out to Milford’s city park with a plastic baggie and collected all kinds of leaves. We walked all over for about an hour and I let her collect all different colors and types of leaves and carefully place her “treasures” in her little bag to take back home. She had so much fun admiring the colors and shapes, letting out lots of “Oh!”s and “Wowie!”s as she collected. Then we took them home and glued them onto some craft paper and gave fall cards to her Daddy and Nana and Papa. The best thing about this activity – it’s free 🙂
This was also a great opportunity to teach Nora about God’s creation and all of the wonder, beauty and creativity that He shows us through nature. Although she still might not totally get what I’m telling her at this age, I think it’s so important to start pointing out those little things early to her.
3. Pumpkin Patch
Wherever you live, there is usually some sort of pumpkin patch around. In KC, we always go to Schaake’s in Lawrence for our pumpkin extravaganza, we’ve gone there for 28 years now! Since we have moved, we had to find a new patch to visit and found Roca Berry Farm and LOVED it! It had so many fun things to do while we were there and was fairly inexpensive.
4. Raking and Playing in Leaves
You. Guys. I did this with Nora earlier this week and it was the biggest hit of all time. We ran down the hill and jumped into our leaf pile for HOURS. I’ve never had so many leaves down my shirt and pants in all my life. Nora squealed with delight with each fall and tumble we took and it will truly be a memory that I will cherish forever.
5. Go for a Drive
We have had unusually high temps here the past week, so we took advantage! We brewed some coffee and cider, loaded the girls up in the van, rolled down our windows and drove around town and out in the country to look at the fall foliage. It was absolutely beautiful, and being able to SMELL fall with the windows open made it even better. Try it. You won’t be disappointed!
6. Find a Farmer
Maybe I’m biased, but harvest is a pretty exciting event to experience. If you know a farmer, or even if you know someone who knows a farmer, ask them if you can go for a ride along in their combine. It’s fun to ride in one of those big ‘ole machines and watch the corn and beans get plucked from their fields. And if you don’t know a farmer, then that’s just sad, so you should come and visit us!
7. Wear Fall Clothes
I mean really, who can resist fall festiveness? Please, PLEASE put your child in a pair of overalls!
So there are some of the fun things we like to do during the fall season. I hope your family is enjoying everything wonderful that fall had to offer….including pumpkin spice lattes 🙂
30 Minute Mommy Cleaning Schedule
I'm Turning 30. So Thank You.
Sex While Raising Babies
What's all the hutch about?