10 Fall Activities Kids Will Love

Time flies and summer is turning to fall. Temperatures are dropping, leaves are changing color and we are half way through the school vacation. This is a time when kids tend to reduce their time outside the house and this converts to more time on devices, perhaps playing some dragon games or Mensa games.

Parenting in the digital age is hard. Kids get bored very quickly, but if kids are exposed to nature from a very young age, 'bored' will not be a word they use frequently.

Straw Bale Maze - Avala Valley Barn by docent joyce

To keep kids interested in spending time outdoors, here are 10 fall activities for them:

1. Jump onto leaf mounds
This is that time of the year when you can find plenty of mounds of leaf. The kids will love diving into them. Just make sure they are not allergic to dust. Take pictures. Rake them up. Arrange the mounds and run around them. Jump over them. Try and make trails. Destroy the mounds. Just make sure you are not leaving people upset by messing with the mounds.

2. Try some leaf beating
Hapa Zome anyone? Grab some leaves. Cut out clean pieces of thin cotton cloth. Place the leaves on the pieces of cloth. Take a hammer. If metallic, wrap in a soft cloth. Great if you have a rubberized hammer. Gently beat on the leaf keeping it steady. Once every part of the leaf has been beaten, peel the leaf off and admire the beautiful design the released pigment has made. Want to add some color? Try the same with flowers.

3. Create a leaf shower
Gather some plastic or cotton bags. Fill it with leaves. Hide behind doors, on window sills and other high places. When someone passes, empty the bag on them! Watch the beautiful leaf showers. Try it on your pets. Make sure you have a camera ready. Get some great shots.

4. Craft faux pumpkins
It's the pumpkin season. Eat them, carve them, grow them, harvest them and make them. Make them?! Yes, you can. Make pumpkin shapes using paper, cloth or any other waste material. Wrap them up in an orange length of cloth. Or, even better, use any colorful piece of cloth. Don't forget to add a stick representing a stem on top. If you have dried pumpkin stems go ahead and use them.

5. Journey through a corn maze
Oh, these mazes can be such fun. They could be proper hedge mazes or mazes made of bales of hay. For younger kids the maze walls could be low to give both parents and the kids a level of assurance. Older kids could have walls towering over them. Some farmers design beautiful elaborate mazes. Families can have some memorable times at such places.

6. Go pumpkin picking
This can be great fun. Get multiple generations to go along. You can have a wonderful day out, seeking out the best pumpkins. Too big or too small, you just have to find the right one for your family. Don't forget to take pictures. With the rich colors around, every picture will look memorable.

7. Try some baking/cooking with pumpkins and spices
As fall is the best season for pumpkins, pull out some simple recipes and try your hand. Get the kids involved. If you have picked a pumpkin, and it's ready to be used, go ahead and use it. Want to carve it out before using it, go ahead. Just make sure you keep the pumpkin clean. Get the kids involved in the process. Perhaps they can organize the spices or mash the pumpkin. If you are baking cupcakes, maybe they could measure or spoon it into the molds. Keep the kids involved.

8. Have a movie and pumpkin seed night
Pick a movie. Play it. Spread some paper and heap a pile of roasted pumpkin seeds. Get the kids to shell them. Make sure they don't hurt their nail beds. Shell it for the younger ones. It can be great fun. Enjoy!

9. Go on a fall art trip
Take the kids and some supplies out into the open. Get them to try their hand at any art activity they wish to explore. Painting, drawing, coloring with crayons, making a mural on the ground, arrangement of colorful leaves, string up leaves or staple them in long strands to hang on walls. The idea is to get creative and let the kids experiment.

10. Go on a fall trek/bike ride
Pull out the bikes, trainers and all. Got babies? Strap them on. Find a nice safe trail suitable for kids on bikes. Go on, bike away. Make sure the kids are not too tired. Carry enough water and a couple of light snacks. If you want to go on a short hike, do so. Make sure the paths are kid friendly. No water logged or slippery paths. Take a lot of pictures. These are times which families will remember for many years to come.

Fall's a beautiful period to be outdoors. The richness of colors lasts just a few weeks. Take advantage of the crisp weather and enjoy the last few days of school vacations.

Looking Back, Talking and Learning

New years come, and new years go. That's the nature of time - to march on, waiting for none. We have built clocks and kept time, but humans have not understood time. At least understood it enough to explain to others. There were ancients it's said who knew, and I'm sure there are many in the world who comprehend even today, but as ordinary mortals, we just keep pace with time for as long as possible.

'What then is time? Provided that no one asks me, I know. If I want to explain it to an inquirer, I do not know.’ Saint Augustine, Confessions (397-400 AD)

Now that we have rung in 2017, let's pause and look back. At the year gone by, the good things we have done and at the things we should have done better.

la pioggia by amira_a

Better Parenting

As a parent, it's wise to spend more time with the kids. Playing together and listening to what they have to say improves the bonding between parents and kids. Occasionally we might have to participate in things they enjoy, which we might not enjoy very much, primarily because we need to find common ground. The kids love dragon games, but the parents might not be fond of dragons. The trick is to do things with kids which involve dragons. Perhaps you could find out fun things about dragons to share with them. Try some dragon crafts. Or dragon food for a change. 

Learning from the Year Gone By

Without our realizing it, the kids were spending way too much time on digital devices. We had kept tabs, but when we got a little busy, they found their own way to fill up their time. This year we'll restructure our day to ensure that the kids have more time where one of us can engage them in some activity or drop them to a play date at least. 

Communication

Children get their language skills from parents and caretakers who talk to them. They learn to talk by imitating the sounds we make. At all times, even when tempers are high, the lines of communication must be kept open. They must understand that no fight or argument is worth closing communications with the parents. This keeps them happy and safe. 

Time slips away even as we dither. During the core parenting years the kids must come first, or before we know it they'll be all grown up with traits we might not like in them. As parents we sometimes notice the passage of time by the way our kids have grown, or by the way their pants have shortened! Just as we notice the physical changes in our kids, we must be observant enough about their character growth too. Parenting not only about providing, it's a lot about nurturing both the body and the soul. Next New Year, let's look back in time at a job well done.