Autumn Outdoor Activities for the Kids

It’s incredibly important for kids and families to get plenty of fresh air on a regular basis to benefit both mental and physical health. While its easier and more tempting to spend time outdoors in the spring and summer months, its still essential to get out the house with the family when it gets colder too.

By spending time outside come rain or shine, your kids will understand the benefit of fresh air and won’t simply associate the outdoors with summertime. What’s more, autumn’s falling leaves and varied wildlife provide plenty of fun activities for kids and even adults to try.

 

Here are just some of the ways you can enjoy the outdoors this autumn…

Have Fun with Leaves

Raking

Depending on your specific garden and the surroundings where you live, there should be tons of different types of leaves of all colours, shapes and sizes to rake up. You can get your kids involved using toy rakes or small rakes that are safe for them to use and create piles full of a variety of leaves to collect and either use for composting or crafts.

 

You can use fallen leaves to create autumnal prints on paper by sticking them down, autumn bunting for the garden or rubbings to show the different patterns of leaf types. The assortments of leaves you will find mean you can even create leaf families using googley eyes and large, medium and small sized leaves.

 

Not only does raking up leaves give all the family something to do and a way to be active outdoors, it also helps to improve the health of your lawn. Greensleeves are lawn treatment experts who specialise in providing specialised treatments that keep your lawn healthy all year round, even when the temperatures drop. They offer tons of free lawn care tips and advice on their site for homeowners.

Wildlife

Once you’ve exhausted all the activities that fallen leaves can provide, why not spend time with your kids looking at the wildlife around you? There are many birds, bugs, foxes and more, to identify and watch in autumntime.

 

You can create birdfeeders and birdboxes to entice a variety of birds into your garden and keep them warm during winter. Or, you could create a ‘bug hotel’ using old furniture, tyres or other debris to create a dark and dry area to attract all kinds of insects. Once you have installed a birdfeeder or bug hotel into your garden, your kids can spend time all year round observing and learning about animals in their natural habitats while getting plenty of fresh air.

Planting

Another fun and perhaps unexpected activity for autumn is to do some planting. Surprisingly, there are a range of flowers and vegetables that can be planted in autumn and are able to last the colder months.

 

Why not plant some spring bulbs with the kids in preparation for next year? You can all get a bit muddy and then watch as your daffodils, crocuses or hyacinths grow and bloom over the months. On top of bulbs, there’s an array of winter vegetables to plant of grow, most of which are perfect for adding to your Christmas dinner when the time comes! You can try growing some brussel sprouts, cabbage, leeks, parsnips and cauliflower.

If some of the plants in your beds have died or are looking past their peak, you can spend time with the kids doing some digging. Old plants can work wonders when added to your compost heap, along with grass cuttings, dead leaves and food waste. Feeding your compost regularly will mean you have plenty of nutritious food for your soil the following year.