Falling for Fall

Canada in the fall.
It’s a beautiful thing.

The initial rush of getting back in order for a new school year has slightly subsided for most families and now the groove has set in. And before the fall season changes (ever so drastically) to winter (bite my tongue), I encourage everyone to get your families out for some fall fun.

Here are some things we like to do as a family during the fall:

– Get excited about Halloween! Get your creative juices flowing by talking as a family. Start thinking of costume ideas. How can we decorate the house? Are we going to have a Halloween party? Talk about what friends might dress up as…

• What is the smell of fall for you? Baked apples? Cinnamon? Pumpkin pie? Bring those scents into your home by baking up a storm! Get the children involved, they love participating in the creation of a good snack. Do you have seasonal cookie cutters? Buy some, burrow some, it makes a fun project with a great discussion. And if you just aren’t the baking mama, get a couple of scented candles going, all those flavours are available now. My favourite selection comes from Yankee Candle. Find them here.
• Play outside! Get the family together for raking the leaves. You can find toddler sized rakes as well at the dollar stores or toys shops. Create a pile of leaves for playing in, use the leaves to stuff a scarecrow in your front yard for Halloween, bring in some leaves to press in a book to save.
• Plan some easy preschool projects for your little ones. Make some new memories for them by using the beautiful colours of fall. One of my greatest inspirations for preschool projects comes from the fabulous collection of art books by Usborne. I love finding new things to create with my children. And the best part is the projects are simple and fun.
• I found a great project from one of my favourite bloggers, Valerie, over at Inner Child Fun. You will love it! Valerie always has the most creative and easy projects to do that have fantastic results.
• Take a long leisurely walk. Watch the leaves fall down, enjoy the colours around you. Stir up questions for your children. What colours do you see? What birds do you hear? How many squirrels can you see?
• Get a few more bike rides in before it gets too cold! And stop for a hot cocoa along the way.

• There is still some time left to get a trip to the apple orchards in. Do it! Here is Quebec we are blessed with some wonderful family farms. Our favourite is Quinn Farm. They have done some great improvements there this year for young families which include more animals (bunnies, donkey, cow, pigs, lambs) a play area, and as always their tractor rides to the apples trees and their fantastic bakery. My absolute favourite from the bakery is the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Best part? They freeze beautifully to last much longer than the fall season! Visit them at here.
• Another great outing at the same time or separate from apple picking is pumpkin picking. Sure, you can go to the local grocery store and grab your pumpkins right there. And don’t get me wrong, I have done that when the children were very little. But there is something special about going to pick your very own pumpkin for Halloween. And before you know it, it becomes a family tradition.
• Read about the fall season and Halloween. Going to your local library is a great way to explore seasonal books. And usually, the library organizes a Halloween story time for little ones. But reserve early as it is always a popular event.
• Rent or PVR a few classic Halloween shows for a family movie night. Charlie Brown and Barenstain Bears are a couple of our favourites.

I hope I’ve given you a few ideas for your family this fall season. And please tell me, what are your favourite ways to enjoy fall? I look forward to your comments.

Now if you will excuse me, I am going to take a nice walk in the woods with my family…