Autumn is well and truly here.
I must admit, I absolutely love waking up in the morning to the cotton candy coloured clouds as the sun begins to peek through. Pulling out all my winter jumpers and throwing on something super cosy before settling myself down (eventually) to a warm bowl of steamy porridge.
However, the darker nights and the colder days mean that our kiddos are not as enthusiastic to venture off outside as we are! Maybe you find yourself constantly suggesting amazing ideas of days out to be greeted with a “No way” or “It’s too wet!”.
We love to find things to do both in and out the home, so here’s our list of things we love to keep ourselves busy with!
- Visit a museum- Many museums around the country are completely free to visit (and are dry!). Make it more exciting for your little ones by creating a hunt for them to complete on the journey. You could even check out the attractions web pages before visiting as many do have trails ready to print!
2. Scavenger Hunts!- With the seasons changing, it’s the perfect time to find a free printable (or create your own) scavenger hunt. There are so many colours and textures to find from yellowing leaves to shiny conkers. Stick on the willies and visit your local park.
Nature detectives is a fab site and has free printable scavenger hunts for our kiddos! https://naturedetectives.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetectives/activities/2015/09/amazing-autumn-scavenger-hunt/
3. Arts and Crafts- Anything messy is a big hit in our house! Maybe you’ll want to make your own crayon tree rubbings or paint leaf printings. Let their imagination go wild!
Find some quick inspiration and ready made resources here! https://www.twinkl.co.uk/search
4. Baking- Introduce your little ones to the changing seasons goodies! Pumpkin pie making, making your own spiced squash and gingerbread men are fab for this time of year!
5. Pumpkin Picking- This has become a bit of a tradition in our family, there’s nothing we like more than donning the wellies and puffy coats before nipping to our local farm to pick our own pumpkins. We have great fun seeing who can spot the biggest, the smallest or ‘ugliest’ pumpkin before warming up with a nice hot chocolate!
6. Decorations- The first thing I think of when I hear the word ‘Autumn’ is Halloween and the changing colours. Why not get the kids involved with decorating the house? Make your own garlands to make your home look super spooky!
You can find an array of ideas here! https://www.twinkl.co.uk/search
7. Disco time!- Don’t put all that hard work of making your own decorations to waste! Make your own ‘home disco’. It’s the perfect excuse to get family and friends together and the kids will love it!
8. Harvest festival- With all this celebrating and treats it’s easy to forget how lucky we are with what we have. Contributing to a local food bank or towards a harvest collection reminds our kids how to empathise and help others in need. Maybe you’d like to visit your local church for a harvest service or maybe just donate something to your local food bank. It all helps!
9. Go camping!- Camping in the autumn has a completely different feel to it as opposed to the summer. It’s the perfect time for family bonding, drinking hot cocoa by an open fire and toasting marshmallows.
10. Conker collecting: Need i even say that this is a given in many households as soon as the Autumn sets in?!? My LO adores watching them fall and breaking open their familiar green spiky shell! Conkers are great to decorate, to paint with or to create your own ‘homemade bowling alley’. (They’re good for keeping spiders away too!)
Thanks for reading and have a fab time making memories with you and yours!
AutisMum 