Fall will be here before you know
and that means it’s time to begin planning for some FREE fall activity ideas. Don’t
you just love the word FREE?! I know I do, so I made a list of some fall
activity fun for you and your kiddos below. Feel FREE to share your own family’s
favorite fall activities in the comments section!
Local
Library Activities
This one is first on my list because
it’s probably my favorite. No matter where you live, I can guarantee that your
local library will host a variety of fall crafty fun for kids.
Search your local library’s website
and look for their events calendar – all libraries have these. Just as an
example, my own local library lists dozens and dozens of wonderful activities
for kids of all ages. Things like a Campfire Sing Along, Pony Roundup, author
readings and much more, are on the list. And the great thing is everything is
FREE!
A
Walk Through the Woods
Even if you live in a large city,
you’ll still likely find a park or two. Take the kiddos for a walk and have
them gather up twigs, leaves, acorns, etc. to use in their very own nature art.
Children can decorate poster board
by gluing their nature finds. To make an even sturdier piece of art, try using
scrap wood. Older children can use hot glue. Younger children can use a good
tacky glue. Get creative and personalize nature plaques with names made with
twigs.
Host
a Kid’s Craft Party
I know when my kiddos were young
they wanted craft-themed birthday parties for every birthday celebration. Well,
you don’t have to wait for birthday time to roll around to host a kid’s craft
party! This idea can be done with just your own family, as a family craft
night, or you can have your children each invite a friend over to join in. Recycled
items make excellent and FREE materials for craft party projects.
Save things like foam packaging (the
kind that come with meat and produce – washed super duper well, of course) or
scrap wood to use as a base. Then gather feathers, sequins, beads, magazine
cutouts, Popsicle sticks and more to use as art elements. Chances are you have
tons of these items already at home. Have the kids glue to their heart’s
content and presto – instant artwork.
Bake
Some Cookies
Fall is a great time to turn on that
oven and do some baking. The smell of baking cookies makes any home smell
heavenly and…well…homey. Gather your baking supplies and let the kiddos go to
town decorating a simple sugar cookie recipe. Most children love rolling sugar
cookie dough ala play clay style into shapes and letters. Enjoying the
delicious cookies of their labor with an ice cold glass of milk is pretty fun
too.
Super Simple Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 ¾ cups flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine butter and sugar together, then add egg
and vanilla, and mix to a creamy consistency.
In a separate bowl, mix dry
ingredients together.
Slowly add creamed butter mixture to
dry ingredients and mix until soft and all flour is incorporated.
Turn out on a lightly floured board.
Have children pull off pieces of dough to create their masterpieces and place
on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for easy removal after baking.
Bake for 7 – 10 minutes, watching
for light browning on edges. Enjoy!
