Creative Ways to Have Fun, Fresh Air and Quality Time With Your Kids This Fall

Fall Family Fun

Now that fall is here, cooler late afternoons and evenings have already arrived in many areas of the U.S. What an ideal time it is to get outside with your family and kids of all ages. Fresh air is good for you, so is quality time together, fun, and exercise, right? There's so much you can do: jump in the leaves, grow cool season vegetables and much more. So what are you waiting for -- get outside and enjoy the crisp fall fresh air.

iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

On September 24, 2011, kids and families are invited to participate in the Nickelodeon 8th Annual Worldwide Day of Play to turn off the TV and play outside. Clorox 2® is a sponsor of this Nickelodeon initiative to get moms, dads and children to partake of an  overall healthier lifestyle that includes exercise and fresh air. 

You don't have to play football or other fall sports to enjoy time as a family during this time of year. Here are some light-hearted ways for parents to spend time outside with your kids for some Fall Family Fun.

Jump in a Pile of Leaves

For this fun activity, all you have to do is take turns raking together a huge pile of leaves in your yard.  Then, take turns jumping into the colorful stack. You can also have a leave fight, which is the same idea as a fight with water balloons in summer except that you throw piles of leaves at each other.

Take a Bike Ride Nature Tour

On the weekend or during daylight hours this is a good one for anyone that can ride a bicycle or tricycle. Everyone get your helmets on, get set, and cycle around the neighborhood. Change off naming something natural to look for that you have in your neighborhood but that you might have to do a little searching for. For example, be the first one to find a tree with red leaves, the first one to see a squirrel, the first one to gather five acorns, etc.

Alphabet Photographer

This is another activity perfect for enjoying fall outdoors. Get the kids to go on a photo safari with mom and/or dad looking for things to take pictures of natural and man-made objects in the shapes of different letters of the alphabet. A round stone could represent an "O," while a tree that has two branches coming out of the trunk might qualify for the letter "Y," and you might find a crack in the sidewalk that looks like an "N." You really have to keep your eyes open to find things that look like each letter and it's fun to make a scrapbook out of all the "letters" that you find to photograph.

Plant a Fall Garden

If you are lucky enough to live in a climate where the weather is now perfect to grow some cool weather vegetables, herbs, and flowers, get the shovels out and start turning the soil. Then, go to your local nursery or hardware store to buy some inexpensive seeds or pony packs of plans. Some fun things to cultivate together with your kids include produce such as lettuce, carrots, and some easy to grow herbs like mint and basil. It's fun caring for the garden as it grows and kids often are more amendable to eating what they have grown in their home plot themselves!

Hopefully these simple ideas that are inexpensive and don't require much special equipment inspire you. Fall is fun and meant to be enjoyed. So, I encourage all this blog's readers to take the Clorox2 Play 2Day Pledge at http://clorox2play2day.com and play outside with your kids!
 

FTC Disclosure:  I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox2® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

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