Autumn is here!

Autumn has finally arrived. And not only because September 21st has passed. Most people think of autumn as cold weather and the lead up into the dark, cold, stay-indoors winter season. But for your children, it can be a world of wonder and amazement!

The changing colours of the leaves are a chance to teach kids about the seasons. Making a big pile of leaves and jumping in them, or gathering leaves and throwing them up in the air and dancing under them are just two great ways to enjoy the fall season! You can also take some leaves home for a cool art project! Here are just a few:

• Gather some leaves of different shapes and sizes. Take them home and put the leaf between two pieces of paper (make sure they are dry first). With a crayon or pencil crayon, rub the color over the page where the leaf is. This will make a leaf imprint on your page.
• Draw or print out the trunk of a tree with a few branches. With some finger paints, or some real leaves, put leaves on the tree. This can be a really big messy project, or a simply clean one. Use your imagination. Children's hands are the perfect size to create leaves for the tree branches.

Autumn is also the time that families start thinking about Halloween costumes. Luckily, if you purchase your costume from a mainstream store, they are all on sale by now. Costumes come out in early September, and go on sale at least 25% a few weeks after that. You should not have to pay full price for a Halloween costume ever!

Pumpkin patches are the biggest thing since sliced bread when it comes to Autumn, especially in October. There are three main pumpkin patches that I've heard good things about in and around the lower mainland. Richmond's Country Farms, Apple Barn in Abbotsford, and Alder Acres in Langley. All of the pumpkin farms have pretty much the same thing. Hay ride, pumpkins, a field, petting zoo, etc. Decide where you want to go, and thoroughly enjoy it! I recommend to wear rubber boots and old jeans. It is not necessary to wear a muddy buddy, but if you have rain pants, that might be useful! Bring a garbage bag to line the bottom of your trunk, or a crate/basket for the pumpkins to go into. Also, remember to bring your camera, it is the perfect place to get that once a year photo surrounded by pumpkins!

Teaching your kids the importance of being grateful, and giving thanks around Thanksgiving is an important lesson they can learn early. "We are not raising Children, we are raising adults" Teaching your kids the fundamentals of being an adult, like giving, being thankful, being respectful, responsible, and polite are important foundations of being a positive society member. Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to do that. So, let me start with "Thank you for everyone who has read my blog, made a comment, or has passed the website onto their friends. I hope to make this a really useful tool for families".

There are a lot of great things about autumn. Make some warm soup, snuggle under some blankets, have a family movie night (The Nightmare Before Christmas for older kids), or go examine the wonder of the season! Remember that autumn is not only the lead up to winter, it has it's own magic too.

Enjoy!

ps. My tip: start buying Christmas gifts now!! Many many things will be on sale this month and they will not go on sale again closer to Christmas. I recommend starting early, just remember what you've bought so that you don't end up with a million presents for one child!