{"id":2080,"date":"2016-09-02T16:48:19","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T16:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/?p=2080"},"modified":"2017-07-21T01:46:43","modified_gmt":"2017-07-21T01:46:43","slug":"family-lifesaver-fun-fall-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/2016\/09\/02\/family-lifesaver-fun-fall-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Lifesaver: 3 Easy, Fun, Fall Activites"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Lifesavers-Fall-Fun.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2942 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Lifesavers-Fall-Fun.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Lifesavers-Fall-Fun.png 720w, http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Lifesavers-Fall-Fun-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Yay! The fall is here. Okay, maybe not officially, but September means the start of (1) enjoying cooler weather, (2) wearing fabulous boots, and (3) jumping in a big piles of leaves. I&#8217;m extra excited this year because\u00a0my son\u00a0is old enough to enjoy the autumn as a toddler. My daughter\u00a0is still a little young, but she loves watching and learning from her big brother.\u00a0And therein lies the challenge \u00a0for me &#8211; fun fall activities that are engaging enough for Westley\u00a0who is almost 2 and easy enough that I won&#8217;t wear myself out with him and his 5 month old sister, Scarlett.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After a little noodling and Googling, I found 3 go-to fall activities of\u00a0different energy levels that we can do over and that\u00a0met my No Drama For Mama test:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is it cheap? (I have two\u00a0college tuitions to save for these days)<\/li>\n<li>Is it easy to\u00a0clean up? (Do I even need to explain why this is important?)<\/li>\n<li>Will it engage both kids? (I&#8217;m working with 2 different development stages)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>Fall Activity #1: Bubble Blowing<\/h1>\n<h6>Energy Level: What energy? I was up all night with the kids.<\/h6>\n<p>Don&#8217;t pack away those summertime bubbles just yet. Blowing bubbles works the same way in the fall as it does in the summer &#8211; except now you have leaves.\u00a0This activity is perfect on days when you have zero energy. It&#8217;s simply a matter of\u00a0putting jackets on the kids, sitting on the porch or lawn and blowing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Girl-blowing-bubbles.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2075\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Girl-blowing-bubbles.jpg\" alt=\"Girl blowing bubbles\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Girl-blowing-bubbles.jpg 1000w, http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Girl-blowing-bubbles-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Girl-blowing-bubbles-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And what&#8217;s extra nice is you can entertain the older children while taking it easy with the younger ones at the same time. For me, I either place Scarlett in the stroller, or wrap her up in a carrier and wear her while blowing bubbles at Westley. And on good days, Westley will do all of the work and blow the bubbles while I sit back. The only downfall to this activity is dealing with the tears when it&#8217;s time to go inside. (It&#8217;s so sad when Wes starts crying &#8220;Bubbas! Bubbas! &#8221; on the way back in the house.)<br \/>\nNote: If you&#8217;re all out of bubbles or can&#8217;t get ahold of them because it&#8217;s considered a seasonal item, then make your own. Here&#8217;s a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/product\/diy-bubbles-recipe-free-printable\/\">recipe<\/a> for DIY-ing your own bubbles.<\/p>\n<h1>Fall Activity #2:\u00a0Leaf Hunting<\/h1>\n<h6>Energy Level:\u00a0Moderate &#8211; It&#8217;s not any harder than walking.<\/h6>\n<p>Going leaf hunting is not as &#8220;wild&#8221; as it sounds. It&#8217;s simply a matter of getting your little guys and gals to be on the lookout for whatever leaves you choose\u00a0and collecting them in a bag or basket while you walk. This activity has several\u00a0of benefits for you and your munchkins. (1)\u00a0You both are getting exercise by walking around. (2) Your\u00a0little one can learn about colors, size and other attributes. For example, you can teach\u00a0your child to to\u00a0look for the &#8220;yellow leaves&#8221;, the &#8220;big leaves&#8221; or the &#8220;leaves with spots.&#8221; And (3) if you have a younger one, he or she will benefit as well from the fresh air and hearing new vocabulary around the leaf descriptions. And my favorite thing about this activity is (4) it&#8217;s 100% free.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kid-in-the-Leaves-Fall-Activity-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2085\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kid-in-the-Leaves-Fall-Activity-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"kids\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kid-in-the-Leaves-Fall-Activity-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kid-in-the-Leaves-Fall-Activity-1-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kid-in-the-Leaves-Fall-Activity-1-768x512.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kid-in-the-Leaves-Fall-Activity-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>BONUS: You can do some type of craft activity with\u00a0the leaves when you get back home or on another day.\u00a0Check out these fun arts and craft activities with leaves for toddlers:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.123homeschool4me.com\/2013\/08\/36-leaf-crafts-kids-activities-for-fall.html\">36\u00a0Leaf\u00a0Crafts\u00a0Kids\u00a0Activities\u00a0For\u00a0Fall<\/a> from 123homeschoolforme.com<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/teachingmama.org\/8-leaf-activities-for-preschoolers\/\">8 Leaf Activities for Preschoolers<\/a> from TeachingMama.org<\/p>\n<h1>Fall Activity #3:\u00a0Apple Picking<\/h1>\n<h6>Energy Level:\u00a0High&#8230;May require a strong cup of coffee.<\/h6>\n<p>This activity is definitely\u00a0more involved, but it&#8217;s a classic fall to-do. It&#8217;s right up there with hay rides and pumpkin carving. This fall favorite\u00a0does require a bit of forethought and planning. I recommend doing the following the night before:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stock the diaper bag<\/li>\n<li>Prepare\u00a0extra clothes for changes in the weather<\/li>\n<li>Gas up the car<\/li>\n<li>Research your local or not so local\u00a0orchard&#8217;s policies<\/li>\n<li>Charge your camera<\/li>\n<li>Pack a container to collect yummy apples<\/li>\n<li>Get\u00a0a good night&#8217;s sleep (It&#8217;s quite a bit of work picking and packing apples)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kids-Picking-Apples-Fall-Activity.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2077\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kids-Picking-Apples-Fall-Activity.jpg\" alt=\"Kids Picking Apples - Fall Activity\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kids-Picking-Apples-Fall-Activity.jpg 1000w, http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kids-Picking-Apples-Fall-Activity-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Kids-Picking-Apples-Fall-Activity-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a>Your little one will love picking apples and other seasonal fruits and veggies. If you have a younger one, here&#8217;s another chance to expose him or her to new words that you may nor normally use at home. (Unless you have an orchard in your back yard, then you may talk about picking fruits and veggies all the time.) This activity most likely isn&#8217;t free as orchards usually charge you for the fruit and possibly picking, but how awesome is it to enjoy fresh fruit you and you kids picked. And if your little farmers love this activity, it&#8217;s a great one\u00a0to do over and over again &#8212; fresh food all autumn long.<\/p>\n<p>So there you have it. 3 easy and affordable fall activities to do with toddlers. There are plenty of other fun things to do with little ones in the fall. \u00a0So what do you do with two little ones in the fall to have fun? I would love to know. Happy to share ideas!<\/p>\n<h6>*Originally created a similar\u00a0post for NEST Chestnut Hill.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yay! The fall is here. Okay, maybe not officially, but September means the start of (1) enjoying cooler weather, (2) wearing fabulous boots, and (3) jumping in a big piles of leaves. I&#8217;m extra excited this year because\u00a0my son\u00a0is old enough to enjoy the autumn as a toddler. My daughter\u00a0is still a little young, but she loves watching and learning from her big brother.\u00a0And therein<\/p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/2016\/09\/02\/family-lifesaver-fun-fall-activities\/\"> <div class=\"readmorelink\"><div class=\"rmtext\">[ Read More ]<\/div><\/div><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21,123],"tags":[206,203,207,17,208,205],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2080"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2945,"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080\/revisions\/2945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pinkimono.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}