A Fabulous Fall
For everything there is a season and for every season there are fun things to do with the family in Kansas City. Check out this list of great activities to consider during this beautiful fall weather that will be gone before we know it!
1. Go apple picking. There are a number of local orchards to visit. To find one near you, try the following websites: www.pickyourown.org, www.applejournal.com, www.allaboutapples.com, and www.kansascityattractions.com/Orchards.html.
For the last few years, our family has enjoyed visiting Fieldstone Farms (785.665.7643) in Overbrook, KS, about an hour’s drive from the Metro area. We make a day of it, packing a picnic. The owners, Ken and Nancy Krause, are friendly and helpful; they want families to enjoy their day in the orchard.
Wherever you go, make sure to call ahead to inquire about the picking conditions. Most orchards’ seasons begin in August and run through October or November.
2. Consider a fall camping trip. We had a wonderful time camping in the Ozarks at the end of last summer. Since we went the weekend after Labor Day, we avoided crowds, but still enjoyed all the conditions of summer. Check out your favorite campsite now that the season is slowing down and enjoy the fall colors!
3. Visit Deanna Rose Farmstead before they close for the season. Go mining or fishing, take a pony ride, and let the kids race the tractor trikes – enjoy one last pioneer fling while the warm weather holds. They’ll close for the season October 31st. (913.897.2360)
4. Create a list of movies to watch together as a family as the days shorten. Brainstorm together and then keep the list handy throughout fall and winter as a quick reference. Revisit Disney classics such as Old Yeller, Rascal, Gus, and Kidnapped. You will be amazed that old movies still have their appeal generations later. My boys, major Star Wars fans, enjoyed 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, despite its primitive special effects.
Your local library is a great place to get these movies – usually for free! You can even request a movie online and have it sent to your local branch for pickup. For ideas, consider checking out a family-friendly movie website, such as www.dove.org or www.familystyle.com.
5. Collect colorful leaves and create art. Spend time on a nature walk collecting leaves. Once home, position leaves decoratively on a large piece of clear contact paper. Cover with a piece of colorful construction paper; then trim the edges. Enjoy using these as placemats throughout the fall or hang on the wall as art.
6. Consider the birds and create homemade bird feeders.
You will need:
Large unsalted pretzels
Strong string
Peanut butter
Plastic knife
Bowl of birdseed
Attach a 2 ft. length of string to each pretzel. Using a plastic knife, allow child to coat it with peanut butter. Next have child dip pretzel into bowl of birdseed until all the peanut butter is covered with seed. Hang from a tree in your yard and watch the birds flock to the snack you’ve made for them.
7. Thank your neighbors. Create gift packages for the neighbors. Include those you haven’t met before; what a great way to demonstrate friendship making to your children. Invite the whole family to bake cookies, draw pictures, or perhaps put together a caramel apple kit, complete with apples you picked yourselves. Packaging can be simple – a brown paper sack tied with a fall-colored ribbon. Be sure to attach a note telling your neighbors how thankful you are for them.
8. Make apple crowns together. Our family has fond memories of sitting outside in the autumn sun, near the California apple orchard that sold these. They are so simple to make, you’ll wonder why you haven’t had one sooner. Kids can easily help you prepare them. Depending on the size of the apples, you may want to share them. An apple slicer/corer easily cuts eight slices and cores them at the same time.
Apple Crowns
Apples
Caramel sauce or caramel dip, warmed
Whipped cream
Chopped Nuts
Maraschino cherries
Carefully wash and dry apples. Cut apples with apple slicer/corer. Remove core and discard. Place apple on a dish. Pour caramel sauce over the top. Top with whipped cream, nuts and cherry. Enjoy!
9. Welcome the change of season (and the weather it brings) with open arms. Purchase a membership to Science City, Wonderscope, or the Kansas City Children’s Museum. With that safely in your wallet, you are ready for family adventures, no matter what the weather.
10. Create a list of gifts to make for the holidays and begin planning and crafting. Children of all ages enjoy creating something to bless someone else. Consider customized photo calendars, decorated picture frames, or a homemade baking mix. Visit your library or craft store to gather ideas.
11. Bake an apple pie together. Create wonderful memories making apple pies with your family. Kids can help mix the crust, pat it in the pan, mix the filling as well as work the topping together. Make several at once, bake one, and freeze the rest. Simply wrap securely in aluminum foil and place in a Ziploc bag. Here’s one great recipe to try:
Gramma John’s Blue Ribbon Apple Pie
1 c. flour
½ c. butter or margarine, cut into chunks
½ t. salt
1-2 T. cold water
6 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup sugar
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. cinnamon
dash nutmeg
½ c. flour
2 T. butter or margarine
¼ c. brown sugar
Preheat oven to 375°. In medium bowl, combine flour, ½ c. butter and salt with a pastry blender, or two knives held together. Kids can do this with a fork if that is easier. Work these ingredients together until they form pea-sized crumbs. Quickly stir in cold water and combine until a dough forms. Pat into a pie plate, pushing the dough thin and up the sides.
In large bowl, combine apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into pie crust.
In small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and 2 T. butter until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over apple filling. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until filling bubbles and topping is browned. If topping and crust brown too quickly, cover with aluminum foil until baking is complete. Allow to cool about an hour. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
(If baking a frozen pie, bake for 15 minutes at 425°, then reduce heat to 375° and bake for an additional 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping nicely browned.)
12. Settle down with a good book to read aloud. Wonderful selections include any of the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, or The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. For more book suggestions as well as information on the benefits of reading aloud, check out the following: The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson, and Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt.
Jessica Fisher and her husband live in Olathe with their four young boys.