Fall has always been a special time of year for me. The change of season seems to bring with it a feeling of magic. This magic starts with a new school year and the beginning of the holiday hustle and bustle. To help celebrate this enchanting time of year, why not host an exciting fall themed play date?
Of course, play dates will appear differently depending on the age of the participants but can be modified for all ages. Because, after all, who doesn’t like having fun and playing?
Fall seems to begin with the falling of leaves, so why not simply host a leaf themed play date? Autumn is a great time for young’uns to experience their senses and the changing world around them. Begin your play date by either meeting up at Ernie Miller Nature Center to stroll on the trails or taking a walk around your own neighborhood. Let the children feel the bark of the trees and collect pretty colored leaves to make a leaf wreath when you return home.
To make a leaf wreath, simply glue leaves onto construction paper wreath cut-outs, let dry and hang up to enjoy! Sensory activities are also great and could include ripping or smashing dried leaves or playing in a premade bin of dried leaf bits with scoops and cups. Raking up and jumping into leaf piles is also a must! Then let the children decorate leaf-shaped sugar cookies for a fun leaf themed snack.
Moving deeper into autumn, I think of pumpkins. Pumpkins before Halloween, mind you. There are so many fun things to do with pumpkins, including carving them into jack-o’-lanterns as Halloween draws nearer. As for a play date, Laura Loeffert, Gardner mother of one (soon to be two!), hosted a “Paint Your Own Pumpkin Play Date” last fall at Brougham Park in Olathe. “For the pumpkin painting I had everyone bring a pumpkin of whatever size they wanted. I provided acrylic paint, paint brushes, cups, water, paper towels and wipes. Basically, the kiddos came, chose some paints and painted their pumpkins with the guidance of a parent. While the pumpkins dried, we played on the playground,” Loeffert says. She also adds that it was a “very cheap play date and lots of fun!” You could even use masking tape to make a design for the children to peel off after they’re done painting.
One neat science experiment I saw on www.Pinterest.com (where else?) is to cut off the top of a pumpkin and fill the inside with dirt to watch the pumpkin seeds grow within the original pumpkin. A quick and easy pumpkin snack is Pumpkin Fluff, made from one tub of Cool Whip, one package of instant vanilla pudding and one can of pumpkin. Mix ingredients together, chill for two hours and serve with graham crackers, pretzels or apple slices.
The cooler nights of fall remind me of my days of cheerleading for the high school football team, so here are some ideas for a football themed play date. For the younger crowd, simply meet at a green space to play with some footballs. Teach the youngsters how to throw, kick and punt the football and let them have fun! Then come back inside for a football lacing craft. Cut out two medium sized footballs from some brown construction paper and punch spaced holes around the edges. Then have the children lace the pieces together using yarn. Once they’ve completed a few lacings, add crumpled newspaper or cotton balls to the inside of the football. Many of these steps could be done ahead of time depending on the age and abilities of the children involved. A tip I have used with my 3-year-old when threading or lacing yarn is to wrap a twist tie to the end to make it easier to push through the holes. After the craft, a fun snack idea is juice boxes covered in brown construction paper with white laces drawn on them. For the older kids, you may want to host a backyard flag football game followed by a pizza party with the pepperoni in the shape of a football in the center.
There are many fun fall themed ideas out there for whatever you may be interested in—and there’s always the tried-and-true hot dog roast followed by s’mores!
Stephanie Loux is active in local mom’s groups and enjoys being outside with her little monkeys. Originally from Iowa, she now resides in Olathe with her husband, Mike, and children, Layla, 3, and Mason,1.