COLUMNIST: JOANNE EVANS

Autumnal Outdoor Fun for Adventurous Kids

Joanne Evans has been running her garden design business and Gardening4Kids (Gardening School) from Aberdeenshire since 2012. She is passionate about teaching children about the joys of gardening and where their food comes from. She is a qualified Forest School leader and can often be found in the local woods teaching children about the natural environment around them. 

In her regular column, Joanne gives simple, seasonal activities which you can do outdoors with your kids.  

As the leaves start to change colour, it is time to enjoy autumn. The weather may be misty and wet at times and the days are getting shorter but there are still plenty of things to do outdoors. 

Autumn is a great time of year to be getting out into the woods or your local park to see the autumn colours and there are great activities you can be doing with your children to keep them surrounded by nature.

Make a Leaf Garland

If you are lucky enough to have a wood, forest or park nearby you can collect leaves and make something fun and colourful. Leaf garlands are simple to make and children can learn about different leaves while practicing fine motor skills in the threading.

What you will need:

1. Big, beautiful leaves
2. Some brightly coloured thread
3. Scissors
4. A thick, blunt needle or twig

What to do:

1. Go outside and collect some beautiful leaves. Take your time enjoying the surroundings and discuss the different types of leaves you see – their colours, shapes and sizes.
2. Bring them back home and set up an area with all the materials in front of your child.
3. Thread your needle (or twig) and knot the end of the thread. Select each leaf and push your needle and thread through each leaf. Once your thread is full of leaves knot the other end.
4. The garland can be made into necklace by tying the ends together or left as it is and used as a garland in your house or garden. 
5. To make a matching bracelet, simply wrap some masking tape around little wrists sticky side up. Kids can then pick up leaves on their travels and stick them onto the bracelet for any instant effect.

Lasagne Bulb Planting

This is a great activity to help children understand how to plan for the next season in the garden to ensure there are early sources of nectar for pollinators and to develop their curiosity about what happens under the soil. 

What you will need:

1. Spring bulbs like daffodils, tulips or crocus
2. A large pot
3. Compost

What to do: 

1. Children simply plant bulbs in layers in a pot, pointy end up, starting with the largest bulb at the bottom - usually tulips - placed on top of a layer of compost.
2. Cover each bulb layer with compost then add the next layer of bulbs and cover with compost until the pot is around 3/4 filled. 
3. You can then plant winter bedding plants on the top so that you have something attractive until the bulbs come through. 

Beach Visit

The beach is not just for summer! You can spend some great days at the beach over the autumn too, especially if the sun shines. An activity to try is stone stacking which will help keep the kids outside for hours! 

Rock or stone stacking has carried spiritual meaning across many cultures for centuries. The act of balancing stones encourages patience and problem solving. It also creates balance and harmony. A stack of rocks is called a cairn. Spiritual writers describe the construction of a cairn as a form of worship, a way to ask for good fortune or an effort to balance energies.

If you are lucky enough to live in the North of Scotland, stick around on the beach until nightfall and you may be able to see the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis.  

Follow Joanne at Gardening4Kids (Gardening School) on Facebook and Instagram.