24 Things to do Outdoors in Autumn
By: 98five
There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes! And even though the temperature may be dropping, we’re still able to get outdoors and play! Get dressed in your warm coat and beanie, grab your family and friends and get outside with these 24 fun activities for wet and windy weather.
1. Collect fallen leaves & pieces of bark with interesting textures. Place under paper & rub using coloured crayons to create a picture.
2. Pick flowers from your garden & press between the pages of a heavy book. Once dried, you can use the pressed flowers in your nature craft.
3. Build a mini cairn by collecting flat or smooth rocks, & stack them one on top of the other. How high can you go?
4. Break out the craft glue & cardboard to design & create a beautiful nature collage with found items.
5. Go on an alphabetical nature walk. Can you find objects with names that start with each letter of the alphabet?
6. Make a simple crown to fit your head with paper or card and sticky tape. Stick flowers and leaves upon it and wear your regal creation!
7. Dip natural elements into paint and place on paper to create nature prints. What interesting patterns can you create?
8. Go on a listening nature walk. How many different sounds can you hear? The wind, leaves in the trees, birds singing?
9. Create a sensory basket; pine cones, feathers, shells, rocks & gumnuts for loose parts play.
10. Create a family of stick people. Choose some sturdy sticks, & use scraps of fabric & wool, craft glue & pens to adorn & decorate them.
11. Play in the rain & let it fall on your face. How does it feel? Is it cold? How big are the rain drops, & how fast (or slow) is it falling?
12. Use flowers, garden prunings, sand, mud and water to create magic fairy potions.
13. Make a rain gauge from a small glass jar. Mark cm measurements with permanent marker on the outside. Place it outdoors in the rain and wait!
14. Build a bug hotel from a cardboard box and collected natural materials.
15. Wet weather brings out the worms! Does your garden have these wriggly friends in them?
16. Try nature weaving. Create a stick frame, tie string across it, and weave leaves, sticks, feathers and other nature elements to create beautiful art.
17. It’s so much fun to jump in puddles – pull on your boots (or go barefoot!) and get splashing!
18. Go on a nature photo safari. Pick a subject matter and snap as many pics as you can.
19. Use a tarp to build a rainproof fort; you’ll soon find out how good a builder you are!
20. Build a nature tepee: construct a frame from long garden stakes, plant runner beans or sweet peas around the base and watch your tepee grow!
21. Go beach-combing. Wild and windy weather washes up some wonderful treasures.
22. Collect fallen leaves and create a picture with craft glue and paper. You could make leaf people or creatures.
23. If the weather is just too wild and woolly to get outside, indulge in some indoor rock painting!
24. Visit your closest national park or make it a day trip and travel a littler further afield!
Feature images: Photo by Michael Morse on Pexels
Article supplied with thanks to 98five.
Ideas from https://www.natureplaywa.org.au/