Making the Most Out of Apple Picking

Fall is here! Crisp temperatures, apples and pumpkins, hayrides, corn mazes and more! After a fall-filled day of fun, cuddle up with some good books! We're Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger Use this book to lead a leaf hike with your branch! In the book, three friends hunt for leaves as they travel over a mountain and through the forest. This book will help get young hikers eager to see what they can collect on trail. You may want to start your hike by reading the book and then set off to see what your trail has to offer. Look What I Did with a Leaf by Morteza E. Sohi Interested in leading a hike that ends with a craft? Consider Look What I Did with a Leaf. This book gives detailed instructions on how to craft with leaves. Author Morteza Sohi includes a field guide as well as artistic theory to help young crafters truly understand nature. Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro Do your kids ever ask about why leaves change color? Use this book to help answer their questions! Scientific topics such as photosynthesis are explored, and directions for creating beautiful leaf rubbings are also included. After reading about the leaf-changing process with this story, head out to see the fall foliage in person. Due to some of the scientific language in the book, it would best be suited for Kindergarten and up. Hike it Baby now has a Goodreads Group! Join today and add books to our bookshelf! Looking for more member reviews? Search our blog for other Book Review posts!  Submit your review here for a chance to be included in an upcoming blog post! 

Fall is a welcome respite from the heat of summer. The colorful leaves and the crisp air give fall a beauty unlike any other season. With fall comes the opportunity for so many fun family activities outside! Choose a few to do with your family. You can even incorporate these activities into your HiB30 Challenge in September! Apple Picking The whole family will have fun picking apples together. And you just can’t beat the taste of a freshly picked apple! If you don’t already know of a place to do it, search for pick-your-own farms in your area. Corn Maze Take the kids out to a corn maze for a day. It’ll be a fun challenge for the whole family! Pumpkin Patch Go to a pumpkin patch and pick out some pumpkins to take home and decorate. The kids will love getting to pick their perfect pumpkin. You can carve them, use craft supplies to decorate them, or paint them. Have fun with it! Hayride Sitting on hay bales, being pulled by a tractor. For many kids, there’s nothing more awesome than this! They’ll love this experience and it will become a very special memory for them. Visit a Farm Find a local farm that puts on a fall festival. They usually offer many fun activities and the whole family will have a great time seeing animals and participating in the festivities. Leaf Play Spend an afternoon raking leaves with the family. You can even get a child-sized rake to get the kids involved. Rake all the leaves into a pile & let the kids have fun jumping in it. Bonfire Spend an evening around the fire with your family. Tell stories. Make smores. Have some hot cider or hot cocoa. Sing songs. It will be a fun night for everyone! Hike! Of course hiking had to go on this list! Fall is the perfect time for hiking. Hiking is the best way to see the beauty of fall. And with the cooler temperatures you might find that you can hike further as well. Get outside and enjoy these fun fall activities! Use them to meet your goals in the HiB30 Challenge this September. Explore new places and have some new experiences with your children. These could even become yearly traditions that the whole family looks forward to each fall! Photo Credits: Walter Payton Edwards Bronwyn Blodgett lives with her husband, Steve, and 2 sons, Dominic and Graham, in Knoxville, TN. She writes about family, homemaking, and exploring the outdoors at Evergreen Horizon.