Autumn is my favorite season.
This is a wonderful and unique time for lessons in nature and life… It is renowned for its vibrant and breathtaking foliage as leaves change color, creating picturesque landscapes of red, orange, and yellow hues. Ripe crops are ready to be harvested by humans and animals. All prudent creatures gather supplies for the winter, because it is a time of preparation for the long winter months.
The biblical saying that you will reap what you sow takes on a new dimension.
And most importantly… lessons that nature teaches us during this season aren’t just for homeschoolers!
These are lessons for the whole family, just take advantage of them!
Harvest and life cycles
Our garden was full of life: apples, blackberries, beans, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and my favorite kale. Thanks to persistent work under Dad’s leadership, we were able to collect and enjoy fresh vegetables. Can you believe my kids ate kale??? Never before has store-bought kale been so popular among them. You know, it was more like: oh no, mom is putting grass in her soup again…. But with home grown – they actually helped collect it themselves.
The lessons just came to us. The apple tree was an ideal subject for studying the life cycle: from buds to flowers, pollination to delicious fruit. The climax came in autumn, when the harvested apples were used as a product for apple and blackberry crumble and apple sauce. The crumble was delicious and the sauce is sitting on the shelf waiting for winter.
But apple crumble does not have to be the last stage of the apple’s life. Have you ever tried to plant an apple tree from a seed? Because my boys did! They found instructions in the book and according to them, they removed the seeds from the apple, put them in a bag with a damp paper towel, and put the whole thing in the fridge for a few weeks. After this time, the seeds cracked and they planted them in a pot where they grew and strengthened for almost a year. They finally planted it in the ground and now a mini tree is growing, although it has no fruit yet. Maybe sometime next fall.
We did the same with lemon and avocado! Lemon grows at home, although unfortunately it does not bear fruit and the avocado dried up after being moved to the garden… Experimenting is a building block of science.
We planted beans for the first time this year. I didn’t expect them to grow so nicely. We called them magical because its colors were so beautiful: purple and black. It was a pity to use them up, but science requires sacrifices, so the magic beans went under the knife and served as an exhibit for our lesson about seeds.
So tiny, so inconspicuous and so clever – inside them, they already have everything they need to grow new plants. Just like a lunch box. Well, isn’t that magic? (No, that’s science….)
If you are now thinking: I must have a garden to have apples or beans, then I would like to convince you that you do not need a garden for lessons about seasonal harvests. You need a good plan and a little bit of research.
Try to look for farms in your area that offer pick your own fruits or veggies. There is plenty of them where we live. When we didn’t have our own apples in the garden, visiting a local orchard with apples, pears, plums and raspberries was a regular item on our autumn schedule.
Another option are farmers markets – you can find delicious and locally produced delicacies there!
And of course, a simple trip to the supermarket with the intention of choosing seasonal and, as much as possible, local fruit can also become an interesting lesson not only about harvesting, but also about topics such as: where do some products come from, what needs to be done to them to survive this trip (picking green and splashing with pesticides?) and why is supermarket food cheaper than local food?
And now an encouragement for those who are more brave and thirsty of adventures, because I know you are here! You can have your own garden even in a very small space – even on the kitchen windowsill! Herbs such as basil, chive, or parsley can grow at home in pots! And tomatoes don’t need that much space, but making a family salad with your own tomatoes and chive is… priceless.
Feeling Artsy?
Each season is beautiful and has something unique about it. But autumn…?
It is magical! With all its colors, morning mists and moods of changing weather. From the sun gilding the leaves of the trees to the rustling rain and howling wind. Nature is the best artist and we can draw from its resources.
Colorful leaves are perfect for drying and using to make various pictures, decorate jars or imprint in clay. Older children will love making wreaths or flowers from leaves.
Here’s a simple guide on how to dry autumn leaves:
Materials Needed:
- Freshly fallen autumn leaves
- Heavy books
- Wax paper (optional)
- Mod Podge or clear glue (optional, for preserving)
Instructions:
- Select Healthy Leaves: Choose leaves that are not damaged or overly dry. Freshly fallen leaves work best for preservation.
- Pressing: You can press the leaves between the pages of a heavy book. Place the leaves between sheets of wax paper to prevent them from sticking to the pages.
- Check for Dryness: After a few days, check the leaves for dryness. They should feel crisp and brittle when gently touched.
- Preservation (Optional): If you want to preserve the color and shape of the leaves, you can apply a thin coat of Mod Podge or clear glue to both sides of the leaves. This helps to protect them from crumbling and fading over time.
- Use in Crafts or Decor!
Conkers are useful for making little people. We used to do catechism lessons with children and during one of them we made bracelets for praying the rosary. 10 conkers thread through a string. Simple but useful craft.
Compost, soil, nutrients
One autumn walk is enough to notice how nature wastes nothing. In spring and summer, leaves helped provide food for trees, bushes and all kinds of plants using solar energy. Now in autumn, as the temperature drops, the leaves fall from the trees, but this is not their sad end. It turns into soil from which plants will draw vitamins and all necessary nutrients through their roots.
Recycling in a new dimension.
But how does this happen? Pay attention to the abundance of mushrooms in autumn – they help the decomposition processes of living matter. But they are not the only ones. Just look under the logs of a tree – worms, worms and more worms – they all help to process the matter.
Maybe you should end your walk with a visit to the library, looking for books on the decomposition of matter. Later at home you can read them while drinking hot chocolate, snuggled on sofa with a cozy blanket, preferably by the fireplace. Now we know why Dad put dry leaves on vegetable patches and why the compost bin is always full of worms.
Since we’re talking about compost, why not try a mini experiment to see how the compost work.
You will need:
Jar
Dry leaves
Some leftover vegetables
Water
Cloth to cover the jar (and possibly a rubber band)
Now, put some soil in a jar then add dry leaves, vegetable leftovers, and top up with extra soil again. Next you need to wet all this with water (the mixture in the jar should be damp, but not soaking). Leave it covered (not airtight) for a few weeks. Magic will happen for your children to observe.
You can make various observations here: what is happening in the jar or if the weight is changing. You can even make two jars and keep one cold and the other warm. Or add some plastic – what will happen to it? I hope you’ll all have fun.
And if you want to go even further – making your own compost is not only an eco-friendly practice but also a simple and effective way to reduce waste while enriching your garden soil. So why not to get your hands dirty!
How to Get Started:
- Choose a Composting Bin: You can use a dedicated composting bin, or create a compost pile in your backyard. Use a small container under your kitchen counter for collecting kitchen scraps before transferring them to a larger bin outside. Children are perfectly capable of doing this chore even if they moan…
- Balance Green and Brown Materials: Green materials (nitrogen-rich) include kitchen scraps like fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, and fresh weeds. Brown materials (carbon-rich) include dry leaves, straw, branches. Aim for a good balance between these two types for efficient composting.
- Turn the Compost: Every few weeks, turn your compost with a pitchfork or shovel. Turning helps aerate the compost, speeding up the decomposition process.
- Be Patient: Composting takes time. Depending on the size of your compost pile and the environmental conditions, it may take a few weeks to several months for your compost to be ready. Patience is key.
Autumn… beautiful autumn invites us all outside – let’s air our sorrows, reduce our stress, get healthier and happier. Overall, the autumn season offers a harmonious blend of natural beauty, pleasant weather, and a sense of warmth and coziness, making it a favorite time of the year for many.
Let’s take advantage of its myriad of benefits and delights.
