Autumn is in the air!

I really enjoy the more relaxed pace of summer, but I LOVE fall. I relish the cooler temps, pumpkin everything, and comfy sweaters! Fall is a great time to spend time outdoors exploring the changes in the season and then learning about these changes with some great books.

To make our autumn even better, I have rounded up the perfect pairings for autumn. Here are 10 activities we are planning and books we will be reading too. I had so much fun discovering some new books and revisiting some favorites as this list came together. Hope you find something fun for you and your family too!

Perfect Pairings: 10 Awesome Autumn Activities and 30 Books to Match

1. Make a new or a favorite fall recipe

We love to bake, and I LOVE pumpkin, so this season is definitely a favorite for me! Our Raddish kids kit included an awesome recipe for Apple Cider Donuts which we plan on making one Sunday afternoon. (Check out why we love Raddish Kids HERE) We will also make plenty of pumpkin bread (we love this pan– it adds fun and whimsy to our pumpkin loaves.) 

Here are some recipes to try with your family:

1. Apple Pie Monkey Bread – What a fun combo dessert to make. Check it out here
2. Pumpkin bread – We like this mix if you don’t want to make one from scratch. Our favorite made from scratch recipe comes from Johnnie Gabriel’s Cooking in the South.
3. Pumpkin cookies – We love the simplicity of these cookies  which we make with peanut butter.
4. Or any of these fall desserts on Pure Wow 

While your cookies, breads, or donuts bake, why not read a book. Here are some of our favorites about using the bounty of the season in the kitchen: 

(each book is linked for you so you can easily click on the book cover to read more about it) 

2. Take a fall picnic to notice and enjoy the changes in the season.

Now that the temperatures are cooler, sitting outside to enjoy lunch seems much more appealing.

Pack your favorite portable lunch (maybe even include some goodies you made from the recipes above) and grab a blanket to enjoy lunch outside.

As you enjoy your lunch, notice the changes in the trees, how any animals might be behaving (i.e. squirrels collecting acorns or birds flitting about or even flying south), or even how people are dressing differently as the temperatures get cooler.

During your lunch or to get your child excited about a fall picnic, check out these great reads:

(each book is linked for you so you can easily click on the book cover to read more about it)

3. Go Apple Picking

We are fortunate to live fairly close to the mountains and several apple orchards. I loved picking apples with my family as a child and I am happy to share the experience with my kids. My kids love to eat apples, so this is a great way to help them understand where those apples come from.

If you don’t have access to an apple orchard, you can always take your child to the grocery store and let them choose several different varieties of apples and have a taste test to see which variety they like best.

Here are some of our family favorites:

(each book is linked for you so you can easily click on the book cover to read more about it)

4. Buy a Gourd at the Farmers Market

We love to visit local farmers markets when we can. We often see new fruits and vegetables that we may not see or notice during our regular grocery shopping trips. We are beginning to see pumpkins and gourds fill the tables and my kids love to look at all of the interesting shapes and sizes.

If your children want to know more about the life cycle of pumpkins and gourds, check out the first two books here: The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons and Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell.

If you are on the lookout for a fiction book similar to the Ugly Duckling, check out the charming book The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz.

(each book is linked for you so you can easily click on the book cover to read more about it)

5. Visit a pumpkin patch

This is our favorite fall activity! Searching the rows and rows of pumpkins; looking for our perfect one.

Here are some great books to go along with the hunt:

6. Rake a pile of leaves

While raking leaves is not my favorite thing to do, my kids love it (probably because it’s not a chore they are assigned to do).

Here are some great leaf books to inspire your kids to notice and appreciate the falling leaves (or maybe even rake some for you):

(each book is linked for you so you can easily click on the book cover to read more about it)

7. Collect Leaves and/or Pinecones

Collecting leaves and pinecones can be great to encourage your child’s observations and curiosity about the environment. Leaf and seed collections can be great for so many things.

Some simple ways to use your fall collection:

• Recognize and sort by different attributes.
• Preserve beautiful leaves. Visit redtedart.com for different ways to do this. 
• Leaf collections are also great for art projects. Here are some awesome ideas: https://www.redtedart.com/autumn-crafts-for-kids/
• Check out these adorable pinecone and acorn owls: https://www.broogly.com/project/pine-cone-owl

Here are some of our favorite leaf-themed books: 

(each book is linked for you so you can easily click on the book cover to read more about it)

8. Carve a Jack- o’-lantern

This is a favorite Halloween activity for many kids. There are so many fun kits to help you carve something special and maybe even something spooky.  (Having the right tools make this task much easier!) 

If you don’t want to carve a pumpkin, we have enjoyed sticker kits before, like this one.

Here are some great books to go along with your carving:

(each book is linked for you so you can easily click on the book cover to read more about it)

9. Camp out

I loved camping with my family as a kid. Growing up we lived fairly close to national forests and camping sites. Sometimes we would camp just our family and other times we would camp with several other families. My parents were even brave enough one fall to take a bunch of my friends camping one weekend when I was in high school. No matter who was there, we always had a blast sleeping in our tents and spending more time outside.

While my husband isn’t really into camping, he is entertaining the idea about camping in our backyard. To get us ready, I checked out this essential list from Pure Wow. One weekend, when the weather is nice, we plan to have a little campout complete with sleeping bags, campfire treats, and a few good books.

Check out these fun camping reads:

(each book is linked for you so you can easily click on the book cover to read more about it)

10. Start a gratitude journal

You may already know that we share Ta-da’s every night (at bedtime, the kids share at least one thing that they are grateful for and we respond with “Ta-da!”). I am also a big believer that it is important for us to write down what we are grateful for. I try to write down 10 things that I am grateful for every day. While I am not always consistent, I am more thoughtful throughout the day and I look for things to be grateful for. Looking at life with a lens of gratitude is something I want to instill in my kids. There are always multiple ways to look at things, so I try to choose to look with a lens of gratitude.

This fall, we are going to start a gratitude journal with the kids. My daughter, who is 8, will write her own and my son, who is 5 can draw or dictate his. I let them pick out their journals to get them even more excited about sharing their thankfulness! I will let them set their goal of how much they record and how often. I can’t wait to see what they are grateful for!

Here are a few awesome books to help your child think about gratitude:

(each book is linked for you so you can easily click on the book cover to read more about it)

Additional Fun Fall Ideas

If you want some additional fall ideas, I found this fun list  and these cute and easy art ideas.

I also love the idea of a Photo List for fall. There are many examples of Fall Photo Ideas on Pinterest or you can grab the one we will be using via the form below.

My kids love to take pictures so this could turn into a fun fall scrapbook or book for them to create. Now, I’m thinking about all of the writing and reading that could come from this… so many fun ideas!

Happy Fall and Happy Reading!