Autumn is arguably one of the most beautiful seasons; it inspires the artist within us all. If you want to encourage your children to practice their art skills or even start to dabble in art, now would be a good time to begin! 

The easiest place to start would probably be photography. Take your children/ students for a walk and get them to take photographs of the beautiful scenes they come across. When you get back home, have a chat with them about the pictures they’ve snapped. Ask them about the colours and textures that they have witnessed, ask them how the scenery made them feel, what they liked about it (and what they didn’t like), ask them what their favourite photograph is and talk about the ways the composition favoured the aesthetic of the day. 

Top Photography Tip: The best time to take photos is an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset. These are called the ‘Golden Hours’ because they have the best light. 

Make use of the leaves! 

Leaf collage – On a sunny day, go out for a walk and collect the most colourful leaves you can find. Then, when you get home, stick them on a piece of paper for an autumn-y collage. You could even ‘jazz’ it up with some glitter or colourful paper. 

Leaf printing – An old favourite, leaf printing is what it says on the tin. Collect some really good VEINY leaves from a variety of different trees, paint the most textured side of the leaf and then press the painted side against a nice big piece of paper for a beautiful transfer. You could even use a different colour for each type of leaf to create a colourful flurry of prints on one page. 

At this time of year there are many things that are ‘vilified’ in the name of spookiness. One of the problems that comes with this is that fear can start to surround things that should be acceptable and interesting. A great way of countering this is to EDUCATE. 

For example, look at the skeleton—the frame of the human body. Skeletons are made up of over 200 bones which help us to move and protect our organs. God created the skeleton for an important purpose. Skeletons are not scary! We all have one, and they are AMAZING. 

Other misunderstood victims of this time of year include wolves, bats, spiders, and the humble pumpkin. Use Natural History and Science to make a case for them! 

Speaking of pumpkins. Have you ever made a pumpkin pie? Or pumpkin soup, or pumpkin relish? 

There are so many other delicious fruits and vegetables available at this time of year, too. How about apples? You could delve into how one type of fruit can be the highlight of many recipes. You could make Apple sauce, Apple Pie, Apple Crumble, Apple Cake… you get the idea. 

This is the time of year for heartwarming dishes, and many of them are quite simple to make. It’s a great opportunity to teach baking skills and enjoy time together cooking up delicious dishes. 

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We hope you enjoy these seasonal suggestions. Do you have any autumn activities that you do? Share in the comments 😊