By Katie
I think I can safely say fall is my favourite season.
Of course, I safely say that at the start of every season. But, I really do love living in a part of the world where there are four distinct seasons. I love each and every one of them and would have a hard time moving to a country that doesn’t have the warm rains of spring, the heat of summer, the cool breezes of fall and the snowy wonderland of winter.
But, back to fall. Fall has just started and the temperatures are still warm during the day but oh-so wonderfully cool at night. I have put additional blankets on our beds. I have pulled out warmer pajamas for the littles. I have bought fall mums. I have stacked cords and cords of wood for our fire place. We are all set for the coziness of fall and winter.
This season also brings the start of school. We are planning on homeschooling our littles but they are currently still too young for too much formal education. Atticus is 3.5 years and Vivien is 2 years. Atticus could technically be enrolled in preschool, but I wasn’t going to be too gung-ho with him this year.
Buuuuut then he found my preschool books. And begged to start. BEGGED. So I acquiesced to his request. I have a few of the Kumon early learning books and a couple of dry-erase books from Costco. We don’t do school every day, but most days we do manage pull it out for 10 or 15 minutes. Vivien colours and cuts while I do some tracing/numbers/maze-ing with Atticus. (I just got this colouring book for Vivien to start. I am excited to see if she enjoys it.)
Anyways, all this is to say that since we are planning on homeschooling I have connected with homeschool groups in our area. This is the first year that I am actively participating in some of the activities. One of the programs we were introduced to is the Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area Home and Early Learners program.
Its done in 3 3-week increments. The program connects your kids to nature with different hands-on activities. (It also gives Mamas good ideas to do at home. )
I love this program, and so do the kids. So it’s a win-win. We are sad that today was the last day of this session, especially since we will most likely miss the winter session due to the 2 littlest littles who will be ex-utero by then. I am hoping to be able to participate in the spring session again.
It is so, so good to be outside with my kids for a couple of hours just discovering this incredible creation that God has given us. There is so much to see if you just stop to see it.
One of the cool ideas we did today was to try find matching colours from nature to the paint chips the organizer handed out. The kids were thrilled with every match they found (though one of our colours was green. It was hard for me to be excited after the 1000th green leaf they found). It’s definitely something I want to do at home, or on our walks. I also want to get magnifying glasses for them (great stocking stuffer!!) since its incredible to see the intricate workings of nature. And it’s also so cute to see them walking around with a magnifying glass stuck to their eye!
What’s your favourite season? Have you been out and about in nature this fall?
Three Teas & A Coffee 
Just got back from an exhilarating walk on one of our gorgeous trails. Fall colors are definitely amazing. Thankful you are feeling well enough to still be energetic enough to do these things with your children. Thankful also there is no prekindergarten in alberta. Enjoy the rest of your lovely Ontario fall colors.
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