It finally feels like fall in the south! After temps in the 90s and even 100+, those of us in the deep south thought fall would never arrive! The cooler breezes waited until October to blow in, and now we can delight in all the apples, pumpkins, football games, and maybe even a light sweater!
Life is busy and the to-do lists are never ending, but fall is the perfect time of year for relaxing and spending quality time with family. Fall is my favorite season, and it seems everyone has a bucket list of activities these days!
A bucket list is a list of items created with the intent of actually doing the things on the list at some point! Many people have bucket lists of places they hope to visit or goals they want to accomplish in the future.
A fall bucket list for families can be completed every year when fall rolls around, and a family’s bucket list may even grow or change as the years fly by!
Top Ten Fall Bucket List Ideas for Families
Fall Bucket List Idea #1 | Plant fall flowers and decorate the outdoors with pumpkins.
It is unbelievable how many families decorate with creepy décor for Halloween! I’m all about tasteful fall gardening and outdoor décor… planting fall flowers, decorating with pumpkins, hanging the fall garden flags… but scary décor… um… just no! Not to mention, it’s tacky!
This year my children and I planted pansies and snapdragons, and hopefully our fall flowers will last until spring! Last year’s fall pansies lasted well into the spring, but my summer flowers had major issues. I planted vinca twice during the summer, and all the plants died both times. I think my garden soil was possibly diseased, so we dumped all the soil and added new soil to the flower containers before planting our fall flowers. Let’s hope for the best this time around!
I also recently purchased a large orange pumpkin and two white pumpkins from an Amish family when we were on a trip in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. One of my fall flags is still holding its own from last year, and the other one is new! New garden flags are so happy and fun!
Fall Bucket List Idea #2 | Grill out and eat s’mores.
Hot dogs, sausages, and hamburgers are relatively easy menu items for grilling. We like to grill squash or okra, and I know a lot of people grill corn on the cob. Amazingly, a grill is also useful for making s’mores! All you need is graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows, and aluminum foil. Simply build your s’more, wrap it in foil, and let the grill do the rest. Nowadays you can even find square-shaped marshmallows at the grocery store, and they are perfect for grilling s’mores.
Fall Bucket List Idea #3 | Read picture books with fall, pumpkin, and Thanksgiving themes.
Children of all ages and even adults can experience the joys of fall through picture books. Some of our family favorites for fall are Saying Grace: A Prayer of Thanksgiving by Virginia L. Kroll, Mary's First Thanksgiving: An Inspirational Story of Gratefulness by Kathy-jo Wargin, and Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills.
Fall Bucket List Idea #4 | Create fall arts and crafts.
Apple stamping is traditionally a fall craft for kids. Add a picture book about Johnny Appleseed and serve apple muffins and sliced apples as a snack, and you have the perfect fall lesson for children!
Preschoolers and elementary-aged children will love this Turkey on a Stick Thanksgiving Craft, and moms and older children will like creating these Candy Corn Wooden Blocks and Fall Pumpkin Wreaths.
For homeschooling purposes, our family uses the Abeka® Art Workbooks. They are full of colorful and easy crafts for kids, and many of them are seasonal.
Fall Bucket List Idea #5 | Visit an apple orchard and a pumpkin patch for a field trip. / Attend a fall festival.
We visited an apple orchard recently for a homeschool field trip, and it was educational and fun. The owners of the orchard taught about bees and pollination, Johnny Appleseed, and the process of harvesting apples. We were even able to purchase apples and apple pies to take home! We had to drive about an hour-and-a-half, but the trip was worth it.
Pumpkin patches are a dime a dozen, and it’s always fun to go on a hayride, play on the playgrounds, jump in the corn boxes, and go home with a couple new pumpkins!
Even small towns often have fall festivals, and a quick Internet search should pull-up any local events for your area! Our local fall festival includes activities for the children like face painting, a jump station, a playground, and learning opportunities about blacksmithing and making soap. There are also arts and crafts vendors for parents and children to shop.
Fall Bucket List Idea #6 | Bake homemade apples.
Apples are so nutritious, and I enjoy eating an apple with peanut butter; but in the fall, I want a warm treat. Baked apples are so simple and quick!
How to Bake Apples:
Ingredients:
4 Large, Crisp Apples
½ Tablespoon Coconut Oil or 1 Tablespoon of Butter
Cinnamon
Directions:
Peel the apples and slice them into small chunks. Add the oil or melted butter and distribute evenly over the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon as desired. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until the texture of the apple is to your pleasing! Enjoy!
Fall Bucket List Idea #7 | Go on a fall road trip.
A trip to the mountains or even the beach is perfect during the fall season. Driving in the mountains is refreshing, and the colorful leaves are a delight. And the beach… Who wouldn’t appreciate the cooler weather in the fall? Fewer sunburns and less of a crowd! Click here for a free printable checklist for a family road trip!
Fall Bucket List Idea #8 | Soak up the sunshine.
My children love eating breakfast outside. I like it too as it’s less of a mess to clean-up inside! Fall is the best time for outdoor breakfasts because the weather is usually sunny and cool and not scorching hot! Reading books and even enjoying homeschooling outside is nice in the fall too.
Fall Bucket List Idea #9 | Host a pumpkin party.
We enjoyed a pumpkin party with our homeschool group at a local park just the other day, and it was a blast for the children. Everyone supplied their own pumpkins, and the lady who organized the event supplied the décor for the pumpkins. We all brought individually wrapped treats and shared them, and all the kids played on the playground before going home. It was a simple event, but, hey, kids aren’t hard to please when it comes to decorating pumpkins!
Fall Bucket List Idea # 10 | Study fall-themed units.
We are using Focus on Fives from BJU Press® for our K5 homeschool curriculum, and it includes an entire unit with holiday-themed lessons. All the guesswork is taken out of planning fall lessons about Christopher Columbus, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving.
The Internet has so many free learning tools for teachers and homeschoolers, and Education.com is an excellent online resource. The free fall-themed worksheet from Education.com (print below) is a terrific way to practice reading and spelling skills, so be sure to visit their site for more resources and learning fun!
THANKSGIVING WORD SEARCH | PRINT
THANKSGIVING WORD SEARCH ANSWER KEY | PRINT
What are some of your favorite family fall bucket list ideas? Add to the list of top ten ideas in the comments!
