Autumn Adventures: What are the best (outdoor) activities?
Kite flying
One of the most popular activities in autumn is kite flying. The combination of strong winds, clear skies and the unique scenery that autumn offers provides the perfect conditions for this – provided it’s not raining in torrents.
- Here are some tips for absolute kite flying beginners
Choose the Right Kite: For beginners, a simple box or delta kite is ideal. These kites are easy to handle and fly well in a variety of wind conditions. - Find a Suitable Location: Look for an open area with steady winds. Avoid areas with trees, power lines, or other obstacles that could interfere with your kite.
- Assemble Your Kite Carefully: Follow the instructions provided with your kite to ensure proper assembly. Check that all lines are securely attached.
- Prepare for Takeoff: Hold the kite by the lines, facing into the wind. Let the kite catch the wind and rise above your head.
- Control the Kite: Use your hands to adjust the lines and control the direction of the kite. Experiment with different hand movements to see how they affect the kite’s flight.
- Practice Patience: Kite flying takes practice. Don’t get discouraged if your kite doesn’t fly perfectly right away. Keep trying and you’ll eventually get the hang of it.
- Have Fun: Kite flying is a fun and enjoyable activity. Relax, enjoy the experience, and don’t be afraid to experiment.
Having fun in corn mazes
Corn mazes really are a lot of fun! I remember exploring different corn mazes with my grandparents as a child. At some point we just stopped doing it, probably because I lost interest in it after a certain age and my (grand)parents had no particular interest in discussing it with their pubescent daughter/granddaughter. On the other hand, my grandparents didn’t get any younger either, so it was probably a combination of several factors.
For many years this was no longer an activity I had on my radar, and it wasn’t until my son was about 8 years old that we rediscovered this kind of fun for ourselves. Fortunately, there is a labyrinth very close to us that I found out about through friends and admission has always been free (at least so far). You could usually get something to eat and drink and feed a few animals for a small fee. Most recently there was also a bouncy castle for the children.
But the corn maze itself is already worth the trip. The entrance is still relatively open and the corn is low, but after the first turn you realise immediately that it’s going to be interesting. Once you have turned left – right – right – left and perhaps turned around a few times, you quickly lose your orientation. This is where the fun really begins. With all the corridors that look the same and the many turns in different directions, you try to orientate yourself by the smallest features, you puzzle over which corridors you have already walked through and try to find a system that is only recognisable from a bird’s eye view.
Okay, but what are the benefits?
All in all, a visit to a corn maze offers so much more than just an entertaining afternoon with the family. We all know how important exercise is for physical and mental health, and what could be better than getting outside in the fresh air in autumn? With its many corridors, branches and dead ends, a (corn) maze is a great adventure for children of all ages – and I can tell you that adults can enjoy it too!
Real problem-solving skills and teamwork are also required in such a labyrinth, as it is much more difficult to navigate through the maze of paths alone. So your kids will learn real and important life skills here. Last but not least, this activity often also has an educational aspect. In our particular case, for example, signs with stamps were placed at several corners in the labyrinth, which had to be found for a scavenger hunt. Each sign covered a different area of knowledge, for example about maize varieties, cultivation, nature conservation, biodiversity and much more. The aim was to collect all the stamps in a small booklet and there was a small reward at the end.
We had a lot of fun on this little scavenger hunt through the maze and even went back a second time after the first round because we were missing some stamps. But if you think it was easier the second time round… it certainly wasn’t.
I hope I’ve been able to give you an idea of the fun of exploring a corn maze or bring back those childhood memories and then why don’t you go and see where you can find one near you? I’m sure your kids will have a lot of fun too.
Spending time in the woods
Although nature has something special about it at any time of year, the blaze of colour that autumn brings to our world is truly extraordinary. What’s more, only in autumn does the forest have that very special scent. The scent of the woods in autumn is a captivating blend of earthy and sweet notes. As the leaves begin to change color, the air is filled with the fragrance of decaying leaves, damp earth, and the sweet aroma of pine needles. The crisp, cool air carries the scent of mushrooms growing beneath the fallen leaves. It’s an overall sensory experience reminding us of the beauty and changing seasons of nature. Click here to find out more
Go hiking or take long walks in different locations
There is always so much to see and learn on long walks or hikes. You just have to look a little closer than you usually do in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Often people tend to have the destination in mind rather than the path itself. We concentrate on the destination or decide to ‘just go for a walk in the fresh air because it’s healthy’. The ‘how’ is often less relevant. Don’t get me wrong, just the fact that people pull themselves together – perhaps after a long or stressful (working) day – and manage to do something good for themselves with a walk is super commendable.
However, as many families with children know very well, children need more than that. Simply walking would be far too boring for them. They stop all by themselves every few minutes, look around, admire things that we adults no longer even notice in everyday life because they have become so natural to us or we simply overlook them. Plants, fruits, animals, every season there is something different to see and I personally always discover something new when I walk through my neighbourhood, even after more than 9 years of living here.
Every year for the past few I noticed a new plant, a new fruit tree or a chestnut tree that I hadn’t seen before. So if you just walk a little more attentively through the world, you can really have a lot of fun. As a bonus, you can often find lots of natural materials that you can use for crafting or fruit that can be turned into delicious snacks. Reason enough to go for a walk again, or what do you think?
Extra tip: the artificial intelligence in the photo software of many smartphones now reliably recognises which plant or animal you have photographed and thus directly provides a few exciting and educational facts for anyone who is interested.
More great (though not exclusively) autumnal activities
- Listen to the raindrops pattering on the roof or window
- Cosify your home: Lay out blankets, candles and tea so that you don’t have to worry about the uncomfortable weather outside
- Prepare/procure weatherproof clothing: so nothing stands in the way of your next trip, even in ‘bad’ weather
- Take a hot bath
- Marvel at the mighty power of nature from the comfort of your own four walls in stormy weather
- Build a cave out of blankets and furnish it with cosy fairy lights, cushions, etc. Grab a snack and then play in the cave, have fun and forget about the bad weather
- Play board games that have been left lying around over the summer
- Pick out your favourite films and make yourself comfortable in front of the TV with popcorn
- Finally make time for new films or series
- Make yourself comfortable on the sofa, bed or in the den and read together or individually
- Get out your colouring materials and just start colouring again
- Turn the music up loud (and optionally dance around wildly)
- Use treasures picked up on a walk to decorate
- Why not bake together again? When was the last time you ate muffins or waffles? How about some spooky Halloween cupcakes, for example?
- Make figures from autumn materials
- After the walk, find out a lot about what you saw: which mushrooms, plants and animals did you discover?
- Make your own pile of leaves in the garden – maybe a hedgehog will drop by
- Prepare baked apples! Personally, I’ve been waiting for this all year
- Buy the first speculoos
- Plan a Halloween costume
- Make a lantern for the St Martin’s parade
- Carve a pumpkin
