Muddy Monday #5 – Playing in the Autumn Leaves.

There is perhaps no simpler, and yet no more satisfying autumn activity than crunching through the Autumn leaves. There is something so fairytale-esque about a ground coated with gold, red and orange and those cool Autumn mornings are so very rejuvenating and invigorating.

There is something so magical in watching a toddler discover the changing seasons for the first time. Last autumn, Duckling was just 6 months old, so didn’t really notice the changing season. This year, at 19 months and walking around, it is fantastic to watch her discovering the new world for the first time. Heaven forbid, we ever actually have to BE somewhere, because she stops every 30 seconds to look at something or pick something up. This time I decided we’d have a slow hour at our local park, just taking in our surroundings and exploring the Autumn leaves. Needless to say, Duckling was most pleased with this arrangement…

It was 9am, straight after the school run, and rather a brisk October morning, so we wrapped up warm. It also meant that we had the park to ourselves and the lighting was just beautiful. The first thing we did was just walk through the leaves, listening to them crunch and rustle underfoot.

Duckling of course, being 19 months, felt the need to pick up and examine every other leaf, so I am glad that I’d put aside enough time to allow her to really explore. (So important at this age!) …Mummy, being a little older than 19 months (ahem!) still couldn’t help picking up and admiring the beauty of the odd leaf!

How beautifully mesmerising!

The only thing left for me to do was to show her the joys of throwing the dry leaves in the air and enjoying the leaf shower! She is now an expert at this and does it wherever we go!

We had such a lovely time exploring, young toddlers really do enjoy being given the time and opportunity to examine the world around them, and amongst our busy day to day schedule, it was really lovely to spend this quality time enjoying nature with her.

Make sure you check out our other Muddy Monday post to see more seasonal toddler activities. Why not start HERE