This morning I found myself wrapped in an autumn leaf hug as the pirouetting leaves flutter their way to the ground. With a breeze in the air, it was one of those unforgettable autumn days as the trees were making short work to release their leaves, a proactive approach to store precious energy ahead of winters’ arrival. I gave a little nod to the trees in association.

As the daylight hours wane, my energy slows as we move out of an excitable state brought on by summer weather, and into a slower season. For me, it’s time for introspection. Just as the equinoxes are a transitional time, a time for natural rhythms to move from one extreme to another, so we find the natural rhythms of our homes changing. We are nature, after all.

Just as trees shed their leaves to conserve energy, I too feel called to pare back aspects of our lives. We

Pare Back

Fall is naturally a time for change and transformation that can inspire us to slow down and appreciate nature’s beauty.

Build in margin. Fall is a time to pump the brakes as we head out of the busy summer days. I’m a big fan of a good bucket list, and with the fleeting beauty of fall, I need to be very intentional with our time lest I should over book us in a frenzied fall. Kids need predictability and space to explore their worlds. As a result, we’ve found alternating outings and low key weekends have been a comfortable balance for our family. We love to enjoy the festivals, apple picking, and pumpkin patches, but our little ones also need predictability and a slower pace. For us, a predictable family hike in the woods fits the bill. One in which we can linger and explore while reveling together under a canopy all aglow in warm autumn colors with crunchy leaves beneath our feet. We’ve recently implemented a bimonthly weekend family hike for the family. A day in the woods with nothing planned but being together. Those are my favorite.

Simple nourishing meals. I’m always a bit excited when we shift our monthly meal plan to the autumn edition. While we strive for simple nourishing meals year round, fall calls for slow simmering bubbly goodness. This gives us the space we need during the day to work on preserving the fall harvest in preparation for winter.

Add Warmth

Keeping our children warm is essential in our children’s overall health and wellness. Their bodies are more efficient in supporting their rapid development only when they are sufficiently warm. So pull out a dutch oven and your thermos, and simmer away a nourishing warm meal or brew a steamy beverage.

Snack / Circle / Tea Time We now enjoy a warm beverage after our time outdoors in the morning. Warmth is an important component of the Waldorf education model we’ve come to love. It aims to nurture the whole child- head, heart, and hands. A warm cuppa tea does just that. Kids need to be adequately warm to grow and develop well, so it feels natural to have a warm nourishing mug after we return inside in the cooler mornings. We’ve been savoring calendula or nasturtium honey tea with flowers from our medicinal garden bed, and warmed spiced apple cider on these chilly fall days. You can get a personalized mug for your little ones for a special experience. Our kids have loved using their personalized mugs that were tucked into their boo baskets last week.

Candlelit Dinners

This is such a simple addition with big impact. We all find the soft glow entrancing and even uplifting when meal times are increasingly characterized by darker evenings. If we haven’t yet made our annual beeswax rolled candles as a family, we like to choose Big Dipper taper candles for our meal times because they don’t produce an aroma that interferes with your meal and we know they are made from quality products.

I do recommend choosing your candle with intention as candles loaded with fragrances have well-known health impacts. Choose candles with natural waxes such as beeswax or coconut wax. Try to procure candles with natural fragrances from essential oils, as opposed to synthetic fragrances. Aim for cotton wicks produced without heavy metals. These are all steps in a healthier direction.

Warm pack lunches

I love to serve my family warm meals on crisp days, especially when we are enjoying time outdoors. The secret weapon here is the thermos. Pour boiling water into the thermos and let sit for 5 minutes to warm up your thermos and keep your food hotter longer. We love to serve warm baked beans, as well as soups and stews from our thermos. If you want it to be more of a sit down affair, pack camp bowls if you’re worried about breakage and a handful of spoons, and you can rest assured knowing you have a warm nourishing meal for your family no matter how cold the day turns.

A bentgo box is a tried and true favorite for meals prone to leakage. I can assure you, nothing is getting out of your bento. We’ve had chicken soup in a bentgo take a tumble down a set of stairs without wasting a single drop. Soup is not as challenging to transport as many think given the right gear.

Winter Preparedness

Preserving Our days are filled with free play and outdoor activities, and my children enjoy helping me with homemaking. We have been busy preserving a good garden harvest and medicinal herbs. Our little ones find their work by plucking flower heads or bundling flowers for drying. Even children as young as three help with tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and green beans. Child-friendly knives make kitchen work easier and are surprisingly effective.

Leaning into cozy home projects. From artisanal sourdough loaves to apple carrot muffins, our kitchen is in full-on baking, roasting, and slow cooking mode. So long as we build in the margin to accommodate little helpers in the kitchen, allowing our kids the space to help create in the kitchen has vast potential to set last memories, and plants the seeds of creativity, work, and life skills for our little humans.

Cleaning windows

The more light you can get in your home when daylight hours are in low supply, the better. Open your curtains right before bed or draw them at sunrise. This helps you wake with the morning light and reap the circadian rhythm benefits. Cleaning windows is on the docket for cleaning day. The weather is still warm enough to open them. This allows us to clean them from the outside. There’s nothing like an unobstructed foliage view. Plus, every ray counts. Bonus: it’s a fun homemaking chore to do with your little ones.

Holiday planning. I prefer to have the holidays planned out well in advance. This way, we can sit back and enjoy the holidays. We avoid overplanning and the stress of trying to figure out holiday fun at the last minute. Not all holiday planning requires spending. I start with our budget because, let’s face it, the holiday season can wreck a padded bank account. Once our budget is settled I focus on 4 categories: home activities, experiences, movie nights, and giving. I come up with a couple ideas for each of these categories, ensure they align with our goals and budget and make a plan for when we’ll execute.

Fall is a time for release and surrender. As we head from summer into winter, we are in a state of transition. Introspection takes over and we can find our transition going more smoothly when we consider what we want to eliminate to preserve our energies, what we will add to embrace the cooler seasons ahead, and how we like to prepare for the upcoming season. In this fleeting and precious fall season, what could you eliminate or add, and how will you prepare for the season ahead?