Autumn is such a lovely time of year, with trees changing colors and the scent of the crisp, fresh air. But it also means that your yard will need some attention to prepare for the approaching colder weather and frost, while ensuring it stays healthy and ready for springtime. Fall cleanup chores include raking and mulching fallen leaves, cleaning up yard debris, weeding and trimming trees and shrubs.
Instead of doing all the work yourself, get your kids involved. Working on fall yard cleanup tasks together is a wonderful way to bond as a family, encourage your children to spend more time outside in nature and instill in them a sense of responsibility and accomplishment. Plus, it gets them off screens and quells any complaints of boredom they may be whining about.
Types of Activities
Here are some fall yard cleanup activities to conquer as a family.
- Remove Leaves
When leaves fall and cover the lawn, it’s not only an eyesore, but it keeps sunlight from reaching the grass. This can cause brown spots, and eventually the grass could die. Leaves can also accumulate around plants and shrubs, preventing them from growing. Finally, too many leaves, especially wet ones, can spread disease and cause mold and mildew to grow. The longer the leaves are left on the lawn, the more likely they will rot, so don’t wait too long to clean them up.
You can easily recruit your kids to do some raking, which is also great exercise for them. Ask them to rake leaves into piles that can be placed into leaf bags for trash collection. Let them have some fun, too. Children love jumping in leaf piles – and those are memories they will cherish forever.
- Mulch Leaves
Instead of throwing out the fallen leaves in the garbage, you can turn them into something useful by mulching them or chopping them into small pieces. Leaves are filled with important nutrients, so by mulching and spreading them across your lawn and in your garden, you’re returning the nutrients to the soil to support future growth. In fact, you won’t need as much fertilizer since the leaves do that job once they decompose.
There are a few different ways to mulch leaves. Using a lawn mower is one of the easiest ways. If you have an older child, they can help with this chore. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children be at least 12 years old before operating a walk-behind mower or hand mower, and 16 years old before driving a riding mower. Another fun way to mulch leaves is to stomp on them for a while. Kids will love jumping, running and having a dance party on the leaves! It’s best to wear sturdy boots and to lay a tarp down over the leaves.
- Pick Up Yard Waste
A really simple activity for kids of all ages is to have them run around the yard picking up sticks, branches, leaves and other yard waste. Insects are attracted to dead flowers, leaves and other plant debris, so removing these items during the fall season can help prevent infestation. Turn the cleanup process into a game by seeing how quickly the kids can collect the debris or how many baskets or totes they can fill within a given time frame. You could also teach reusing and recycling by encouraging them to make arts and crafts out of the collected yard items.
- Do Some Weeding
This is also an opportune time to tackle the weeds sprouting up all over the lawn and in the garden. If not addressed, they can quickly spread and become unsightly, and even crowd out the plants you want to flourish. This is especially important to address in a vegetable garden if you have one. Give your kids the job of removing weeds and old vegetable plants. Not only can this turn into a challenge about how many buckets of weeds each child removes, but weeding can be a relaxing mindfulness activity that gives them a sense of accomplishment as they connect with the earth.
- Prune Trees, Shrubs and Flowers
It’s also important to prune and trim trees, shrubs and flowers as you prepare for wintertime. Dead, damaged or diseased tree branches can be problematic during snowstorms, so it’s helpful to get rid of them. Pruning bushes and trimming back flowers keeps vegetation tidy throughout the colder months. Older children can handle clippers and pruning shears; just be sure to review safety rules with them and to demonstrate exactly how to do the work.
- Safety Tips
The sooner you get your kids involved in yard and garden activities, the more likely they will develop a life-long appreciation for yardwork and the great outdoors. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Model safe behavior. Remember that your kids are always watching you, so it’s critical to model the correct behavior when working in the yard. Also, have them shadow you when they are learning how to do a new task. Stay close to them and start with easy tasks, and eventually they will gain confidence to do the work more independently.
- Dress appropriately. Avoid loose clothing or jewelry that can be caught in equipment. Hats, long pants and long sleeves help protect skin, while sturdy footwear helps prevent falls or injury from dropped objects.
- Use protective gear. Wear gloves and eye protection for most tasks.
- Stick to hand tools for kids. Make sure the tools are the appropriate size and working properly so nobody gets hurt. You can find garden tools made for kids that they will love using.
- Keep the kids out of the way for certain tasks. When it’s time to use heavy equipment, such as a power washer or leaf blower, send the kids inside or to another part of the yard.
- Store tools out of reach of children. Properly shut off and store tools and equipment to ensure the kids won’t get a hold of it.
Sandi Schwartz is an award-winning author, freelance journalist and mother of two. She has written extensively about parenting, wellness and environmental issues. As the founder and director of the Ecohappiness Project, her mission is to inspire and educate families to build a nature habit to feel happier and calmer. She is the author of the book Finding Ecohappiness: Fun Nature Activities to Help Your Kids Feel Happier and Calmer, and the children’s book, Sky’s Search for Ecohappiness.
