Here in the South, fall is an awesome time to be outside. Usually, the weather isn’t cold enough to scare you back inside, but is crisp and delightful (and totally mosquito-free, FINALLY!). My girls always want to play outside, but this time of year, they get precious little resistance from mom on that issue. Beautiful days like these make me want to linger and play just a little bit more.
Have a Book Picnic
Darah recently asked to have a picnic in the middle of the day, and I knew she wasn’t so much interested in the food aspect of a picnic as much as she just wanted to lay a blanket down outside. So I suggested that our food for this picnic be books, and that the way to eat a book is to read and enjoy it (unless you are a goat, in which case actually eating the book is much more satisfying).
We recently were sent some really awesome books to check out, and I’d definitely recommend having a stack of new books for your kids to enjoy at a picnic like this. You can pick up some great reads at your local library or find some real treasures at your local independent bookstore, a used bookstore, or even Amazon, which frequently has really good buys on books.
Here are some of our favorite reads!
Lily and Trooper All Year Round
This beautifully illustrated books takes you on the daily outdoor and indoor adventures of Lily and her canine best friend, Trooper, throughout all 4 seasons. A great pick for anyone who has an adventurous spirit, a love for being outside, and who loves to play with animals!
This one was an instant favorite of Layah’s because it is about a little donkey who has a rather strong will….something she can relate to!
This book shows the emotional interactions between friends. Darah really loved acting them out, which was interesting because some of them were rather nuanced and she had to really think about what they meant. Here she is playing out her favorite: laughing!
The book picnic was a huge success. We stayed outside for over an hour, going back and forth seamlessly between reading, playing with each other, and doing independent exploring in the yard. It was a gorgeous day, and our time outside was well-spent. We all came back inside tired and happy. And I resolved to do this whole book picnic thing more often. Gathering up awesome books is much easier than putting together a spread of outdoor-friendly food, after all! 😉