The weather is turning. The days are getting cooler, and the leaves are falling from the trees. That means only one thing—it’s time to start raking!
I don’t know anyone who enjoys raking leaves. It’s a tedious chore that seems to never end—and just try asking the kids for help. Enjoy the endless whines, eye rolls, and scoffs to follow.
But raking leaves can go from boring to fun by adding in games and activities that will get the kids involved. In fact, you may even be able to trick them into helping clean up the yard this way! They won’t even know they are cleaning.
Find the Tree that Matches the Leaf
Have your kids start collecting a pile of leaves. Once they have a nice pile, have them find the tree that matches each leaf. After they have found the match, have them place the leaf in the leaf pile!
Sort Leaves by Size or Color
If you need to keep your little one preoccupied while you are busy raking, give them a pile a leaves to sort by size or color. Not only will this keep them busy and out of your way, they will also work on their sorting skills.
Send them on a Scavenger Hunt
Keep the kids busy by sending them off on a scavenger hunt. Tell them to make piles for all of the things they find. Soon you’ll find that acorns, pinecones, rocks, twigs, and leaves are being cleared out from the yard.
Make It a Competition
Split the family up into teams. The object of the game is to make the biggest leaf pile. The more leaves you rake up and collect, the bigger your pile will be. Biggest pile wins!
Play Bingo
Print out these free Leaf Bingo Cards and hand them out to the kids. Send them off to find matches. First one to get a Bingo, wins! As they are collecting leaves for their Bingo card, have them make a leaf pile.
