Stepping into Autumn

Backpack Bulletin #03: Three Ways to Step Outside, Reconnect With Nature & Spark Wonder

The Backpack Bulletin is your monthly bundle of wonder. Just three simple ideas to help you step outdoors with your child, notice the season and tune into what’s changing: the light, the pace, the sounds in the grass.

It’s not a to-do list but a soft invitation, and each idea will be expanded on in my weekly Play Post. So treat this as your nudge to begin collecting chestnuts, leaves and a little autumn magic.

Each month, you’ll receive:

• a nature-based idea

• a seasonal self-care tip

• a tiny discovery to share with your child

The activities are short and sweet, playful, with little to no prep. Made for real life — between snack times, school bags and small requests.

Because nature is always there, just outside your door. And wonder is never far away.

🌰 Discover: Chestnut Wash

Horse Chestnuts are everywhere this month — half-hidden in the grass, or cracked open on the pavement. If you’re walking to school or out on a weekend stroll, chances are you’ll come across one.

You can cut them up to make a simple, natural laundry soap — or gather a few and use them to spell out words on a bench, a path, or your kitchen table.

This month’s Play Post shows you both: one useful, one just for fun.

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🦉 Create: Make a Leaf Owl

You might not spot an owl this month, but you may hear one — their soft evening calls return this month.September is when young owls start finding their own voices, and their calls travel far in the early dark.

Try making one from leaves you find outdoors — round or wonky, wide-eyed or wise. Or let your child invent something else entirely. Spiders, snails and other small creatures are everywhere right now, and just as fun to shape from what you gather.

Watch out for the Play Post later this month, with a simple example to get you started

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🥧 Experience: The Taste of Autumn

September is harvest season. The trees are full, the shelves are stocked, and everything seems to carry a little more flavour than usual.

This month, try making a flavour map of the season - alone or with your child. Ask: What does autumn taste like to you? Apples? Butter? Cinnamon? Or maybe it’s roasted nuts? Write the answers down. Or draw them. Or collect scraps and wrappers and stick them all onto a piece of cardboard like a collage. The point isn’t to do it neatly. The point is to stop for a taste of the season.

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That’s your Backpack Bulletin for September. Just three small sparks — to notice, to make, to feel.

A quiet reminder that even now, as the season tilts ever so slightly, you’re still surrounded by wonder.

With love, Annemarie