"Autumn days when the grass is jewelled and the silk inside a chestnut shell, jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled, all the things I love so well. So I mustn't forget, no I mustn't forget, To say a great big thank you, I mustn't forget!"
If you went to primary school in the 70s or 80s in the UK then you will be familiar with the above song from assembly. This time of year always takes me back to being a child - conkers scattered at the bottom of a tree, leaf piles asking to be crunched and sunny days with a hint of a cold wind make this a lovely time of year.
One of our favourite things to do is make an autumn collage with materials we find whilst out walking. Beautiful coloured leaves, bark, sticks, conkers, fir cones and acorns all make great materials for an autumn treasure hunt and gathering them is part of the fun.
Next take some card or a canvas, pva glue and let the children go wild. We also decided to do some hand and food prints on our canvas this year before sticking the found items plus some autumn coloured items from the craft box on.
Here's Ethan making his collage last year:
What a difference at year makes:
Autumn 2012 picture:
Autumn 2013 picture: