Life is Gourd: Fall-Cycling

Welcome back!

We are back with activity number two of our "Life Is Gourd" series.

So, a bit about my family. At our house we have a massive garden. Every year we rake up our leaves and after my daughter is finished jumping in and out of the pile, we rake them up and throw them into a compost paper bag.

Why?  

Because Fall is a great time to teach about something important in our world: reusing and recycling. You can have this conversation using the nature around us! Did you know that 1,500 pounds per cubic yard of yard waste end up in our landfills every year? That same yard waste is also what our soil craves so much.

Get ready and put on your overalls, if you've got them, and head on outside for our next Fall, family fun: Fall-cycling

If you are wanting to get into composting and reusing, there is an order to the bags; green, brown, green, brown, green, etc. Use your leaves to start, then use grass clippings to layer again and keep going.  LG, my daughter, loves this time of year. She gets to make a big mess with the leaves and then put it all in bags. We set the bags of leaves and grass behind our shed and let the winter do what it needs to do.

In the Spring, we break open the bags and line the bottom of our garden beds with the compost. By doing this, LG gets to see what God’s wonderful nature is capable of. Life sustains even in its decay.

Bonus Activity‍

After a day spent outside in the leaves, drink some cider and go for a walk. The University of Nebraska has created a tree Identification website. You can walk around and pick up leaves and see if you or your child can I.D. the most trees on your walk, and even make up funny names. Bring home the leaves and press them in a book! Your child can have a memento from your walk and a reminder that God makes everything for a reason, especially them!

Bonus craft: If your child or children find leaves they think are too pretty to let go of, place them aside in a safe area where they will not blow away. After the yard or walk, go inside for our bonus activity. In this activity, all you need is a simple piece of paper, glue sticks, and a pen. Fold the paper like a card and have your child glue the leaves onto the paper to make a festive card! They can write a note and give this to a teacher, friend, or family member.

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