Fall Beginnings: Noticing the Signs of a New Season

There is something special about the beginning of fall.
The change doesn’t happen all at once. Instead, it arrives in little ways: 

• a cooler morning,
• gentler sunlight,
• leaves beginning to change,
• the return of familiar routines, and
• other hints that summer is slowly giving way to autumn.

These small signs can bring back memories.

Perhaps you remember walking to school on a crisp September morning, choosing a favorite sweater for the first cool day, helping with a garden or harvest, watching football on a Saturday afternoon, or enjoying an annual family tradition.

Fall can also be a natural time for reflection. As one season changes into another, we may think about what has changed in our own lives, the traditions we have carried with us, and the simple things we look forward to each year.

Changing seasons give us an easy way to begin a conversation.
You don't need a complicated activity or a long list of questions. Sometimes simply noticing what is different can lead to a wonderful memory.

Ask yourself and others, what is one of the first signs that tells you fall has arrived? The answer might be colorful leaves, cooler evenings, apples at the grocery store, school buses, football games, sweaters, pumpkins, or something much more personal.

One person's answer may even remind someone else of a memory they haven't thought about in years.

Fall Traditions
Traditions are another wonderful part of the season. Some traditions are large and elaborate, while others are wonderfully ordinary. Maybe your family always made a certain meal, visited a particular place, attended a fall festival, watched a favorite program, or gathered together on a particular weekend. And traditions don't have to remain exactly the same.

A tradition can change as families grow and circumstances change. Sometimes a new activity becomes part of an old tradition. Sometimes the tradition is simply remembering how things used to be.

Look, Listen, and Remember
What fall tradition do you remember most fondly?
Fall offers plenty of opportunities for sensory memories, too.

• The smell of leaves.
• The sound of a football game in the distance.
• The crunch of leaves underfoot.
• The taste of an apple or favorite fall dessert.
• The feeling of a cool evening after a warm summer.

These details can make memories feel especially vivid.

To bring back favorite memories, look through old photographs, listen to music associated with autumn, talk about school memories, or simply take a walk and notice what has changed outdoors.

Celebrate the Beginning of Fall
This week's Changing Seasons: Fall Beginnings collection is designed around those simple opportunities to notice, remember, and connect.
​

The Fall Beginnings Activity Bundle includes:

• Autumn Activities Word Search
  
• Signs of Autumn Crossword Puzzle
  
• Changing Seasons Fall Beginnings Quiz, and
  
• Changing Seasons Fall Beginnings Reminiscence Prompts.​

Also find the Fall Traditions Word Search and Fall Activities Crossword Puzzle on the Free Printables page.

For subscribers, there are additional activities including Fall Reflections Crossword Puzzle, and Autumn Colors & Reflections, Signs of Autumn, and Welcome Autumn Word Search activities.

Whether you're leading an activity, spending time with family, or simply enjoying a quiet moment of reflection, the beginning of fall offers an invitation to slow down and notice the season.

What is one small sign that tells you autumn has arrived?
Sometimes, one good question is enough to begin a conversation.

Best wishes,


​Laura