Autumn’s Eve: Sharing the Joy of the Season With Our Children

I LOVE AUTUMN! I find that this is one of the most active and vibrant times of the year, more so than the lazy, hot summer or quiet and gently blossoming spring. IN the fall we have the wind and rain and leaves flying all about; we have the fascinating decay of the plants we have nourished over the past year; and we have the dusk coming closer and closer to our days, slowly wrapping us in quiet security. I LOVE sharing this time with children! There are SO MANY great folk songs, cooking activities and projects that we can share with even the littlest of people!

We all know about the common festivals of Autumn, but there are more than you think. As the season goes on, I will be posting about these specific festivals, but first I want to mention Michealmas Time! Just after the Equinox (on the 22nd this year) Michealmas time comes to us on the 29th of September. Your local Waldorf School will most likely have Michealmas Festivals open to the public and I urge you to go. As shared on the Parenting Passageway: “Michaelmas is an autumn festival that to me really opens up the season for the awakening of our souls as the weather gets colder, the light recedes, and we look toward strengthening our own inner reserves, our own inner strength. Michaelmas, as you can probably guess, is named for Saint Michael.  Michael was one of the four archangels, and is the angel who threw Lucifer out of Heaven.  He is the Angel of Courage, the Angel of the Fight Against Evil.  Take courage for the long, cold winter from Saint Michael!” To me, this is a time to focus deeply on my inner work and share in the strength building activities with our friends and family. This is a time for meditating, writing poetry, dancing and sharing the joy of Autumn with our children. These heart-warming activities will build our joy reserves for the harsh winter and Michealmas Day is a time to remember out work for this time.

There are so many great Autumn activities we can share with our children. Meditation and Inner work is not something we do WITH children, it is something we do for our children as a spiritually strong parent is essential. provides a good foundation for their own strength. On The Magic Onions Blog, I have found a treasure chest full of brilliant ways to share the joy of Autumn with your little ones. Here you will see great books to read, lovely nature table decor, finger games and songs and recipes to make with our children. Here’s a poem that she shares with us to share with our children, I find it lovely!

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came –

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

~George Cooper, “October’s Party”