Fall is finally here and that means the lush green leaves that adorned the trees this summer are turning shades of orange, red and gold and are falling to the ground. The kids are back in school so that leaves them with the weekends to do “kid things” like playing in the leaves.

3 things to do with fall leaves

When you’re looking for ways to not only enjoy free time with your children but also keep the yard looking tidy before the snow starts to fall, try these three ways to use autumn leaves:

Do crafts

There are plenty of crafts to do with your children when it comes to fall leaves. Find small twigs and leaves and grab a black marker and some glue before sitting down at the table for an afternoon of crafts. You can make leaf animals that have eyes, arms and legs. For a messy yet artistic experience, do some leaf paintings with the children. You can put different colors of paint on the leaves before the kids lay them down on a canvas or blank piece of paper to make a leave print.

Rake them into a pile

When we were kids we loved going outside every Saturday morning to rake up piles of them and then jump into the mounds of orange and red playing hide-and-go-seek or figuring out how tall we could get each pile to be. Why not give your child the same pleasure of going out and raking a big pile of leaves for the kids to play in? Their giggles and laughs of jumping into a massive pile of autumn leaves is sure to be the best part of your weekend.

Start composting

If you’ve never had a compost pile but want to start, autumn leaves are a great way to get you going. When you’re done jumping in piles of leaves for the day, ask the kids to help you rank them onto a tarp and drag it over to the garden. Then, you can let them sit there through winter and when the weather gets warm again you’ll have leaf mold that’s jam-packed full of nutrients that are sure to give your fruits and vegetables a boost next growing season.