The Waldessori Mom

As the days start to grow shorter, Autumn Equinox is among us! This year, it is on September 22nd. However, you don’t have to celebrate it on the exact day. Autumn Equinox represents the official changing of the seasons according to the celestial calendar because today is the first day that day and night time are exactly even. Because of this, people can do activities that help them reflect on balance. It is also a time to be thankful for all of the harvest that is ready to pick. Cultures around the world have different forms of harvest festivals but they all revolve around seasonal foods!

What is Autumn Equinox?

It is when the amount of day time and night time are exactly the same. It is also a time when people give thanks for the harvest of food around them. People reflect on nature and how life is all about balance.

Cultures around the world celebrate this differently, and how it is celebrated has changed over the years. These festivals started thousands of years ago and have adapted as things have modernized. It used to revolve around thanking gods for a plentiful harvest because without it, people would starve. With modern technology, this is no longer the case, but it is still a nice time to reflect on how amazing it is that we are able to have access to food so easily and the changing of the seasons.

How to celebrate Autumn Equinox

To celebrate Autumn Equinox, you can focus on the aspect of being appreciative of the food that is harvested around this time of year like corn and apples, or you can reflect on the changing of the seasons, or both!

Things to do on Autumn Equinox

• Have a harvest festival with family and friends. Invite people over and eat foods that are ripe during this time of year (zucchini, squash, corn, apples, etc), spend time outside, and enjoy nature.
• Visit a corn u-pick or corn maze.
• Visit an apple orchard.
• Visit the farmers market and buy in season foods.
  • You can make corn bread, apple sauce, or apple cake
• Appreciate nature by going on walks and noticing the things that change
  • Bonus is you do a nature scavenger hunt and collect cool nature finds!
• Make a Fall nature table.
  • Collect nature finds and display them on a table for kids to enjoy. Add to it throughout the season!
• Fill the house with the delicious smell of a simmer pot with seasonal spices like cinnamon and nutmeg with apple.

Autumn Equinox activities

• Make a window star which can be turned to reflect what time of year it is.
• Bake festival bread. In Ann Druitt’s book, All Year Round, she shares the idea of telling a story of the “harvest loaf.” As you add ingredients to make the bread, you can tell a story related to those ingredients that connect to the harvest. For example, the egg can be the sun, the flour can be the land, etc.
  • “The farmers took out their ploughs and sloughed the barren land and sowed it with seeds. (Sprinkle with seeds.)” p. 142
• Squirrel related activities are great to discuss how they prepare for winter.
  • Sensory bin with different types of nuts and leaves
  • Counting activities with nuts
  • Play “The Sneaky Snacks Squirrel” board game
• Make corn husk dolls.

• Husk corn.
  • This is a great fine motor activity for kids
• Learn about why day and night are equal in length— The Sun Thief is great for this (best for older kids).
• Read books related to the changing of the seasons from Summer to Autumn, books about squirrels, and books about harvest festivals.
• Do leaf activities.
  • Beeswax dipped leaves (this preserves them)
  • Leaf mobile
  • Leaf crown
  • Collect different leaves and categorize them on shape, size, and color
  • Test different ways to preserve leaves: soaking in glycerin, pressing them, dipping in beeswax
• Make cinnamon play dough– this feels amazing when it is nice and warm and smells so good!

Summary

Autumn equinox may sound like a holiday that was only celebrated thousands of years ago, and while that is true, there are many ways it can still be celebrated today. Children love to notice the changing of the seasons around them, and it is also a wonderful time for adults to reflect on nature, the shorter days, and balance of life. It is a wonderful time to bring friends and family together with a harvest festival to enjoy the food that this time of year has to bring. Doing activities revolving around the fall season can make connections between what children are seeing outside and how that will affect their day to day.