It’s officially autumn, and that means bright and beautiful-colored leaves are falling from the trees. Before you rake and bag up all those piles of leaves, why not have some fun with them?

Besides simply laying in a soft pile of leaves, your kids can have a lot of exercise-filled fun with them! Here are few ideas for games with leaves that the whole family can play for a fun workout, courtesy of http://www.kidactivities.net/:

Leaf, Leaf, Pinecone

This is a version of the classic “Duck, Duck, Goose” with a nature-friendly twist. This game is best played out-doors, but you can also gather pinecones and play this traditional game inside on a rainy day.

Whoever is “it” must not only touch the heads of the other players, saying, “Leaf, leaf, leaf,” but must also drop a fresh pinecone in the lap of the child they choose before running back around the circle without being tagged. The person trying to tag “it” can touch “it” with a hand above the waist or with the pinecone below the waist

Parachute Leaf Toss (For younger children)

Take a sheet, or a parachute. Gather real leaves, fabric leaves, or paper leaves. Place them in the middle of the sheet. Gather around the sheet and have the children lift the sheet slowly and then quickly to see how all the leaves “float”.

Autumn Tic-Tac-Toe

Take a large piece of poster board and draw the tic-tac-toe lines on it; laminate it if possible. Cut-two different leaf shapes; then simply play tic-tac-toe.

Hide the Leaf and Seek (Indoors)

While children are out of the room (or if in room have them cover their eyes) hide a leaf. (The leaf can be ‘real’ or draw on cardboard and cut out.) Hide the leaf where the children will need to search–but not too difficult to find. Instruct the kids to sit down in a pre-designated spot when they see the hidden leaf. After all children are sitting–the first child to ‘spot’ the leaf hides it for the ‘next game’.