The beginning of Fall has been bittersweet for our Huebner household in Cincinnati this year. We will be putting our house on the market in Spring, which means we are ending a gardening era. Our precious garden beds have always been front and center right outside our doorstep for optimum sun placement. We have torn out the garden beds to make way for new grass growth before the house hits the market.

Jonah and Amelia have become astounding gardeners and I did not want the end of our garden to be the end of this year’s gardening activities. First and foremost, Fall to me means harvesting!! We of course had to harvest our garden when we took down our beds. The remainder of our crops were gone before Fall even struck, so I decided to start a new tradition that we can foster at our eventual ‘forever home’ (this is what we call the first house we will buy when my husband lands a job as a surgical attending). I call this new Fall tradition Jonah Jam.

We have always told our kiddos that we will plants TONS of berry plants at our forever home. Lots of berry plants means a surplus of berries (eventually!!). What better way to use an excess of berries than by making jam! Luckily my four-year-old, Jonah, wants to be a chef so this is right up his alley.

I am always searching for healthy recipes that are easy enough for my toddlers to participate in. I found just what I was looking for on a website called superhealthykids.com. Not only did Jonah enjoy making it and eating it, but he got to bring it for show and tell on J day. The whole class was able to try his scrumptious home-made jam. He is super excited to make this recipe with berries grown from our family’s garden one day. Thus a new Fall family tradition is born!

Another gardening activity that screams Fall to me is planting mums. This is the first year that both my ‘big kids’ were able to be hands-on in this activity, while my two-month-old baby Harry was merely dusted with gardening soil in his Ergo. Not only did Jonah and Amelia prep the soil, but they did the majority of the planting. 

It is so fun keep up with seasonal traditions with young kids in hopes that they will carry them on through their lives and always remember all the fun that comes with them. Once my third baby is able to participate in these traditions I foresee a fridge full of jam, a garden covered in mums, and my heart as full as it can possibly be every Fall. 

-Kim

On Amelia in photos: our Hearts Vegan Leather Clips
Check out Kim's previous post on Time Saving Toddler Hair Hacks

For our favorite fall recipe, check out the blog post on how to make delicious Zucchini Bread! 

And for major fall decoration inspo, we love how Erin decorates her home at CottonStem!