Seasons of Aotearoa : Autumn Nature Hunt

Ngahuru / Autumn offers up such a visual account of how the seasons change and an opportune time to talk to our tamariki about the seasons.

A magnificent display of autumn leaves will soon colour the landscape on our land and down the main street of our small town, again prompting seasonal conversations – ones I have been having with our kids since they were very young.

It is also harvest time and we collect such a diverse bounty of foods from the garden – figs, tomatoes, guavas, zuchinni, grapes, basil, beetroot, feijoa, carrot. Soon we will dig up potatoes and harvest pumpkins from dried vines. Little fingers forage and children gorge on the fruit until tummies feel a bit ill, but they still can’t help themselves, seeking out more fruit.
We collect fallen leaves in a huge wool bag to use for layering in the compost now and throughout the year.

The mornings are darker, but the weather is still warm. Paitu stream still provides a dip on hot days, the ocean still calls us to swim and play.

It is March and the calendar says Autumn has begun.
But it is the equinox I watch for on the 21^st March that is when Ngahuru / Autumn truly begins.

Autumn Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere

We celebrate the Autumn Equinox each year with a harvest party. My son insists our feast must include freshly dug baby potatoes to eat.

This year the equinox follows 3 days after the full moon, the harvest moon of the Southern Hemisphere. What better excuse do we need to celebrate!?
Food fresh from the garden, music, barefoot dancing, giving thanks for the results and mahi of the previous seasons that see us see here with this harvest.

Bounty is all around. We are part of it, we see it, with thanks.

Noticing Nature – Autumn Nature Hunt

The children don gumboots, and basket in hand, we head out for our annual autumn nature hunt.

I have made all kinds of nature hunts that have become a fundamental part of our Autumn rituals. They help to encourage conversation and deepen understanding each year – walking, witnessing, engaging, discussing, adding richness and depth to what the kids already know.

They have learned all the spots to look for their treasures as we have been doing this for many years, BUT, what else they NOTICE along the way is always just MAGIC.

They carry their brimming baskets home and create: leaf rubbings, nature arrangements, dream catchers, mandalas. All such beautiful tributes to natures cycles.

Download and print this hand-sketched Autumn Nature Hunt! Celebrate Ngahuru and the Autumn Equinox with your tamariki. Drawn and designed in Aotearoa / NZ.

Printable Autumn Nature Hunt

This hand drawn Autumn Nature Hunt is one I have created to share,  designed to get our tamariki outside, noticing nature and the magic of the changing seasons.

If you are keen to search out Autumn treasures with your tamariki, you can find the download below.

Colour in yourself or print in colour, both versions are included, so take your pick!

And thank you for your support for our small business!

This art it is the first in a series of seasonal nature hunts and Aotearoa /New Zealand themed, illustrated Nature Journals!

(If you’d like to be notified when the other seasonal nature hunts become available, be sure to connect at www.facebook.com/PaituNZ or sign up for our newsletter).

I’d love to hear how your family enjoys these hunts!

Happy Ngahuru/Autumn to you all xx