Donuts

A wonderful fall activity to do with your children is to rake the leaves. On a beautiful autumn day take a few hours in the afternoon, gather the family, get out your rakes and go to work. What a great time everyone will have working on this project together. Pile the leaves up and then jump into them or rake them into the shapes of things such as a house or an obstacle course. What fun you will have by putting away your worries for the afternoon, being out in the fresh air and having positive interactions with your children. Not to mention the great exercise it will be for everyone. 

Find a place in the back yard to set up a compost pile with the leaves. This will be a nice hands-on science lesson for your children. Compost is made by placing dead plant parts, such as leaves in a pile and allowing them to decay.  The leaves should be placed in layers about 6 inches deep with a thin layer of soil placed on top. This will speed up the decay. The compost should decay at least for 5 months before it is used. This will make a great product to mix in with your soil.  It will add nutrients and make your soil much richer.

When you are done with this project, celebrate with donuts and cider. A job well done! 

Here is a good recipe for donuts.  Valerie Harjula, from St. George, gave this recipe to me in 1979.  I use this recipe whenever I make donuts because they come out great!