Now is the perfect time of year for viewing all of the beautiful Fall foliage. The once summery green leaves have transformed into leaves of vibrant Autumn tones, like red, orange and yellow. They are so lovely and wonderful to marvel at during this time of year but, of course, there is a catch. Pretty soon those lovely leaves are going to start drifting down to the ground and scattering all over your lawn because every year we experience the beauty of Fall foliage, we also experience cleaning up after the beautiful Fall foliage.

This year, instead of doing the job on your own, get the kids to help out! Raking and cleaning up leaves doesn’t have to feel like a chore - you just have to make it fun and the time will pass quickly and painlessly. Here are some tips for getting your kids to lend a helping hand and have some fun.

Listen To Music! Music makes everything go by faster and makes it more enjoyable. Bring out a portable player or break out the extension cord to plug in some tunes while you work.

Play Freeze Rake! Everyone has heard of freeze dance and freeze tag but not many people have heard of freeze rake! While you’re listening to music have someone work the music controls and stop it every once in a while then freeze!

Make It A Competition! A little bit of friendly competition never hurts! Make raking leaves a contest and whoever has the biggest pile of leaves gets a prize!

Jump In! Who doesn’t love jumping in a big pile of leaves? After you get your piles set up let the kids jump in one before you start bagging the leaves up. Who says you can’t mix work and play?

Reward Yourself! Afterwards go out for ice cream or go see a movie. After a day of hard work in the yard you and the kids deserve a sweet treat!

General Leaf Raking Tips:

• Don’t start raking until after peak foliage time. If you start raking before then you’ll end up raking more often in the long run.
• Wear long pants and sleeves when raking in case of insects or small animals in the leaves.
• Be aware of wind direction and start raking downwind so that you aren’t left raking up the same leaves multiple times.
• Rake in smaller motions rather than bigger ones. You’ll get more leaves per sweep.
• Move around while you rake. If you stand in one place there are better chances of you getting back aches or pains.

Photo by Martin Boulanger via Free Images