From haunted hiking to bonfire building, here are 50 things to do with your kids this fall around Milwaukee

Fall is a bittersweet season for kids. The weather may be perfect for crunching in leaves, making s'mores and playing outside for hours without melting in the heat.

But school.

And there may be lots of fun fall festivals and trick-or-treat and the anticipation of the holiday season.

But school.

Here are 50 ways to help your kids forget that fall is the season when school starts and to embrace all the fun that a Wisconsin autumn represents.

1. Go to a harvest festival. They're all over the place in fall, including the big Harvest Fair at State Fair Park on Sept. 27-29, where you can do things like shop for fall merchandise, go pumpkin bowling and build scarecrows.

2. Take in a movie. Marcus Theatres are showing Disney classics for $6 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in September.

3. Go on a fall road trip to see the beautiful leaves. Have the kids look out for specific colors or play a few road trip games to keep them engaged. Holy Hill in Hubertus is the area's most iconic leaf-viewing vantage point.

4. Decorate some cookies. Sugar cookies aren't just for Christmastime. Make up a batch of your favorite recipe and grab some awesome fall cookie-cutter shapes, such as fall leaves, pumpkins, apples or really anything having to do with Halloween. Then let the kids decorate them.

5. Go on a haunted hike. The Halloween season is the perfect time to explore abandoned buildings and railroad tracks. Scuppernong Springs and Paradise Springs in the Kettle Moraine State Forest are good choices.

6. Go swimming. Outside might not be an option in fall in Wisconsin, but indoor water parks like Timber Ridge Lodge in Lake Geneva, Ingleside Hotel in Waukesha and Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee, Illinois, are great alternatives.

7. Build a scarecrow. If you don't have a garden for your buddy to hang out in, set him up on your front porch and he can hand out candy to trick-or-treaters.

8. Get in one last playground tour before the weather gets cold. Visit all your favorites, or try out some new ones. One good option is the fully accessible Imagination Station in Oconomowoc. Another is the nature playground at Fox River Park in Waukesha. 

9. Get a behind-the-scenes tour during Doors Open MKE on Sept. 28 and 29. Tons of buildings open their doors for special tours those two days.

10. Get your kids ready for school by exercising their brains, and their bodies, at Discovery World's hands-on exhibit all about the science of energy.

11. Fly a kite. If you miss the annual Frank Mots kite festival at Milwaukee's Veterans Park on Sept. 7 and 8, don't worry. Kite expert and Gift of Wings owner Scott Fisher said Veterans Park is one of the best kite-flying parks in the country — at any time. Plus, there are three Gift of Wings locations to buy any necessary kite accessories — at Veterans Park, in Greendale and in Franklin.

12. Go apple picking. It's a perfect fall activity for all ages, and there are plenty of family-friendly apple orchards in the Milwaukee area, including Apple Holler in Sturtevant and The Elegant Farmer in Mukwonago. 

13. Pick up some produce from your local farmers market. It's not too late to hit up a farmers market. There are plenty of fruits and veggies that are harvested in fall. After your visit, cook something delicious with your kids.

14. Pick a pumpkin. Whether you carve it, paint it or cook it, you need to get out to your local pumpkin patch. 

15. Cook something from the (literal) fruits of your fall harvest. Like caramel apples. Or pumpkin pie. Or roasted squash.

16. Carve a pumpkin. Or, for a kid-friendlier alternative to giant, sharp knives, have your kids use paint and stickers to decorate their pumpkins.

17. Do something different with pumpkins. They're not just for carving. You can bowl with them, chuck them with a catapult or make a flower vase with them. Use your imagination!

18. Get a jump on the holiday season. Start prepping for Christmas by having your kids make homemade gifts for grandparents and relatives. If your kids craft just a little at a time, it can be a leisurely, fun project, instead of the usual crazy, rushed frenzy.

19. Take advantage of free admission days at local family destinations. The Milwaukee County Zoo has free admission Oct. 5 and Nov. 2. The Milwaukee Art Museum and Milwaukee Public Museum both have free admission Sept. 5, Oct. 3 and Nov. 7. And admission at Betty Brinn Children's Museum is free on the evenings of Sept. 19, Oct. 17 and Nov. 21. 

20. Go on a hike. An autumn hike can be even better than a summer hike. It's not humid. There are no mosquitoes. And you can have hot chocolate afterward. Try out the trails at Wehr Nature Center in Franklin or Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha.

21. Get lost in a corn maze. 

22. Celebrate the maker movement. You can check out Maker Faire on Sept.14-15 at the Wisconsin Center, or go to one of the maker spaces at Discovery World, Betty Brinn Children's Museum and several local libraries.

23. Reading marathon. When it gets too cold to go outside, celebrate by building a blanket fort and snuggling in for a read-aloud marathon.

24. Make a Milwaukee County Zoo trip before the weather gets cold. You can go during Family Farm weekend Sept. 7 and 8, or really, any time you want.

25. See a First Stage play. Milwaukee's famous children's theater's 2019-'20 season starts in fall. Check out a performance "Elephant and Piggie's We Are in a Play" or "On the Wings of Mariposa."

26. Cheer on the Packers. It's football season, and there's no age limit for Packers fans. Plan a party with your kids and have them help you make food and decorations for the next game. Don't forget to play touch football in the yard during halftime.

27. Get spooktacular. At the Milwaukee County Zoo's annual Halloween Spooktacular on Oct. 25 and 26, your kids can dress up in their costumes and go trick-or-treating. 

28. Jump in the leaves. If there's a lack of trees in your own yard, head to your local park.

29. Make a craft project. Speaking of leaves, it's fun for little kids to do a leaf walk through the neighborhood and make a craft with their collections. If you'd rather have someone else come up with the craft ideas, local libraries have plenty of seasonal art times.

30. Take a fall camping trip. It's not just for the summer months, especially since cooler nights are better for sleeping and there are fewer bugs! Jellystone Park in Caledonia is a fun family campground. 

31. Take a weekend trip to the Dells. You don't need warm weather to swim when the water parks are indoors. After the summer season and before the holiday season is a great time to go.

32. Take a class together. Browse through your community's recreation catalog and find a family class. For example, New Berlin has parent-child soccer, baseball and basketball.

33. DIY Halloween costume. If your kids don't have their hearts set on a store-bought costume this year, encourage them (and help them) to make their own.

34. Plan what to give out for trick-or-treat. Have your kids pick out their favorite candy to hand out. Or, embrace the Teal Pumpkin Project, and hand out toys or other non-edible treats to support kids with food allergies.

35. Make a haunted house. Just make sure to tailor it to your kids' scariness comfort level, and invite them to go through it. Even better, have them help you make it.

36. Go to the Jelly Belly munchkin masquerade. The Jelly Belly Visitor Center in Pleasant Prairie invites kids to come in costume on Oct. 26. Is there any more appropriate place to celebrate Halloween than a candy factory?

37. Make a kid-friendly pumpkin spice drink. While you sip your latte, jump online for a kid-friendly recipe for your kids to enjoy. There are thousands. Think hot chocolate, steamer, milkshake, smoothie, etc.

38. Have a family board game marathon. Introduce your kids to some of your childhood favorite games, or head to your closest Board Game Barrister to get something new. There are locations in Glendale, Greenfield and Wauwatosa.

39. Have a bonfire. Grab some marshmallows for roasting and enjoy the cool fall nights. If you can't have a fire in your own yard, plenty of the harvest festivals in and around Milwaukee host their bonfires, complete with marshmallow roasting. You could try out Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha on Oct. 18 or Riverside Park in Milwaukee on Oct. 25.

40. Learn to face-paint. Face-painting doesn't have to be a professional-only type of thing. Buy some paints, check out a YouTube tutorial and teach yourself and your kids a new hobby.

41. Visit a small town. Historic towns with quaint streets are great for fall decorations. Stroll along the streets of somewhere like Cedarburg or Lake Geneva to soak up the season.

42. Plan your holiday viewing. Prep for the season by making a list of your family's favorite can't-miss holiday TV shows and movies to stream on Netflix, Amazon or even search the old-school TV listings.

43. Have a picnic. Pack up all that beautiful fall produce to take along with you to one of southeast Wisconsin's beautiful parks.

44. Check out an indoor play center. Get out of the cold, and take the fun indoors to a place like The Big Backyard in New Berlin. And SkyZone has locations in Greenfield and Waukesha.

45. Teach your kids to bob for apples. Or eat a doughnut from a string — any of those wonderful autumnal hands-free snacking opportunities.

46. Go bowling. One reason bowling is so popular in Milwaukee is that it's a great indoor activity for when it gets too cold outside. Hit up your local bowling alley and teach your kids to play. Some local favorites are Alpine Lanes in Muskego and Sussex Bowl in Sussex. Or try a fun twist with duckpin bowling, which uses smaller pins and lighter balls. There are a variety of places in the Milwaukee area, including The Thirsty Duck in Wauwatosa.

47. Take a fall trip to Great America. Yes, it's open select weekends in September and October for Fright Fest. And it's not scary during the daytime.

48. Set up a spiderweb game. Make a spiderweb in your house with colored balls of yarn (wrapped around different pieces of furniture). Give each child the end of one color and let them unravel the web.

49. Search for tracks. Take advantage of the first snowfall or muddy fall days and search for animal tracks on nature center trails or right in your neighborhood.

50. Start a first snowfall pool. Have everyone in your family bet the day the first snowfall will be. Whoever is closest wins a prize your family agrees upon. Like the ability to choose a weekend activity. Or dinner out at a favorite restaurant. Or a jar of candy.

Contact Amy Schwabe at (262) 875-9488 or amy.schwabe@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @WisFamilyJS, Instagram at @wisfamilyjs or Facebook at WisconsinFamily.