Last year we had several opportunities to teach young children about where food comes from, about nature, life and our connection with it. These youngsters helped us with many chores including weeding, planting, collecting eggs and feeding chickens. They observed bugs, frogs and birds while soaking up the sunshine and getting dirty.
Our niece came for a visit late in the season. She started out hating carrots and not wanting to try new foods. A lot of children have no idea where food comes from or how it is created. They have no appreciation for real food because they have not been involved in the process of creating it.
Children are capable of far more than we give them credit for. Often we intervene in their growth and development by assuming they can't do certain tasks. If they show an interest - why not let them try? Why not teach them?
Here's a little peek into a day on the homestead with our young niece.
Every morning after breakfast she would grab her egg basket and race to the coop
Open the nesting box hatch
Carefully remove all of the eggs
Carefully place them in the basket because they are delicate.
She helped me collect food for lunch and dinner and found some cute items for her collection: baby garlic, baby apples, carrots, pebbles, feathers and so many other little treasures.
We harvested pumpkins and made toasted pumpkin seeds, desserts and of course jack-o-'lanterns
We gathered apples from wild trees, planted garlic & onions
We collected birch bark, pine cones and leaves
Prepared a field for planting: including picking rocks.
We picked wildflowers and pressed them in books.
We also had to feed the chickens twice a day.
Having never really experienced things like planting seeds, harvesting food and seeing where eggs come from before, she learned a lot during her visit to our homestead. She worked hard and was an eager helper. She learned how to plant garlic, the correct way up. She filled in the holes and tamped down the soil. She explored and discovered many new things. We watched bees pollinating, birds flying south & chickens pecking.
It was such a joy to experience the beauty of this land through her eyes while also sharing the love we have for this land with her.
We even convinced her to eat the carrots she pulled from the garden. Something she refused to eat her first night here. There's so much stimulation and growth that comes from being in the wild and experiencing nature.
Get outside and rewild the kids in your life!
Be well.
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Building a greener, more beautiful world one seed at a time.
Homesteading | Gardening | Frugal Living | Preserving Food| From Scratch Cooking|
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