A farm is an amazing place for a child to grow up, it holds wonders that many children will never experience. My kids are able to enjoy a freedom that is often missing from children’s lives in this generation, the freedom to learn and explore and interact with nature on a very personal level. Like many parents, I want my kids to be interested and enjoy our lifestyle choices because I feel what we do is important for us and them. My three children are already active participants in our homestead, my oldest son is 5 1/2 and I have 3 1/2-year-old twins, a boy, and girl.  I really want them to like what our farm has to offer, the animals, the garden, hunting, and living sustainably as possible. Turns out that it’s pretty easy, at least when they are young. Little kids naturally love animals and dirt. They like collecting things (eggs, berries, vegetables, rocks), eating things (see the previous list) and hugging (i.e.squeezing) small animals. Young children are also naturally helpful, they want to help you, be with you and do what you are doing. I believe this is key, working with little kids natural tendencies to want to help and be like you. Keeping in mind that they are 5 and 3 and so, therefore, are not really helpful, although they try hard. I encourage them to try anything they enjoy whether it is collecting eggs or helping to fix the car. As the children grow up and their interests change, I let the kids helping change too. My oldest used to like to bake now he likes to fix broken things. I believe it is more important to foster their natural curiosity and tendencies at this age than to be strict in the assigning of chores, that will come later, but right now exploration is good for them and good for our farm!

 

Foster the Love of Learning

 

Now, I’m not going to lie and say letting your kids become involved is always an easy thing to do. I consider myself a person of little patience. I want things done NOW! And I had a really hard time allowing my kids help because things took too long, I’m talking glacier slow.  Then I realized how happy it makes them, and by letting them ‘help’ they were learning to treat the homestead as their own, not just something their parents do.  So I gave in and slowly my patience level increased. Basically, I’m saying if I can let my kids help you can too. Now I’m not going to tell you how to get teenagers involved, I don’t have any, but I imagine it’s a bit harder. But here is how I let my kids ‘help’ around the homestead.

 

 

• Dirt Digging or Moving Dirt: Includes, planting seeds, digging holes, moving dirt, creating raised beds, digging holes in the lawn, throwing dirt, shoveling dirt for absolutely no reason. Dirt is good.
• Firewood: Helping to stack wood in the woodshed and in the house, moving the lever of the splitter, climbing on piles of wood under supervision, and handing me every piece of firewood I have ever put in the woodstove.
• Gathering: This is a big one in our house. We collect wild berries of all kinds, blueberries, crowberries, cranberries, and rosehips. We also collect eggs, edible mushrooms, flowers, and too many animals. Make sure and teach your kids what is edible or not, if you’re not sure, don’t eat it, because there are lots of poisonous mushrooms and berries.
• Eating: This is the basis really of all homesteading and farms, and life. Kid love to pick their own food and eat it. When we berry pick, the kids happily sit in a patch of berries for hours stuffing their faces. And I’m pretty sure I did not get a single raspberry out of our patch last year. They also like fresh from the garden, carrots, peas (very popular), kale, lettuce, beans, and tomatoes. I usually eat it first and make a big deal out of it as if it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten (and sometimes it is), you’d be surprised how fast they want some. Fresh goat cheese is also a favorite of everyone. I don’t hold anything back from my kids, I tell them what we’re eating, even if it the rabbit they used to hold. And I explain to them why we do what we do. They’re smart, they understand or at least accept. When they are grown they can make their own decision regarding eating animals.

 

• Fixing: Snowmobiles, ATV’s, toys, cars, trucks, and snowblowers. Engines and fans are cool. My kid knows more than I do about engines. Just let them hang out and watch, drag them up a chair so they can see inside and let them ask questions. Let them pretend to drive things. Because everybody wants to drive a tractor.
• Animals: To me, this is a no-brainer. Kids love animals, especially baby animals, who am I kidding I love baby animals. I let the kids hold the animals, pet them, name them, pick them out when we buy them, and feed them. And they are very gentle now, although I still supervise them with babies since little kids can be very careful but still accidentally hurt such fragile lives.
• Baking and Cooking: Safely let them stir, measure, pour, crack the eggs, roll out the pie dough, and cut the cookies or biscuits into shapes, and lick the beaters of course.
• Building Things: They hand me everything, “thanks for the nail”, they like to hammer and screw, drag around materials, hold things in place, and give opinions.
• Mowing the lawn: Lawnmowers are cool. End of story.
• Moving cars, trucks, tractors, or any other machinery: Pretend to let them drive.
• Vacuuming, Sweeping, and Shoveling Snow. Haha, suckers!

 

So even if the result of your kids being part of your homestead is broken eggs and grease across a new shirt. In the long run, it is worth it. Because a farm is for the family.

Let me know how you involve your kids on the homestead!!!

 

Thanks to my mother-in-law Sandy Scurr for the wonderful photos.