I take every opportunity I can to have fun with my kids and show them what life is all about. I homeschool so they can be out in the world, a more natural setting for learning. We don’t go out in public and I start lecturing them about what they are seeing and learning. I expose them to things and see what they get out of the experience.
Blueberry Picking on Blueberry Hill
We are very fortunate that our town owns blueberry fields. They lease the fields out to a local farm, and the farm allows the residents to pick blueberries after the harvesting is complete. The machines don’t get all the blueberries so there are plenty of blueberries for the picking. My husband and I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and bring the kids blueberry picking. After all, the fields are minutes from our house.
We chose a beautiful morning to go picking. The sun was shining and the oppressive humidity we had had forever finally broke. The kids excitedly grabbed their containers and set off down the hill in search of blueberries. All I could think of was the Robert McCloskey book Blueberries for Sal as I heard the blueberries dropping into the bottom of my kids’ containers. Luckily, there were no black bears out foraging this morning.
The kids were in heaven picking and eating blueberries that morning. I stood watching them feeling grateful they were able to do this. A few weeks prior I was reminded not everyone is lucky enough to have such opportunities. We had friends over to our house and the kids ran outside and began picking raspberries in the backyard. One boy loved this. He never had this opportunity when he lived in Texas. We are very lucky.
Blueberry Treats Aplenty
The minute we got home everyone had suggestions on what to do with the new found treasure. I agreed we would start off making blueberry muffins.(Recipe found here. I use this recipe as a base and add different berries.) But first off, the berries required cleaning and stem removal. It was a long process and good for the kids to see all the work that goes into working with fresh picked blueberries.
Once the berries were picked over, the baking was ready to begin. As I said, we started off with muffins but over the course of the week, I made scones (recipe here) and blueberry pie.
The kids notice the difference in taste when we use fresh ingredients and bake from scratch. It is a skill they are learning and often tackle cooking and baking on their own (with supervision). My kids are not going to move out of the house and only know how to use a can opener or a microwave oven. It is such an important skill that so many kids don’t seem to learn anymore.
Kids in the Kitchen
My daughter decided to try her hand at making blueberry jam all by herself. She searched the internet and found a recipe that didn’t require pectin since we didn’t have any in the house. She read through the recipe and began making it. In the end, it tasted wonderful! She is turning into a pretty decent cook.
The interesting thing about the recipe my daughter chose was the fact it was a freezer blueberry jam. You can find it here. She has learned that fresh items spoil faster. Yeah! She pays attention. Seriously, though, she found a way to make her batch of jam and preserve it without canning it.
My son decided to use some of the delicious blueberries in cooking, too. He made some yummy blueberry pancakes one night for a quick “breakfast for dinner” night. I wish I took pictures because they came out great. However, my dear son, the pancake monster, hardly ate them. When I inquired why he informed me he was saving room for blueberry pie. He can’t get enough blueberries.
Lessons in the Kitchen
My hope is my kids learn to appreciate the things they have in their own backyard, like the berries and apples, and know that this isn’t an experience everyone is lucky enough to have.
I want them to learn to take advantage of the fresh ingredients we can grow or find nearby and how much better it is to use these in our cooking and baking. The food is fresh and tastes so much better than what you can find in the grocery store. We are fortunate to live in a rural area where this is possible.
Another skill we are slowing diving into is finding ways in which to preserve our fresh items so we can enjoy them longer. My husband has done some canning, I’ve frozen items, but it is another skill that kids should learn when harvesting food from the fields to put on the table.
In a world where everyone finds fast and easy ways to feed their families, I want my kids to understand where their food comes from. I want them to understand all the work that goes into making fresh meals and treats from scratch. Experiences like this allow kids to see how difficult life used to be for people before all these modern conveniences like boxed meals and take-out menus. It puts things in perspective how much easier life has become yet the old lessons are still important.
What is your favorite field to table experience you share with your kids?
