Farmer’s Market with Kids

The farmer’s market has always been a favorite pastime of mine. There’s something special about walking through the stalls, smelling the combined sweetness of the dirt and vegetables, and seeing the results of weeks of hard work. It is calming and lovely, like a little present at the end of a busy week. 

Recently, AJ (my oldest rascal) came to me and asked if he could spend the few extra coins/dollars he had left over from a field trip on honey sticks at the farmer’s market. He wanted to buy them himself, with his own money. 

I was a little surprised at his request because I had always assumed, as I dragged my boys with me, that they were simply tagging along. This request got me thinking, so I asked him if he knew how much they were, and he said no. 

“They’re five for a dollar,” I responded. AJ looked at what he had in his hand and then told me that if they’re five for a dollar, then he can buy ten. Oh, dang. My son knows math! I honestly didn’t think that he would be so quick on the uptake. How could I say no? 

The next time we were at the market, AJ was on the lookout for the honey stick vendors. Ben (my littlest rascal) got into the search too and asked for AJ to buy him a honey stick. This request was sweet, and, if I’m being honest, a little funny.

Finally, we found one of the vendors and AJ expertly exchanged his money for some sweet sticky goodness. Then he said he wanted to go to the other honey stick vendor too. At first, Albert and I thought he was price shopping for the best deal until AJ turned to us and said that he didn’t want the vendors to be sad because he only bought sticks from one of them. 

I love my boys, and this is one example of why. On one hand, they show signs of maturity, knowing how to do math quickly and making grown-up requests. Then, they turn around and show me their sweet innocence and sincere kindness by making sure no one gets left out.   

This experience also taught me a valuable lesson. As the farmer’s market junkie I am, I thought that the boys were simply following me around spending time with the family, not paying much attention to what was happening around them. I learned that day that the farmer’s market is actually the perfect place to teach our little rascals about different life skills. 

First, they can see where foods come from. You can’t buy or eat something from the farmer’s market without telling them how it got there - that people worked hard to plant a seed, work the ground, and then wait until food grew big enough to pick and bring to the market. It’s a conversation that the vendors like having with the kids too - sharing what their individual farms or practices are like. This is very different than when you go to a grocery store.

Second, it allows the boys to see and talk to the actual people who grow the food. Sometimes AJ will ask “are you the farmer?” and then vendors will have a wonderful conversation with him. Especially if you go to the same market over and over, your rascals will see the vendors not just as merchants, but actual people doing hard work behind the products

Third, you can teach them life skills such as how to introduce yourself to others, how to respond to questions asked, how to share with others, and even how to do math. Learning about how the value of money, and the exchange of money for goods, is equally important in the classroom as it is in actual practice. It makes me happy to be able to show our boys what that looks like in the real world. 

Finally, it can teach them kindness in interacting with others. Sometimes as adults, we whittle down our conversations with others into transactional interactions, and that’s okay. Sometimes, it’s running into the store with two minutes to make that return. Other times, you are running late to work and have no time to chit chat with the barista making your coffee. I find that our interactions at the farmer’s market are observed very closely by AJ and Ben, and that they are responding to the calm environment and kindness that the merchants show to us as we ask questions and walk through their stalls. These trips give us the opportunity to teach our boys about people different from ourselves. 

The farmer’s market will always be one of my favorite places, and it is my hope that my boys continue to appreciate these trips as they grow older.

Please Note: These photos are from our visits pre-Covid and therefore no masks were required. Check your local farmer’s market for new health guidelines before your visit.

If you have a favorite place to take your kids to teach them life skills, please let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear about how you teach your rascals some of these same (or different) lessons. 

Written by Head Rascal (Ngoc Nguyen Lay), mother of two rascals, ages 5 and 8. Photos by Simply Adri Photography.