I sure hope you enjoy her post today as she shares about how much fun she and her family have doing photography lessons at their local farmer’s market!
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Going to any crowded public place always seemed to overwhelm me when our children were all little, but as our son was finally able to remain close by my side it become more enjoyable. One place we always enjoyed going to was the local Farmer’s Market. At first the kids may not like the sound of it, but if you make their first experience fun they will look forward to it again. This is an an outing we enjoy together as a family and it’s just as important to date your kids as it is your spouse. Over the years, this has become one of our favorite things to do as a family. We’ll even stop in to shop at other Farmer’s Markets when we’re on vacation. We love to soak up the culture of each town’s produce market whenever we get the chance. My Mother-In-Love is one of the best people do enjoy this with. She has it down to a science! So between the two of us, we have learned to prepare ourselves, the car, and the kids for an hour or two of outdoor fun.
First of all, we prepare ourselves for the sun. Everyone has sunglasses, hats, and sunblock. We get so caught up in enjoying the day that it’s easy to forget that you’re standing in the sun for so long. We wear cool loose fitting clothing so if there is any breeze at all, it helps to keep us cool. We had tried wearing flip flops before, but we found that tennis shoes are much more comfortable, especially if we have to park a block or two away and walk. We also wear bright colored clothing in case anyone gets shuffled out of view due to the crowds. It makes it much easier to find one another. We establish a meeting place in case anyone gets lost. The children know where the meeting place is, usually at the entrance, and we teach them to go to the nearest vendor to ask for help getting back to the meeting place. Be sure your children know your cell phone number in case an adult needs to assist them in finding you.
Photo credit: Lady Jess
My Mother-In-Love has a nifty bag on wheels made of tapestry to put the produce in. Always be sure to rotate your produce as you’re shopping. You’ll want to be sure the heavy items are on the bottom and plump delicate items on top. It would be awful to put cantaloupes on top of ripe tomatoes and get home to discover you no longer have tomatoes for your Caprese Salad or Breakfast Tostada. Whenever the bag fills up, one adult and an older child runs it back to the car and brings the empty bag back for more shopping.
Since all of my children are learning photography, we take our time walking through the market so we can take pictures of the produce. Sometimes we need to adjust the settings for each camera as we go along, because some vendors have their produce in the shade and some are in full sun. It’s fun to see the vendors asking us why we’re taking so many photos of their produce. When I explain that I’m teaching them photography in our homeschool they begin to make better photo opps for us. One vendor even gave us some of his extra baskets as props and allowed us to rearrange some of his produce for our shots.
Photo credit: Sisterlisa
Although we have a small breakfast before we leave home, we always budget some funds to get them something special from one of the bakers and honey straws from the local honey vendor. Among our favorite recipes we make from items picked up at the Farmer’s Market is Brushetta made with plump tomatoes, sourdough bread, basil, and Balsamic Herb and Dipping Oil from Lodestar Farms. Believe it or not, our children enjoy this outing with us every summer! There is a Saturday morning market and a Thursday night market which draws out even more fun as the jump houses, rock climbing wall, and music bands entertain us. We enjoy the diversity of our community and the Thursday night market is the place to be if you want to see the local culture emerging through the night. Just a couple of years ago, the city redesigned the city square to include a fountain that the children can play in. Sometimes one of the drawbacks of homeschooling is the limited interaction with other kids, but our city provides a variety of opportunities to be a community with all our neighbors.
What does your community offer to help enrich your neighborhood friendships?
Sisterlisa blogs at The HomeSpun Life and is a Contributing Team Member at The Homeschool Post. Other articles that might put some fun into your summer:
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