Dinner does not magically appear on the table! (which is very unfortunate for us mothers! haha). And REAL food does not come prepackaged in a box. Our food is grown, harvested or picked, then cleaned, cooked then finally served for us to enjoy. When our children learn about this process they get excited to learn more and become more willing to try these fresh and healthy foods. It is amazing how much they can learn and how many great questions our children have as they learn about each step. I also support taking a trip to a factory with the kids (The Jelly Bean factory is a fun and child friendly example) because it is education and exciting too! BUT in my opinion it is far better to start with the raw basics and bring some focus back to nature.
To support this love for learning there are different things I love to do with my children such as taking them to the farm where they get to see the animals and the fields of different fruits and vegetables. My daughters love to see the eggs in the chicken coupes and help feed the goats. Emma Prush Park also has great programs that teach about the farm life such as vegetable gardening, animal care, etc. This was actually the first place my daughter saw a chicken egg hatch…and decided she didn’t want to eat eggs for an entire year so she wouldn’t hurt the babies. Later that week she took the eggs from our fridge and wrapped them up in her blanket to keep them warm. This experience opened up some great conversations about how eggs get fertilized, why we refrigerate eggs, and why we shouldn’t waste food. Another great option if you don't have a vegetable garden at home is to join a community garden or to make a trip to a pick-your-own-apple orchard. My family likes going to the farmers market on Sundays and the kids and I talk about how the foods are transported from the farm to the grocery stores and farmers market.
