One of the most rewarding things about homesteading is sharing this lifestyle with our daughter, Ava.

The pure joy of watching her all day in her element among the animals or in the garden is something I will forever treasure!

I love sharing my daily activities and chores with Ava, showing and teaching her about all the wonderful things nature blesses us with. Whether picking a beautiful flower, harvesting a juicy tomato, or collecting chicken eggs.

By involving her in our homesteading activities and chores, I hope to instill a sense of appreciation and a passion for this lifestyle from an early age. I also know that she will learn a few invaluable skills along the way that will help her for many years to come.

Scroll down for a few ways to build homesteading skills with your kids!

Why teach kids homesteading skills?

Teaching our children age-old traditions and skills from a young age can help them become contributing members of any household. They will be a huge asset to the family and their surrounding community when they are older.

I do not know of any parent that would mind when their child offers to cut the grass or feed the donkeys!

In a world where our plates are full, and we try to juggle it all, a little help really goes a long way! Delegating some tasks can make our lives a lot easier.

By teaching our kids homesteading skills, they also learn some valuable life lessons, including:

Hard work ethic: Helping around the homestead will make children accustomed to the norm that working hard is part of society and pays off. This work ethic will be invaluable when it is time to enter the workforce.

Self-confidence: Kids will become confident in their abilities to do and achieve things. They will feel valued and appreciated as they help with and contribute to important household functions and their immediate community.

Responsibility: They will learn what responsibility is and understand that there are consequences to one's actions. I.e., when you don't water the plants, they will die.

Teamwork: Doing tasks together teaches kids that working together is easier, quicker, and necessary to reach a joint goal or end result. It instills how important it is to help those around us and live more unselfishly.

Valuable Homesteading skills for kids

Foraging

We spend as much time outdoors as possible (weather permitting!) as it is a great way to be active, reduce stress, and connect with nature. I will often send Ava on fun little foraging adventures, searching for food or items for projects.

This is a fun way to discover exciting things and stir curiosity. When foraging with her, I can teach her about different plants and insects, why certain things happen, how things in nature work, etc.

Kids can collect many fun things, including edible ingredients like fruits and vegetables, dandelions, squash blossoms, roses, pansies, violas, marigolds, lavender, and thyme. They can also forage for natural decor or craft items for projects like flowers, dry leaves, sticks, stones, feathers, etc.

When they have collected everything, get cooking or working on a fun DIY project!

Foraging is a great skill to learn as it shows us how many beautiful and useful things we can find in nature!

Gardening

It makes my heart warm to see the pure joy Ava experiences when playing in the garden. The innocence, curiosity, adventure, and immense excitement when discovering an earthworm or harvesting produce.

Gardening is an excellent way for toddlers and young children to learn new skills. Kids develop self-confidence and a sense of responsibility when gardening. It also teaches them patience, stirs their creativity, and improves their physical and mental health.

Gardening is a relatively easy skill to teach kids the concept of homesteading and self-sufficient living.

It will teach them how to grow food, the science of plants growing, how to recycle and make compost, how to naturally control pests, and so much more.

Fun gardening activities can include:

Watering plants.
Picking flowers and veggies.
Digging to find earthworms.
Planting and sowing seeds.
Helping with some light weeding.
Preparing and mixing the soil.

Gardening truly is the best activity to start living more sustainably!

I have a separate blog post on gardening with kids, including all the benefits, tips, and more activity ideas!

Taking care of chickens

Chickens are some of the easiest animals to care for when you want to teach your children about caring for another living being.

Not to mention, they are so much fun and provide endless entertainment. And when your kid grows up with little chicks, the bond is so special!

Here are a few ways they can get involved:

Gather eggs from the nest boxes or wherever the ladies lay them!
Put out feed in the morning and late afternoon, and refill their water.
If your kids are older, help them to start an egg-selling or chick-hatching business!
Use empty eggs to make crushed eggshells to add to your soil or grow seedlings in eggshell halves.

Tend to farm animals

Caring for animals is a huge responsibility. This valuable homesteading skill will build a loving character and have long-lasting effects for years. Animals improve our well-being and teach us many emotional and social skills!

By caring for farm animals, your kids will also learn many practical homesteading skills like how to use their manure for compost, how they can control pests, how they can benefit your pastures, etc.

Here are a few ways they can get involved:

Let your kids feed them
Refill and clean their water troughs
Clean their sleeping quarters
Help you build shelters
Assist with births
Brush their coats.
Always make sure it is safe and keep an eye.

Cooking and preserving food

Cooking food from scratch is probably the starting point for self-sufficient and sustainable living. This is one skill that is independent of your location or the size of your property.

Many foods in supermarkets and takeout restaurants are filled with nasties we cannot even pronounce.

So teach your kids early on how to make food from scratch and eat more seasonal produce. This will be their foundation for healthy eating and living.

READ MORE: Seasonal eating - Why and how!

Make things like sourdough bread, pasta, butter, jams, and sauces from scratch. Cook with in-season produce and bake delicious goods at home.

It amazes me how Ava has already, at such a young age, mastered a few (supervised) cooking skills and actually requests healthy foods instead of sweets. It's also so cute how she would just grab a mint leaf from the garden while walking by and eat it immediately!

Although not safe for toddlers, canning is another excellent homesteading skill to teach kids. I think it is so special that we can pass on this time-honored skill to our kids and for generations to come.

Making your own food and canning has many advantages, including:

It is a way to be more self-sufficient, rely less on store-bought food, and live sustainably by reducing food waste and packaging.
I love knowing where my food comes from - not being treated with pesticides, herbicides, and other nasties.
It brings immense joy and fulfillment to my family and me. It is very satisfying to enjoy something you have made from scratch! Even more so when spent with loved ones.
It is a wonderful way to store food long-term for use later (especially when out of season).
Sharing canned food or produce with friends and family is a huge blessing.

READ MORE: How to can food in 10 easy steps - with a delicious beginner’s recipe

Some more fun homesteading skills to teach kids

Make compost

By making compost, kids will learn to reduce their waste and footprint on the planet, it will teach them to save and reuse things, and they will discover the wonderful science behind the process.

Make Soap and candles

Soap and candle-making are fun and creative activities suitable for older kids. Oh, how valuable it would be if they ever lived in a very rural area and needed to provide for themselves! Ok, I know this may be a bit far-fetched ;-) but still, it is something fun to keep them busy and which they can even monetize!

learn Sewing

Sewing is a special skill that has unfortunately faded over the years due to our consumeristic world and instant gratification. But this skill can be so advantageous in many situations, even when you just need to resew a button! But it will also teach kids that sometimes the most beautiful things take a bit of patience, time, and effort but are so much more rewarding.

Make homemade gifts

Make DIY gifts with your kids for friends and family. Homemade gifts are way more unique and cost-effective. It also reduces our waste and carbon footprint. Kids will learn the value of something homemade over store-bought, how to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and it will develop their creativity.

I have many fun DIY gift ideas! Have a look HERE

Tips for involving the kids in homesteading

It should always be about experience and connection. Pick a hands-on activity you can do together to develop a homesteading skill set. Make it more about the valuable time spent together (while learning something) than purely being a lesson for survival.
Focus on enjoying the moment and learning process rather than the end result and just getting things done.
Remember to have fun! Ava loves to throw hay around, get dirty, or do something silly, like pouring chicken feed over her head! It's all part of the fun and learning experience. I want her to know that doing chores or learning a new skill does not have to be boring or a punishment. Instead, it is an opportunity to grow and discover beautiful things.
Watch your kids to determine where their interests lie most. I.e., if they love animals, let them help with feeding. If they find gardening and cooking interesting, give them more chores in that direction. This way, they will be more inclined to learn and enjoy the skill.
Keep it age appropriate. Sometimes we must remind ourselves that children take a bit longer to learn and process things. We might be doing something on autopilot, whereas it might be completely new and perhaps a bit overwhelming for them.
A little motivation and praise go a long way and will encourage the future willingness to help.

May you and your kids make great memories together while you teach them some of these homesteading skills. And remember to have fun!

Love, Annette xx

homegrown platform

There’s nothing like the excitement of learning a new thing - how to garden, how to make delicious recipes from your garden, or how to care for baby chicks.

But the truth is that without understanding the basics, these fun experiences can become a headache. Bugs eat your tomatoes before you do. Recipes don’t taste like what you hoped. Those chicks get sick or worse, don’t make it.

We have been creating and curating content from people just like you who have already lived and learned, and are excited to share with you the steps they took to find success so you don’t have to repeat the same mistakes we have made.

From food to farm to family and so much more, we find ways to share tried and tested ideas in your own kitchen, garden, and home.