Autumn Fun on the Farm

* This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. *

Around here harvest is in full swing! Autumn is a busy season on the farm! My husband is working looong hours in the field, and the kids and I are busy bringing in the garden.

The kids love to ride on the combine with their dad! Little Man is especially fascinated with the way the machines work. Most of all, they love the time they get to spend with their dad, since he is gone from morning until after we are all in bed every day. The kids come home with so much interesting stuff to talk about, whether they bring home a handful of grain and tell me what kind it is or they are excited about how many grasshoppers or ladybugs were in the field.

Back at home, the kids help me with the garden. Our garden harvest lasts all summer and fall, starting with strawberries in June and finishing off with the corn and root veggies in September. I love that we get to eat our own fresh fruit and vegetables all summer! I buy very few vegetables in the winter too, except for ones that I can’t grow here. Most of what we grow goes in the freezer for the winter, although some gets pickled, canned, or dried in the dehydrator.

One of our favourite parts of autumn is our annual Apple Festival. Every fall we meet some of our cousins at Grandma’s farm, and we pick apples from Grandma’s trees. We have a potluck lunch with the extended family and then take our apples home. I like to do some fun apple activities with the kids during our Apple Festival too. They always want to bob for apples. We have also tied the apples to a string hung from above so they can try to catch them with their teeth. We have even done apple printing, labeled apple parts, and read about Johnny Appleseed. When it is time to get to work we make apple sauce, apple juice, and other yummy apple treats.

As with most things we do, harvest gives us many chances to teach our children–even if we don’t have much time for formal schooling right now. They are learning about the plant life cycle, how the plants in the field and garden turn into seeds that can be planted next spring. They learn about how the combines work. They learn that each plant produces after its own kind just like God told the plants to do when He first created them. They learn about insects that damage or help crops and gardens. There are tons of opportunities for real life learning during autumn on the farm! What kind of fun things have you done with your children this harvest season?

Hi! I’m Missy, from www.dottodotconnections.weebly.com. I am married to a homeschool graduate and together we are raising our second generation homeschool family on the farm. In our home, life is all about connecting the dots and learning lots! I love sharing about homeschooling with anyone who will listen and would love it if you would visit me on my blog. You can also find me on Facebook and Pinterest.