Sunday, May 5, 2013

Train up a child!


"Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22:6



I am a firm believer that we are so far removed from our food source, that if we do not start educating the current generation of young people about what they are eating and where it comes from, we are in trouble folks!

Several years ago, I remember talking to a group of ladies at work while we were eating our lunch.  We were talking about their children going for kindergarten examinations, and some of the questions that the educators asked along with their children's answers.  There was one answer that made my skin crawl.  The question was:  "Where do milk and eggs come from?"  Several of the children remarked: "Kroger's!"  This appalled me!  How as a nation, have we become so far removed from our food source that our children only know their food comes from the grocery store, and better yet, how can we fix it?  

Here on my homestead and on my blog, we fix it one child (or adult!) at a time.  If you are interested, and passionate, children will want to learn!  If you guide them, and show them how to create something merely out of dirt and seed, they will want to participate.  How could they not?!  Look at the pride on me neighbor girl's face below.  You can't buy that look in a grocery store, or get it from a box.  That is a look that only comes from the amazement of creating something yourself.  And you know what?  I still as an adult have the same look of pride, and that same sort of amazement every time I look around my garden and homestead.  It is an absolute miracle, that never gets old.  





I encourage you to help teach your children where their food comes from.  Teach them how to sustain themselves.

Grab a bag of potting mix and start some seeds together.  Raise a few chickens in your backyard and marvel over the eggs that they lay.  

Don't have a backyard to work in?  Scout out an elderly person who has a backyard that they can't enjoy any longer and plant a raised vegetable bed that you can all enjoy.

Replace your flowers with vegetables.  Tomatoes, strawberries, and potatoes are gorgeous and add beauty and functionality to your flower beds.  

Whether it be your own child, your nephew, or your neighbor kid, you will greatly impact the life of that child.  Remember when I said that the miracles never get old around here?  Well, being the person that teaches someone how to sustain themselves is one of the greatest miracles you will ever be part of, and that never gets old either!









2 comments:

  1. I love this post, Emily! You are right...kids have no idea where food comes from. I am in the opposite boat with my kiddos. We get our milk and eggs from a local farm and go to LOTS of farmer's markets. My kids think it's funny that "people buy milk at a store". hahaha! We took a tour at our local dairy farm last week and Jackson REALLY got an education on where the milk comes from! He had no idea that it came out of the cow quite like that! ;) Anyway, we have a garden and grow some of our own food. I make so many things from scratch that my son thinks everything we eat is something I made...ie. "Mommy, this (Edy's) fruit pop is the most delicious popsicle you have EVER made!" Thanks for such a great post, I am going to share it on my FB page.

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  2. This is so excellent! I don't think the importance of food education can be over-emphasized these days! We are so removed, we don't even know how far removed we are! But, food is sooooo important in the Scriptures! Jesus compared Himself to Bread and Wine, souls to wheat, the Word to seeds. The final celebration of our faith will be a feast! There's just soooo much! And when we don't even know where our food comes from I think we lose a lot in our understanding of the metaphors and analogies the Bible uses!

    Are you participating in Food Revolution Day? Seems like something you'd like! If you do celebrate, I hope you'll snap a pic and share it with us over at The Provision Room!

    http://theprovisionroom.com/2013/04/24/food-revolution-day-may-17-2013/

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