Kids do the darndest things
The leaves are starting to turn golden and there is definately an evening chill in the air here in South Dakota. Our kids are slowly getting into their school and preschool routines. Last week our three-year old had her first day of preschool and all summer she has been so looking forward to it. However, the night before the big day, she wouldn’t eat, asked to go to bed early, and had bad dreams and a fever in the night.
The next morning she was still acting pretty sickly, but I took her to preschool because I didn’t want her to miss the first day. I stayed with her for about a half an hour and then she started doing better once she got used to the environment. I was relaying this story to a friend who happens to have cattle, and of it, he said, “She gave herself shipping fever!” I laughed and said, “Yeah, I guess she did.” Now a week has gone by and she (our little 3 year old) is back on feed and doing fine!
I tell that story because there are lots of calves (and kids) around the country who are being taken out of their normal routine with weaning (or school) and put into an unfamiliar environment. As a producer (and a parent) do what you can to make that transition a smooth and comfortable one. Your cattle - and your kids - will perform better in the long run.
Since I’m telling kid stories, another fun one from our summer was our foray into a sheep project. My husband and I decided it was time for our kids (who are 7, 5 and 3) to get some chores. So in June we were able to borrow three sheep from a neighbor. We got some panels and rotated the sheep around on some places where we had extra grass. By the end of the summer, hubby and I were noticing that the kids weren’t too involved and it was more of a “chore” for he and I to care for those sheep. We laugh now and say it brought us closer together! The sheep have since gone back to greener pastures at the neighbors. But our little three year old just asked the other day if we’ll be getting sheep again next summer. I guess it will depend on how badly her dad and I want to do some extra chores!
Related Topics: Small Producer Challenges
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Last week our neighbors watched the kids for a few hours while my husband and I went out to dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The neighbors have an array of animals, including some laying hens. So, the kids got to help collect the eggs and wash them. Our neighbor lady asked our daughter if she had ever had eggs like this before, and our daughter replied, “I don’t think so.” She was so used to seeing them come from the grocery store, that seeing them truly come from a chicken on the farm had her confused. It made me realize if our kids don’t know where their food comes from, imagine what city kids think?
I recently came across a great “book bundle” being offered by the Minnesota Ag in the Classroom program. The bundle features more than 20 books for children, all with related stories about agriculture. They have titles like “If it weren’t for farmers” and “From plant to blue jeans.” What a great gift for classrooms or preschools (or simply your grandkids).
These bundles are available from Hobar Publications at the special price of $285 for the bundle (about $13 per book). To order call 952-938-9330 or for more information visit http://www.mda.state.mn.us/kids and click on “Book Bundle.”
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