Farmer's Market with Kids

Dragon Fruit Eyes

Farmer's Markets and produce stands are a fun and engaging way to get kids excited about the wonderful varieties of fruits, veggies and local treats your area has to offer. Not only are you supporting local families, but you are creating a foundation for your own kids on which they can be involved in the fun of shopping for your favorite produce. It opens their spongey minds to new foods, colors, textures, experiences and memories. It not only teaches them, but it teaches you about the produce your area has to offer and peaks time of season. Now in Fall, my kids saw lots of squash, pumpkins, and Autumn veggies at our market and it just ties in the holidays perfectly.

Here in Florida, we love our mangos, dragonfruit, and pineapples. My kids and I love getting them at our local produce stand which sits nestled between tall trees on the side of the road in a small fishing town. It's a delight to walk under the towering trees while allowing my littles to grab different produce and ask me "what is this?" My son who is in Pre-K, weighs the items for me on the scale, adding and subtracting items to the weight we desire, and we count that as his math lesson for the hour. He gets excited to ask me how much each item costs and we work together to decide what all we would like to take home. My 2-year old is in sensory hyperdrive. Her tiny, pudgy hands reach for all that she can reach as she feels the textures of every produce. She points to new colors and screeches a happy squeal when she discovers something new. She reaches for that large jalapeno peppers and brother is there to remind her it wouldn't be a good idea to handle those.

Sensory Play

We leave with laughs and a bag full of sweet fruit and yummy veggies. The last time we went, we took home some mini pumpkins, plums and ginger. The kids were so excited and divulged in their plums as soon as we went into the car. At a regular store, it's hard to contain my kids. They don't like to sit in the basket and shopping with them is almost impossible with my 2-year old running around. At our Farmer's Market, they are free to roam with my close supervision. They are allowed to be kids, wild and free. They can reach the produce themselves and handle them with excitement. Mommy can shop and have fun in the experience too. It's quite an adventure.

Local Produce market- Shop Local

Our produce stand is permanentely planted in our town. If you don't have one, you can always look up local Farmer's Markets and craft fairs. Majority of the time, there are farmer's and locals selling fresh produce. We started out just playing with my daughter's play Farmer's Market. Now she asks me to go to the "real one" and both kids gets so excited when we go because they know we will come home with something new and exciting to try. I encourage you to take your little ones and try it. Most importantly, it's free. You don't have to buy anything, just the experience alone will suffice.

Produce Market Florida

What are your favorite items to purchase at a farmer's market?

Happy adventuring!