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This week, the Homeschool Review Crew Blog Challenge is on the topic of Small Business Adventures.
As my children were growing up, one thing that I have learned, is that kids like making money.
Living on a small hobby farm with a garden, my kids, nieces, and nephews made money every summer by selling produce.
They helped with planting small plants and seeds, they helped lay plastic, watered, fertilized, weeded, and then picked all sorts of vegetables and fruits.
They enjoyed putting out their table and pulling up a wagon to use for their produce stand.
The kids learned how to talk and interact with adult customers (pleasant and unpleasant), how to add up the bill, make change, bag produce, and how to put-up and take-down their little business for the day.
We have also sold honey from our honeybees. The girls never did like to work with the bees, but they learned how to extract, bottle, and label the jars for selling.
While my niece was growing up, she would sell white and brown eggs from her feathered chicken friends.
In the summer the kids have helped other people by mowing lawns, and then in the winter by pushing snow with their tractors.
During this time of growth, we took the time to teach our kids about the value of money.
First, it God’s money, and He gets at least a tenth
Second, put some of it away to save
Third, Pray about the rest of it. Do you give it to someone in need, pay a bill, repay someone, buy someone a present, or use it for yourself?
The kids learned early how to fill out their own deposit slips and how to go into a bank and give their deposits.
We have never taken the time to actually make a business plan or set goals, etc. We’ve always just let the kids do these things so that they learn to help others, to work hard for their pay, and work together as a team.
The kids are older now, so they don’t do these little side hustles like they once did, but I would never go back and redo anything. The advantages far outweigh any trouble it may make for us parents. The memories, the experience, and the knowledge they’ve learned is priceless.
Not everyone has the capabilities like we did to sell produce, honey, or eggs, but there are a ton of other possibilities for kids to do.
If your child has time and an intense desire to be an entrepreneur, SchoolhouseTeachers.com has some great classes that are perfect for the little money-maker in your family.
Courses include:
Starting a Micro Business for Teens
Digital Art and Product Design for Small Business
Business Plan Creation
Internet Entrepreneurship for Teens
I love to hear from my readers, so let me know how it goes for your kids, won’t you?
