As the United States transformed itself from an agricultural to an industrial nation, thousands of young people left farm homes for life in the big city. But even by 1920 the nation’s heartland remained predominantly rural and most children in the region were still raised on farms. Pamela Riney-Kehrberg retells their stories, offering glimpses—both nostalgic and realistic—of a bygone era. As Riney-Kehrberg shows, the experiences of most farm children continued to reflect the traditions of family life and labor, albeit in an age when middle-class urban Americans were beginning to redefine childhood as a time reserved for education and play. She draws upon a wealth of primary sources—not only memoirs and diaries but also census data—to create a vivid portrait of midwestern farm childhood from the early post–Civil War period through the Progressive Era growing pains of industrialization. Those personal accounts resurrect the essential experience of children’s work, play, education, family relations, and coming of age from their own perspectives. Steering a middle path between the myth of wholesome farm life and the reality of work that was often extremely dangerous, Riney-Kehrberg shows both the best and the worst that a rural upbringing had to offer midwestern youth a time before mechanization forever changed the rural scene and radio broke the spell of isolation. Down on the farm, truancy was not uncommon and chores were shared across genders. Yet farm children managed to indulge in inventive play—much of it homemade—to supplement store-bought toys and to get through the long spells between circuses. Filled with insightful personal stories and graced with dozens of highly evocative period photos, Childhood on the Farm is the only general history of midwestern farm children to use narratives written by the children themselves, giving a fresh voice to these forgotten years. Theirs was a way of life that was disappearing even as they lived it, and this book offers new insight into why, even if many rural youngsters became urban and suburban adults, they always maintained some affection for the farm.

Told through the voices of the children, this inside view of life on their farm is authentic and sometimes surprising. Readers will learn about baling hay, tending cattle, work dogs, hunting, manure, and other activities on the Bennett farm, as well as some insights into the culture of living in a rural area.

(This is the shorter 124 page "Home/Family Edition" which excludes lesson plans). This book provides families, teachers and community members with the basic tools and inspiration to connect children with nature and show them how to grow, prepare and eat healthy foods. Readers will find step-by-step lesson plans/curricula, hundreds of activity ideas, plant guides and nutritionist-approved, Hawai'i-based recipes. The book is divided into two main sections: Meet the Plants and Recipes. The Meet the Plants section is used to teach keiki about specific fruits, vegetables and herbs (includes 19 plants or plant families). Each page features a specific plant or plant family with a labeled photograph. These pages will increase readers knowledge about plants and give you ideas about how to use them in the classroom, kitchen and garden. The book includes 37 "'Ai Pono Recipes". These recipes are for adults to make with children, or children to make on their own. Make these recipes for taste tests, classroom/home cooking, snacks and meals. They are all nourishing foods that feature Hawai'i grown and raised ingredients. The book encourages adults to engage children in the entire cooking process: learning about the ingredients, gardening, harvesting, washing, cooking, eating and cleaning. These recipes are designed to keep children, families and teachers healthy, so readers are encouraged to make and eat these recipes often. This book is beautiful and features real foods and plants from Hawai'i.

From 1870 until after World War I, reformers led an effort to place children from orphanages, asylums, and children's homes with farming families. The farmers received free labor in return for providing room and board. Reformers, meanwhile, believed children learned lessons in family life, citizenry, and work habits that institutions simply could not provide. Drawing on institution records, correspondence from children and placement families, and state reports, Megan Birk scrutinizes how the farm system developed--and how the children involved may have become some of America's last indentured laborers. Between 1850 and 1900, up to one-third of farm homes contained children from outside the family. Birk reveals how the nostalgia attached to misplaced perceptions about healthy, family-based labor masked the realities of abuse, overwork, and loveless upbringings endemic in the system. She also considers how rural people cared for their own children while being bombarded with dependents from elsewhere. Finally, Birk traces how the ills associated with rural placement eventually forced reformers to transition to a system of paid foster care, adoptions, and family preservation.

Shelley Rotner’s vivid photographs help you see, hear, taste, smell, and touch your way through a season on a working farm.

Those personal accounts resurrect the essential experience of children's work, play, education, family relations, and coming of age from their own perspectives. Steering a middle path between the myth of wholesome farm life and the reality of work that was often extremely dangerous, Riney-Kehrberg shows both the best and the worst that a rural upbringing had to offer midwestern youth a time before mechanization forever changed the rural scene and radio broke the spell of isolation. Down on the farm, truancy was not uncommon and chores were shared across genders. Yet farm children managed to indulge in inventive play---much of it homemade---to supplement store-bought toys and to get through the long spells between circuses.

"The story of childhood on America's farms in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century; reveals what farm children saw, heard, smelled, tasted, and felt--and how they worked, played, and learned. Includes historical photographs"--Provided by publisher.

Here’s a perfect introduction to our farm friends. Is there anything cuter than a little lamb or playful piglet? Farm animals are fascinating, and they are full of surprises, too. Naturally, cows make milk—but did you know they need to drink a bathtub-full of water every day? And of course the turkeys gobble—but sometimes they purr like cats. Wendell Minor’s bright, bold artwork and jaunty verse celebrate the wonders of our farm friends.

Goes through the day of a farm family and all the chores they do.

This lively trip to the dairy farm introduces calves, heifers, and milkers.