Mahala Detweiler (left) and Isaiah Detweiler (right) of rural Tiskilwa help their mom at the Princeton Farmers’ Market.
Planting the Seeds of Knowledge Opportunities to learn about agriculture are all around for Bureau County children Story and photos by Shannon Serpette
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ith school out for the summer and parents looking for ways to educate and entertain them, it’s a great time to teach about agriculture. Finding methods to teach kids about agriculture isn’t difficult – Bureau County is full of opportunities. For Mahala Detweiler and her brother Isaiah, learning about agriculture is a way of life. Five-year-old Mahala and Isaiah, who is 8, live in rural Tiskilwa at Hungry World Farm, where they are immersed in all aspects of living
6 – Summer 2021
a farm life. “They’ve grown up in the garden,” their mother, Karla Detweiler, said. When it comes time to sell some of the crops they’ve grown, they play a hand in that as well by helping their parents in their booth at the Princeton Farmers’ Market. They help sell their produce, talk to customers, and practice their math skills by assisting with the cash box and transactions. “I like to stay in here and hang out,” Isaiah said about
the booth, although he admits to wandering off sometimes to read the monument in the park. Karla said she coached her children at home before they began helping out at the farmers’ market. They set up pretend farmers’ markets in their home to help the kids understand what would take place and the things they might do to help out. Those practice runs helped give them the skills they needed for helping at the market. Karla said having her children help out at the farmers’ market is beneficial to
