1. Check the market's website before you head out the door.
2. Give the kids their own spending money.
3. Give the kids a shopping tote. They're grown-up and responsible. They can help carry your buys or pack their own purchases. Don't let them fill their own bags too full, or you'll be carrying theirs as well.
4. Let them choose lunch from any one of the food vendors.
5. Talk about seasonal and local produce with Kids. Ask questions like, "Why don't we see any tomatoes?" If you're at larger markets. Ask the kids whether these foods grew here - and not, how do the kids guess that they arrived? Can they help you spot the locally grown food?
6. Involve the kids in weighing, counting and paying for purchases. These activities painlessly build math skills.
7. Bring Change for the kids to put into the buskers; tip jars. Enjoy the fiddlers, guitar-strummers and singers that make the market a community event.
8. Challenge your child to pick out the most unusual fruit or veg. Regional growers are showing an interest in heirloom produce, and local foragers bring back unusual mushrooms and plants. What will you find today - blue potatoes? Nettles? Giant mushrooms? Purple tomatoes?
9. Ask your child to help you assemble a locally grown dinner from the market. Ask the vendors for cooking tips, and pair-with suggestions. Make sure you choose at least one dish your child can help prep, whether chopping fruit for fruit salad or snapping off green bean tips.
10. Keep a watchful eye on the kids, and talk about what to do if you get lost. With bustling pedestrian traffic, it's easy to lose sight of your kids. Many parents either hold hands, put children in carriers, a stroller or a pull-wagon.
© 2010 State Street Farmers Market, funded through a grant offered by the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program in agreement with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.
