Summer Is Over. Except It Isn't.

Aug 16

Every August, something a little bittersweet happens at Farm School.

Just as the tomatoes begin ripening, the melons grow heavy, the zucchini becomes impossible to keep up with, and the garden reaches one of its most abundant moments, we say goodbye—for now—to some of the children who have spent their summer with us.

Backpacks are coming out. New teachers and classrooms are waiting. Families are settling into new routines and looking forward to everything a new school year will bring.

And we are incredibly grateful that, for one little piece of their childhood, these families chose to share their children with us.

They spent their summer walking the farm, caring for animals, harvesting vegetables, preparing food, building things, getting dirty, playing, exploring, helping with real work, and becoming part of the everyday rhythm of this place.

We loved having them here.

But there's something funny about saying summer is over.

Because if you ask the farm, summer is just getting good.

The Farm Is Finally in Full Summer

We've been working toward this moment for months.

Seeds were planted. Beds were prepared. Seedlings were watered. We weeded, waited, replanted, watched the weather, and wondered whether a few things were ever going to grow.

Now the tomatoes are ripening.

Melons are growing beneath sprawling vines. Grapes are coming. Pumpkins are forming. And there is more zucchini than we know what to do with—which means, of course, we're figuring out what to do with it.

Our neighborhood market stand opened this week, and our Farm School students are actively involved.

They're helping harvest and prepare produce, stock the stand, make signs, weigh vegetables, greet neighbors, and share the food they've helped grow with our community.

For some of our summer students, that's one of the last chapters of their summer at Farm School.

For others, it's simply what we're doing this week.

We Get to Keep Following the Season

One of the things I appreciate most about Farm School is the freedom we have to keep essentially the same rhythm throughout the year.

Our days don't suddenly change because the traditional school year begins.

We still go outside.

We walk the farm and see what's changed.

We care for the animals.

We harvest what's ready.

We prepare food together.

We work, make things, explore, play, and leave room for whatever the day brings.

The season changes our days naturally.

Right now, we have zucchini. Lots of zucchini.

So we're making zucchini dill pickles, baking zucchini bread, shredding and freezing zucchini for later, making mock pineapple, and even baking chocolate zucchini brownies.

We didn't plan a “zucchini week.”

The zucchini was ready.

That's one of the things I love about living and learning this way.

As I wrote last week in How Real Life Becomes the Curriculum at Farm School, real life continually gives us something to learn from.

The season simply gives us something new.

Maybe We Can Live Seasonally, Too

We talk quite a bit about eating seasonally.

Maybe there's something to be said for living seasonally too.

Not as another thing to add to our schedules, but almost the opposite.

Paying attention to what's here now.

Eating the peaches while they're ripe.

Staying outside while the evenings are long.

Preserving some of summer's abundance for winter.

Letting children play in the water while it's hot enough to want to.

And eventually noticing when the air changes and summer naturally begins giving way to fall.

A farm doesn't live the same way all year.

There are seasons of planting, tending, abundance, preservation, rest, and beginning again.

Our modern lives can't always follow those rhythms. We have school calendars, work schedules, appointments, activities, and responsibilities.

But perhaps the natural season can still have a little influence over the lives we're already living.

Summer After School

For the children heading back to school, there's so much to look forward to.

New teachers.

Old friends.

New friends.

New things to learn and discover.

A fresh beginning.

And summer doesn't have to disappear simply because school has started.

There are still warm afternoons waiting when they come home.

There are still peaches and tomatoes and watermelon.

There are sprinklers.

Bare feet.

Dinner outside.

Evening walks.

Farmers markets and farm stands.

Gardens still producing.

Weekends that can hold a little less structure and a little more wandering.

Maybe August doesn't have to become fall overnight.

Families can simply keep a little of the season around the edges of their new school-year rhythm.

Keep something seasonal. Eat what's ripe. Visit a farm stand. Preserve something together.

Keep something outside. Take dinner outdoors, walk after supper, run through the sprinkler, dig in the dirt, or simply let the kids play.

Keep something slow. Leave an evening or weekend afternoon without somewhere you need to be.

Nothing elaborate.

Just a little room to keep living the season you're actually in.

And for the Children Staying With Us...

We'll keep doing what we've been doing.

Monday morning, we'll walk the farm and see what's changed.

We'll check the animals.

We'll see what's ready to harvest.

We'll figure out what needs doing.

We'll make something good to eat.

We'll work.

We'll play.

And we'll spend most of the day outside.

Eventually, the farm will tell us summer is ending.

The mornings will become cooler. The light will change. The tomatoes will slow. The last melons will come in. The pumpkins growing now will finally be ready.

And one day we'll realize we're wearing sweaters instead of running through sprinklers.

We don't have to hurry any of it.

Thank You for Spending Your Summer With Us

To every family whose child spent part of this summer at Farm School, thank you.

Thank you for trusting us with your children and allowing us to be part of their summer.

Thank you for sending clothes that could get dirty.

Thank you for trusting them to try new things, help with real work, taste unfamiliar foods, care for animals, use their hands, explore, play, and simply spend their days outside.

We hope they head into their school year carrying some wonderful memories from their summer here.

And we hope they'll come back and see us.

For those staying with us, we're grateful for that too.

Some children are beginning a new school year.

Some are continuing their days here.

And all of us are moving into whatever comes next.

But outside, the tomatoes are still ripening.

The zucchini is still coming.

The days are still warm.

The children can still run through the sprinkler.

Fall will arrive soon enough.

But summer isn't over yet.

And we're grateful we got to share some of it with you.

Stay Connected to the Farm

Whether your family is heading back to school or continuing with us this fall, there are plenty of ways to stay connected to the seasons, the farm, and our community.