Tessa Zundel
November is a everlasting calendar month to get together with friends and share the excess of the time of year ’s harvest . Farm kids are also middling handy and craftyand may have things they ’d wish to barter with friends and class in exchange for other goods , gifts or just fun stuff to own . This is also a natural time of year to reflect back on how the Pilgrims spent their first harvest season in their new domicile , planting and trading just to outride alive .
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of how to host a trading fair of your own , get ’s first define trading and how it ’s different from using money in an economy . A heavy picture book to say to get into the flavour of handcrafted items and homegrown green groceries to be sell or bartered isOx Cart Manby Barbara Cooney .
What Is Trading?
The act of trading for commodity and services pre - date even the use of money . essentially defined , trading is swapping goods you have for goods you ask that are of adequate time value . Let ’s say one somebody has a chicken , and another mortal has five loaves of bread , and the first person wants the kale and the second person wants the chicken . They decide that the chicken is worth the five loaf of bread , so they trade each other their items and go away felicitous .
What Is Money?
finally , guild will resolve that the bread is deserving five chickensorone piece of obsidian . Once the obsidian is assigned a value adequate to five chicken , it becomes a form of currentness . After money is developed , then people are able-bodied to grease one’s palms the bread with the money instead of trade for it with chickens . finally , people will often give up trade in all in favor of money . ( That ’s a tremendously simplified reading of what is in reality a complex economical process , but it ’s sufficient for our body process . )
Can I Use Both?
As a homesteader , I use money , of course of instruction , but I ’m a big buff oftrading with other homesteadersthe items I give rise for items I call for . For good example , if I have 100 pumpkins by the remainder of harvest time season but I only need 50 , I can trade the extra 50 for something I need more . My neighbor may have four bushel of apples that I could really apply , but she did n’t grow any pumpkins this year . How can she make pumpkin pie without my redundant pumpkins ? ! How will I preserve all the apple pie filling I ask for the year without her apples ? ! By trading , of course . She mystify my pumpkins and I get her apple , and we do n’t need money to get what we demand .
Hosting Your Trading Fair
A fun way to conglomerate your friends and neighbors to swap their excess goods is to host a trading fair at the end of the harvest time of year . Make it festive festive , adorn for fall with gourd , cornstalks and hay bales . cater hot apple cider for your guest and a name tag for each participant . Be certain to have a play area set up for younger children , so they do n’t feel left out .
Trading fairs are often fun to do outdoors , when possible . If you ’d like to go beyond fall decorations , pick a prison term flow that you ’d wish to present with your decorations . Ancient Rome , the Renaissance and the fourth dimension of the Pilgrims or pioneers would all be appropriate trading fair eras . attempt to link your case with what your children are studying in history or literature class .
For an effectual trading funfair , ask for at least 10 other kids and their parent . Have a meeting with a few of the old kids and adults to resolve how thetrading postwill study . Assign jobs for set up and take down of tables , decorating and bid participants .
Each participant will need to convey one item for every person participating . Do n’t go too much over 10 kids the first time , so you do n’t get overwhelmed . Do n’t cheat and grease one’s palms stuff to sell , either ; make your items yourself or pull them from your personal stash of cool poppycock . you may sculpt , bake , grow or otherwise craft your point . The items for trade do n’t have to be big or fancy , just something you love and you think others will eff , too . The most popular item at our past trading fairs have been intellectual nourishment — hand down , scented stuff go first — and useful objects , like paracord watch bracelet .
put up tables to display your items and resolve beforehand in your meeting or individually how you ’d like to market your items . Do you want to stand at your table and call out your ware ? Do you need to make a creative sign to expose to allure citizenry to your table ? Do you want to offer a free natural endowment with each barter ? Also decide how you will split up the trading and the aid of the sales booth . The kid ca n’t go out to look for things to trade if they ’re stuck behind their table the whole time . We ’ve find it helpful to either tend your cubicle with a crony who can rest behind and conduct business on your behalf while you go out to craft , or break the group in half and have the first half go out to trade while the second one-half remain behind .
Do n’t let the bonny drag on if you notice that everyone is done and wandering off . Have the kids a break and go out to savour your items , use up your bite and act a bit . Then , come together one last time before go home to have the kid hash out what they learn from this experience . Here are some give-and-take question to get you started :
Even though this is an educational activity , it ’s a fun , family - friendly way of life to instruct farm nestling the note value of creating with their own hands and find a style to deal their talent with others . It ’s also a worthwhile way to build community in your picayune recession of the world , establishing working relationships and friendly relationship that will further add to your benediction . What a wonderful clip of yr !
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