Children ruled the roost Saturday at the 4D Veterinary Services Kids Market.
It’s a concept born by Lisa Lovelady to help teach her own children valuable life skills and to share the spoils of the family garden.
“We over grew our garden and had too many collard greens,” Lovelady said. “We had this shop and thought it was a great way for them to make some money. It’s a way for them to get some rewards for all their hard work.”
PHOTOS: Kids Market
Lovelady is a counselor at the nearby Reeltown schools and thought the idea was good for more than just her four daughters.
“Instead of us having a lemonade or produce stand to ourselves, why not let all the kids do it together and enjoy the community aspect of it?” Lovelady said. “It has made some really special memories for the kids.”
There have been several “kids markets” in the last few years, including one at Christmas. The only requirement is that children do the work.
“The part I love most is they are not on any device,” Lovelady said. “They have to draw people in. They are looking people in the eye and communicating. They have to draw people into them with conversation.”
Children also gain skills through prep work for the market. Organizational skills, marketing and math to figure out if they are making a profit are all necessary when getting ready for the market.
At Saturday’s market, hand-carved rubber band guns with clothes pins on top were available.
“They were cool,” Lovelady said. “They sold out quickly. There were also some cane poles. There is a lot of creativity out here.”
Matthew Carr is going into the seventh grade and is homeschooled. He brought his wooden creations to the market. Some even had flowers and there were earrings he created too.
“I like working with wood,” Matthew said. “There was a tree we cut the top out of. That is where we got most of the wood. I cut down the pine tree to make the cross.”
He also found an old board to create signs from.
Matthew has been a seller at four of the markets now but creating with wood for about three years. He combined his love of horses and woodworking for his business name — Cowboy Carpentry.
“He works on it in the afternoon,” mother Allison Carr said. “It fits in with art, math, science and people skills.”
Bailey Hathcock, 16, likes to visit farmer’s markets. She found cotton candy at one and decided to put her younger sister’s small cotton candy machine to work about a year ago.
“I thought it looked fun,” Hathcock said. “I figured I would buy myself a machine and sell some too.”
Hathcock’s mother Jenny Lyn Spears said the teenager stayed up most of the night the first time making small bags of the sweet fluffy treat with her sister’s machine. Then bought the larger machine, tent and tables she currently uses.
“She has bought everything from that,” Spears said. “She has worked really hard.”
It has inspired her almost 18-year-old brother Elliott Hatcock to get in with a side hustle of popcorn. The 16 year old sees a future in it. She hopes to buy a trailer and operate her cotton candy business from it someday.
Hunter Beasley, 8, of Notasulga was a first time vendor at Saturday’s Kid’s Market.
“This is fun,” he said.
A quick look at Hunter’s inventory gives shoppers a large clue as to his business’ name — Hunter’s Squash Shack.
“It’s all we have to offer,” Hunter said. “I did it by myself.”
Hunter grew strawberries, but not didn’t have much of a crop. He is growing okra, sweet potatoes and corn but they aren’t quite ready to sell. Hunter explained the process to get his vegetables ready for the Kids’ Market.
“We had to plant it,” Hunter said. “We had to fertilize it, water it. We used wood for the garden beds, then used mulch and mushroom compost.”
Lovelady believes children can and should be involved in business and farm operations as it helps their minds grow inside and outside the classroom.
“It is amazing what these kids will come up with when left to themselves,” Lovelady said. “I’m proud of the kids in our community doing this.”