The time has come to send the kids back to school. I always tell people that my kids are excited when school ends for the year, but after a summer on the farm they are equally as excited to return to school in the fall. This year is no different.

We’ve spent the last week shopping for school clothes and supplies, completing sports physicals, updating vaccines, studying class schedules, getting haircuts and have generally worked on getting our two kids cleaned up and ready after a summer on the farm.

Between wheat harvest, chasing livestock, irrigation duties, shop work and a couple of getaways, the Baldwin kids have had a pretty productive summer.

Aside from participating in our school district’s summer weights program, my son spent a lot of time building his strength by bucking bales and stacking hay this summer. 

He’d crawl into the bellies of the combines and help with maintenance before harvest and became one of the “heavy lifters” when repairs were needed during harvest.

He lifted a lot of bags of seed onto the airseeder and loaded and unloaded even more 50-pound bags of popcorn for our customers as well.

He definitely got some workouts this summer by walking and repairing a lot of the fencing near our creek that has been washed out multiple times due to the incredible summer rains. He’s hopefully learned that putting in the steps to fix the fence is much better than chasing down and gathering cattle later.

When it was time to lay the irrigation pipe, he was there walking alongside the trailer and lifting and connecting the long rows with us in the heat. It definitely wasn’t always comfortable or clean for any of us, but jobs had to get done and he was there doing them.

My daughter isn’t as strong as her older brother, but she was still doing her part on the farm this summer. She became a pro at scooping up newborn lambs and carrying them back to their mothers before feeding and watering the flock. 

She’d help coral her grandma’s chickens and fearlessly collect the eggs. She was a super helper during harvest by making goodies in the kitchen. And if we ever needed an extra driver for our ATV or a tractor, she was available.

She became much more independent this summer, relying on her own abilities and taking the lead on things. Since her brother was helping outside more this summer, my girl really learned how much she could do without her big brother’s help all the time.

We’ve been referring to this summer as the “farm fit” summer. My son did a lot of tasks around the farm that have hopefully helped prepare him for his first year of junior high – both mentally and physically within the classroom and on the field. For my daughter, she’s hopefully better prepared to walk confidently without her big brother being by her side in the same school building and knowing she can do things independently.

So when my kids are asked what they did this summer, their responses should be more than just saying, “Nothing.” 

They’ve successfully completed the 2025 Farm Fit Summer Challenge and are ready to take on this new school year!