There’s more to apple picking than meets the eye—especially when you’re navigating the narrow orchard with the eager kids you’ve driven from the city to the farm. We’ve visited a variety of U-Pick farms for fruits and veggies, but apples were a new fruit to add to our list. Here are 3 life lessons learned while apple picking from the orchard at Gaver Farm with the family:
1. Patience is a Virtue, and it’s really, really hard
On the hay ride there, we talked about scoping out the apples and rows, before picking and not just chucking them in the bag. This lesson was likely just as much for me as the kids! Sometimes slowing down helps you prioritize and get more of what you want and in this case- a giant, perfectly filled bag of apples.
2. Embrace Imperfections
Kids have an uncanny ability to pick apples that aren’t exactly picture-perfect and sometimes you can’t even see the entire apple before you pick it. But guess what? Those quirky, bumpy apples taste just as sweet. It’s a great lesson to talk about embracing our imperfections, if you want to go that route. Or it could be a talk about appreciating the care that farm workers have as they pick produce for picky people that want all apples to look the same. You do you with your life lessons.
3. Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
My great apple harvest wouldn’t have been the same without my family. We were all different heights and tried to encourage the kids to pick at their level (secretly so my old knees didn’t have to squat down). We also lifted them from time to time to try collecting apples on the high branches. Working together was a lot more fun and gave everyone ownership of our harvest.
We were extremely happy with our nearly overflowing, packed just-right bag of apples. Nothing beat the next day when were physically able to enjoy the fruits of our labors while eating a perfect apple pie made by my husband. The lessons of patience, embracing imperfections, and teamwork turned out pretty sweet! 
Share some of your life lessons learned while apple picking! Be sure to take advantage of this season and head to a local apple orchard soon!
