5 tips to picking berries with kids

If you want to go berry picking with your kids, follow these simple tips to make the experience as stress-free, fun and safe as possible.

Kids like to have control over their own crop while picking berries, so gather up some of your favourite sand pails and bring them to the orchard with you.

• Having their own bucket means each child has a chance to get involved with the berry picking.
• As an added bonus, it also ensures that kids get plenty of berries to bring home and enjoy.

In addition to bringing pails for berries, bring supplies to keep kids nourished and happy in any kind of weather.

• Stock up on weatherproof snacks like granola bars and trail mix, and also remember things like sunscreen, hats, a blanket to sit on if you need a break and plenty of water.
• Berry picking can make for a hot day in the summer, and you want your little ones to stay happy and have fun while they're out there.

Make sure your kids know the basics about which berries to pick and how to pick them without damaging the fruit or plant.

• Teach kids how to recognize that a ripe strawberry should be red before you to pick it, while a blueberry should be deep blue.
• You don't want to get home with a bucket full of unripe, green berries!
• You should also remind kids not to eat the berries until you can get home and wash them.

While many U-Pick orchards advertise open picking times, you want to make sure the orchard you drive to is welcome to guests and has plenty of berries for picking.

• Call ahead to the orchard to make sure the farmers will be ready for you.
• There's nothing more disappointing than getting geared up to do something fun and then discovering the business is actually closed.

Berries don't stay fresh for very long, so while you are picking berries, make plans for what you'll want to do with them once you get home.

• Talk about making pies and desserts, jarring them for friends and family members as gifts, or preserving them so you can eat them as jam or frozen treats.
• Let your child have input into what will happen to the berries, and he or she will be even more excited about taking part.