Big trouble from my little man.

[SDdave]

Well, my little man (3 yrs old) helped me tap some trees yesterday. He was awesome, he knew just about knew the whole process of tappin'! Three year olds do a fantastic job setting taps I might add, not "hammered" in like we all do sometimes but more gently tapped in. He was a bit distraught though when it was time to go back home without any sap:cry:

But I made a huge mistake this afternoon, I checked the buckets without him. A lesson that I will not forget for some time. I got some pictures I want to post up but have to wait for the wife to upload them to the ol' puter machine.

Taking the kiddo's for every last drop of the season,

SDdave

[Lyle]

Sounds like the "little man" may be infected with the maple bug! It's a great hobby, but when you can share it with your kids and in my case the grandkids.... It doesn't get any better than that!

[Yellzee]

yikes, you collected sap without the kids? Huge mistake. My oldest comes with me no matter the weather... and now the dog starts freaking out if I start the 4 wheeler and she isn't in the driveway with me.... just about busts down the door trying to get out of the house to run up the trail to the mainline.

[SDdave]

Yesterday the kids were fighting on who was going to carry the full buckets! I hope at the end of the season they fight over who gets to wash out the buckets!!:lol:

SDdave

[jmp]

I learned that same lesson with my two girls (5 and 7) last year. :)

[backyard sugaring]

My daughter made me take her to Harbor freight to buy a wagon to carry sap in. It should be noted that she used her own money. Good luck to all of you. Lee

[sg5054]

This fall my son (7 1/2) and went to VT to buy a sap tank. While there we got tour of the very large operation that sold us the tank. He was very interested in everything and asked a lot of questions. They had a side by side atv with tracks that he was very interested in. As they explained what they used it for and he asked questions, you could see his mind working. He paused, then turned to me and (hand on his hip and the other pointing) said " You know Dad, if we had a 4 wheeler, it would be very useful for collecting the sap from our trees. I think we should get one."

He didn't know that I had put a deposit on one earlier that week

[Maplebrook]

My 17 year old (yes, seventeen) still looks forward to maple season like you wouldn't believe. He's your typical teenage boy - drivers license, part-time job, girlfriend, cellphone in one hand, Ipod in the other and more electronics probably in his pocket.
But when the sap is running, it is him who cracks the whip. I'd best be ready when it's collecting time or else.
Sad part is...I'll be scaling back after next season as he will be away at university and I won't be able to do it without his help.
I have sugarin' time to thank for instilling a good work ethic!

[gmcooper]

Really nice to read so many are including their kids in their maple operations! Both of our boys helped out over the years and the youngest at 24 still gets to help some whether he wants to or not some times. They both have tapped and boiled and every thing in between. Miss having them around more.

[DonMcJr]

My 15 year old stepson helps me collect but hasnt been out since I started boiling. Guess you can tell he doesnt have my blood...lol

[CPlace]

I have a 4 year old daughter that is addicted to maple surgaring. This year she participated in the tapping of trees and has her own bucktets; she gets quite disappointed when they dont fill up with sap. We are having her daycare friends come over to see our sugar house in a couple of weeks and she is just as excited about this event as if it was Christmas on the way. Nothing like bringing the fun and excitement of sugaring in children's lives.

[Galena]

Visited my mentor's sugarshack yesterday. Two of their sons, a grandson and a hired hand were out collecting sap and chugging back to the barn with it; during the time I was there, approx an hour, at least a dozen more extended family members turned up. What a crew.

I also got great candid and not-so-candid portraits, esp of the little kids, so now I am the local saparrazzi :cool:

[bnbmaplesyrup]

Had my 3 year old in the shack boiling saturday morning. A lot of WHY questions which I explained all the steps. I took him out to the trees and showed him the buckets. He went to see grandma for lunch. When i came in there all these containers hanging on the door knobs. He was putting out his buckets to start collecting sap.

[bnbmaplesyrup]

Calrify it was my 3 year old grandson

[acerrubrum]

My 4 year old, involved in the process for two years now, comments about the weather in the morning during syrup season. The other day she asked, 'suns out, wonder if the sap is gonna flow'?

[sg5054]

Scott here and my son Christopher (7 1/2). We started 3 years ago and it's all his fault. I was telling him about the different trees in our yard that summer. That winter there was a tv show on making syrup in Maine. He turns to me and says "Dad, We have those trees in our yard. I want to make maple syrup." Oh crap....
So we gather the equipment to make up a barrel stove rig, we both attend a day long class at the Bacon Farm in Sidney and start tapping and boiling. Made 13 pints that year. He has now become a bit of an authority on the subject and pushes me to get things done and monitors the check list. We bought a sap tank this past fall and while getting a tour of the syrup operation he asks about the polaris utv with tracks. They explain that they use it to check the pipelines. He thinks for a minute or two, then turns to me and with one hand on his hip and the other pointing at me, and says "Dad, If we had a 4 wheeler it would make gathering the sap a lot easier. I think we should buy one....". EASY FOR HIM TO SAY!. Little does he realize that I had just put a deposit on one that very week.
We are having a blast. We have a hundred taps out and we have made about 6 gallons so far.
I bought a 19" monitor from an auction and we take my laptop out to the shack, hook up the monitor, plug the sound into the shack stereo and watch movies.
We eat our dinners out there and he reads books to me and I to him. I have to push him out the door to get him to bed.
He makes it all worthwhile.

We are very appreciative the generous sharing of information and ideas here. What a great community.

[Michael Greer]

Kids that age pick up new information like a sponge. We seldom give them credit for learning so quickly.

[sg5054]

Your not kidding! Early on in the season we started with a coil of tubing around the stack to pre heat with. Worked okay but not great and I didn't like that it always had to have something running through it if the fire was lit. So we pulled that and I built a quick and dirty manifold set up with spare 3/4 pipe I had laying around. We talked about it (my son and I), he helped lay it out and I had him cut the tubes. Maple Sunday comes and a good friend visits who is a marine mechanic of 30 plus years. He asks about the preheater and my son immediately pipes up and explains what the original set up was, how it worked, how it didn't work. He also explains the new setup and how it works and how we are going to make a larger one, what it will look like and what it should do. He does this all in great detail. My friend was very impressed and said he didn't miss anything. Unfortunately I missed it.
He is already talking about next season.

[Trevor5]

My two year old daughter checks the buckets with me everyday when we get home from work/daycare, I made the mistake of going out when I didn't think she was interested (big mistake). On boiling days she helps skim the foam off the pans, and telling me to skim foam, then runs to check on our sap to make sure it is still flowing out of the trees. Being two I only get an hour or so out of her at a time before she wants to do something else, but I think this will stick with her. I hope it sticks with her and her sister when she is old enough, I used to help my grandparents tap their trees in Maine, and help with at least one boil during the season. I have not been able to get up there and help my grandmother in quite a few years, life gets in the way, but at least I have been able to start my own sapping traditions with my family.

[DrTimPerkins]

The effort in bringing the kids to the sugarhouse is well worth it. Some of my earliest and fondest memories are helping gather sap and haul firewood at my grandfather's sugarhouse (with my father, uncle, and siblings). Nothing like being outside in the spring, and the hot steamy sugarhouse, and the syrup of course. Far better than haying, cutting wood, or gathering potatoes.

[SWEETER CREATIONS]

You can all say remember when ? My 21 year old is now on his 20 the year in the syrup business with his step brother Nick was carried around in a pack basket in the sugar bush and hasn't forgotten anything. Its been 40 plus years for me and I still remember when the greatest man alive taught his son how to make maple syrup ( THANK YOU DAD ) you will be greatly missed. Cherish every day like it was your last so your kids can say thank you DAD !

[regor0]

3 little rascals Keagan 3, Reagan 2, Meagan 4 months. Last night Reagan was gathering sap with her 5 gallon bucket, it's taller than she is7814, she gets more snow than. Memories we will cherish.