It has been more than three years that we have been in our current home. Every summer the strawberry fields up our road are packed with eager pickers. At the end of last season they even had free pickings on the last of the last. I promised one too many times to go and we always missed it. This year wasn’t going to be another!

What got me rolling was that my sister just made a huge batch of strawberry jam from berries she got from a farmer’s market. Hey! I can do that too! I put it in my mind and we were well on our way. The kids were totally thrilled to finally pick strawberries – it honestly was as exciting as going to Disney for the first time!!

So we made the day an entire homeschool project that they will complete over the next week. Is homemade jam cheaper and taste better? Why or why not? Meanwhile I had to hunt down the necessary ingredients for the jam. The stores were sold out of the brand name pectin I was familiar with, but we did find a couple boxes! (My daughter managed to catch me in a shot during our hunt! LOL) I was calling all my sisters who have been making homemade jam for years to get their expertise in the matter. I am happy to say that it all worked out just fine.

The picking mission was quickly underway and I hardly did more than sneak a couple berries in my mouth and snap a few pictures while the kids did the hard work. It was a treat and we all had a great time. The kids overloaded the buckets so much that they were falling off. My youngest would scoop them up and say, “It’s ok mom! I will eat it!”

In the end, I think we almost all preferred the Ball brand name fruit pectin because of its consistency and 1.5 cups of sugar compared to Sure-Jell’s 4 cups of sugar! Either way, the kids are eating this homemade strawberry jam and homemade bread like its candy! I think we will pick some more before they disappear. They were very clean and sweet!