In 2017, the Jenkins family decided they needed a change — so they bought a home in Springville with about an acre of land. They added some goats, chickens, ducks and beehives, and began a life more “in tune” with nature and animals.
“We moved with the purpose of getting outside and getting our kids some space where they could be outside and get off electronics,” Jacob Jenkins told Serve Daily. “We did that for a couple of years, and the kids would just do their outside chores and engage with the animals. We were also making products out of goat milk and other things because one of my daughters has eczema and psoriasis.”
The family started selling some of those products at farmer’s markets and bringing their goats to interact with the public. As they did so, it quickly became a homestead.
“My grandpa had a dairy farm and I grew up spending time on his farm,” he said. “I loved out in the county and we always had gardening and beehives. I have a lot of experience being outdoors and engaging with nature. I was an Eagle Scout and have experience with all those things. My wife grew up in Wisconsin and Kentuckyu and Indiana, and she has a lot of experience outside, but it was never like we had a homestead before; it was more of, ‘This is something that is needed that I think is missing in our family.’”
In the spring of 2021, when the main quarantine was lifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jacob Jenkins and his wife Sarah Jenkins had the idea to open their homestead to the public to share the joy they had been experiencing with others. They called it Living with Kids Homestead, which Jacob Jenkins said was a play on words with their kids and their goats.
“People had a huge desire to get out of the houses and it just kind of blew up,” he said. “We had about 200 families come in the first two months who wanted a private experience engaging with animals. That’s when we were like, “Hey, there’s a market for this.’”
They started having events where groups could have a farm experience, and it has now evolved into themed classes catered toward people of all ages and abilities. They currently hold summer classes where they have a goat day, a chicken day, a duck day, a gardening day and a honeybee day. They also do crafts and activities and have take-home items related to the theme of that day.
“On the day we learn about goats, we have visitors bottle-feed baby goats,” he said. “They milk a momma goat and do some fun crafts and activities and they get to make their own goat milk lotion. … We have a pre-made base, and you actually milk the goat and then you pour in all the raw oils, melt it together. You get to add in the goat milk, distilled water and blend it up and scent it however you want with our hundreds of essential oils and fragrance blends. You can take home what you make and we provide a really unique experience that’s fun for kids and adults.”
Other special activities include a honeybee day where they open up their beehives to see how the bees make honey. Visitors get to extract honey from the hives and take home a jar of fresh honey. They also hold a gardening day that isn’t just about planting seeds.
“We learn all about gardening and bugs,” he said. “We capture bugs that are good for our garden and we feed them to the chickens and ducks and then they get to make their own pot and soil and get to transplant some seedlings.”
Jenkins said that over the years that his family has been providing this service to the community, he has seen how transformative being in nature and with animals can be to many people.
“It makes it all worth it when we get parents that say, ‘This is the most amazing experience my kids have ever had,’” he said. “We have disabled adult groups that come. There’s an organization called Chrysalis that comes and we have local domestic abuse shelters that come and do classes with us, and it’s a healing experience for their groups.”
Living With Kids Homestead is located at 1075 S 1080 E. in Springville, and is open by appointment by going to Livingwithkidshomestead.com.
“It’s just so rewarding to see how these animals and engaging with nature can heal people,” he said.
