Summer is officially over as my nieces and nephew went back-to-school yesterday which means Back-to-school season has arrived. I remembering having mixed emotions when both Charlie and Suzzane attended public school and having time to myself but I missed them.
That is why I thank the LORD he led me to #Homeschool both Charlie and Suzzane because they were home with me and safe. They was able to learn at there own pace and study things they were interested in,
I jus wish I had thought about teaching them more about owning there own business and becoming entrepreneurs but I didn’t but I can share this information with my nieces and nephews and they can start there own businesses and set up at a Kids Market which I think could be a lot of fun.
While your thinking about school supplies, backpacks, new clothes, schedules and everything else that comes with a new school year, I’ve been thinking about something a little different.
What are our my nieces and nephews good at? What do they love doing? What are they constantly creating? What are they always trying to teach somebody else? And what if one of those things could become a little business?
That’s what made me stop when I discovered Kids Markets. Again I was on Facebook and no, it wasn’t a waste of time because I found them while scrolling through Facebook, and at first I thought I had found another children’s event.
The more I learned, the more I realized it was something much bigger. Kids Markets gives children ages 5–17 the opportunity to become young entrepreneurs. I like knowing it starts at 5 because this was when Charlie first started cooking and we could have made snacks to sell her and he would have had his own money.
I liked learning children can create their own products or services, set up a booth, talk with customers and experience what it is like to actually run a small business. And suddenly, I wasn’t just thinking about an event.
Which when I used to sell at local Craft Fairs Charlie and Suzzane before she passed away would help me run my booth. Then when Charlie was older and I would run the events he still helped other vendors set up and take down there booths.
The more I thought about the Markets the more I began thinking about homeschool families, back-to-school learning, family activities, Halloween, Christmas shopping and an entire generation of kids who may have talents we haven’t even discovered yet.
One thing I wanted to remind you and your children is they don’t have to be an adult to be an Entrepreneur. When people hear the word entrepreneur, most of us picture an adult. Someone with a storefront. Someone with employees. Someone with a business card and a website.
But entrepreneurship can start much smaller than that. It can start with a child who makes bracelets. A child who loves drawing. A child who bakes. A child who makes crafts. A child who loves photography. A child who knows everything about gaming. A child who loves animals. A child who is always figuring out how to make something better.
Sometimes a business begins with nothing more than: “I wonder if somebody would buy this.” That’s a pretty powerful question for a child to ask. Even if you think the answer is no, don’t tell them that let them try and sell the items because they will learn from trying.
I would like to introduce you to Kids Markets which are designed specifically to give young entrepreneurs a place to experience running their own businesses. According to Kids Markets, participating children are ages 5–17. They can sell products or services they’ve created and interact directly with customers.
And I really like that the child is expected to be involved. Parents can help and support their children, but the goal is for the young entrepreneur to be the one interacting with customers, answering questions and learning how the business works.
That changes everything. It’s not Mom’s booth with the child’s name on it. It’s the child’s opportunity to learn. To sell and to become better at making business decisions and talking to people.
Imagine your child deciding they want to sell handmade bracelets. Before they ever get to the market, you’ve already got a math lesson. How much did the supplies cost? How many bracelets can they make? What should each bracelet cost? How much would they need to sell to make their money back?
Then there’s art. What colors should they use? How should they display them? What should their booth look like? Then there’s writing & spelling. What should their sign say? How should they describe their products?
Then communication. How do you greet someone? How do you answer a customer’s question? How do you explain what makes your product special? And then there’s the biggest lesson of all: What happens when someone actually buys something you made? That is learning you can hold in your hands.
Why I Think Homeschool Families Should Pay Attention. This is where Kids Markets really caught my attention. For a homeschool family, a young person’s business could become an entire real-world learning experience.
Math can become pricing and profit. Writing can become advertising. Art can become product design. Economics can become understanding customers. Communication can become talking with buyers.
Research can become learning about a market. Technology can become creating a website or social media presence. And life skills become part of everything. You aren’t just reading about entrepreneurship. You’re practicing it. And the best part? It doesn’t necessarily feel like school.
But This Isn’t Just for Homeschoolers That’s important. Kids Markets isn’t something only homeschool families should know about. A child who attends public school or private school can be an entrepreneur too.
That’s why I think this belongs in our Back-to-School Gift Guide. We usually think about back-to-school gifts as backpacks, lunch boxes, shoes, clothes and school supplies. But what if we also gave our children opportunities?
What if we helped them discover something they’re good at? What if we encouraged them to create instead of only consume? What if we gave them the confidence to try something they’ve been thinking about? Sometimes the best gift doesn’t come in a box. Sometimes it’s an opportunity.
What If Your Child Already Has a Business Idea? Maybe you’ve got one of those kids. The child who is always making something. The child who wants to sell things to everyone in the family. The artist. The baker. The gamer. The photographer. The crafter. The little inventor. The child who knows how to fix things. The child who can teach other people how to do something.
Instead of telling them it’s “just a hobby,” maybe ask: “Could this become something other people would find useful or enjoyable?” That’s where entrepreneurship begins. It doesn’t have to become a huge company.
It doesn’t even have to become a permanent business. A child can simply try. Make something. Sell something. Learn something. And decide where they want to go from there.
And Gaming Counts Too This is one of the reasons I wanted to think outside the traditional idea of a kid’s business. A young entrepreneur doesn’t have to sell handmade crafts. A child who loves gaming might have something valuable to teach other kids.
Gaming tips. Strategy. Tutorials. Streaming. Content creation. Photography. Video editing. Game development. Community building. Technology. And even fashion designing which happens in Charlie’s wrestling game.
The same is true for almost any hobby. The question isn’t always, “What can you sell?” Sometimes the better question is: “What do you know how to do that someone else would love to learn?” That’s entrepreneurship too.
Our children can even learn marketing which Charlie and Suzzane learned when they was little from helping me with my companies. Which is another part of entrepreneurship that I think gets overlooked.
Making something is only part of running a business. People have to know it exists. That means learning about: Advertising. Promotion. Photography. Social media. Websites. Signs. Word of mouth. Customer relationships. And content.
A young person could even learn how to create a simple website to showcase their business. They could learn how to photograph their products. They could learn how to explain what they do. They could learn how to tell their story. Those are skills that can be useful whether their little business lasts six months or becomes their career someday.
And that’s what I’m thinking about Charlie and even Suzzane when she was here. I’ve watched this happen in my own family. Charlie has always been interested in gaming, technology, photography and creating things.
He could have fit into a young entrepreneur program in ways that might not be obvious at first. He could have talked about gaming. He could have shared tips. He could have taught other kids about streaming. He could have talked about photography.
He could have helped other young entrepreneurs learn about websites, advertising, marketing, promotion and growing an audience. He didn’t have to sell a handmade product to have something valuable to offer. His knowledge was something he could share. And that’s exactly the idea I want to explore with this new Greatful Moments series.
This Is Bigger Than a Market and Kids Markets is what introduced me to the idea. But I don’t want this to be only about Kids Markets. I want Greatful Moments to start looking at young entrepreneurs themselves. Because there are so many different ways a child can become an entrepreneur.
Maybe it’s a product. Maybe it’s a service. Maybe it’s a skill. Maybe it’s technology. Maybe it’s teaching. Maybe it’s creativity. Maybe it’s a hobby that grows into something more. And maybe the child doesn’t even realize they’re building something yet.
Summer may be winding down, but Kids Markets still fits beautifully into our Summer Gift Guide because sometimes the best family activities aren’t expensive attractions. Sometimes they’re experiences.
A family can visit a Kids Market, meet young entrepreneurs, shop for something unique and encourage children who are learning how to run their own businesses. And your child might come home with a new idea of their own. “I could do that.” That’s a pretty good summer memory.
I liked learning there are also seasonal Kids Markets, including Halloween-themed events. And that’s another reason I’m putting Kids Markets on our radar now. One upcoming market I’m especially interested in is the Watauga Halloween Kids Market on Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 4–7 p.m. at Watauga Community Center.
That’s one I may actually be able to attend. And if I do, I’m going to want to see what these young entrepreneurs are creating for themselves. Maybe there will be Halloween crafts. Maybe decorations. Maybe artwork. Maybe gifts.
Maybe something none of us would have thought of. And if I get to go, I’ll come back and tell you what I found. And Then There’s Christmas I think Kids Markets may become especially interesting when we get to our Christmas Gift Guide.
Because I’m always looking for unique gifts. Something handmade. Something different. Something you can’t find everywhere. Shopping at a Kids Market means you may find something special while also supporting the child who created it.
You’re not just buying an item. You’re encouraging a young person. You’re saying: “I believe what you made is worth something.” That’s a pretty meaningful gift while getting a handmade gift for those on your gift giving list.
If you would like to attend a Kids Markets they have an official market finder where families can search for markets by location. You can search by state, ZIP code, address or city and look for upcoming opportunities.
Families can also sign up for notifications when new markets are added. Find a Kids Market Near You If your child is interested, the first step is simply to find a market and look at its specific registration information and rules.
Because individual markets can have their own requirements, families should read the information for the event they’re interested in before registering. Then discuss the rules with the kids and see if its something they want to do.
If There Isn’t a Kids Markets near you which is where I started thinking about my own community. Because Im in the North Richland Hills area, and Haltom City is right around the corner.
There are a lot of children in this area. There are homeschool families. There are community organizations. I even know of a homeschooling co-op. As well as lots of schools.
And I started wondering: What if we had something like this here? What if children in North Richland Hills, Haltom City and the surrounding communities had a place to show what they can do?
What if a child could bring their artwork? Their jewelry? Their crafts? Their baking? Their technology? Their gaming knowledge? Their photography? Their business idea? What if they had a table and a chance to say: “This is what I made.”
Here’s something else I discovered while researching Kids Markets. They don’t just have opportunities for young entrepreneurs. They also have opportunities for people who want to help organize markets.
Kids Markets recruits Market Managers and specifically says homeschool parents, educators, community leaders, entrepreneurs and event planners may be a good fit. Market Managers receive training and support to help organize markets in their communities.
Learn About Becoming a Kids Markets Market Manager So maybe the answer isn’t always: “Where is the nearest Kids Market?” Maybe sometimes the question is: “Could our community have one?”
I don’t know yet if North Richland Hills or Haltom City is ready for one. But I think it’s worth asking. Because I have a feeling there are some pretty talented kids around here. Maybe they just need somewhere to show us what they can do. Which could be at the American Legion in Haltom City since they host a #Homeschool Class.
Finding Kids Markets on Facebook started me down a path I didn’t expect. I thought I had found an event. Instead, I found an idea. An idea about children discovering what they’re capable of. An idea about homeschool families turning real life into learning.
An idea about parents encouraging their children’s interests instead of automatically dismissing them as hobbies. An idea about shopping small and supporting the next generation. And an idea about what Greatful Moments can do next.
We’re going to start looking for young entrepreneurs. We’re going to look at the different ways kids can turn their interests, skills and creativity into something valuable. We’re going to talk about gaming.
Art. Photography. Baking. Technology. Writing. Animals. Crafts. Teaching. Marketing. Websites. And all the other things children are already doing that could become something more.
Because maybe entrepreneurship doesn’t begin with a business plan. Maybe it begins with a child saying: “I really like doing this.” And a parent responding: “Let’s see where it can take you.” That’s the kind of possibility I want to explore. And that’s why Kids Markets is our first stop. Big ideas can start small.
Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed.
#GreatfulMoments #KidsMarkets #YoungEntrepreneurs #ChildEntrepreneur #Homeschool #HomeschoolActivities #HomeschoolIdeas #BackToSchool #BackToSchoolGiftGuide #SummerFamilyFun #Halloween #HalloweenActivities #ChristmasGiftGuide #ShopSmall #ShopLocal #SupportYoungEntrepreneurs #DFWFamilies #NorthRichlandHills #HaltomCity #WataugaTexas #FamilyActivities #LearningBeyondTheClassroom
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates