My Amish Childhood: A Story of Growing Up Amish (Part 1)

Growing Up New Order Amish

As I've mentioned before, I grew up in the New Order Amish church. We were considered the Fancy Amish; so my story will not be the same as a lot of other Amish kids. But this is my story...

I'm sure you know that little kids usually believe anything you teach them. Kids are very trusting, and typically whatever mom and dad tell them, that's what they assume to be the truth.

And that's why it's so important to teach your kids the truth. Teach them to love everyone, no matter the color of their skin, handicap, etc. Teach them that Jesus loves them.

My parents taught me their way of life. I grew up thinking that the Amish lifestyle was the only right one, thinking that we may very well be the small minority that would make it to heaven.

We always looked at outsiders as untrustworthy, and we just wouldn't have any fellowship with "those" kinds of people. I never questioned why we were so different from everyone else. It's just the way it was, and we were the ones who were right, so why should we question it?

Life on the Farm as an Amish Child

I was the third youngest child in a family of ten kids, surrounded by brothers. So I was a bit of a tomboy and didn't ever want my brothers to outdo me.

At a very young age, we were expected to help with chores and be responsible. I was out in the barn and fields a lot, even though I had to help my mom with household duties as well.

Life was always busy on the farm. We grew a lot of our food in the garden and preserved it for the winter months. We butchered our own meat and always had plenty in the freezer. (And yes, we had a freezer in our basement, since we had electricity. Our Old Order Amish neighbors had to run their freezer items into town where they had lockers for them to rent.)

The Amish have very specific gender roles. It's usually the man's duty to work hard and provide for his family. And the wife is supposed to take care of the kids, garden, cook, and do all the housework.

Life wasn't always easy on the farm. There were times when my parents struggled to make ends meet, and this put extra stress on my dad. He was a man of great faith, and he loved God. But he did have some anger issues, and this made things unpleasant in our home at times.

He was a very strict disciplinarian, as are a lot of Amish men. They expect their kids to be obedient and respectful without questioning why. I always was a bit of a rebel at heart, so I never liked my dad too much, sadly. After I got married and left home, I finally learned to respect him.

School Years

The Amish typically have their own church school, and only live within a few miles of their schoolhouse, so that the kids can walk there. Unless, of course, there's bad weather, in which case, someone has to hitch up the horse and buggy and drive them there.

They just have one classroom for all eight grades and one teacher.

The men usually assume the helm of leadership roles in the home and church. But when it comes to teaching school, that is a job for a young girl. Typically just a teenager herself.

This is another poor-quality photo of the girls in my fifth-grade class. I'm on the right. And yes, I was chubby! I think we started having to wear the head covering and an apron over our dress to school when I was in fourth or fifth grade.

We had four classrooms in our school, and they actually did offer classes through tenth grade. Some of the Mennonites went on through tenth, but all of the Amish only went to eighth grade.

I remember my dad actually pulling my brother out before he was finished because he needed help on the farm. They wanted us to learn how to read and write, but education was not very important.

What did we do for Fun?

Of course, as kids, we played and had fun together. We'd get together with friends, or our cousins, and have good times. As a family, we would frequently play a game of croquet together on Sunday evenings after the chores were finished. But otherwise, our life consisted of mostly work.

You could probably call me, along with some of my other siblings, a workaholic. And honestly, I think we enjoy working. It's just been our life, and we cannot sit idle. Although in recent years I think I'm slowing down a little - I do enjoy sitting and watching a good show now and then :).