When I was young - and I mean 8-10 - we used to get out of school two weeks in the fall to pick potatoes.
We LOVED it = (and I'm a 'girl') - two weeks out of the classroom, getting paid according to our individual efforts, the camaraderie of being together as a community and being included with the adults as equals, the health benefits of fresh air, sunshine and exercise, etc. AND, our schoolwork didn't suffer. The little one-teacher, one-room, "8 grades plus sub-primary" school resulted in REAL education. When my brother and I left to go to big city schools in Boston - we were a full year ahead.
But the gov't decided such opportunities for children as potato picking was cruel child labor - and outlawed it.
Like both of you, I worked in the fields many, many summers (and winters). It's good hard work. Unfortunately, we've taken that opportunity away from the kids "for their own good."
BTW, this entitles us to be called "migrants."