Picking potatoes at 8 yrs old.
LOVED it - out of school for 2 weeks, working in the sun alongside adults - like I was valuable too - AND money in my pocket - commensurate with my efforts.
And I was a little girl.
As for being out of school 2 weeks - we had a one room, one teacher school - and we were academically a year ahead of the big city schools.
That was another era - in a free America
At work by age 9. All through high school, too.
Family businesses do that to you.