The kids will be heading back to school this month ready and eager to get back into the academic groove. In honor of National Kid Month – September- we present some herbal ideas that will get the young ones involved with herbs, maybe the outdoors and putting those academic skills to use in practical fun ways.
The young one in our family is well aware of herbs and even has several of his own favorites. He has been stung several times this summer by the abundance of yellow jackets. Although his first response is a lot of loud hollering, through all the noise he yells “Get Mom!” He knows that mom will get a poultice of plantain (once chewed and slapped on the sting while in the garden) which will pull out the poison and relieve the pain. So this summer he may say that plantain is a favorite herb. He knows about the herbs we grow and use in our food everyday something we talk about all the time. He has learned about herbs from his very beginning. Something we encourage everyone to do.
Begin with food. If you grow herbs, take your children into the garden and let them feel, taste and harvest herbs. Name the herbs and tell them what you do with them. Take some pictures or press some leaves and let them start a scrapbook. Then let them help use those herbs in some cooking. This is a simple and good place to start kids out with herbs easily. Our kiddo enjoys making dill pickles every year, and the umbrel flowers of the dill make for fun and easy harvesting. We have also made pesto from a wide variety of herbs - what fun to chop the herbs roughly so they fit into the food processor (scissors work great for this) and then whirring them up into a lovely green paste with some oil and then mixed with pasta!
The young one in our family is well aware of herbs and even has several of his own favorites. He has been stung several times this summer by the abundance of yellow jackets. Although his first response is a lot of loud hollering, through all the noise he yells “Get Mom!” He knows that mom will get a poultice of plantain (once chewed and slapped on the sting while in the garden) which will pull out the poison and relieve the pain. So this summer he may say that plantain is a favorite herb. He knows about the herbs we grow and use in our food everyday something we talk about all the time. He has learned about herbs from his very beginning. Something we encourage everyone to do.
Begin with food. If you grow herbs, take your children into the garden and let them feel, taste and harvest herbs. Name the herbs and tell them what you do with them. Take some pictures or press some leaves and let them start a scrapbook. Then let them help use those herbs in some cooking. This is a simple and good place to start kids out with herbs easily. Our kiddo enjoys making dill pickles every year, and the umbrel flowers of the dill make for fun and easy harvesting. We have also made pesto from a wide variety of herbs - what fun to chop the herbs roughly so they fit into the food processor (scissors work great for this) and then whirring them up into a lovely green paste with some oil and then mixed with pasta!
Start their own herb garden – our kiddo has his own fairy garden in between the herbs. Some herbs to consider for a kid garden include: anise hyssop, lemon balm, catmint, beebalm, calendula and any mint such as peppermint. These herbs all have great smells when gently rubbed, and grow easily without much care or maintenance. Their flowers also attract a wide variety of insects, which can add an additional element of fascination for kids. It is easy to make bouquets out of them (for gifting friends and family, something that many a young child likes to do), and they can also easily make fresh summer iced tea. These herbs all have great medicinal uses which are safe for kids. Lemon balm and peppermint make tasty, and tummy soothing teas when kids aren’t feeling well. Catnip works well to help soothe and cool a fever. Calendula can be infused in oil (any oil you’ve got on hand, such as olive, coconut, grape, etc.); once the flowers are strained out, you can use the oil for bumps, bruises, scrapes, and itchy and scratchy skin. Add a bit of shredded beeswax to gently heated oil, then once it cools you’ve got a wonderful healing salve.
Take a foraging walk around your yard or neighborhood! While we are talking about insects, bee stings are an often inevitable result of spending time outdoors and in the garden. But there are several plant allies that are readily available in nearly every yard as weeds which can help with bee stings and other bug bites, itchy skin and simple scratches and owies. Yarrow is a common garden “weed” which is great at stopping bleeding of minor cuts and scrapes. Craft a simple poultice of chopped & ground fresh or dried herb, mixed with a bit of water, and place directly on the wound. Plantain, also seen as a common “weed”, is terrific for bug bites and bee stings. As mentioned above, create a simple poultice out of dried or fresh ground herb and a bit of water, and place directly on the affected area. As the poultice heats up, be sure to change it out, so the herb can help draw out the heat and any “poison” left by the bite or sting.
The library is a wealth of knowledge and it is free. The Battleground Library, our favorite branch of our regional library system, is our go-to choice but the regional library system has several branches and books about herbs are readily available. Books with colorful pictures should be helpful and interesting to children. Let them pick out a book or two and enjoy the learning with them. If they get really excited visit a bookstore and let them help pick out a book to keep in your home library.
Here are a couple of suggestions:
Play games. It can be as easy as “find the lemon balm” or “show me an herb that makes great tea”. There is also an actual board game for learning about herbs. Wildcraft! from Learning Herbs is an excellent cooperative board game that teaches about herbs. It involves an adventure to grandma’s house so how could that not be fun. We have this game and have had fun playing it, especially since it cooperative.
However you share herbs with your kiddos, enjoy time spent together and learning about the plants around us that are infinitely useful!
Here are a couple of suggestions:
- A Kid’s Herb Book: For Children of All Ages by Leslie Tierra
- Walking the World in Wonder: A Children’s Herbal by Ellen Evert Hopman
- Herb Fairies – a series of storybooks from Learning Herbs
Play games. It can be as easy as “find the lemon balm” or “show me an herb that makes great tea”. There is also an actual board game for learning about herbs. Wildcraft! from Learning Herbs is an excellent cooperative board game that teaches about herbs. It involves an adventure to grandma’s house so how could that not be fun. We have this game and have had fun playing it, especially since it cooperative.
However you share herbs with your kiddos, enjoy time spent together and learning about the plants around us that are infinitely useful!
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