Little Herbalists and Healthy Families
Little Herbalists and Healthy Families
Snap, snap, snap, it's cookie baking time!
That’s what we did at preschool when we made our playdough of the month for November. Did we eat it? Nope. Instead we played with it and created lots of sparkly playdough cookies.
Read MoreChamomile is a super friendly herb for kids. Chamomile is gentle while being powerful at the same time for helping kids with tummy upset especially when related to nervousness, general nervous tension, headaches and colds.
We started our day at preschool with a tea tasting which is a great way to introduce kids to a new plant. Most children love the apple like taste of the tea made from happy sunshiny little flowers. The kids at the school really enjoyed the tea and it seemed to help calm them down a bit... we were having another late Spring snow storm and the kids were all kinda crazy with the sudden change in the weather.
To make your own tea simple steep up to 1 tablespoon of flowers per cup in hot water for 2 to 5 minutes max. If you steep for any longer than that chamomile tea becomes very bitter. Of course children are very sensitive to any bitter taste. You can add a bit of honey or agave to taste if you wish.
After indulging in our tea we sat down for a cozy reading of this classic tale by Beatrix Potter. The kids were still a bit antsy and yet were really involved with the book. Many of them having read Peter Rabbit before, knew what was to come on each and every page. Except when we got to this little bit on the last page where they noticed one little detail which was overlooked before ~
“Peter was not very well during the evening. His mother put him to bed, and made some chamomile tea: "One table-spoonful to be taken at bedtime.” ― Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Smiles and giggles came when the kids heard that Peter had chamomile tea, just like they did! We talked about how scared and tired and sick Peter must have felt after has intense adventure in Mr. McGregor's garden. It was a perfect little example from a familiar story about using herbs.
I bet you are wondering what about chamomile potatoes, and so we come to the part of our day when we made these together...
These are not something yummy to eat, though I think creating some kind of recipe with these two ingredients might be interesting. Nope, chamomile potatoes are for growing! Potatoes make great little pots for sprouting plants, just like sprouting plants inside egg shells.
When the seeds have sprouted and are ready to be planted outside you can simply plant the whole potato in the ground. In the past we have given created Potato Heads by using markers and googly eyes to create faces. Then we planted grass inside the potatoes which grew into hair! It is lots of fun to for kids to cut their Potato Head's hair with scissors. Today we simply planted chamomile seeds into our potatoes, gave them a little drink and are eagerly waiting for them to sprout!
If prepping the potatoes ahead of time you will need:
Prep the potatoes by cutting the a thin slice off of the top of the potato or the side if the potato is long and skinny. Then using the melon baller remove the center of the potato to make a place for the dirt to go. Test to see if the potato will stand straight by setting it down on a flat surface. If it wobbles or rolls around cut a flat surface on the bottom of the potato so it will stand sturdy and straight. I did this the day before class and I wanted to keep the potatoes fresh. So, I place the potatoes in a big bowl filled with water and a generous sprinkle of citric acid. The potatoes came through the night beautifully!
Have the children fill their potato with dirt and then gently press the tiny chamomile seeds into the top. Help the children give their chamomile potato a small amount of water to help the seeds sprout.
Keep the soil moist and place the potato in a sunny spot. You should have tiny sprouts within about three days, almost instant gratification! When my girls saw these wee little sprouts they instantly exclaimed, "Aw, how cute!"
Within one week the sprouts are much bigger and follow the sun during the day, turning their leaves to soak up nourishing sunlight.
Shared On: It's Playtime!, Eco-Kid's Tuesday, The Kid's Co-Op, Kid's Get Crafty, Friday's Nature Table
Tiny little seeds beckoned excited glances and little hands to explore as we began our herbal adventure this week with fennel. Did you know that fennel is a wonderful tummy soother? It relaxes smooth muscle, eases inflammation and even acts as an expectorant all while tasting pretty yummy!
We started our day at preschool with a tea tasting as well as trying some fresh fennel bulb at snack time. Most of the kids liked the tea and I got to refill many cups! The fresh bulb was only embraced by a few little ones with adventurous palates.
So, what does it taste like? Well, the tea tastes a bit sweet and smooth with a definite taste of fennel seeds. In general I like to blend fennel seeds with other herbs for a tea but nothing beats tasting a simple infusion to really get the sense of a plant. The bulb has a juicy crunch with a sweet anise or licorice flavor. It is really quite lovely.
To make your own tea simple steep up to 1 tablespoon of seeds per cup in hot water for 15 to 30 minutes. Then strain and enjoy!
We furthered our culinary exploration with fennel by making fennel candy, kinda like the kind they have to munch-on on your way out of an Indian Food restaurant. This activity came directly from A Kid's Herb Book by Lesley Tierra. If you haven't seen this book, you are missing out. Totally fun and informative with tons of stories and activities for kids of all ages.
Combine in a pan. Heat to dissolve the sugar and coat the seeds.
Then add:
After we got acquainted with fennel we came to the fun hands-on part of the day, planting fennel babies! Before planting our babies we made them a nice home, little "baskets" for them to begin their sprouting.
The day ended with each child happy to take home their new babies and some candy for their families. When their babies are strong enough and the danger of frost has passed, they will be ready for a new home outside. Lots of fun with fennel!
Shared On: Eco-Kid's Tuesday , Kid's Get Crafty. It's Playtime!, The Kid's Co-op, Friday's Nature Table
Who doesn't love roses and chocolate on Valentine's Day?
Here is a fun, crafty way to share these two Valentine Day favorites with the kids in your life.
Read MoreNot long before holiday break we had a lovely day playing with ginger and doing one of the kids' favorite activities, foot soaks! This is a great way to spend a cold winter day especially if little ones are passing any sort of cold around as it stimulates the immune system and helps kids relax.
Read MoreHappy New Year! Before we move on into the transformation that 2013 promises, I wanted to share the top five viewed posts from Mama Rosemary during 2012 plus a few of my personal favorites that you may have missed along the way...
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I truly value each and every one of you!
Have you ever looked inside a tulip? There is a lot going on!
Hands-on aromatic fun!
The perfect present for mom because it is cute and relaxing at the same time.
A study of the butterfly life cycle.
Aromatic crafting for the holiday season!
And an honorable mention. Mentioned because it was not posted in 2012 but got a lot of attention
and hopefully gave some folks a fun herbal craft idea to try!
This was by far one of my favorite activities I have ever done with the kids at preschool.
It was just so much fun!!
Mommies need a break too!
Creating a tool for helping kids with their emotions.
Tasty fun for a summer day!
Cute little kids learning about beautiful violets.
Best wishes for a wonderful new year! May it be full of what ever you are wishing for!
It is yummy. It smells good and has tiny enchanting purple flowers. Peppermint is a great herb for kids. And this week at school we had a lovely time playing with peppermint.
We started with a peppermint tea tasting at snack time. Everyone loved the tea, well, almost everyone. There were a couple of skeptics at the table. I was really impressed with how excited the kids were about the tea and how much they drank. One little girl asked for about four refills!
Besides being super tasty, peppermint tea is great for digestion and enhancing immunity.
Here is how I made our kid friendly tea. One handful of dried peppermint leaves went into a 1/2 gallon canning jar. After covering the leaves with boiling hot water, I let the mint infuse for about 15 minutes. Then I strained the leaves out and our tea was ready. I did this in the morning before school started so the tea had plenty of time to cool down to a nice warm drinking temperature.
Our activity for the day was very hands on and simple. First we sat on the rug and I gave each child a sprig of peppermint. We looked at the stems and leaves. We felt the square stems and talked about squares. Then we ran our hands up and down the peppermint and gave it a good sniff. Lots of big happy eyes looked back at me while they experienced the freshest peppermint fragrance. One boy exclaimed that his peppermint smelled like zucchini! So cute. I explained to the kids that they were smelling the essential oil in the plant. Like the essential oil we used in our aromatic playdoughthe week before. We looked at the tiny purple flowers and talked about the plant making seeds.
Next I set up paper, glue, scissors, sunflowers and lavender, and lots of peppermint at our art table.
The idea here was free time to just create with plants for a chance to get up close and personal. Cut them up and see what is inside. Get to know the plant through smell and feel. Glue them down and create something. One imaginative little boy made a map!
We also used our plants to make super simple wands but just binding plants together with ribbons.
Shared on: The Kid's Co-op, It's Playtime!, Living Green, Natural Living Mama, Science Sparks
The new school year is quickly approaching for us at our very sweet little preschool. Some of the kids will be coming to school for the very first time. In fact they may have never been away from their mama. Because needless to say, for some kids (and their parents too), the first day of school can be intimidating, scary and even a bit traumatic. I know I sat in my car and cried for a good twenty minutes after I dropped my oldest daughter off on her first day of preschool. Every year on this very special day we help the kids adjust to their new environment by offering a time-honored and much loved activity, playdough, made a bit friendlier with the addition of calming essential oils and herbs.
Playing with playdough on its own provides stress relief through tactile squeezing and massaging of the smooth squishy dough. With essential oils added the child instantly gets all the benefits of aromatherapy. Breathing deepens as the oils are inhaled calming the mind and body, bringing about a sense of peace. Read Herbal Playdough for more info on the benefits of playdough and to get some great ideas for making your own colorful fragrant completely chemical free playdough. It is fun to let each child custom make their own playdough to take home. They have something fun they made to share with their family at the end of the big day.
Prepared Playdough or you can make the playdough with the kids. Here is my favorite recipe:
Combine dry ingredients in a sauce pan. Add the water and oil. Stir together and heat slowly over low heat. Stir almost constantly until the playdough sets up. Let it cool to warm before playing, playdough right off the stove is hot.
Food Coloring (Please note that I am searching for affordable coloring made from natural materials that are healthy. I do use powdered herbs for coloring when making a large quantity of one colored playdough for the school, yet I need something wonderful for coloring playdough when we are making personal playdough for taking home. If any one has a source, please share!)
Essential Oils I like to offer lavender, sweet orange, cardamon, spearmint, rosemary and rose geranium.
Dried Herbs like lavender blossoms, ground cinnamon and rose petals
Glitter
How do you welcome little ones to your school for that first big day? I would love to hear all about it!
Well, the first day has come and went. We had a blast making our playdough. Some of the kids made some really neat pieces of art with their playdough and all the additions we used. Fresh lavender stalks became trees and dried roses became lava.
Enjoy the pictures!
Please Note about essential oils: Essential oils are concentrated plant substances. They are dangerous and should not be used unsupervised around children. Always keep the oils up and out of reach when you aren’t using them and be sure that an adult is the one who holds and uses the bottles. I tell the kids that the essential oils are for teachers to use. Some oils smell like really yummy food, so please do be careful. Use mild oils like the ones listed above.
Shared on: The Weekly Kid's Co-op, DJDaniel4's Mom, Charlotte Mom Favorites
The magic of butterflies and caterpillars captivates children. A flitter of colorful wings...
A fuzzy, fat, stripey bug creep crawling up a branch...
Discovering nature's treasures like these instantly engage and enchant children (and me too!).
What better insect to choose for a close-up look at life cycles? Last week we studied plant life cycles at the school so the children were already familiar with the idea. I brought in an example butterfly life cycle that I had made with art scrapes from my stash: pompoms (perfect for caterpillar bodies), silk flowers and leaves (leaves to lay eggs on and flowers to pull apart and use for wings), pasta shells (cocoon) and multicolored popcorn (eggs).
As we sat in a circle, I shared the butterfly life cycle with the kids we talked about being scientists by looking at the world and observing what we see. We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. As we read, we looked for parts of the butterfly life cycle. We found the egg, and the cocoon and the butterfly; the kids really got it and I was impressed!
Next the kids made their own butterfly life cycles.
I gave them each a leaf to glue down on a piece of paper and then encouraged them to lay "eggs" on their leaves.
On we went including parts of the cycle. I always love to present children with an idea and then let them take it from there and we had many creative life cycles when all was said and done!
Flowers fascinate me, they always have. I can remember spending many happy hours in my parent's garden fondly stroking tulips and talking with snap dragons, or rather making them talk to me. The colors and scents, how can something so amazing grow right out of the ground?
We are studying life cycles at preschool as part of out Earth Day curriculum for the month of April. We set up a plant life cycle on our science table. Into seed pots we planted marigold seeds and then set them up right next to a full-grown marigold plant, with the seeds next the plant. The goal is to give the kids a visual experience of a life cycle while we wait for our baby plants to sprout.
As part of this we read the book: Seed to Plant by Melvin and Gilda Berger. This is a great book with wonderful pictures seeds and plants at different phases of the life cycle. It really helped the kids to understand the process.
We also played the life cycle game. Each kid pretended to be a tiny seed planted in the ground (they get in a ball on the ground). While I pretended to water them as the sun came out and the kids began to grow into a plant (they stretch up towards the sky on their feet), and next the kids sprouted flowers (what color is your flower?) that made seeds. The seeds blew away in the wind (we waved our arms) and landed back on the earth (the kids end up back in a ball on the ground). They loved this game! It was a great visceral way to experience a plant life cycle.
My love of flowers prompted me to bring in a bunch of flowers and talk about where the seeds are made in a flower. I brought in tulips for us to explore together. After we reviewed our plant life cycle, I got ready to cut apart a tulip with the kids. At first they were sad about hurting the tulip. These are some sweet kids! But as I started pulling the petals back they became totally engaged in what they were seeing.
"Whoa! Ms. Angela, what is that?" All heads were bent peering closely as were investigated our tulip.
I pointed out the anthers on the flower and we talked about pollination. We felt the slightly gritty pollen dust on our fingers. I was fortunate to have a lovely book, The Dandelion Seed,with me with an illustration of a bee covered in pollen which gave the kids a good visual for pollen transfer via insects.
The Dandelion Seed by Joseph Patrick Anthony is simply beautiful. The story is profound and engaging while the illustrations are incredibly lovely. In fact I cry just about every time I read it!
Then I showed them the pistil, the part when the pollen lands and fertilizes the flower to make seeds. We cut into the pistil but weren't able to see much even with our magnifying glass.
I also brought in some lilies for the kids to explore. Each child got a lily anda coloring sheet showing the parts of a plant (click here for a link to this great coloring sheet). The kids pulled apart their flowers and glued them to their coloring sheet.
We had a great time being scientists and learning about the mystery of plants and flowers!
Shared On: It's Playtime!, Eco-Kid's Tuesday, Kid's Get Crafty, Friday's Nature Table and at one time The Kid's Co-Op
Herbs for kids and families! Crafting, learning and projects for children, parents and teachers including herbal crafts. Also natural living ideas for healthy families.
