Herbal Honey ~ You know the saying about “a spoonful of sugar.” Choose fresh leaves and flowers or fresh or dried roots, seeds, and bark. Per 1/2 cup of herb, add 2 cups of honey and bring to a gentle boil on the stove. Once it begins to boil, turn it off and let cool. Repeat one to five more times until the desired flavor is reached. After the last warming, strain the honey into a glass jar and store in the cupboard. Great by the spoonful, added to tea or carbonated water. (Caution: Children under 2 should not be given honey.) Ginger root, cinnamon, mint, basil, anise-hyssop, pine needles, bee balm, lemon balm, and many other herbs make delicious honeys.
Herbal Soda ~ Simmer roots, seeds, and barks or steep flowers and leaves for 15-30 minutes. Strain and stir in sugar, agave nectar, honey, or maple syrup to taste. Let cool (or add ice) and pour in carbonated water. This works well with cinnamon, anise, star-anise, anise hyssop, mint, lemony herbs (lemon balm, verbena, grass & thyme), and ginger.
Herb-Infused Oil & Salves ~ Use a mason jar, olive oil, and fresh, wilted, or dry herbs to make healing oils for topical use. St. John’s wort makes a lovely bright red oil; use freshly picked buds and flowers. Use plantain, chickweed or cleaver leaves wilted to half their weight. Or, freshly dried calendula or lemon balm. Put the herb in a mason jar, cover with olive oil, and leave in a sunny spot for two weeks. Strain and use as is or make it into a salve. Melt in 1 oz crushed beeswax per 4 oz of oil in a double boiler and pour it into jars before it re-hardens.
Herbal Vinegar ~ Place 1 cup of fresh, chopped garden herbs in a pint jar and cover with apple cider or distilled white vinegar. Let sit for two to four weeks, strain, and use for marinades, salad dressings or as a non-alcoholic “tincture” for medicine. Good culinary herbs for vinegar include chives, chive blossoms, garlic, onions, hot peppers, rosemary, tarragon, lemon thyme and basil.
Nature Wreathes ~ Use twisted fresh grape vines or young tree branches to create a basic wreath. Let the children attach fresh or dried herbs, leaves, evergreen branches, pine cones, and/or flowers to their wreathes with wire or glue.
Herbal Window Picture ~ Have each child carefully choose the most beautiful leaves or flowers from the wild or garden. Let them arrange the plants on a piece of wax paper. Cover with another piece of wax paper and, on top of that, a towel. Iron over the towel until the pieces of wax paper have stuck together. Punch a hole in the top and tie a string so that the plant can be hung. (Caution: Adults should iron for younger children.)
Build a Fairy House ~ Use natural, non-living materials to construct simple or elaborate houses for fairies or forest creatures to live in. Identify each material used to construct the “house” including acorns, pine cones, berries, herbal garlands, stones and discuss the medicinal uses, if any. Check back regularly for signs that “someone” has stayed there. If an animal has visited, try to figure out what kind and why it was attracted to the house. Visit www.fairyhouses.com or check out the Fairy Houses Series (Light-Beams Publishing) of books for inspiration and information on how to create a fairy house and local festivals.
Free Time! ~ Don’t forget to allow children some unstructured time in the garden or forest. “I have (my Nature & Spirit Camp) all scheduled in my head, but the time they like best is the free time to play in the brook, catch frogs, and find snakes,” says Phillips. Once children learn the wonders of nature, the time they choose to spend in it can become the most valuable. Discover Herbs & Nature with Children