One of our responsibilities in parenting radical kids in our chaotic times is planting Resilience.
Wow. That’s serious!! Yes, it is, but it can also be very much fun...
I've seen those picture-perfect social media accounts. You know them, the ones that make you feel like a failure as a parent! The ones that make you feel like you shouldn’t even bother trying because you’ll never be even close to giving your kids that kind of learning experience.
Sometimes I get caught up in the pretty pictures and forget that they are only showing a curated image. And I forget. So I stop, take a deep breath, and remind myself:
You don’t have to do it all perfectly!
Teaching herbalism to your kids (or anything else for that matter) — You don’t have to know it all perfectly! Just knowing the name of a plant is a great start. But honestly, you don’t even need to know the name of a plant to get started teaching your kids about herbal healing. Learning to identify a plant is a great skill to obtain. And like all great skills, it takes time and practice. Herbal healing is learned one plant at a time.
Grab some plant ID books that are specific to your region and head outside! Showing your kids that you don’t know it all and that you are still learning is a valuable life lesson for them as well as learning the plant ID skills! So before you label yourself a failure and give up before you even begin, just begin! Herbalism is learned one plant at a time.
How to Get Started?
Start with a notepad and pencil and head outside with your kids. If you have those ID books, bring them along too. You might also wish to bring along a camera to photograph plants you don’t know for future identification. Now start walking around your area — whether it’s your backyard, an empty lot in a city, or a local park — and investigate all the plants. Start with the ones you know and make a list. Look up! What trees do you see? Write them down too. And don’t forget the shrubs.
Next, you might wish to tackle the plants you don’t know and try to ID at least one new plant. Be absolutely sure of your identification. I’ll write a future article on tips for identification. Once you have a handful of plants listed, sit down with your kids and decide which plants you’d like to learn more about.
Hopefully, the answer is ALL OF THEM! Narrow those choices down to one plant. Some ways to decide which plant to choose include:
Is it abundant in your location?
Is it in season? i.e., is it getting ready to bloom or in bloom? has it just emerged from the ground? or has it already gone to seed and is now dying back?
Are you 100% sure that you’ve correctly identified it?
Is it a plant that seems interesting to you and your kids?
Is it easy to access?
Once you’ve chosen your plant, it’s time to start researching. You can often find herbals at the library. Online can also be a great source for information. Remember though, sometimes information found both in books and online can be wrong or outdated so it’s always important to check several sources.
Herbalism on a Budget
With August already here, many homeschooling parents are in the deep throes of planning the school year ahead. I have been there! Picking and choosing which curriculums to go with. Deciding what topics to cover. Pouring through online resources to decide which to purchase. And also realizing I don’t have enough funds to purchase all the fancy options available that I want to use.
These are difficult times we are living in. Many of us are finding ourselves struggling to make ends meet right now so often as a homeschooling parent, school curriculum can seem like a luxury. With the rising cost of living, including healthcare, learning herbal healing may not seem like a necessity but now more than ever, nature`s medicine is very relevant to our lives. In the past few years, I have watched my beloved passion go from fringe knowledge to mainstream consciousness and with that has come the capitalistic base of people trying to sell exotic herbs as the end all be all of herbalism, often making herbalism seem too expensive and out of reach to learn about and practice.
But did you know that it’s extremely possible to learn herbalism on a budget? We’ll get into that in a minute.
Teaching Kids Herbal Healing Without Breaking the Bank!
The easiest way to start using herbs is to learn about the plants that grow in your backyard. Whether it’s your literal backyard, or a local green space, plants pop up everywhere and many of them have medicinal value. The first step is to identify the herbs. I like to suggest using several resources to cross-reference and verify. There are several plant ID apps on mobile phones which can be a great starting point. In addition, seek out a few identification books at your local library, or ask them to order them in for you if they don’t have any locally available.
Also, be sure to seek out plant ID books that are specific to your region, preferably written by authors that are local to your region. Once you think you have positively identified your plant, pop it up in a plant identification or herb group on social media and ask if everyone agrees it is what you think it is. When you have a list of a few plants that grow around you, you’re ready to get started!
Not sure what to study? You can download my free herbal profile template to give you ideas about what to look for and learn about. You’ll want to read up on your plants and/or watch a few videos of reputable herbalists talking about them. I don’t recommend doing a basic online search to source information as it can be hit or miss what is written about them. It’s better to stick with herbals from herbalists that have spent years studying and learning about the plants. Many herbalists such as Rosemary Gladstar, Matthew Wood, and Gail Faith Edwards offer great herb books. By working with plants that grow in your backyard and borrowing books from your local library, you can put together a very simple budget-friendly curriculum.
And if you feel like joining our tailor-made Plant Magic Keepers workshops, our monthly witches & wizards gathering, click here for more information and future bookings. Please do keep in touch on our Instagram for live announcements and freshly squeezed news! Our herbal school year starts again in our medicinal garden from October 2024 to June 2025.
A Little Glimpse of What We Are Covering When We Gather as Plant Magic Keepers!
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