I love my herbs snuggled in among my garden plants. I really don’t know how best to use them in my cooking but my grandchildren found ways to have fun all afternoon. Not only did they learn the names of the herbs but also a little history and science to go along with it.

I had a few mortars and pestles left over from a Vacation Bible School event. We used them as representatives of the apothecaries in Jesus’ day. (See how easy it is to introduce vocabulary, history, and Bible all in one little mortar and pestle). I initially showed the equipment to my grandchildren who wanted to know how they could use them to crush up things to make a pretend “pharmacy”. That was the word they used since several of their family members are involved in the medical field. Of course, it was all an excuse to get to use knives and crush up stuff and make a big fun smelly yucky mess then pour it all into little glass bottles to sit and turn even more gross.

The first question was, ” What kind of plants can we use to make medicines?”

My answer – “Before modern medicine people often used herbs to make concoctions for medicine.” We took a stroll through the garden using snips and pocket knives to harvest a few sprigs of rosemary, lavender, sage, thyme, and mint. They also asked about adding flowers. Dandelions were blooming in the yard so we pulled a few blossoms of those as well. All afternoon the children crushed the herbs, commenting on the sticky feel of the rosemary, the different aromas of each herb, and the ways they could combine each herb to create different aromas.

As each bottle was filled, the inevitable question arose. “Can we cut some more?” I used the opportunity to ask what kind they needed. Again, I was teaching. They were learning to identify and name plants by sight, smell, and touch (the mint family has a square stem). We bundled a few stems of sage and rosemary to save for the winter months of holiday cooking. I wanted to research how to use mint and lavender in my soap making. Our messy, smelly, yucky afternoon of play turned into a great learning experience for all of us. No, I haven’t made that lavender soap yet but I just may in a few weeks.

You know how things just pop up in your inbox? The other day this email about using herbs to make a vinegar “thieves” recipe showed up in mine. I like to use essential oils to make my house smell good as well as combat cold and allergies. There were interesting histories of herbal usage in medieval times to combat plagues, but also interesting facts of the properties of the herbs.

Most common herbs contain antibacterial and/or antimicrobial activity. Garlic is another herb that continues in use today for cold and flu prevention. I loved that this site also gave a great recipe for using herbs with vinegar to make a preventative infusion with nothing but the fresh, organic herbs from our gardens in a little vinegar.

Have messy fun learning with the kids this summer. Gail Cartee

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