Teaching Kids

LaurieLovesLearning

It is true that if you go about your day, teaching kids what you feel is important...as in Deuteronomy 11:19, they will learn & retain that knowledge for the day and time it is needed. As much as this is speaking to Israelites to talk about their knowledge & experiences with their children about what God did, this is wise advice for us today. This advice teaches a great principle that is applicable to many things, and this is what it says: "You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up."

This is advice that I use through my homeschooling days (every day, really). Kids are like a sponge and have a greater capacity for learning & retaining than we do. You teach them about what is most important, always and from the earliest age onward. It should be just a natural part of all aspects of your daily life.

As far as an herbal focus, this is how you put this into action. You teach the kids about the herbs/weeds, listen to podcasts & courses on the stereo so they pick it up by default (and can ask questions). You get them to explore with you, outside & in the kitchen...feel, sight (pay attention to details), smell, taste, and teach them wisdom of ID and get them familiar with one plant at a time, especially basic useful & also tasty ones...and do taste them even in recipes. Use common herbs when they or an animal in your care has a problem and when they see results, it lends to a natural tendency to use their knowledge at a later date.

I am hoping by teaching the kids to explore while they are young, that they understand that the plants are useful and are to be respected and used as our friends & servants, in a way. I don't want them to be afraid nor ignorant. They can teach so much to them & give them knowledge, health, confidence, freedom & independence. And that's not a bad thing.

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

@LaurieLovesLearning I wholeheartedly agree. 😊

jowitt.europe

@LaurieLovesLearning I fully agree. This summer I had my grandchildren for almost two months. At first I found it difficult to comfy my favourite activities with children favourite activities, but then I introduced 1-2 hours per day of “helping grandma with gardening and Herbs”. We had a lot of fun and things started getting back to normal with my activities. It needed more planning so that it is also fun and a variety of activities, but it worked. They enjoyed it, earned a little bit of money and developed a closer contact to nature, plants, herbs. It worked. Learning by doing. This is how children like it.

Monek Marie

If you teach children in a fun way about natire, herbs and veggies it becomes a part of thier lives and a love that stays with them.

My best memory of my grandfather is time in his garden and what I learned.

Michelle D

Another homeschool family that I knew had shirts for the family that said "Homeschooling- The world is my classroom!" I love that statement so much. It is so important to be teaching continually and not just in the classroom. I wish that my father had taught me more plant identification skills when I was a child. Actually there are tons of things I wish I had learned from him before we lost him, but it helps me keep focus on the importance of teaching my kids all that I can. My husband and I recently started involving our two year old and 4 year old in our foraging walks. I hope that they will learn a healthy understanding of the importance of being sure of what we find and a strong confidence in plant identification.