Junior Herbalist Club (JHC) is a 1-3 year extracurricular course for children (aged 7+) which runs for 90 minutes, once a month, for 10 months of the year.
Junior Herbalist Club has been designed to engage and educate children, on a journey of discovery through play to learn about the healing and medicinal plants all around them in a safe and supervised environment. The course covertly incorporates core subjects including English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Botany, Latin and Cookery, as well as helps children to gain in confidence, improve fine motor control and develop a new skill set.
Each month the children learn about the medicinal uses of plants and make something to take home (lavender bags, lip balms, bath bombs and much more!!). JHC has been planned so that each month the children build on their knowledge and skills. In the second year, the tasks become more complex, building on the skill set developed in the first year. At the end of each session the children are given a worksheet to complete so they can develop a portfolio of learning.
The course includes:
- Identification of common herbs growing all around
- Safety – which herbs are safe to use and which are poisonous
- Folklore – taught through stories and songs
- How to grow and harvest herbs
- Medicinal uses of common herbs
- How to use a variety of common herbs for first aid
- How to make a variety of herbal preparations to keep and take home
- Respect for all plants and their environment
JHC was created and developed by Medical Herbalist Mel Hornby and has been delivering herbal education to children in the UK since 2014, and is now available in Australia for the first time.
Here is some feedback from previous years:
“I really enjoyed learning the different uses of herbs and about the variety of plants, especially the ones that are often considered weeds, and are actually beneficial and can be used in a number of ways. I liked how we would make things at the end of the lesson to show us how to put the properties of the plant into practice. I liked how the classes were set outside and how they were practical. The plants weren’t just pictures in a book. We could see, touch and smell them. I liked how each week was a different plant or two. Made it easy to focus on rather than just having a brief overview on a bunch of things.” ~Allie
“I have learnt about how plants and nature can help us to heal our bodies, and that we can make our own medicines without going to the doctor for everything. I enjoyed watching Virginia prepare and cook the herbs to make medicines from nature, and learning in a group with other homeschoolers. I would recommend other children come to JHC next year because in every class there is something new that you will find out about. Also you get to take something home at the end of every class – that the group has made.” ~Eloise
Virginia Maddock has been a qualified herbalist since 2000 and will be continuing this wonderful education in plant healing for children in the Sutherland Shire, starting in February. (Other areas will be considered with appropriate numbers of bookings, so get in contact and get a group together!).
Cost is $400 per year (or 4 x $120 paid each term). Monthly on Thursdays in Caringbah South at 10:30am-12pm (numbers dependent).
Dates:
February 19
March 19
April 23
May 21
June 18
July 23
August 20
September 17
October 15
November 19
Email: virginia@naturalbeginnings.com.au for enquiries and expressions of interest.