Fun Activities With Herbs for Kids

Choose Herbs

• Explain to your children what herbs are and how different ones yield different flavors. Have a taste-testing activity where they are able to touch and sample six or seven herbs. To make it more like a game, have them fill out ballots on which herbs they liked the best. Take the most popular choices as the ones they will plant. They will enjoy feeling they had some say in the process.

Decorate Pots

• Give each child his own gardening pots and tools for growing herbs. Have him decorate the pots by painting them any design he chooses. This is a good activity to do a night or two before you will be planting. This way the pots have time to fully dry.

Plant Herbs

• Together, plant the herbs that have been decided upon. Depending on the ages of your children, you can take this time to explain how long the herbs will need to grow. You can make this into a fun game by having each child guess which herb will grow first and then as time passes the children can see who was right. Also as you are planting with them, stress the importance of regular watering and caring for the herbs. Kids will look forward to checking on their herbs and monitoring their growth as time goes on.

Cooking Lessons

• Once the herbs are fully grown, it is time to cook and use them. Pick a few recipes that require the herbs that your children have nurtured. Get them as involved in the cooking process as possible. Depending on their ages, the children can play a part in helping make the meal. Maybe one child washes the herbs while another chops, for example. This is a good time to teach your kids about eating healthy foods and showing them cooking can be fun. Finally, enjoy the meal together. Children will savor each bite as they taste their hard work infused in the meal.