Happy Friday ,
Last week I walked out to the compost/brush burn pile to dump my scraps when I noticed Elder leafing out!
To say I was excited would be an understatement. I had no idea (or probably more accurately, I had forgotten) that Elder was growing right next to the brush pile.
I just moved onto this property around 4 months ago and it
was right when winter was kicking in so I don't know a lot of what is growing here other than what I've planted in the past (this is my childhood home and my mom and oldest son still live here).
I'm especially excited because Elder is such a great immune boosting herb. I especially love to make an antiviral tincture using the leaves. I ran out of my personal stash about a month ago so I was on the hunt to find some bushes around here to restock my stash. And without even
trying, I stumbled right into it!
This is such a great herb to have around - from the flowers and the berries to the leaves and the bark - there are many ways to utilize this amazing plant. The leaves and bark are not mentioned as much for use because they can cause nausea in a low number of people but drying before using generally takes care of this issue. If you are trying it for the first time, take a small dose and increase it gradually over the day to test your tolerance
for it but these parts of the plant are higher in their immune boosting qualities than the berries.
Want to know more about Elder? I have four different ways you can do that!
- A blog post about Elder - read more about the medicinal uses of Elder and get a delicious Elder Fritter
recipe
- The Elder ebook - my ebooks are great for those do-it-yourselfers who like to learn through games, crafts, and other activities
- The New to Herbs
online course - this course is a year long course that includes 13 easy to find/use herbs, including Elder. The course can be jumped around in or followed as is. It includes video and/or photo seasonal studies of the plants so you can see how they look year round. It also includes a year long project to incorporate all the plants together. At the end of the year, you and your child will have a beautiful handmade silk scarf that showcases your journey of the plants. Each
corresponding ebook is also included in the online course.
- Herb Club - my membership program currently offers 27 different herbs to learn about, including Elder. You can join as a monthly member, annual member, or lifetime member. Each plant lesson includes over an hour of video instruction including botany,
identification, drawing, medicinal and edible aspects, a story, and a craft activity or recipe. Each corresponding ebook is also included in the membership as well as additional expanded curriculum guides per plant broken into four grade levels: pre-k/kindergarten, 1 - 4 grade, 5 - 8 grade, and 9 - 12 grade.
Do you use Elder in your home? I'd love to hear your experiences with it! Feel free to respond to this email and tell me!
Herbal
Blessings,
Kristine
Also, when you're ready, here are four ways that I can help you:
1) Watch our YouTube videos.
We have many to choose from including storytime and herbal tutorials. Just watch
here.
2) Hang out in our Facebook group.
Join in the community, ask questions about teaching kids herbalism, and share ideas and wins. Come see where we hang out every day.
3) Sign up for an online course.
We
have courses that are varied in length from 30 days to one year. This is a great option if you just need a bit of structure for teaching herbalism to your kids. Take a course.
4) Join Herb Club, our online membership offering.
Need more guidance or
curriculum for teaching your kids about herbs? Herb Club has you covered. We offer video lessons, expanded curriculum for preschool through high school, a community forum, and lots of support. Become a member.