Elderberries

We had rain clouds over us during nature journaling time today but we’re so thankful it held off until after class! Our study on elderberries was a lot of fun and included a tasting of elderberry syrup!

The elderberry syrup was a hit with most of the children! 📷Lara Seaver

After reading the Herb Fairy book, we used this recipe to make our own elderberry syrup at home. I love smelling fresh ginger as it is grated! It’s so fresh!!! Reading about the Herb Fairy in book 7 with my children helped them understand more about the healing properties of the plant! We loved how the Elder Fairy used the flowers to help the dwarf heal his eyes and fever, and the syrup helped his cough and flu symptoms! For a great botanical drawing of the elder plant and uses for the flower and berry see this website!

Each month in our Nature Adventure my goal is for students to observe the plant. I’m so glad that my friend let me use samples of her tree so we could look at the leaf arrangement, bark, shape, and more of the plant!

The branches of the elderberry 📷 Lara Seaver

After our time journaling, students enjoyed some exploring of the creek! I love watching all the children have fun in nature together! There were so many different kinds of wildflowers out today! I want to go back and document them in our iNaturalist app! If you come to Nature Adventure and have the iNaturalist app, please join the project here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/jerry-erwin-trail – This way, we can see the living things observed during our nature time together! I love looking back and seeing what others have found on our nature walks!