Marshmallow

I remember the first time I heard of Marshmallow Root at a health food store as a woman handed me a bag of smelly powder for my sore throat. The image of fluffy and sweet marshmallows used for hot chocolate and S’mores was not what I got when buying my first real marshmallow herb! It has been so fun though to learn about the power of herbs and the history of this plant that led to the development of treats like the marshmallows we see around the campfire!

In the Herb Fairy book for this month, we loved learning about the power of this herb for things like sore throats, urinary tract infections, and skin wounds. I bought a bag of marshmallow root powder this month so we could try making our own healthy marshmallows for the Nature Adventure class! I decided not to use the recipe in the books, but found this easy preparation online and it worked great!

I love our Nature Adventure time! We began class by sharing our favorite nature sightings this month. I heard about snakes, bugs, and alligators today! We sang our gathering song and then headed to our nature journaling spot for the lesson.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any plant examples for the children to feel and observe, but we did talk about the features of the plant like the height, leaf arrangement, flower, and root! They did an amazing job in their journals showing the toothed edges of the leaves and colors to match the flower petals!

After our lesson we did a taste test! I brought the homemade herbal marshmallows and the regular store bought marshmallows! The majority of students preferred the taste of the herbal marshmallows! Good choice!

Our free exploration time resulted in many crawdad finds, mushrooms, and opportunities to splash and climb in the creek! I love happy nature faces!

After our exploration time we came back and had our time of Thanksgiving. Last month I started a challenge where before we sing our song we must be silent for 20 seconds and just listen to the world around us and think about something we are thankful for! I am totally keeping this routine!

Here are some additional links for herb study! If you try the marshmallow recipe let me know! Next time I am whipping my fluff a little faster and longer to see if it will be puffier!

https://theherbalacademy.com/20-marshmallow-root-diys/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D6BAuH5zmk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmbq5VvaUZA
https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/marshmallow-root-and-leaf-history-and-benefits

Registration for next month is ready at this link: https://kindandcultivated.home.blog/grid-blog/monthly-nature-events/

And did you know all of our lessons are available if you want to learn a little more about an herb or nature topic? Check them all out here! https://kindandcultivated.home.blog/nature/