🌿 Bringing Everyday Herbs Into Your Homeschool: Simple Ways to Learn, Grow & Explore
Homeschooling gives families something truly special: the ability to turn ordinary everyday moments into meaningful learning experiences.
You don't need an elaborate science curriculum or a classroom full of supplies to teach children about plants. Some of the best lessons can begin right in your kitchen, backyard, grocery store, or even a small pot on the windowsill.
Here’s a EVERYDAY HERBS LEARNING POSTER FREEBIE with information on simple everyday herbs!
Everyday herbs are a wonderful way to introduce children to botany, science, history, culture, cooking, observation, writing, and nature study… all while making learning feel practical and connected to REAL LIFE!
Here are some simple ways homeschool families can incorporate herbs into their everyday lives.
🌱 1. Start With the Herbs You Already Have
You don't need to purchase a dozen different plants.
Start by looking through your kitchen!
Do you have:
🌿 Basil
🌿 Rosemary
🌿 Mint
🌿 Thyme
🌿 Oregano
🌿 Sage
🌿 Parsley
🌿 Cilantro
🌿 Ginger
🌿 Cinnamon
Ask your children:
"What do you know about this plant?"
Then let them touch it, smell it, look closely at the leaves, and describe what they notice.
This simple activity introduces sensory observation and scientific inquiry.
🔎 2. Create an Herb Observation Journal
Give your child a notebook and turn it into an Herb Explorer Journal.
For each herb, they can record:
Name: Basil
Color: Green
Texture: Soft
Smell: Sweet/peppery
Where did we find it? Kitchen garden
What part of the plant do we use? Leaves
What did I notice? __________________
Younger children can draw pictures instead of writing full sentences.
Older children can research additional information about the plant.
Over time, they'll create their own little botanical reference book.
🪴 3. Grow Herbs Together
Growing even one herb can become an entire homeschool lesson.
Try growing something simple such as basil, mint, parsley, or rosemary.
Children can learn about:
🌱 Seeds
☀️ Sunlight
💧 Water
🌿 Roots
🌸 Flowers
🐝 Pollinators
🌎 Soil
📏 Plant growth
Have your child measure the plant every few days and record its height.
Suddenly, you're incorporating science + math + writing into one activity!
🧪 4. Conduct Simple Herb Experiments
Herbs are perfect for hands-on science.
For example, place a few fresh herbs in different conditions:
One in sunlight
One in shade
One with plenty of water
One with very little water
Have your child make a prediction:
"Which plant do you think will grow best?"
Then observe what happens.
This introduces children to the scientific process of question → prediction → observation → conclusion.
🍳 5. Bring Herbs Into the Kitchen
Cooking is one of the easiest ways to incorporate herbs into your homeschool.
Have your children help prepare a simple meal and identify the herbs you're using.
You can discuss:
Where the herb comes from
Which part of the plant we eat
How it smells
How it changes the flavor of food
Whether the herb is fresh or dried
How much you're using
Older children can practice measuring, fractions, reading recipes, and following instructions.
Younger children can simply help wash, smell, tear, or identify the herbs.
🌎 6. Explore the History & Culture of Herbs (my personal fav!)
Herbs have been used by people around the world for thousands of years.
Choose one herb each week and explore its history.
For example:
Mint: Where does it grow naturally?
Basil: How is it used in different cuisines?
Rosemary: What cultures have traditionally used it?
Ginger: Where did it originate?
Cinnamon: How is it harvested?
This can turn your herb study into a geography, history, and cultural studies lesson.
🎨 7. Get Creative With Herbs
Learning doesn't always have to involve writing.
Try creating:
🌿 Herb drawings
🌿 Botanical paintings
🌿 Leaf rubbings
🌿 Herb collages
🌿 Nature-inspired crafts
🌿 Plant diagrams
🌿 Herb identification cards
Ask your child to draw an herb while looking at the actual plant.
This encourages them to pay attention to details such as leaf shape, veins, stems, and texture.
📚 8. Add Herb-Themed Books to Your Reading Time
Visit your local library and search for books about:
Plants
Gardens
Herbs
Seeds
Botany
Cooking
Nature
Gardening
You can read a story together and then connect it to something you're growing or observing.
This is a great example of interest-led learning—one simple topic can naturally branch into multiple subjects.
🧮 9. Use Herbs for Math
Believe it or not, your herb garden can become a math classroom!
Children can:
📏 Measure plant growth
🔢 Count leaves
➕ Add the number of leaves on different plants
📊 Create growth charts
💰 Calculate the cost of buying fresh herbs
🥄 Practice recipe measurements
📐 Measure garden spacing
For older children, you can even introduce ratios, percentages, and data collection.
👃 10. Have an Herb Sensory Activity
Place several herbs in small containers and see whether your children can identify them without looking.
Can they identify basil by smell?
What about rosemary?
Can they tell mint from parsley?
Have them describe each scent using their own words.
This is a fun activity for younger children and can also become a vocabulary lesson for older ones.
🛒 11. Take Your Herb Study to the Grocery Store
You don't even need a garden!
Take your children to the grocery store and visit the produce section.
Have them find as many herbs as they can.
You can compare:
Fresh vs. dried
Organic vs. conventional
Different varieties
Prices
Packaging
Country of origin
Now your ordinary grocery trip has become a lesson in science, economics, geography, and consumer awareness.
🌿 12. Make an Herb of the Week
If you don't want to create an entire curriculum around herbs, keep it simple.
Choose one herb each week.
For example:
Week 1 — Basil 🌿
Week 2 — Rosemary 🌱
Week 3 — Mint 🍃
Week 4 — Parsley 🌿
Spend just a little time each day exploring that herb.
Monday: Identify it
Tuesday: Research it
Wednesday: Draw it
Thursday: Cook with it
Friday: Review what you learned
That's a full week of interdisciplinary learning without needing a complicated lesson plan.
One of the beautiful things about homeschooling is realizing that learning is happening all around us.
A handful of basil from the kitchen can become a science lesson.
A trip to the grocery store can become geography.
A garden can become math.
A recipe can become practical life skills.
A plant journal can become writing practice.
And something as simple as smelling rosemary can spark a child's curiosity about the natural world.
You don't always have to bring the classroom into your home. Sometimes, you just have to step outside and notice what's already there. 🌿
And that's the beauty of nature-based, everyday homeschooling. 💚