Welcome to Mama Rosemary’s Herb Camp
Join us every week for a fun round up of projects and ideas to do with your kids during the summer. Each week will have a theme with lots of projects to do using herbs, exploring science and natural, holistic living plus some great crafts for good ol’ fashion fun! Many projects can be adapted for multiple age ranges depending on your child’s interests and developmental stage.
Let’s get squeaky clean
with herbs and aromatherapy!
Our fourth week of summer camp is all about using herbs, essential oils and other natural materials to care for our bodies all while having a blast! First is a fully description about how to host a spa day for kids. Then there are some great bath recipes that kids can make. Finally, please find a little section for parents!
♥ Spa Day For Kids ♥
Host a super fun, messy, gooey spa day for your little ones and their friends,
perfect for a hot summer day!
This is a great way for kids to explore using natural materials to care for their bodies while providing a fun activity filled with tactile, creative opportunities.
Materials ~
Feel free to use any combination of the items below to create your own customized special day!
- Kiddie Pool, this will be like a big bath tub!
- Sprinkler
- Clays ~ I like to use rose, french green and kaolin clays. You really only need one clay but it is fun to have several different options with all the pretty colors to choose from.
- Avocado ~ smashed up
- Fruit Slices ~ I usually get whatever is on sale or in season. What you want here are slices of fruit high in alpha hydroxy acids which help exfoliate the skin removing dead skin cells. Sure, there aren’t many kids that will benefit from this action but knowing about it and feeling the effects of the fruit on there skin, that’s pretty cool. Good choices are apples, grapes, strawberries, oranges and even lemons. (I would be careful about giving little ones lemons to use though because they might get the juice in their eyes!)
- Cucumber Slices, kids think it is super silly that people put these on their eyes!
- Bowl for Discards
- Stuff For An Herbal Bath ~ roses, lavender, chamomile, mints, calendula etc…. Also, epsom salts, oatmeal and essential oils like lavender, rosemary, rose geranium etc… And cloth (with a band to tie it shut) or sock for making a bath.
- Aromatherapy Spritzer
- Corn Starch
Instructions ~
Fill the kiddie pool with water. Place bowls with fruit, avocado and cucumbers outside on a table that is easy for the kids to get too. You might want to put the table in the grass. It is going to get really messy and the stuff that falls on the ground can become food for you lawn instead of a big mess on your patio! Mix the clays with enough water to make a paste and put the clay on the table too. Put your discard bowl under the table Make sure you have your spritzer and corn starch handy.
Get all of your bath ingredients set up over by the kiddie pool. Then when you are ready bring the kids over and make an herbal bath with them. I usually start this off by talking with them about the benefits of an oatmeal bath while I put the oatmeal in the sock (or cloth). I make sure to tell them about how the oatmeal makes a slimy goo when you squeeze the bundle we are making. Next we add some epsom salt. Then show the kids all the beautiful herbs you have to add to the bath and ask the each to choose one herb they would like to add. Give them each a handful to toss into the tub. Next add a couple drops of essential oil, using a total of 5 to 8 drops at most.
Next take the kiddos over to your spa table where all you fruits, clay and so on are set up. And tell them all about how to use these fun substances.
- The avocado is oily and nourishes the skin
- Hydroxy acids in the fruit help exfoliate the skin
- The clays help to nourish and tighten the skin
- Cucumber slices on the eye reduce puffiness and refresh the eyes
The kids can use these to make art on their bodies too, making little patterns and drawings! A couple of cautions: If you have young kids, be sure to tell them not to eat the fruits and veggies. Explain that after a piece of fruit or cucumber is used it should be placed in the discard bowl and not back with the fresh pieces of fruit/cucumber. Finally I always tell the kids not to put any clay around or above their eyes because when it dries, they clay begins to flake and gets into their eyes. Trust me, this freaks them out.
Then let the fun begin! Turn the kids loose! Turn on the sprinkler if you have one. If you want, you can walk around with the spritzer and spray it above the kids occasionally.
Finally, when the kids get tired of all the spa day activities, finish up with corn starch foot rubs. The kids always love these. Just have them grab a seat and give them little handfuls of corn starch to rub on their feet. The corn starch is silky and cooling, and of course messy!
Thanks for reading about how to host your own spa day. It is so much fun and I hope you will consider giving it a try!
Next check out some fun baths to make for your kids to use in the tub!
♥ Baths For Kids To Make & Use ♥
Each of these baths are not only fun to make, they are great for body and soul!
Just click on the pictures to get full instructions.
… create a customized Sock Bath full of herbs and oatmeal goodness, slimy and squishy skin nourishing fun!
… become a chemist experimenting with acids and bases and blow up couple of volcanos, even one in your bathtub!
... create beautiful layered bath salts! These were originally made as Holiday gifts but you could change around the scents to make it more Summery. Consider using rose geranium, sweet orange or even ylang ylang. Kids love to watch the layers build as the bath comes together.
♥ Well Deserved TLC For Parents ♥
Summer time is fun and exciting but let’s face it, Summer can also be a bit tiring for parents. It is important that as parents we take time to care for ourselves which also models healthy self-care for our children. Please join me in a the honored art of bathing. At the end of this post of a few lovely bath recipes perfect for soothing away the cares of any mommy or daddy.
I am so glad you stopped by!
Next week Mama Rosemary is on vacation! Please join us again on July 20th for lots of fun crafts and tasty recipes using a beloved herb, mint.
In the meantime, if you are looking for herbal crafts and creations to make with your kids, check out Herbs For Kids.
Shared On: Eco-Kid’s Tuesday, The Kid’s Co-op, Wild Crafting Wednesday, Tender Moments, Friday’s Nature Table
Mama Rosemary ~ Has Moved! 