How to Choose an Herbal Homeschool Curriculum (K-5)

A good herbal homeschool curriculum teaches your kids to really know plants by sight, smell and touch, hands you every lesson already written out, and fits into your school day instead of piling onto it. For a Christian family it should also point every plant back to the One who made it, with no “plant energy” ideas slipped in.

There are more options than there were a few years ago, and they are built very differently. Here is how to sort through them.

What is an herbal homeschool curriculum, exactly?

It is a plan for teaching your children about herbs and other useful plants as a real school subject. The better ones treat it as botany and nature study: learning a plant’s name, how to recognize it, how it grows, where it came from and how families have used it in the kitchen. Many also bring in reading, writing, art and history, since a single plant has a lot of stories attached to it.

What kinds of herbal curricula are out there?

Most of what you will find falls into a few types. None is wrong. They just do different jobs.

• Magazine or monthly style. One herb per issue with stories, puzzles and crafts. Fun and flexible, but you plan how it fits into your week.
• Short unit studies. A few weeks on herbs, often with a lot of hands-on making. Great as a break from your regular science, but you will be looking for the next thing soon.
• Printable notebooking packs. Pages for many herbs that your child fills in. Good for independent kids, lighter on teaching support for you.
• Adult herb schools with a kids’ add-on. Solid if you want to study herbs yourself, but the kids’ part is usually not a full school year.
• A full-year curriculum. A scope and sequence, a teacher’s guide, and a lesson for every day. More of an investment, and it can carry other subjects with it.

What should I look for before I buy?

Whatever type you choose, these questions will save you from a curriculum that sits on the shelf by February:

• Can I teach it without knowing herbs myself? Look for scripted read-alouds, written discussion questions and a supply list for each week.
• Is it written for my kids’ ages? A K-2 child learns plants through the senses. A 3-5 child is ready for measuring, recording and testing an idea.
• Can I get the plants? Common dried herbs you can buy like spices are far easier than wild plants you have to find in season.
• Does it pass the worldview test? Ask of every lesson: does this credit the plant, or the One who made the plant? Words like “energy,” “vibration” or a plant’s “spirit” are a red flag. I explain that test in Is Herbalism Biblical?
• Does it fit into my day, or pile onto it? Look at a week’s plan and see which subjects it already carries alongside the plant.
• Does it help with records? A dated notebook in your child’s handwriting is an easy portfolio.
• Can I see the whole year? A scope and sequence shows you every plant before you commit.
• Can I try it first? A free, complete week tells you more than any sample page.

Which grade level should we start with?

With Eden’s Table, where you start depends on your kids and how much they already know about plants:

• Children in K-2: start with Sprouts.
• Children in grades 3-5 who are new to herbs: start with Sprouts too. Those are the plants they will build on.
• Children in grades 3-5 who already know the basics: go straight to Seedlings.
• Children in both: teach Sprouts to everyone together, then Seedlings the next year.

The reason is simple. Sprouts and Seedlings teach different plants, not the same plants at two reading levels. Sprouts covers 36 and Seedlings covers another 36, so a family who does both finishes with 72. Skip Sprouts and those first 36 are missing. You can see all 72 by week and unit on the scope and sequence, and there is a page for each grade, from kindergarten to fifth grade.

How is Eden’s Table set up?

Eden’s Table is the Christian homeschool herbalism curriculum I wrote: one plant a week, 36 weeks a year and 180 daily lessons. It is Charlotte Mason inspired, with a real plant in your child’s hand and a notebook she fills in herself. You do not need any herb background to teach it. A week looks like this:

• Monday: read-aloud and discussion, and the week’s Scripture memory verse.
• Tuesday: discovery. Your child studies the plant up close, draws it and labels it.
• Wednesday: kitchen lab. Measure, observe and record, using common kitchen ingredients.
• Thursday: history, geography and art, all carried by the same plant.
• Friday: the garden, and a review of the week.

One plant carries ten subjects across the week: Bible, science, language arts, math, art, history, geography, Latin, health and character, and the Week at a Glance page tells you which day carries which. Every lesson is written at two depths, so a younger and an older child can work the same week at one table. The family story runs through the year too, in seven Sprouts readings rather than one every week.

The printed year is three books: the Teacher’s Guide, the Student Notebook your child writes in, and the Read-Aloud Storybook. The herbs themselves are not included. Each week uses a small amount of a common dried herb from your pantry, your garden, or the herb list I keep for you.

How much does it cost, and how do I try it?

• Free: Week 1 of Sprouts or Seedlings, five full lessons, sent to your email. Print it and teach it the same morning.
• $39: the 9-week Starter Unit, weeks 1 to 9 as an instant download (Sprouts or Seedlings).
• $249 plus $12 shipping: the whole 36-week year in print, printed to order and at your door in about two to three weeks. Extra Student Notebooks for siblings are $39.99 each.

Using an education savings account or scholarship? Eden’s Table is an approved or registered vendor in seven programs, and the ESA page explains how buying works in each state.