Discovering the Green Kingdom
How can we get kids interested in nature and plants?
Kids are natural explorers. “What does this taste like?” “Does it have thorns?” “Can I eat this?” Especially younger children – but often older ones, too – discover their environment through their five senses. They want to touch, smell, taste, look closely, and find out for themselves.
Watching a plant grow from a tiny seed to a ripe fruit creates a completely different understanding than simply picking up a tomato at the grocery store. Children experience how much time, care, and energy it takes for our food to grow. And, of course, everything seems to taste a little better when you have picked it yourself!
Our Edible Herb Spiral
At Free Spirit, we created a herb spiral filled with edible herbs. Here, the kids are encouraged to explore: they can touch the plants, smell the leaves, pick them, and even have a little taste. And if they discover that a particular herb isn't quite their favorite – well, they are allowed to spit it out. The goal is simple: experience plants instead of just learning their names.
A Little Mystery from the Green Kingdom
To make exploring even more fun, we created our own “What Am I?” plant riddles.
Each riddle gives the kids clues about a plant: What does it look or smell like? Is it used as a kitchen herb? Where does it grow? How did it get its name? And sometimes there is a little story about how people used the plant hundreds or even thousands of years ago.
Once the kids think they have found the right plant, there is one more challenge: find its leaf and trace it carefully.
This seemingly simple activity encourages them to slow down and really observe. Is the leaf round or pointed? Smooth or jagged? Are the leaves arranged opposite each other or along the stem? With a little patience, tracing becomes a wonderful exercise in attention to detail and observational skills.
Once the plant has been identified and its leaf traced, the next riddle is waiting – and the journey continues until the kids have made their way through the entire Green Kingdom.
We’ve attached a few of our plant riddles for you to try yourself.
Have fun exploring – and see what you can discover!
Discovering the Green Kingdom
How can we get kids interested in nature and plants?
Kids are natural explorers. “What does this taste like?” “Does it have thorns?” “Can I eat this?” Especially younger children – but often older ones, too – discover their environment through their five senses. They want to touch, smell, taste, look closely, and find out for themselves.
Watching a plant grow from a tiny seed to a ripe fruit creates a completely different understanding than simply picking up a tomato at the grocery store. Children experience how much time, care, and energy it takes for our food to grow. And, of course, everything seems to taste a little better when you have picked it yourself!
Our Edible Herb Spiral
At Free Spirit, we created a herb spiral filled with edible herbs. Here, the kids are encouraged to explore: they can touch the plants, smell the leaves, pick them, and even have a little taste. And if they discover that a particular herb isn't quite their favorite – well, they are allowed to spit it out. The goal is simple: experience plants instead of just learning their names.
A Little Mystery from the Green Kingdom
To make exploring even more fun, we created our own “What Am I?” plant riddles.
Each riddle gives the kids clues about a plant: What does it look or smell like? Is it used as a kitchen herb? Where does it grow? How did it get its name? And sometimes there is a little story about how people used the plant hundreds or even thousands of years ago.
Once the kids think they have found the right plant, there is one more challenge: find its leaf and trace it carefully.
This seemingly simple activity encourages them to slow down and really observe. Is the leaf round or pointed? Smooth or jagged? Are the leaves arranged opposite each other or along the stem? With a little patience, tracing becomes a wonderful exercise in attention to detail and observational skills.
Once the plant has been identified and its leaf traced, the next riddle is waiting – and the journey continues until the kids have made their way through the entire Green Kingdom.
We’ve attached a few of our plant riddles for you to try yourself.
Have fun exploring – and see what you can discover!