Lavender Painting Craft (Homeschooling Witchlets)

This lavender painting craft is easy enough for a 3-year-old, and pretty enough to frame.  

If you just found yourself working a side gig as a home school teacher, I’m with you!  

Why not join me in using your witchy knowledge of apothecary to enrich your little one’s education?

The sudden thrust of parents into the role of a teacher is dramatically and rapidly changing the landscape of education.  Daunted by the steep learning curve, I spend hours of week planning projects, deciding on lesson plans, and sometimes, learning the material myself. 

Putting my own creative spin on my child’s tutoring time is enriching for us both.

Of course, with a 4-year-old, I focus mostly on core subjects like pre-literacy skills, counting, adding, ect. 

But with gardening season approaching and play dates on lock down, I make the most of our outside time with lessons on herbalism.

Lavender Facts

The way you choose to approach this herb (or any herb) from an educational standpoint depends on your general curriculum. 

I decided to teach my child about lavender in the context of a larger lesson on France, and its role in perfume-making in the region of Provance.  

But there are lots of angles.

Compliment the lesson with one of these other ideas.

In Magic and Spirituality

If you feel comfortable teaching your child about your magical practice, by all means, go over some of the metaphysical properties of lavender.  You can also try:

-Letting your child make a dream sachet.  Try using these instructions for making a sachet.  Add a piece of amethyst and allow it sit in the full moon light over night.  Then, tell your child to try sleeping with it under their bed or pillow and ask them if it gave them happy dreams.

-Try using lavender to make a moon blend.  Mix it with other moon herbs, like violet and cinnamon, and encourage them to sprinkle some on the altar during the full moon.

Culture/History

-The ancient Egyptians used lavender in the mummification process and as a perfume.

-According to legend, Queen Victoria of England adored lavender, and used lavender water as a disinfectant and perfume.

-The ancient Greeks used lavender for “skin beautification” and in their bathwater.

-Lavender has a special place in the culture and history of the Provence region of France, where it is a key component the perfumes and soaps produced there.

Practical Use/Activities 

-Lavender may be used in natural bug repellent.  This makes a great craft project for spring/summer to try with your little ones.  Here is a tutorial on how to make lavender bug repellent.  

-In most places, this flower blooms in early to mid summer.  But it’s best planted in the spring.  Try ordering a lavender seedling online and letting your child care for it until it blooms.

-Add the essential oil from this herb to your child’s bathwater at night and ask them if it makes them feel sleepy or relaxed.  

-Try making lavender melt-and-pour soap.  Get creative with molds, other natural additives (like oatmeal or lemon peel), ect.

-Set up a “perfumery” in your kitchen and let kids experiment with blending essential oil with other scents.

Things You Will Need

I tried to keep the materials for this craft really simple, using things you likely already have.

You will need:

-scissors

-green construction paper

-purple paint in 2 shades (lighten or darken your purple by mixing white or black paint)

-1 or 2 pencils with unused erasers

-A sturdy piece of white poster board, card stock or other canvas.

Step 1 

If your child is old enough, let them cut some green “stems” from your construction paper. 

(For really little ones, you can do this part yourself).

Step 2

Glue green “stems” on the paper.

Step 3

Show your child how to dip the end of a clean, unused pencil eraser in one shade of paint.

Step 4

Encourage your child to make dots in the shape of a lavender flower.  You can even show them a close-up photo of one to give them an idea.

Step 5

For more depth and interest, switch colors and fill out the flowers.  Display and enjoy!

That’s all for now, but I’ll definitely be adding more homeschooling ideas in the coming weeks as we all try to get through this new landscape together!