Around the Qingming Festival, the earth is moist and life begins to sprout. Layers of green, from light to deep, quietly imprint the vitality of spring onto our minds and bodies. Nature never holds back its gifts – flowers of all shapes and colors bloom one after another, while purple wood sorrel, dandelions, shepherd’s purse, and mugwort gradually blanket the ground.

We believe the meaning of Qingming goes beyond remembrance and paying respects to ancestors. It also calls us to step into nature. And it is precisely during this season that the wonders of herbs can be naturally placed into the hands of children.

Seek the Joy of Herbs

At UNC, the teachers spent the week guiding the children on an exploration of herbs. They brought the gifts of nature into the classroom: perilla, dandelion, mint, mugwort, mimosa, rosemary… The children were fascinated by the sensitive plant– “Look, its leaves are closing up!” And when they smelled the rosemary, they said with delight, “It smells so good!”

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Savor the Pleasure of Handmade

The teachers also designed an “Herb Scavenger Hunt” game, taking the children outdoors to search with their eyes and touch with their hands. The children washed lemon leaves themselves and brewed their own cups of mint lemon tea. When making mugwort riceball, they inhaled the fresh fragrance of mugwort and shepherd’s purse, took turns putting mugwort into the juicer, and kneaded the dough and filled the dumplings with their own hands. From a single leaf to a taste of spring, the entire process unfolded before them.

QINGMING

Embrace the Wisdom of the Senses

Children are sensory learners. Maria Montessori reminds us: true understanding begins with concrete experience. When we place real objects into children’s hands and give them the chance to see, touch, smell, and taste, they are not passively receiving knowledge – they are actively constructing their own understanding. This deep, sensory connection allows a love for nature to become a natural and effortless part of who they are.

The world of herbs holds many more mysteries waiting to be discovered. Rosemary and perilla can become delicious seasonings; mugwort and dandelions serve as both food and medicine; and indigo can be used to dye fabric. Herbs are one of nature’s most generous gifts. And all we can do is pass them into children’s hands in the most authentic and respectful way possible.

QingMing