The Scent of Mint

We unpacked the layers of our flower press this morning to reveal the dried flowers, petals and leaves of the fall. We gathered sprigs of fresh mint from our garden. Using these special ingredients, we created a fragrant "salad" for our Xiang Bao pouches. To make the Xiang Bao, we decorated cotton fabric squares using fabric markers and images of spring time flowers. Inside each fabric square, we wrapped the petal and herb mixture and secured it with a rubber band. The gentle, soothing scent of mint from the Xiang Bao that we tied to pieces of yarn to wear as necklaces was irresistible.


Xiang Bao are made and worn by children in China as seasons change and children spend more time outdoors. Traditionally, Xiang Bao are worn to protect children from illness and danger. In kindergarten our Xiang Bao were created in response to the concerns children have been expressing at school the past week.

We invited the children to add any worries they have to their petal and herb "salad." We suggested that the scent of mint and the beautiful petals help us relax. We thought how the little pouches could help us soothe our worries, tucked deep inside. A little bit of aroma therapy, tucked carefully inside a little piece of cotton fabric, seemed to engage a very cheerful mood.

Through the Xiang Bao activity, the children made an important re-connection to their garden, combing elements of the fall harvest of the Asters, zinnias, and coneflowers with the arrival of a spring and a greening of our garden with the mint plants.

Our visit to the garden to collect mint sparked some interest among children in returning to the garden later this spring to look for worms.

What's Happening in the Nature Corner?

In September of 2009, I received a lovely gift from Lucy's family who had hand-raised silkworms over the summer. Inside a shoebox lined with paper towels were hundreds of silkworm eggs. I put the eggs in the refrigerator to maintain cool temperatures through the winter until April when the mulberry leaves appear on the trees in our schoolyard. Just before the children returned from spring break, I carefully removed the eggs (still on the paper towels) and gently covered the bottom of clear-view plastic containers. I put the containers in the newly-designed nature corner near the natural light from the windows. I waited and watched what happened. Curious children looked inside and tried to figure out what they saw. On April 8, visitors to the nature corner saw tiny black dots, everywhere! By April 8, the black dots had disappeared. The paper towels were now covered with tiny thread-like creatures, each only approximately 1 cm in length.

A few children and I, prompted by Lucy's recollection of her summer project, collected mulberry leaves and added them to the containers. We have been doing so ever since, noticing that the leaves have holes in them and gradually disappear throughout the day.

Today every kindergartner took turns holding the containers during circle time to see what was inside. Several children had not visited the nature corner all week so this was their first introduction to the mysterious "little creatures." Hmmm. What are they and what are they doing in there?

Stay tuned!