Kids Tent 2024
For Ages 5 and Up
It may be that the kids at the Faire have more fun even than the rest of us. The Great Lakes Herb Faire provides an inspiring learning environment for our next generation of herbalists. Many of the kids have been coming since the beginning (10 years now!!) and we are blessed to watch them grow and others have come for some years and have moved on to teach the younger ones!! Others come for the first time and find the atmosphere welcoming with a weekend full of activities of herbal lore and knowledge.
Space is limited! Register early as the kids tent fills up fast.
Space is limited! Register early as the kids tent fills up fast.
Kids Tent Class Descriptions
For Kids ages 5-12 (scroll down for the tweens/teens classes)
Henna for the Lion Hearted
with Leslie Alexander
Yes, that’s right! Henna is often used as a temporary tattoo. All those brave enough are invited to create temporary tattoos. We will be making art and working with a natural plant dye made from the leaves of a plant called henna.
And the best part? We will be drawing with this dye on our bodies! Everyone will have an opportunity to create their own design or to choose from an existing design and then draw their design on their hands or arms, feet or legs!
Henna tattoos can last for a few days to a few weeks and will naturally fade, leaving no trace whatsoever.
Connect to the Earth with Your Senses
with Breezy Barcelo
Let's use our 5 senses and learn about 3 more! Together we will use all of ourselves to practice connecting to nature around us. We will learn why it's good for our bodies and minds to spin in the grass barefoot, to smell the flowers, to jump over logs. In this class we will move our bodies and create a plan together to connect to the earth every day!
Build a Twigloo!
with Deanne Bednar
Come create a "stick tipi structure" with wood and rope! To make a "twigloo": ...lean sticks together, tie them up, decorate with nature things, climb in them and Enjoy! We hope to gather sticks & nature things from the woods, and enjoy seeing & hanging out in the Twigloos during the Faire!
Sleepytime Potions & Sweet Dream Notions
with Tricia Bellew
Come explore the magickal art of rest and relaxation.
Through the use of herbal teas, aromatherapy, talismans, stories, and melodies, we will discover the many tools that we can use to prepare our mind, body, and spirit for our nightly journey to the Land of Nod.
Painting with Plants
with Kristine Brown
Plants give us so much: food, clothing, shelter, and even color! Come explore the colorful side of plants and use them to paint a picture. We'll make some nature plant paints and then share them with each other to paint with.
Making Plant Music
Colleen Donahoe
Plants send electrical signals throughout their tissue in response to environmental stimuli. These signals can be detected, graphed, and translated into unique music. In this fun experimental program we'll use a PlantWave device to listen to different plants and learn about plant science.
Bubble Basketry - Weaving Plants for Play
with Michael Kaufman-Schofield
Weaving fun shapes with plants that can then be used to make bubbles when added to soapy water can be a wonderful entry point into the world of basketry for children. We will harvest materials, learn about simple tests we can do to determine what plants may be good weaving partners, and practice bending these plants into circles, squares, stars, and other fun shapes. We’ll notice that different plants will tolerate some types of bends better than others. We’ll make a lot of bubbles.
Holistic Pet Care for our Furry Friends
with Angela McElroy
Holistic pet care for our furry friends will focus on external herbal treatments and applications for different injuries that our pets might encounter throughout their lives. While it is important to know the correct herbs to apply to certain injuries, it is even more important to know how first to approach our furry friends, building bonds & establishing trust that will allow us to do so safely. This class will offer a hands-on approach with some of Angela's furry friends from her farm.
Drums/Chants for Mother Earth
with Janice Prelesnik
Participants will learn simple earth-based chants and simple drum rhythms to accompany the chants. Drums will be provided, but bring your own if you have one. Come to drum! Come to chant! Come to drum and chant! Or come and listen! No musical experience is necessary.
Plant Power Potions for Mini Herbalists!
with Ashley Meek
Join the Great Lakes Herb Faire story telling turtle (Herbie) for a story about ethical foraging and a song about the honorable harvest. Then out for a hike to identify flowers, trees, and plants. We will taste some, learn some of their traditional medicinal uses and energetic vibrational super powers! Each child will take home their own plant power potions (essences) to help support confidence, calm, love, strength, etc., with the help of the amazing plants all around us!
Henna for the Lion Hearted
with Leslie Alexander
Yes, that’s right! Henna is often used as a temporary tattoo. All those brave enough are invited to create temporary tattoos. We will be making art and working with a natural plant dye made from the leaves of a plant called henna.
And the best part? We will be drawing with this dye on our bodies! Everyone will have an opportunity to create their own design or to choose from an existing design and then draw their design on their hands or arms, feet or legs!
Henna tattoos can last for a few days to a few weeks and will naturally fade, leaving no trace whatsoever.
Connect to the Earth with Your Senses
with Breezy Barcelo
Let's use our 5 senses and learn about 3 more! Together we will use all of ourselves to practice connecting to nature around us. We will learn why it's good for our bodies and minds to spin in the grass barefoot, to smell the flowers, to jump over logs. In this class we will move our bodies and create a plan together to connect to the earth every day!
Build a Twigloo!
with Deanne Bednar
Come create a "stick tipi structure" with wood and rope! To make a "twigloo": ...lean sticks together, tie them up, decorate with nature things, climb in them and Enjoy! We hope to gather sticks & nature things from the woods, and enjoy seeing & hanging out in the Twigloos during the Faire!
Sleepytime Potions & Sweet Dream Notions
with Tricia Bellew
Come explore the magickal art of rest and relaxation.
Through the use of herbal teas, aromatherapy, talismans, stories, and melodies, we will discover the many tools that we can use to prepare our mind, body, and spirit for our nightly journey to the Land of Nod.
Painting with Plants
with Kristine Brown
Plants give us so much: food, clothing, shelter, and even color! Come explore the colorful side of plants and use them to paint a picture. We'll make some nature plant paints and then share them with each other to paint with.
Making Plant Music
Colleen Donahoe
Plants send electrical signals throughout their tissue in response to environmental stimuli. These signals can be detected, graphed, and translated into unique music. In this fun experimental program we'll use a PlantWave device to listen to different plants and learn about plant science.
Bubble Basketry - Weaving Plants for Play
with Michael Kaufman-Schofield
Weaving fun shapes with plants that can then be used to make bubbles when added to soapy water can be a wonderful entry point into the world of basketry for children. We will harvest materials, learn about simple tests we can do to determine what plants may be good weaving partners, and practice bending these plants into circles, squares, stars, and other fun shapes. We’ll notice that different plants will tolerate some types of bends better than others. We’ll make a lot of bubbles.
Holistic Pet Care for our Furry Friends
with Angela McElroy
Holistic pet care for our furry friends will focus on external herbal treatments and applications for different injuries that our pets might encounter throughout their lives. While it is important to know the correct herbs to apply to certain injuries, it is even more important to know how first to approach our furry friends, building bonds & establishing trust that will allow us to do so safely. This class will offer a hands-on approach with some of Angela's furry friends from her farm.
Drums/Chants for Mother Earth
with Janice Prelesnik
Participants will learn simple earth-based chants and simple drum rhythms to accompany the chants. Drums will be provided, but bring your own if you have one. Come to drum! Come to chant! Come to drum and chant! Or come and listen! No musical experience is necessary.
Plant Power Potions for Mini Herbalists!
with Ashley Meek
Join the Great Lakes Herb Faire story telling turtle (Herbie) for a story about ethical foraging and a song about the honorable harvest. Then out for a hike to identify flowers, trees, and plants. We will taste some, learn some of their traditional medicinal uses and energetic vibrational super powers! Each child will take home their own plant power potions (essences) to help support confidence, calm, love, strength, etc., with the help of the amazing plants all around us!
Tween/Teen Class Descriptions
Henna for the Lion Hearted
with Leslie Alexander
Yes, that’s right! Henna is often used as a temporary tattoo. All those brave enough are invited to create temporary tattoos. We will be making art and working with a natural plant dye made from the leaves of a plant called henna.
And the best part? We will be drawing with this dye on our bodies! Everyone will have an opportunity to create their own design or to choose from an existing design and then draw their design on their hands or arms, feet or legs!
Henna tattoos can last for a few days to a few weeks and will naturally fade, leaving no trace whatsoever.
Build a Twigloo!
with Deanne Bednar
Come create a "stick tipi structure" with wood and rope! To make a "twigloo": ...lean sticks together, tie them up, decorate with nature things, climb in them and Enjoy! We hope to gather sticks & nature things from the woods, and enjoy seeing & hanging out in the Twigloos during the Faire!
The Art of Cording (teens/tweens only)
with Deanne Bednar
Cording is a practical and relaxing repetitive process of making string, cord or rope from fibers. . We will use a variety of natural local fibers to create a cord that can be used in all sorts of ways. Learn how to easily make bracelets, dreamcatchers, and also how to use cording to tie up smudge stick bundles. Once you know how to do it, and understand the qualities needed, you can try out different plant fibers and see which work well. We will also do some foraging for fibers on the land.
Connect to the Earth with Your Senses
with Breezy Barcelo
Let's use our 5 senses and learn about 3 more! Together we will use all of ourselves to practice connecting to nature around us. We will learn why it's good for our bodies and minds to spin in the grass barefoot, to smell the flowers, to jump over logs. In this class we will move our bodies and create a plan together to connect to the earth every day!
Painting with Plants
with Kristine Brown
Plants give us so much: food, clothing, shelter, and even color! Come explore the colorful side of plants and use them to paint a picture. We'll make some nature plant paints and then share them with each other to paint with.
BANG, SNIFF, GRAB-The Story of your Senses at Night (teens/tweens only)
with Coyote and Lexer from Texer
Get ready to enjoy the mysteries of the darkness when sensory awareness is heightened and storytelling can be most impactful. Many folks fear the darkness due to an insecurity in their own abilities to sense what is happening without vision. This evening's activity will prove them wrong. We will encourage students to step out of their comfort zone, connect to their awareness of the other four senses and explore the beauty of the nighttime. Depending upon the weather, there are 5 different potential sense activities that would be performed this evening engaging the uses of sound, touch, or smell. We will provide a safe environment where limiting the student's vision, they will be asked to ‘find their way’ to the ‘end’ either via listening, smelling, or touching.
Sacred Order of Survival (teens/tweens only)
with Coyote and Lexer from Texer
This intensive will focus on the last fundamental in the Sacred Order of Survival: Food. Using Native American philosophies, non-traditional methods and the materials that nature provides, students are challenged to learn necessary outdoor & primitive skills, accomplish collective tasks, & meet the physical demands made on them by Mother Earth.
Holistic Pet Care for our Furry Friends
with Angela McElroy
Holistic pet care for our furry friends will focus on external herbal treatments and applications for different injuries that our pets might encounter throughout their lives. While it is important to know the correct herbs to apply to certain injuries, it is even more important to know how first to approach our furry friends, building bonds & establishing trust that will allow us to do so safely. This class will offer a hands-on approach with some of Angela's furry friends from her farm.
with Leslie Alexander
Yes, that’s right! Henna is often used as a temporary tattoo. All those brave enough are invited to create temporary tattoos. We will be making art and working with a natural plant dye made from the leaves of a plant called henna.
And the best part? We will be drawing with this dye on our bodies! Everyone will have an opportunity to create their own design or to choose from an existing design and then draw their design on their hands or arms, feet or legs!
Henna tattoos can last for a few days to a few weeks and will naturally fade, leaving no trace whatsoever.
Build a Twigloo!
with Deanne Bednar
Come create a "stick tipi structure" with wood and rope! To make a "twigloo": ...lean sticks together, tie them up, decorate with nature things, climb in them and Enjoy! We hope to gather sticks & nature things from the woods, and enjoy seeing & hanging out in the Twigloos during the Faire!
The Art of Cording (teens/tweens only)
with Deanne Bednar
Cording is a practical and relaxing repetitive process of making string, cord or rope from fibers. . We will use a variety of natural local fibers to create a cord that can be used in all sorts of ways. Learn how to easily make bracelets, dreamcatchers, and also how to use cording to tie up smudge stick bundles. Once you know how to do it, and understand the qualities needed, you can try out different plant fibers and see which work well. We will also do some foraging for fibers on the land.
Connect to the Earth with Your Senses
with Breezy Barcelo
Let's use our 5 senses and learn about 3 more! Together we will use all of ourselves to practice connecting to nature around us. We will learn why it's good for our bodies and minds to spin in the grass barefoot, to smell the flowers, to jump over logs. In this class we will move our bodies and create a plan together to connect to the earth every day!
Painting with Plants
with Kristine Brown
Plants give us so much: food, clothing, shelter, and even color! Come explore the colorful side of plants and use them to paint a picture. We'll make some nature plant paints and then share them with each other to paint with.
BANG, SNIFF, GRAB-The Story of your Senses at Night (teens/tweens only)
with Coyote and Lexer from Texer
Get ready to enjoy the mysteries of the darkness when sensory awareness is heightened and storytelling can be most impactful. Many folks fear the darkness due to an insecurity in their own abilities to sense what is happening without vision. This evening's activity will prove them wrong. We will encourage students to step out of their comfort zone, connect to their awareness of the other four senses and explore the beauty of the nighttime. Depending upon the weather, there are 5 different potential sense activities that would be performed this evening engaging the uses of sound, touch, or smell. We will provide a safe environment where limiting the student's vision, they will be asked to ‘find their way’ to the ‘end’ either via listening, smelling, or touching.
Sacred Order of Survival (teens/tweens only)
with Coyote and Lexer from Texer
This intensive will focus on the last fundamental in the Sacred Order of Survival: Food. Using Native American philosophies, non-traditional methods and the materials that nature provides, students are challenged to learn necessary outdoor & primitive skills, accomplish collective tasks, & meet the physical demands made on them by Mother Earth.
Holistic Pet Care for our Furry Friends
with Angela McElroy
Holistic pet care for our furry friends will focus on external herbal treatments and applications for different injuries that our pets might encounter throughout their lives. While it is important to know the correct herbs to apply to certain injuries, it is even more important to know how first to approach our furry friends, building bonds & establishing trust that will allow us to do so safely. This class will offer a hands-on approach with some of Angela's furry friends from her farm.
Kid's Tent Teachers
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My name’s Leslie Alexander and I’m interested in practicalities. I enjoy bending ideas and shaping protocols to make them accessible and interesting. I think that this is most apparent in my clinical work, the mentoring I do and the Round Tables we teach. I work holistically, with an interest in many aspects of the mouth. In my clinical practice, I enjoy working with others to sustain well-being, to address chronic conditions and acute health related challenges. I’m very interested in maritime medicinals and I enjoy making cyanotypes (sun prints) as well as weaving. I like food, kitchen medicine, talk, laughter and oh, I’ve a very cute dog!
https://leslie-alexander.net/ |
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Breezy Barcelo is an occupational therapist (OT) specializing in mental health, sensory integration, and nature-based therapy. Her previous work as a birth and postpartum doula for over ten years led her to a deep love of caring for children and their families. While obtaining her degree in OT, she focused research projects on the healing effects of being in nature. Breezy lives in Kalamazoo and provides support for non traditional college students at the Jeannette Rankin Foundation. She also teaches in the Holistic Health department at Western Michigan University.
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Deanne Bednar says, "I have been sharing natural building skills since taking my first course with the Cob Cottage Company in 1996 (after retiring from Middle School Art & Sustainable Future teaching) and since then I have overseen many interns & volunteers on various projects. From 2003 to the present, have coordinated and taught at the Strawbale Studio, was part of the teaching team for the Natural Cottage Project which provides 2 week start-to-finish building workshops and have been a co-teacher for 10 day workshops with the Cob Cottage Company. I have also made many presentations at Bioneers Detroit, Earth Day Events, Re-skilling Conferences, Colleges and other educational venues. Illustrator of several books on natural building: The Hand-Sculpted House, The Natural Plaster Book and the Cobber’s Companion. I LOVE to forage for materials!!"
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Tricia Bellew is a Traditional Naturopath, a folksy family herbalist, an intuitive Reiki practitioner, and a magickal mama to two beautiful wildflowers. She is passionate about helping others to craft their own inspired healing rituals, fueled by the glowing embers of empowered self-care. A believer that we were all born to live a life of vibrant energy, Tricia is dedicated to helping the sacred healing arts that she has studied, to take root once more, by planting seeds of knowledge within her community.
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Kristine Brown, RH(AHG), is helping parents teach their kids about herbalism, one herb at a time. A practicing traditional community herbalist and mother of four children and two stepchildren, two of whom she homeschooled for 11 years, Kristine created the only children’s herbal curriculum that uses all four learning styles (visual, auditory, reading, and kinesthetic). She has taught classes for homeschooled children locally and coordinated numerous herbal conference kids’ camps both locally and nationally. She is the writer and illustrator of the online children’s publication Herbal Roots zine, which she began publishing in 2009, and the creator of several online courses that teach children about botany, drawing, and herbs. Her latest venture in teaching herbalism is her membership offering, Herb Club, which gives kids and parents video lessons, expanded curriculum for preschool through high school, and a member forum for parents and for kids. She is also the author of Herbalism at Home, The Homesteader’s Guide to Growing Herbs, and Nature Anatomy Activities for Kids and Nature Anatomy Guided Journal for Kids books. Teaching others about plants and drawing and sharing her knowledge with children—our future—is her passion.
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Coyote and Lexer from Texer have been guiding Wilderness Expedition trips for a combined total of over 30 years. They both enjoy enhancing their awareness in Mother Nature and sharing their experiences with all those willing to learn. Growth occurs when you step out of your comfort zone and both Coyote and Lexer are always teaching and learning from students of all ages. Coyote is also a Spanish teacher, Varsity Soccer coach, Director of the Horizons-Upward Bound Wilderness program and leadership coordinator at Cranbrook Schools, and Lexer is a Repair Manager for Patagonia and a lead guide for the Horizons-Upward Bound Wilderness program. Miigwetch!
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Colleen Donahoe is a yoga teacher, environmental educator, and herbalist from Indianapolis, IN where she and her husband run Persimmon Herb School out of their home. They have two children, two cats, one Great Pyrenees, some chickens, and LOTS of plants. www.persimmonherbschool.com
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Michael Marie Schofield is a basketmaker and funerary artisan located in Dexter, Michigan. She owns a small farmstead growing native plants and basketry willow. Her journey into basket and casketweaving was driven by a rapidly growing affection for growing and tending plants and a deep love for a family member preplanning their eventual green burial. Michael now weaves baskets, caskets, burial trays, and urns following traditional European wicker techniques.
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Angela McElroy BSHS, Naturopathic Practitioner and Equine Specialist. Angela is the founder of Dorr To Eden & Dorr To Eden Freedom Camps. She has been involved in social work and infant mental health since 2005 and a certified naturopath since 2014. She specializes in emotional and behavioral concerns using holistic approaches to mind, body and soul healing which includes using herbal programs and equine assisted growth and learning. She believes everyone should have access to holistic services which led her to create the non-profit Dorr To Eden Freedom Camps for grief and loss and offers other low cost and donation based services.
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Ashley Meek is a Forest School Guide, Naturopathic Doctor, Massage and Craniosacral Therapist, Birth Doula and Reiki Practitioner at Mother Nurture Holistic Wellness LLC and Strong Roots Forest School near Grand Rapids, MI. She is passionate about living a life where we nurture our connections to the land and each other, listening to the wisdom of the Earth, living in partnership with nature and in loving community. She practices bodywork and energy therapies as well as naturopathy on a converted school bus on her land located on the Flat River. She also leads forest school classes, foraging and nature art camps, herbal medicine classes for adults and children, sacred circles and ceremonies, and handcrafts nature inspired art and jewelry and apothecary remedies.
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Janice Marsh-Prelesnik is excited to once again lead classes for our amazing kids and teens! As a mother of four, grandmother of four, and home birth midwife (now retired) to hundreds of babies and their families, Janice has spent a lifetime cherishing the next generation. She teaches a year-long herbalism course to K-12 students at the Gull Lake Virtual Partnership, which is a combination of online and in person herbal learning. Janice also leads earth based song circles and practices music as medicine in which she offers music and herb events for people in hospice and memory care.
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