Making herb balls with children on a school trip WS

There are only a few days left this year! Since December, Amami has been dull with few sunny days, but last night the beautiful moon came out and today the sun is shining for the first time in a while.

From November to December, I worked on various jobs at Nigetsu Hoshikusa. One of them is … At the request of Toguchi Elementary School in Tatsugo Town, Amami Oshima, I would like to include “Island Herb Ball Making” in my school trip program. I was surprised to hear from you.

Herb balls have long been used in treatment as one of the traditional medicines, mainly in Asian countries such as Thailand and India, and we will hold workshops in various places using the herbs of Kakeromajima. I am.

This time, a total of 21 people, including 17 fifth and sixth graders and four teachers, crossed the ship and visited Kakeromajima. From the moment the students got off the bus, the lively greetings echoed in the village and the atmosphere was lively.

It was the first time for me to hold a workshop on making herbal balls as a school event, and I was thrilled, but the interaction with the children eased my tension.

The public hall at the venue was full of energy with the energetic appearance of the students, and my heart was filled with the joy of sharing the herbs of Kakeromajima. This time, we prepared 5 types of shell ginger, kudzu, mitsubahamago, half-summer, and tankan chenpi that grow naturally on Amami Kakeromajima, and we asked everyone to carve the material and make herb balls. ..

I talked about the characteristics of the herbal materials, and when I asked questions, the children were very responsive to each other, answered honestly, and were impressed by the many voices they heard.

Children touch each herb one by one, chop it, and enjoy the scent while working, such as “It smells good!” Thank you.

I heard from the children, “I want to make it with my family with familiar grass this time!” “It was easy to make and it was fun with a good scent!”, And I spent about 2 hours with the children. At the same time as I was really satisfied with the interaction with the children, I was able to touch the hearts of the children obediently and learned a lot from this.

I am truly grateful for the fact that the activities of the Sun Moon Star Grass were included in the school trip program and the time I was able to share with the students the wonderfulness of the island’s medicinal herbs.