Review: Vintage Remedies for Kids

One of the reasons I decided I wanted to homeschool, way back when, was the fact that I wanted to teach more than just the 3 Rs. Classes like art, music, P.E., and health are getting pushed aside for many children in school today. With the major exception of P.E. (ahem,) those were always some of my favorite classes. What a shame, right?

Now that I'm actually teaching two kiddos, even I can admit it's easy for those subjects to get lost in the shuffle. I'm always looking for easy ways to integrate the subject areas into our studies. Along those lines, I have a new resource to share with you today.

I was recently given the opportunity to review Vintage Remedies for Kids, by Jessie Hawkins.

This 201 page, softcover, spiral bound book is essentially a curriculum on healthy, natural living, for children ages 2-6. (It retails for $25, and can be purchased from the Vintage Remedies website.) The book is broken into 3 sections, Food and Drink, Health and Wellness, and Healthy Lifestyles.

Each of the 3 sections is further broken down into a number of chapters. The format of each chapter goes something like this:

Parents Section: Background info for the parent about the subject matter.

Read to Me:  You can read this section verbatim to the kids. The language and explanations in this section are appropriate for young children to to understand.

Additional Comments: Possible extensions for slightly older children

Thinking it Over: Discussion questions.

Leading By Example: Ways to help integrate the desired concept or behavior into everyday family life.

Featured and/or Additional Projects: Things to make and do, recipes to cook, field trips to take, etc.

This book is nonconsumable, (a major plus in my book.) It will require some additional purchases, ingredients for recipes, etc, but nothing that should break the bank. I really like the book, and appreciate the fact that it's actually written on a level the kids can understand. Preparation time is minimal, consisting mainly of gathering materials. The projects are fun, and actually do-able for regular families. (They include things like recycling crayons, making homemade glass cleaner, and making homemade snacks like smoothies and gumdrops.)

If I have any caveats about the curriculum, it's that the food section focuses very heavily on vegetarian, organic, frequently raw food, with little wiggle room for the "extras" that most of us indulge in, at least sometimes. While I can agree that those are are healthy eating habits, they are perhaps a little out of the mainstream for many American families.

Vintage Remedies sells a variety of curriculum and materials to promote healthy, natural living. I'm very pleased to have been introduced to this company and their products, and would recommend this book to anyone wanting to introduce their little ones to the principles of healthy living.






Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.