Spices and Herbs for Kids: Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Basil

Eight flavors from the spice rack and the herb garden: salt and pepper on every table, garlic and ginger, cumin from Mexican and Indian cooking, and three fresh herbs, basil, mint and sage. Herbs are the leaves of plants; spices come from seeds, bark, roots or berries.

Garlic and ginger both start with G and both run straight down. Sage and salt both start with SA.

Common Spices Vocabulary: 8 Words to Find

Words run across, up and down; 4 of the 8 read backwards. The longest words are Garlic, Ginger and Pepper, with 6 letters each.

Basil: A sweet herb for pasta sauces and pesto. Strictly an herb, since we eat its leaves.
Cumin: A warm, earthy spice made from the seeds of a plant related to parsley.
Garlic: A strong-smelling bulb made of cloves, used in cooking all over the world.
Ginger: A spicy, fragrant root used fresh or dried in cooking and drinks.
Mint: A fresh herb used in teas, lamb dishes and desserts.
Pepper: Black pepper, the world's most traded spice.
Sage: A soft, gray-green herb used in Thanksgiving stuffing.
Salt: Sodium chloride, the most basic seasoning, mined from the ground or taken from the sea.

How to Solve the Common Spices Word Search

"Pepper" has the only P, a double one, and runs straight down. "Basil" has the only B and reads backwards. "Sage" and "salt" both start with SA: salt reads across, sage runs upward.

Spice Smelling Games for Kids

Put a little of each spice in cups and let children guess them by smell.
Ask which ones are leaves (herbs) and which come from seeds or roots (spices).
Grow basil or mint on the windowsill.