The Freckled Farm Soap Company

Tag: children

Best Soaps for Children

At nearly every farmer’s market and craft show that we have ever attended we have had someone ask us “What’s the best soap for …”. They want to know what soap is best for their unique situation. So, we have decided to create a series to help you pick the best soaps for your specific needs. What soaps is best for feet, or acne, or what about dry skin. Find the answers to all of these and many, many more over the course of the next year.

We are going to start this series with the “soap need” people are most concerned about… Children. In general children have sensitive skin. Our daughter Bryce’s baby skin was incredibly sensitive. If for some reason her clothes were washed in a detergent that was not “free and clear” her whole body would break out in hives. For the longest time we would only use our Castile soap on her. When she started bathing with her brother she would show interest in using whichever soap variety he was using, so we began to test our other soaps on small areas of her skin. She never had a reaction to any of our soaps and has been able to use our entire soap line without any problems.

Important things to remember: While the majority of our soap line is fine for sensitive skin, all soaps should be tested on a small area of skin before regular use. If your child should react to this soap (or any soap for that matter) you want the reaction to be contained to a small area and not all over the body. Also, our soaps are not tear-fee, no real soap can be tear-free. If you look at those tear-free baby soaps they are made up almost entirely of chemicals, making them soap free, and therefore tear-free. For me personally, I would rather deal with the soap in order to have a more natural option. Be sure to keep our soap out of your and your children’s eyes to avoid irritation.

Castile Goat Milk Soap

Our Castile is our most sensitive soap. It’s two main ingredients are olive oil and goat milk. It’s very gentle and can be used on even the most sensitive skin. Infants need very little soap, but if you are using one of our soaps on your baby this would be the soap to use.

You can find our Castile Goat Milk Soap HERE

Oatmeal Honey Goat Milk Soap

Our Oatmeal Honey is another sensitive soap. The oatmeal and honey ingredients are said to calm irritated skin and are gentle on sensitive skin. This soap has ground oatmeal throughout, which acts as a light exfoliant. While this exfoliant is not as strong as others that are specifically designed to be “heavy exfoliants” it still should be used with caution on your youngest children. Any amount of exfoliant could potentially be irritating to very sensitive skin. While, we have never experienced an irritation with our sensitive skin child, it is still good to be on the cautious side.

You can find our Oatmeal Honey Goat Milk Soap HERE

Soaps to Avoid with Children

Coffee: Our coffee is a heavy exfoliant which can be very irritating to children’s sensitive skin

Rosewood Salt: Like with our coffee this soap is a heavy exfoliant and can cause irritation to sensitive skin.

January 18, 2016
What’s up Wednesday – 3/5

The girls are so close to having their babies! We are still two weeks from their due dates, but Hillary’s ligaments are disappearing, which is a sign that labor is on it’s way. Although, it doesn’t necessarily mean she won’t reach or exceed her due date. It just lets you know that their bodies are in preparation mode. Tina’s ligaments are still very tight. Monday night the temperatures were in the low single digits and I was convinced with our luck that Hillary would go into labor at the coldest possible time, and we would have baby goats living in our house! Luckily that didn’t happen, but I’m keeping a close eye on her. Hopefully this week’s snow storm is the last, so we don’t have to worry about having babies in the snow anymore. I am really hoping they wait until after this weekend, since we will be at the Augusta show Saturday and Sunday.

The chicks will be on their way Monday! We are hoping they will get here by Tuesday, but it will more than likely be Wednesday. Since I write these posts on Tuesday night you probably won’t hear anything about the chicks until later in the week or the week after. I promise to include pictures! Breckin is so excited. He is old enough to handle and help with the chicks this time around. Last time he was two and was really only old enough to hold them for a second, and I was so worried that he would put his hands in his mouth before washing them that I made myself a nervous wreck. I’ve lightened up a bit.

This past weekend wasn’t as productive as the weekend before, but we still got a fair amount done. The chicken coop went up in the pasture, and just as expected the goats spent a good amount of time chewing on the corners. We started working on the solar, but had some questions about the installation, so that project was stalled. Kevin built the new raised beds in the garden, and he finished the walls of the birthing pin. I cleaned up an area in the shed for the chicks and cleaned up the kennel that will be their brooder. At some point this week, when I can get out of the driveway, I need to go pick up the chick food and electrolytes.

You may have noticed that I missed the Makeover Monday this past Monday. It’s been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to test out the recipe that I did this month. I am working on it now so the post will be going up next Monday! Sorry for the delay.

So, another productive week down! Here’s hoping for another… and maybe some nice weather with it.

March 5, 2014
Seeds!
It’s one of my favorite times of year… when the seed catalogs start coming in the mail. The kids and I love looking through them. Not only is it excited to dream and plan for spring in the dead of winter, but they also contain great lessons for children. I thought I would take the time to share some of our favorite seed catalogs, where we like to order our seeds, and what the kids and I like to do with the catalogs when we are done using them for their intended purpose.

I have gotten my fair share of seed catalogs and a few have always stood out among the others. While all seed catalogs contain pretty images of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and sometimes trees, the ones I picked are also full of information that helps you grow as a gardener.
1. Baker’s Creek – I love this catalog, although I have never ordered seeds from it. The seeds they offer are rare heirloom, and while I feel far more confident in my green thumb than I used to I still don’t think I’m ready to start playing with rare seeds just yet. Either way though the catalog is amazing. It’s full of great information and absolutely beautiful photographs.
2. Botanical Interests – This catalog is full of information. It doesn’t have photographs, the plants are drawn, but Breckin still enjoys looking at it… especially since this is the catalog that we order from and he gets to go through and circle all of the seed varieties that he wants to grow.
3. Jonny’s Selected Seeds – We haven’t received this catalog yet, I’m still waiting for it to come in the mail, but it came very highly recommended from another farmer friend. I was told it contained the best, most throughout, information.
We get our seeds from two places:
1. Botanical Interests, the seed catalog that I listed above is where we have bought our seeds the last few years. We have had great luck with the seeds and they have a wonderful selection. They are GMO free and in many cases organic and/or heirloom.
2. This year we joined Mike the Gardener’s Seed of the Month Club. Breckin has a true obsession with gardening and seeds (he saves the seeds from the fruits and veggies he eats), and he absolutely loves getting the seeds in the mail each month. The first month you get eight seed packets, and every month there after you get 4 packets. It’s a great lesson each month since he has to learn about the plants we receive, how to grow them, and how we can use them. The seeds are open pollinated, heirloom varieties and are GMO free. The membership is very affordable and a lot of fun! If you become a member of the seed of the month club please use our referral code: W9LOFCDV3Q. It will extend our membership for free! Breckin will be very appreciative!
Seed catalog activities: There are an endless number of activities that you can do with your seed catalogs when you are done planning your garden and purchasing your seeds.
1. Go through the catalog talking about the different fruits and vegetables, what sort of vitamins they contain, and how those vitamins help your body. Breckin loves to know how foods help him grow. Quite often it’s the only way we can get him to eat those foods.
2. Have your child practice their cutting skills by cutting the different photographs out of the catalog with safety scissors.
3. Cut the photographs out of the catalog and then have your child separate them into fruits, veggies, and flowers. It’s a great way for your child to learn the difference between a fruit and a vegetable.
4. Cut the individual fruits and vegetables out of the catalog and make a rainbow with the different colors.
5. Use the photographs from the seed catalogs and find other foods from different magazines. Use these photographs to teach about the different food groups.
6. Use the photographs to make a paper garden
7. Make a food collage
February 21, 2014
Around the Farm

A few weeks ago we did a little impromptu photo shoot because we needed photographs of us with the animals for several different things. We got some great images, so I thought I would take the time to share them here on the blog. Enjoy!

Breckin and Baby Ruth:

Breckin and Baby Sonia:

Me and my buddy Afton. We have a special relationship. Also, Kevin, Bryce, and Baby Sonia:

Tina had to be closed up in the barn during the photo shoot because she isn’t good with the children.

December 27, 2013
Getting to Know The Freckled Farm – Breckin

Want to know more about the farmers, animals, and buildings on The Freckled Farm? Over the next few months I will introduce you to a different part of The Freckled Farm every Friday. This week you have a chance to get to know Breckin!

This photograph was taken a year ago, but is still one of my favorite Breckin “farm” pictures.

Breckin, our oldest (3 years), is a true farm kid. His main job around the farm, aside from being a kid, is to help care for the animals, specifically the chickens. One of my favorite parts of the day is watching Breckin put the chickens back into the coop before we go in for the evening. We have trained the chickens to respond to a specific call (“Coop Coop!”), when they hear the call they come running from all corners of the farm. They hop in the coop and Breckin spreads black oil sunflower seeds on the coop floor for them. I love to hear him walking through the yard calling them as he shakes his cup of seeds. He calls them by name if they are being slow and counts them before closing them up for the night.

Breckin is also a great help in the garden. He will help me pull weeds, but I have to watch him closely because sometimes he will get ahead of himself and start pulling everything in sight. He loves to water the plants and watching as they grow (he even measures the plants). Many veggies he wont eat unless they come out of our garden, like cucumbers.

Breckin has been known to create mud puddles to play in, to strip down to his underwear in order to run through the hose, to build with any material he can get his hands on. He is so proud of his farm, his animals, and his family. He is the best big brother and son of all time, and he is so incredibly loved.

The Freckled Farm Soap Company makes handmade goat milk soaps. Our body care products are all natural and made with love. For more information about our products and to read more about the farm please visit our website: www.thefreckledfarmsoapcompany.com

August 23, 2013
Getting to Know The Freckled Farm – Crystal

Want to know more about the farmers, animals, and buildings on The Freckled Farm? Over the next few months I will introduce you to a different part of The Freckled Farm every Friday. I am starting with myself because it seems like the most logical place to start.

Hello! I’m Crystal. I play many roles here on The Freckled Farm. Aside from my normal motherly and household duties I am the one who keeps us organized, cares for the animals, tends our garden, writes most of the blog posts, assists in the soap making, and handles as much marketing as possible. I’m the planner of the family. It’s just a part of my personality… the lists… where would I be without my lists?

I graduated with a BFA in Photography from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in 2006. I run my own photography business (Website) where I photograph portraits and weddings throughout Virginia. I spend most of my time with my children. They are my whole world and I feel incredibly lucky to have a career that allows me to do most of my work from home so I can be with them.

The Freckled Farm has been a dream of mine since I was a child. It has grown from the desire to have goats as pets to a full self-sustaining dairy goat farm. We continue to grow and dream and I can’t wait to see where this all takes us.

The Freckled Farm Soap Company makes handmade goat milk soaps. Our body care products are all natural and made with love. For more information about our products and to read more about the farm please visit our website: www.thefreckledfarmsoapcompany.com

August 9, 2013