A Morning in KinderHouse by Jaimmie Stugard

A Morning in KinderHouse

By Miss Jaimmie

Good morning, dear Earth.
Good morning, dear sun.
Good morning, dear stones
And the flowers, every one,
The animals all,
The birds in the trees.
Good morning to you
And good morning to me.

Each KinderHouse morning begins with singing this verseon the front porch. The children are gathered together, cheerfully ready to greet the day. The picnic basket is full of delicious snacks to share and refreshing water to drink. At LifeWays, there is a verse or song for almost everything! So, as I pour the children their water, we sing:

              Water from the lake.
               Water from the river.
               Water from the rain and snow.
               Water to make our bodies
               Healthy and help them to grow.

Toward the end of snack, I will often bring out a special book to read while the children finish their last bites. Recent favorites include “Ten Timid Ghosts” and “Margaret and Margarita/Margarita y Margaret,” a bilingual story about two children who meet at the park and become fast friends even though they speak different languages. When everyone has finished eating, the children politely ask to be excused, clear their dish and play together. Sometimes, we’ll enjoy a little artistic activity, like coloring with side walk chalk or painting our lanterns for the lantern walk, before heading to the woods to play. Two of our favorite play places are the clearing and the riverside. There is so much to do, play and explore! Sometimes it takes a new KinderHouse group a little while to become acclimated to playing in the woods. They aren’t always sure what to do without the familiar toys and games. But, not this group! Their imaginative play took off on day one in the woods! They love to play house/family and to transform the fallen logs and trees into restaurants, motorcycles, homes, busses and more. And, of course, they love to climb.

After a nice, long play, it is time for circle and story. Circle songs about animals and nature are beloved at this age as are traditional nursery rhymes, finger plays and seasonal songs, like the lantern walk songs. For many, the puppet play is a highlight of the morning. Our first puppet play was a nursery rhyme vignette, with “Mary had a Little Lamb”, “Jack be Nimble” and “Jack Sprat”. Jack and Mary were already a part of my puppet collection. I needle-felted them out of wool during my LifeWays training back in 2005. This fall, I felted a little lamb while the KinderHouse children played around me in the woods. They often came over to watch and were fascinated as the lamb came to life in front of their very eyes. The children then savored the tale of “Sabra and the Brave” for several weeks. Most recently, I introduced the story of “Huggin and the Pumpkin” in anticipation of our Lantern Walk and Halloween. After our story, we head up to the front yard to say farewell to our part-day friends and head in for some tasty lunch and a well-deserved rest. What a wonderful way to spend the morning!