Singing Through the Day: songs and verses shared by Scarlett Hafner

 

Singing Through the Day

Songs and verses shared by Miss Scarlett

 

A song for sitting at the lunch table:

Before the bread, the flour, the mill

Before the mill, the grain

Before the grain, the sun, earth, and rain

The beauty of life's will.

 

A song of thanks, for after lunch:

Thank you for the world so sweet.

Thank you for the food we eat.

Thank you for the birds that sing.

Thank you for everything.

 

A song for settling in at rest time:

This little light of mine, I'm goin' to let it shine.

This little light of mine, I'm goin' to let it shine.

This little light of mine, I'm goin' to let it shine.

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

 

This little light of mine, it's goin' to light the dark.

This little light of mine, it's goin' to light the dark.

This little light of mine, it's goin' to light the dark.

Light the dark, light the dark, light the dark.

 

A lullaby for falling asleep during rest time:

The river is flowing, flowing and growing.

The river is flowing down to the sea.

Mother Earth carries me.

Her child I will always be.

Mother Earth carries me down to the sea.

Birthday Celebrations at LifeWays by Belinda Kenwood

 Birthday Celebrations at LifeWays

by Miss Belinda

When I have said my evening prayer,

And my clothes are folded on my chair,

And Mother/Father switches off the light,

I’ll still be_years old tonight.

But from the very break of day,

Before the children rise and play,

Before the darkness turns to gold,

Tomorrow, I’ll be __ years old....

__kisses when I wake,

__candles on my cake.

(A Birthday Verse to share with your child on the eve of their birthday)

We, in the Sunshine Garden, will be celebrating a birthday this week. Our friend, Owen, will be turning 3-years old! And because birthday traditions are an important part of a child’s life, I thought it might be fun to share with you what a birthday celebration looks like at LifeWays. Now, there are as many ways to celebrate a birthday as there are children, and there may be variations on the way birthdays are celebrated between the three suites and two preschool programs, however, we all share the same intention when celebrating a birthday. And because I am writing this article, I’ll be painting a picture of what a birthday celebration looks like in the Sunshine Garden suite. 

Waldorf inspired, and by extension, LifeWays birthday traditions are calming and peaceful. Because we work with very young children, we are mindful to keep the celebration special but quite simple. Young children can get overwhelmed and over stimulated quite easily and may begin to act out and/or withdraw if they are in the “spotlight” too long...or even, for some, in the spotlight at all.

The birthday celebration begins the day before with the gathering of ingredients to make our Vanilla Honey Birthday Cake.

*(As to what day we celebrate a child’s birthday – My preference is to celebrate on the actual birth day whenever possible – however, if a child is not scheduled to be at LW on their actual birth day, I usually choose to celebrate after they’ve celebrated their special day with family/friends and on their next scheduled day at LW – this may differ from caregiver to caregiver.)

While mixing the batter, I reflect upon the birthday child and hold them in my thoughts. Once the batter is mixed, I pour it into the cake pan and tuck it into the refrigerator to rest overnight. The next morning, I bake the cake, allow the frozen berries to thaw, and whip up the whipping cream that will be served with the cake. It is then time to prepare the snack table. For children who are with us for 1⁄2-days, we celebrate at morning snack. For children who are with us for the whole day, we may celebrate at morning or afternoon snack. Along with plates, cups, and fork/spoon, the table is set with special place mats, a candle, a candle snuffer, matches, a small vase with flowers, and a little wood painted angel. I also place the bowl of berries as well as the whipped cream onto the meal table.

Once all the suites are seated at their respective meal tables, the lights are turned low, and a hush falls over the room. I light a candle while singing a song or two:

In heaven shines a golden star

An angel brought me from afar

From heaven high under to earth

And brought me to my house of birth

Oh, Welcome, Welcome, lovely day

With sunshine bright and flowers gay

And painted birds that sing their song

To make me good and kind and strong.

And/Or:

__ is having a Birthday today

Blessed be his/her coming year

Full of joy!

I then proceed to the kitchen to light the beeswax candles on the cake...one for each year of the child’s life. Then, I slowly carry the lit cake over to our table to present to the birthday child while the other caregivers and children accompany me in singing:

Today is your birthday

Happy Birthday to you

Today is your birthday

And we’re happy too...

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear__

Happy Birthday to you...

After our birthday song has been sung, we present the child with the candle snuffer and allow them to snuff out each one of their birthday candles, counting as each one is snuffed out, and finishing with celebratory clapping by all. For children younger than 2-1/2 or 3, we help them snuff out their candles.

Now it is time to serve the cake! We all partake in birthday cake, whipped cream and strawberries/berries for snack...Yum! After finishing up our snack and clearing our dishes from the table, the children in our suite gather for a few finger games/songs and perhaps play a rousing game of Ring Around the Rosie.

Children’s birthdays are a time of reflection to look back over the last year and remember the day they arrived in the world. The Waldorf tradition we also practice at LifeWays is to read or tell a birthday story. There are many lovely versions of birthday stories to tell or read to children, and I’ve read or told a few different ones over the years. A popular version begins with the child as an angel or a star in the heavens who comes down to Earth by crossing the rainbow bridge. I choose to read/tell the birthday story in one of two ways: When the children have been tucked into their “beds” at nap/rest time or when gathering them on the couch in the main room and laying one big “starry night sky” silk across their laps while I sit on a chair in front of them to read the story and show them the beautifully illustrated pictures on the pages. Once the story has been shared, I sing the following song:

On the day you were born

The angels rejoiced

And a song burst forth

From the heavens above ~

On the day you were born

The angels rejoiced

And the earth was showered with love.

~ Shea Darian

And with that...our birthday celebration is complete.

For your reference, I’ve used the following picture books to honor children’s birthdays:

• Little Angel’s Journey by Dzvinka Hayda (beautifully illustrated)

• Through the Rainbow: A Waldorf Birthday Story for Children by Lou Harvey-Zahra (soft,

ethereal illustrations)

• On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman

I’ll leave you with this thought - Take a moment to look back at your own childhood and reflect on the time around your birthday. How do you remember it?

What Happens in KinderHouse? By Jaimmie Stugard

What happens in KinderHouse? 

by Miss Jaimmie

For many, many years, families arrived at LifeWays to see our living room transformed into a KinderHouse space two mornings a week. Blocks, puppets, silks, dolls and many other beautiful, natural toys and instruments were carefully arranged to inspire the imaginative play that is the hallmark of the preschool years. From time to time, parents and younger children were invited to be special guests and get a taste of a morning in LifeWays KinderHouse preschool. The grown up guests often remarked about how capable the children were at chopping fruit for morning snack, folding laundry, serving themselves snack, pouring warm tea and minding their table manners.

In KinderHouse, the mornings are framed with songs, rituals and verses that bring form and reverence to our daily routines. The children in KinderHouse are gradually introduced to higher expectations for manners, self care, listening and participation. In September, circle and story tend to be a bit shorter and simple as the children build their capacity for listening and following along with group activities. By May, our puppet plays have become more elaborate and our circle songs and games are more intricate and lengthy. And, still, the children remember every word and I am told that they often bring these stories and songs home to share with their families.

Of course, like many things in our lives, we have been compelled to adapt our KinderHouse program in light of the pandemic and we are gradually readjusting to “the new normal.” For the last two years, KinderHouse had been almost entirely outdoors. But, late this fall, as the weather began to cool, I realized that it was time to bring the “house” back into KinderHouse.  We gradually transitioned into starting with snack indoors and ending our mornings with circle time and a puppet play in LifeWays living room.  After seeing how wonderfully our last several KinderHouse groups played in the forest, I committed to keeping most of our free play in the woods and have yet to bring out all of the KinderHouse toys.

Yet, it is clear that the “stuff” does not make KinderHouse magic.  The essense of KinderHouse is in the imaginative play, the relationships and learning to be together, the communion with nature and the rhythms and routines that form our time together.  

Baked Oats by Emily Bertran

Baked Oats

by Miss Emily

While Miss Tammy does most of the kitchen work at Lifeways – preparing our meals, grocery shopping and cleaning up after us, I do have the pleasure on Friday mornings of preparing our baked oats snack before the children arrive. The following is a recipe from the LifeWays cookbook and can be customized however you feel.

1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs-beaten

4 cups quick oats

3 teaspoons baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1 1⁄2 cups milk

Optional: Raisins, cinnamon, chocolate chips etc.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake is greased 9x13. First mix the melted butter, brown sugar and beaten eggs until all combined together. Once mixed, add oats, baking powder and salt. When that all comes together add milk and any other add ins your heart desires.  Place in greased pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as the children have enjoyed it.

Thoughts from Miss Jane by Jane Danner

Thoughts from Miss Jane

I didn’t know it had a name when I did it. It hadn’t even been a question in my mind. His birthday was May 22, of course, which for a Waldorf Kindergarten is very close to the cutoff date for going on to first grade. But here he was again, looking at me intently and saying, “I am going to stay in kindergarten until Carl is in kindergarten and we can go onto first grade together.” Gustav was going wait a long time in kindergarten if he was going to wait for Carl.  Carl was Gustav’s one year old brother. I knew Gustav loved his younger brother, still loves him and so when I first heard him say it, I had laughed.

Gustav had good friends going onto first grade. He was confident and curious about his numbers and letters. He could focus and sit still and there was no reason for him to spend another year in kindergarten because outwardly he was showing all the indications of being ready. And yet, here he was saying it again and something in me heard him. I decided then and there to “redshirt” my son.

It was time for March parent teacher conferences so when Miss Rose began to talk about Gustav going onto first grade, I had to stop her and I heard myself say, “Well I am actually thinking I am going to hold him back in kindergarten for one more year.” Miss Rose was surprised to say the least, but she was not opposed to it either. And so, Gustav spent a third year in kindergarten. I have never heard him again mention waiting for Carl.

Gustav has now graduated from McGill University with an engineering degree. He is working in a job that he finds challenging and enjoys. He is engaged to be married. Gustav says he doesn’t remember saying or thinking he wanted to wait for Carl but that it was certainly a decision that turned out for the best for him. It was not all smooth sailing. There were some very rocky patches in middle school, when I knocked my head and thought to myself, “What was I thinking!!”

Another parent also had a son with a spring birthday. His teachers wanted him to spend one more year in kindergarten but, for entirely different reasons, his mother’s intuition was to send him onto first grade. I am sorry to say that her son’s teachers were not as accommodating and the family decided to enroll him in a different school where he would be welcomed into 1st grade without hesitation. He is now in high school and is a fine young man. Several years later, I asked his mother if she ever regretted her decision, and her response at that time was no.

Now that Gustav is a young man looking to start a family of his own, it is fun to ponder the what ifs of the choices I made as his parent. Last night when I told him I was writing this article he told me it wasn’t necessarily a right decision or a wrong decision, but he felt it certainly sent him on a trajectory that he was still grappling with. Thoughtfully he said the real moral of the story was not whether it was right or wrong but rather to look, listen and pray. Look at your children and know that you do have choices. Listen to what your children may be trying to tell you and pray. Why pray, I asked him, and he answered because there is so much in this world that we cannot see or know and praying helps you to discern if your decision is at least sound or not.

Amen to that!

Soup and Roll Day by Tamara Treviranus

Soup and Roll Day

By Miss Tammy

The very beginnings of lengthening days and the hope of thawing temperatures are here, though we are still under the reign of King Winter. Probably one of the most welcome lunch time meals during the winter is Soup and Roll Day on Thursdays. While the children are outside building forts, sledding and tasting fresh snow I am inside preparing the day’s lunch. Rosy cheeked children who have worked up a healthy appetite are welcomed back inside to the aroma of fresh baked rolls and the soup of the day. I thought I would share with you a few recipes for these remaining cold days: Whole Wheat Roll and Moroccan (inspired) Vegetable Stew.

Whole Wheat Rolls

11⁄2 Tablespoons yeast

11⁄2 Tablespoons sucanat (turbinado or other sugar is fine!)

2 Cups warm water

2 Tablespoons oil (we use grapeseed)

1tsp salt

5 cups flour (I use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 4 cups organic all-purpose flour)

Mix the yeast, and sugar with the 2 cups of warm water and allow to proof. Add oil. Add flour and salt cup at a time and begin. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size, punch down and form into 12-14 rolls. Bake on buttered sheet for 25 minutes in 350-degree oven. Note: The beautiful thing about this recipe is that if the process of proofing yeast, and rising dough is just too much, especially with the demands of family life and young children, you can simply mix the wet and dry ingredients together, form the rolls and throw them in the oven!

A good, hearty, and nutritious soup for cold winter days is a North African inspired Moroccan Stew.

Spice Mixture

1tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1⁄2 tsp ground ginger

1⁄4 tsp ground cloves

1⁄4 tsp ground nutmeg

1⁄4 tsp ground turmeric

Stew vegetables

1Tablespoon butter

1 Sweet onion, chopped

2 cups shredded kale

8 cups vegetable broth

1 15 oz can garbanzo beans

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

3 large potatoes, peeled and diced

2 sweet potatoes peeled and diced

4 large carrots chopped

1 cup dried lentils, rinsed

1⁄2 cup dried chopped apricots

1 Tablespoon honey

1 tsp black pepper to taste

Cook onion in butter, 5-10 minutes. Add kale and spice mixture, cook until fragrant and kale is beginning to wilt. Pour broth into pot and add all remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and cook until vegetables and lentils are tender (about 30 minutes).

A Season in Progress by Jason Boose

 A Season in Progress by Mister Jason

Each step in Kinderforest moves you closer to the secret that you are yourself. You are resilient. You are capable. You can depend on yourself. You can do things you didn’t know you could do.

You are part of a larger whole. You are valued by your community. You can depend on others. You are a good friend.

You can find beauty right outside your door. You can notice the unnoticed. You can find comfort in the quiet times. You can have freedom to explore deeply.

You can be a sleeping bear or a little grey pony. You can be a melting snowman or a wise old owl. You can learn with a smile. You can be joyous and full of wonder.

 

KinderForest is a gateway on the journey of early childhood. Each step gives us a footing more solid for having slipped on ice and mud for a season. Each season is different just as each child is different. In KinderForest, we discover that the threads that string together season after season are not unlike the threads that draw humans together. These reliable cycles, seasons of the earth and of humanity, are familiar and comforting but distinctly different with each turn.