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?
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