Our Winter Book Basket

My little ones are just now getting to the age where they will sit and listen to a book be read to them, prior to this month we have just done puppet plays.  Recently we were stuck on the house do to an ice storm that transformed the farm into a freezing, muddy swamp.  It was a great day for baking and curling up on the couch, under the blankets, with a book.  I decided I would try and read "The Tomten" to them since they already have a great love for The Tomten performed as a puppet play.  Much to my surprise not only did they sit and listen to the entire book, they requested that I read it to them over and over and even asked for it the next morning.  It became clear to me, it was time for our first book basket.

I filled the basket with winter themed books we already had and ordered an illustrated version of another one of our favorite puppet plays, "The Mitten".

These are the books in our basket:

December 1- Stones

We celebrated the first week of advent this week, which is the week to honor the mineral kingdom.  It seemed only fitting to choose stones for this week's theme.

Above is our advent garden and below is a little advent table I set up for the children.  Every morning, they can open a door on their Advent Calendars for a chocolate treat and our friend, Pico the Gnome, leaves an ornament to hang on Phillip, our Christmas tree, and an activity for the day.  Today he left out paint and paint brushes so we could paint the treasure boxes he brought.

Good morning, dear earth.

Good morning, dear sun.

Good morning, dear trees

And the flowers, every one.

Good morning, dear beasts

And the birds in the trees.

Good morning to you

And good morning to me!

For this week's circle (and all the circle times in December) it is nice to have an advent garden or wreath in the center.

Light one candle, Advent is here,

Light one candle, Advent is here,

Light one candle, Christmas (Solstice) time is near!

With this first light of Advent,

we give thanks to the stones.

To the shells and the sand,

to the crystals and bones.

Bless the strength

and support they provide,

holding us steady

on our foundation outside.

Bless their beauty

and inner light.

Illuminating our lives

in the darkest of nights.

The little gnomes

Are sitting on their crystal thrones.

The red, blue, yellow precious stones

Are all in their homes.

We hammer and polish the gold crystal eyes

That sun, golden sun, can look in from the skies.

We hammer and polish the silvery eyes

That moon, silver moon, can look in from the skies

So all their homes

Are red, blue, yellow previous stones

They're sitting on their crystal thrones,

The little gnomes.

Rufty and Tufty

Rufty and Tufty were two little elves that 

lived in a hollow tree

They did all the cooking and cleaning themselves

And often had friends in for tea.

 Rufty wore red and Tufty wore blue, 

And each had a hat with a feather,

They kept their finest shoes under the bed, 

that were made of Magic green leather.

 Rufty was clever and kept the accounts,

And Tufty did all of the cooking.

He made the finest  cakes without weighing amounts

And eat them when no one was looking.

This week's story for the first week of advent featured dwarves  mining rocks beneath the earth but one particularly dreamy dwarf sneaks out at night to star gaze, he dreams ( or is it a dream?) that he sails down the river in a boat shaped like the moon up to the stars where he is gifted with their light.  The next morning while working in the mines he sees starlight in the crystals ( I light candles behind the rocks) and uncover dew drops under the silk and this is how the stones were filled with light.  " the first week of advent we celebrate the light of the stones, the shells and the sand, the crystals and the bones". That is the end of our story, there is no more.

Saint Nicholas made a special visit to our home this week too!

"Kind old man, St. Nicholas, dear, Come to our house this year!  Her's some straw and here's some hay - For your little donkey grey!  Pray put something in my shoe - I've been good the whole year through - Kind old man St. Nichols dear, come to out house this year!"

November Week 3-Stars

There is something magical about the night sky in Autumn, and it is especially breath taking on the farm!  The twinkling of the stars in the crystal clear night sky, and now that it is dark early enough for the wee ones to enjoy it, we have been spending many evenings outside.   There has been much excitement as they point out the moon, or who discovers the first star of the evening.  We spent this week celebrating our beautiful stars and the gorgeous country sky.

Monday, baking day, we made sugar star cookies

Tuesday, painting day, I colored stars onto watercolor paper and the children painted the sky over the stars.

Wednesday, coloring day, we worked with yellow crayons drawing stars

Thursday, handwork day, the children painted star wands I picked up at our local craft store for $1 while I made window stars. http://blog.bellalunatoys.com/2012/how-to-make-waldorf-paper-window-stars.html

Friday was our cleaning day. 

This Week's Circle

Good morning, dear earth.

Good morning, dear sun.

Good morning, dear trees

And the flowers, every one.

Good morning, dear beasts

And the birds in the trees.

Good morning to you

And good morning to me!

The song of the stars

The song of the stars resounds in the heavens,

The song of the sun awakens the day,

The song of my heart is the sun in my soul,

And I’ll listen, and listen, to what it can say.

Twinkle Twinkle little star

Star light, star bright

The first star, I see tonight

I wish I may

I wish I might

Have this wish, I wish tonight

The Moon

Eliza Follen

Oh, look at the moon she's shining up there,

Oh, mother, she looks like a lamp in the air!

Last week she was smaller and shade like a bow,

But now she's grown bigger and round as an "o."

Pretty moon, pretty moon, blow your shine on the floor

And make all bright on my nursery floor,

You shine on my playthings and show me their place

And I love to look up at your pretty, bright face,

And there is a star close by you and maybe

That small twinkling star is your baby!

Hush little Baby. 

Hush, little baby, don't say a word,

Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird.

And if that mockingbird don't sing,

Mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.

And if that diamond ring turns brass,

Mama's going to buy you a looking glass.

And if that looking glass gets broke,

Mama's going to buy you a billy goat.

And if that billy goat won't pull,

Mama's going to buy you a cart and bull.

And if that cart and bull turn over,

Mama's going to buy you a dog named Rover.

And if that dog named Rover won't bark,

Mama's going to buy you a horse and cart.

And if that horse and cart fall down,

You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town

Rufty and Tufty

Rufty and Tufty were two little elves that 

lived in a hollow tree

They did all the cooking and cleaning themselves

And often had friends in for tea.

 Rufty wore red and Tufty wore blue, 

And each had a hat with a feather,

They kept their finest shoes under the bed, 

that were made of Magic green leather.

 Rufty was clever and kept the accounts,

And Tufty did all of the cooking.

He made the finest  cakes without weighing amounts

And eat them when no one was looking.

This Weeks Story I made up:

A little gnome was admiring the night sky when he noted the moon looked rather like a boat tonight!  He began to dream about sailing down a river of stars, we sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as the gnome sails down a silk river landing on a bank of clouds (a pile of wool roving) we cover up the gnome and sing, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and that is the end of our story, there is no more.

November Week 2- Light (Martinmas)

This week our focus was light, specifically finding light as we move into the dark half of the year. 

 We kicked off the week with a lovely Martinmas Celebration at the farm with our homeschooling co-op.

The children made lanterns, we had a potluck feast, a homemade toy swap with the crafty Mamas and our very

 first childmade toy swap, we collected coats to donated and of course had a candlelight procession as we sang 

around the farm.

 

Martinmas is one of my favorite holidays, there is something truly magical about filling the night with light carried

 by children. We continued that celebration throughout the week.

Monday, baking day, we made honey cake and real hot chocolate with cream.

Tuesday, painting day, we told the Martinmas watercolor story found in The BEarth Institute's "A Year of Waldorf

 Watercolor Stories"

Wednesday, coloring day, we used our yellow crayons to draw a rectangle and circle to make candles then filled 

in  the paper with our blur crayons to create night,

Thursday, handwork day, we made beeswax candles.

Friday our cleaning day we cleaned all of our candle holders, replaced them with fresh candles and cleaned

Our lights which were in despeate need of cleaning after a swarm of lady bugs infested our home.

This weeks circle time song and verses:

Good morning, dear earth.

Good morning, dear sun.

Good morning, dear trees

And the flowers, every one.

Good morning, dear beasts

And the birds in the trees.

Good morning to you

And good morning to me!

The sunlight fast is dwindling

My little lamp needs kindling

Let your light shine bright

Into the darkest night

Little lantern guide me 

With your precious light

I go outside with my lantern, my lantern goes with me

Above the stars are shining bright, down here on Earth shine we.

The cock does crow, the cat meows, la bimmel, la bammel, la boom.

‘Neath heaven’s dome till we go home, la bimmel, la bammel, la boom.

I go outside with my lantern, my lantern goes with me

Above the stars are shining bright, down here on Earth shine we.

So shine your light through the still dark night, la bimmel, la bammel, la boom

‘Neath heaven’s dome till we go home, la bimmel, la bammel, la boom.

My lantern, my lantern,

Sun and moon and starlight.

In the darkened heaven high

Shine no stars within the sky.

Darkened is the path this night

With no moon or star as light.

My lantern, my lantern,

Sun and moon and starlight,

Friendly little lantern bright,

Be my sun and shield this night.

Be my moon and sun so high.

No light is in the sky.

Rufty and Tufty were two little elves that 

lived in a hollow tree

They did all the cooking and cleaning themselves

And often had friends in for tea.

 Rufty wore red and Tufty wore blue, 

And each had a hat with a feather,

They kept their finest shoes under the bed, 

that were made of Magic green leather.

 Rufty was clever and kept the accounts,

And Tufty did all of the cooking.

He made the finest  cakes without weighing amounts

And eat them when no one was looking.

And the story of the week:

http://www.songandseason.com/puppet-story-georges-lantern/

November Week One: Leaves

The leaves on the farm have really popped this weekend.  In celebration of their beauty this week's theme is leaves!  

Monday,our baking day, we made sugar cookies using our leaf cookie cutter, on Tuesday, our painting day, we water colored paper on both side, then cut out leaf shapes attaching them to a stick, creating whirly, twirly leaf kites. Wednesday, coloring day, we made leaf rubbings, and Thursday, handwork day, we gathered leaves to press between wax paper to make leaf mandalas to hang in the windows. Friday was cleaning day and time to prepare for our Martinmas Celebration with our Home School Tribe.

November Week 1 Circle Time

Good morning, dear earth.

Good morning, dear sun.

Good morning, dear trees

And the flowers, every one.

Good morning, dear beasts

And the birds in the trees.

Good morning to you

And good morning to me!

Autumn winds are sighing,
Stealing through the forest brown,
As they softly pass the tree trunks
Little leaves come falling down.
But a stronger gale is blowing-
Then the leaves themselves
Rise and dance about the forest
Just like the elves.
Faster, faster see them whirling
Till the gale has passed.
One by one the tired leaflets
Sink to rest at last.

Red leaves falling down,
 orange leaves falling down
Yellow leaves falling down
 covering the ground
Brown leaves falling down,
green leaves falling down,
 purple leaves falling down
All over town.


The Squirrel

Whiskey, frisky , hop pity hop,
Up he goes to the tree top!
Whirly, twirly, round and round,
Down he scampers to the ground.
Fully, curly, what a tail!
Tall as a feather, broad as a sail!
Where's his supper?  In the shell.
Snapity, crackity, out it fell.

Like a leaf or a feather
In the windy Autumn weather
We twirl a-round and twirl a-round And all float down to-gether.

“Come little leaves,” said the wind one day.

(hands in the air, fingers are leaves)

“Come o’er the meadow with me and play.

Put on your dresses of red and gold.

(sweep hands down to put on a dress)

Summer is gone and the days grow cold.”

(hug self and shiver)

As soon as the leaves heard the wind’s low call,

(hand to ear)

Down they came fluttering, one and all.

(hands in air again, flutter down like leaves)

Over the brown fields they whirled and flew,

(whirl hands in the air)

Singing the soft little songs they knew.

(twirl hands)

Dancing and whirling the little leaves went,

(twirl whole body and dance around)

Autumn had called them and they were content.

Soon they will sleep in their soft earthly beds

(start to sink to the ground)

Waiting for winter to cover their heads.

(sleep on the ground in a sweet little leaf pile)

(take a few deep breaths)

Rufty and Tufty were two little elves that 

lived in a hollow tree

They did all the cooking and cleaning themselves

And often had friends in for tea.

 Rufty wore red and Tufty wore blue, 

And each had a hat with a feather,

They kept their finest shoes under the bed, 

that were made of Magic green leather.

 Rufty was clever and kept the accounts,

And Tufty did all of the cooking.

He made the finest  cakes without weighing amounts

And eat them when no one was looking.

Story: The Anxious Leaf

We also scooped felt acorns from one bowl to the next with little bamboo spoons, we sorted them by color and counted them.  The acorns are incredibly easy to make and have kept my wee ones entertained all morning.  I just rolled little balls of Autumn colored roving, needle felted it a bit and then used a hot glue gun to attach real acorn caps to their tops.  

As a transition craft from this week's theme of Leaves to next week's theme, Light, and in celebration of Martinmas we made leaf lanterns. We mixed equal parts water and school glue and painted it over a layer of tissue paper onto mason jars, then we collected leaves and painted them onto the jar, and covered them with another layer of paper and glue mixture.  We just attached yarn to the lid ring for handles, but many people use wire to craft handles.