Michealmas

As we have not celebrated Michealmas before, I thought this year celebrate by hearing a bit about the stories and learning this poem. I appreciate the idea of celebrating this festival as a time to reflect on the bounty of the season and our preparations for winter. A time for finishing our preserving and preparing our clothing and home for the cold dark months ahead.

St. Michael's Harvest Song

In autumn Saint Michael with sword and with shield 

Passes over meadow and orchard and field.

He's on the path to battle 'gainst darkness and strife -

He is the heavenly warrior protector of life.

The harvest let us gather with Michael's aid;

The light he sheddeth fails not nor does it fade,

and when the corn is cut and the meadows are bare

We'll don Saint Michael's armour and onward we'll fare.

We are Saint Michael's warriors with strong heart and mind,

We forge our way through darkness Saint Michael to find.

And there he stand in glory; Saint Michael we pray,

Lead us into battle and show us thy way.

- Anonymous

Michaelmas Circle

Songs and verses compiled from the Wynstones Autumn book, the oral tradition, and other sources

The autumn wind blows open the gate,

O Michael, you, you we await.

We follow you, show us the way.

With joy we greet the autumn day,

Good morning, good morning

And I wonder who is this Michael? And I hear the wind sing:

Michael, God’s great knight,

Strong and pure and shining bright.

I’ll be a knight of Michael, too,

And polish my crown to a golden hue.

Ask the gnomes the iron to mine,

Iron from the stars, from the earth, so fine,

To bring to the blacksmith, who with his might

Will make me a sword, so strong, so bright.

And we follow the falling stars to the mountain cave where the gnomes are working.

And the gnomes say:

With fire and stone, we work with a will

With our strength and our skill.

The iron we soften and then we bend

Into hammers, swords, and nails to mend.

Dear gnomes, may I have some iron?

Are you noble? Oh, yes.

Are you good? Oh, yes.

And do you hear the singing of the stars? Oh yes.

Then you may have some iron.

(Song) Thank you little gnomes, in your crystal homes.

Oh bring me a galloping horse for to ride,

A crown on my head, the iron by my side.

Off to the blacksmith we must go.

Galloping, galloping, off we go.

Dear blacksmith, will you make me a sword?

Of course! for:

I am a blacksmith, strong and true, Best of work I always do.

All day long my hammers go, slinging, clanging, clanging, so,

A rickety, tickity, tickity, tick,

A rickety, tickity, tickity, tick.

Thank you, kind blacksmith, for your might.

I’ll polish my sword, so fine, so bright.

I will use it for the right,

Not for some silly quarrel or fight,

But to drive away evil, I will try

And protect those who are weaker than I.

(After a week or two of the preceding, the following is added.)

Oh bring me a galloping horse for to ride,

A crown on my head, my sword by my side,

For it’s off the to castle we will go.

Galloping, galloping, here we go.

The knights came together and proclaimed

No fear here! Michael, be my guide and stand by my side.

And they knew that Michael was always ready to help.

Michael, God’s great knight,

Strong and pure and shining bright.

Barbara Klocek has been a kindergarten teacher at the Sacramento Waldorf School for many years.

Circle for the Week of September 27th, 2010

LITTLE LEAVES, by George Cooper
( in researching this poem I found a dozen variations, several of them claiming to be the original)


"Come Little Leaves" said the wind one day,
"Come over the meadow with me and play,
 Put on your dresses of red and gold,
 Summer is gone and the days grow cold"


As soon as the leaves heard the winds low call,
Down they came fluttering, one and all,
Over the brown fields they whirled and flew,
Singing the soft little song they new.


Dancing and whirling the little leaves went
Autumn had called them and they were content,
Soon they will sleep in their soft earthly beds, 
Waiting for Winter to cover their heads. 




During circle this week we will continue to focus on autumn, and tie is the working farm and all its animals.
We will sing a physical version of Old Macdonald, where we have to neigh, neigh and gallop, gallop. Our yoga poses for the week are farm animal inspired as well.
Come Wednesday we will whip up a big batch of applesauce with our Apples from Black Rock Orchard, our favorite farm. 
Thursday we hope to complete our little felt owls and their nests from last week ( January, can you please post directions for making the play dough)
Then Friday its off through the woods with our new Little Leaves song, to visit the lake, enjoy the crisp air and find new autumn treasures.

celebrating autumn

the shelter in the woods

Making Owl Nests

Shelling Acorns

Circle for the week of September 20, 2010

This week we are celebrating the start of Autumn and the autumn equinox.  We will be making apple sauce, pumpkin whoopie pies ( ummm, we've waited all year for these), and candles.

Circle time is teaching us some new autumn songs to sing while we work on our projects.

Yellow the Bracken- Florence Hoatson, from The Singing Year

Yellow is the bracken (circle in a ring)
Golden the sheaves,
Rosy the apples,
Crimson the leaves,
Mist on the hillside, ( one hand sweeps horizontally, the other stretches to clouds)
Clouds grey and white,
Autumn good morning! (bow to the autumn, hands together by cheek for summer)
Summer Goodnight!

The story of Owl and Duck from The Yoga Zoo
story and poses
Friday we will do an Owl listen and see game.

Round the House ( I cant remember where I got this one)
Round the house,
Round the trees,
Round the woods,
With the rustling leaves,
Round the tree trunk,
Round the stem,
Round about and home again.

Circle: the week of September 13th

topics: monarchs and milkweed
during the first part of the week we will learn about monarchs and milkweed through our yoga poses. On Friday we will play a game where some children are the milkweed and others the butterflies. Milkweed will stand still, eyes closed and butterfly will land gently on a body part. Milkweed has to identify the body part without open eyes. If correct, they switch places and start the game again.
We will be planting milkweed in the yard, if anyone has any plants or seeds they'd like to donate, please email me.

daily game: a bean bag obstacle course, children have to complete the course while balancing or tossing their bean bag.

Songs for the week:

Don't Flutter By Butterfly
pg 67 Seven Times the Sun, by Shea Darian

Don't Flutter by butterfly
come rest on my finger
come rest on my cheek
come be my guest for a day or a week
but don't flutter by butterfly

jump rope and park song: Kookaburra

Kookaburra sits in the old oak tree
Merry merry king of the woods is he
Laugh kookaburra
Laugh kookaburra
Gay your life must be

Kookaburra sits in the old oak tree
Eating all the gumdrops he can see
Stop Kookaburra
Stop Kookaburra
Leave a few for me

How many gumdrops will he leave ( count until a mistake is made).

call to circle time

Good Morning, Good Morning
    the birds outside are singing,
Good Morning, Good Morning,  
    lets start a brand new day.

Good Morning, Good Morning,
     the sun outside is rising,
Good Morning, Good Morning,
      let's go out and play.

Rhythm of the Home, new fall edition!

So many wonderful and inspiring articles. I'll be waking up early all week just to read everyone.

new Edition