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Soul Blossom Kids

compassionate support for holistic parenting

Songs and fingerplays

The fairies in my garden: a poem

I have fairies in my garden. Do you?

This week I went back to school for the first time since mid-March. I’m just back 3 days a week for now. And I noticed 2 things–first, it’s great to be back with the children! I didn’t realize how much I missed them until I saw them again. Spending time with them helped me remember the magic that is all around. Like the fairies in my garden. Second–I’m exhausted. I’m out of practice for spending my day with kiddos. (Also, we’re outside most of the day and it’s really hot, especially in the afternoon, which adds to my tiredness).

The fairies in my garden.

the fairies in my garden
a fairy house

I’ve also been going through my old journals looking for hidden treasures. I came across this poem a wrote about 5 years ago about the fairies in my garden. I polished it up a bit and thought I’d share it. I’d really like to illustrate it–but the day got away from me, so maybe next time!

I don’t remember thinking a lot about fairies when I was little, but I learned about fairies and gnomes when I took Gabi to parent-child classes at the Waldorf school. We built fairy houses and I found myself enchanted. I found this lovely little book–Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden? by Betsy Williams. It’s a charming little book–I highly recommend it if you love fairy lore. You can also read my post about fairy houses. I shared this activity with my daughters and all of my classes–children and parents. We all loved it!

fairies in my garden
another fairy house

 

Do you have fairies in your garden? I do–the poem

 

What do the fairies do all day

In the garden in the sun?

They sing and dance, work and play

And all of it is fun.

 

I do not think they notice me

For they pay me no mind

But I can watch them endlessly

When it rains and when it shines.

 

They take care of leaves and flowers

They dust them with such ease

And wash their petals when it showers

Then dry them in the breeze.

 

In late afternoon, when the sun beams hot

They stop to drink their tea.

In the shade of the snapdragon’s flower pot

Fanned by the wings of bees.

 

But when the moon glows in the sky

And the children are snuggled in bed,

The fairies do not shut their eyes 

but dance all night instead.

 

The katydids play fiddles

While the nightingales sing

The night is filled with giggles

As the fairies dance in a ring.

 

I wish I were a fairy

Dancing through the night

To the starry music

That lets my heart take flight.

fairies in my garden
singing and dancing

More fairy magic

I recently posted a video on my YouTube Channel about the fairies washing day:

Here are the words (I’m not sure who wrote them):
Today is the fairies’ washing day,
With acorn caps for tubs
And tiny leaves for washboards,
Each fairy rubs and rubs.
The fairy sheets so white and fine
Upon the grass are lying.
The spider spins a line for them
And now those sheets are flying!

Poetry Friday

This week, Linda Mitchell hosts Poetry Friday. Check out her in one word poem (she explains what that is in the post) called “American” in honor of the 4th of July. And see what other poets have to say–or add your post!

Happy Independence day.

And thanks for stopping by.

xoxo

 

Two little ducky songs to share with little ones

I’ve been enjoying watching the ducklings who live in the pond near my home grow and play–and they inspired me to record these two little ducky songs.

The beauty and wonder of nature!

I find my morning walks (I only go in the morning this time of year–before it gets too hot) inspiring. From the lovely view of the mountains

little ducky-mountain view

to the amazing birds (which I don’t usually get very good photos of–I’ve had better luck with video)

little ducky and other birds
Great blue heron
little ducky and other birds
Lewis’s woodpecker

To the plant life

little ducky and plant life

to the curiouslittle ducky plus

and, of course, bunnies, which I shared about a couple of weeks ago.

And the ducks

Every morning now, I walk by this little pond surrounded by willow trees. And in or next to the pond are several little ducky families! I love the sounds they make and how the mama duck watches over them. And of course, I love their fuzzy cuteness.

I’ve been sending my patient family photos and/or videos almost every day.

Little Ducky Songs

The other day, I noticed as I was walking that I was singing little ducky songs–just to myself, I think. So I thought I’d record them and share them here and on YouTube in case anyone was looking for some silly duck songs.

The first one:

Here are the words:

5 little ducks went out to play over the hill and far away,

when Mama Duck said “Quack, quack, quack,”

4 little ducks came hurrying back.

 

4 little ducks went out to play….

3 little ducks came hurrying back.

 

3 little ducks went out to play…

2 little ducks came hurrying back.

 

2 little ducks went out to play…

1 little duck came hurrying back.

 

1 little duck went out to play…

no little ducks came hurrying back.

 

No little ducks went out to play over the hill and far away.

Then Mama Duck said, “Quack, quack, quack!!”

And five little ducks came hurrying back!

The second one:

Here are the words:

5 little ducks that I once knew,

fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones, too,

but the one little duck with the feather on his back,

He led the others with a quack, quack, quack

quack, quack, quack quack, quack, quack,

he led the others with a quack, quack, quack.

 

Down to the river, they would go,

wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble to and fro,

but the one little duck with the feather on his back,

he led the others with a quack, quack, quack quack,

quack, quack quack, quack, quack,

he led the others with a quack, quack, quack.

 

Back from the river, they would come,

wibble-wobble, wobble-wobble, hu-hum-hum,

but the one little duck with the feather on his back,

he led the others with a quack, quack, quack quack,

quack, quack quack, quack, quack,

he led the others with a quack, quack, quack.

Poetry Friday

Irene Latham at Live Your Poem hosts Poetry Friday this week–and leads a celebration of poet Nikki Grimes. Nikki has 2 books coming out in 2020: BEDTIME FOR SWEET CREATURES and SOUTHWEST SUNRISE. Be sure to check them out–I plan to–and see what other poets have to share this Friday, too.

And as always, thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

 

 

Hungry mousie story and finger plays

Last week, I wrote about kittens and this week, I share a poem/puppet play about a hungry mousie. I’ve been trying to share resources for parents or caretakers of young children these past few weeks in order to support families with young children at home. As a Waldorf early childhood teacher of 20 years, I’ve got a bunch of them!

I used to tell this story in my parent-child classes–and it was a big hit! After I’d told it myself a time or two, I’d let the little ones pick the next piece of the sandwich out of the bag. Simple and fun–and the hungry mousie always got his lunch.

hungry mousie
Here’s a close-up of the little needle-felted mouse

Hungry Mousie–the video

Here’s my recording of myself telling the story:

The story-poem:

Little Mouse was hungry, he was looking for some lunch.
“I’d like to have a sandwich to nibble, nibble, crunch.”

First, he found a piece of bread sitting by the door.
Then he went into the cupboard looking for some more.

A piece of cheese, sure to please.

Cucumber sweet, so good to eat.

An onion ring, that will add some zing.

Sour pickle makes my tummy tickle.

A piece of cake, for goodness sake! I’ll save that for dessert.

Another piece of cheese, golly geez.

Pepper sweet, can’t be beat.

A lettuce leaf, good for my teeth.

One more slice of bready, and mouse’s lunch was ready.

“Thank you for my food,” he said,
Then he bit into the bread.

Nibble, Nibble, crunch,
Nibble, nibble, crunch.
Mousie ate up all his lunch.

Then his tummy was full, so without a peep,
He went back home and fell asleep.

hungry mousie
You can make a simple mouse puppet out of felt or even paper by cutting out a heart shape and folding it in half (and sewing it if it’s fabric) add ears and a tail, whiskers, and eyes, if you want and–voila!

More hungry mousies–a couple verses I didn’t write that are fun for circle time or whenever:

If you need a good stretch, this first verse is for you–more of a story than a verse, really, but fun, nevertheless:

The mice woke up one morning, and they were so hungry.

“Let’s find something to eat.”

So they crept up to the first floor, but there was nothing to eat, so they ran back down to the cellar.

But they were still hungry.

“Let’s find something to eat.”

So they crept up to the first floor, then they crept up to the second floor, but there was nothing to eat, so they ran back down to the cellar.

But they were still so hungry.

“Let’s find something to eat.”

So they crept up to the first floor, they crept up to the second floor, they crept up to the third floor and all the way up to the attic.

And there they found a nice piece of cheese.

And they nibbled, nibbled, nibbled it all up.

They nibbled, nibbled, nibbled it all up.

They nibbled, nibbled, nibbled it all up.

And then they scattered the crumbs to the birds.

They scattered the crumbs to the birds.

They scattered the crumbs to the birds.

Then they went back down to the cellar and fell asleep.

And finally–Tom Thumb and Squeaky Mouse–a circular rhyme

Well, I don’t know if that’s what they’re called, but when you get to the end, it goes back to the beginning. And it reminded me of “The song that never ends,” so I sang that at the end because–why not! This one also has a hungry mousie!

Now I’ll tell you a story and this story is true,

So you listen carefully and do just what I do.

Here is Tom Thumb and here is his house,

This is his window and this is Squeaky his mouse.

One morning very early, when the sun began to shine,

Squeaky mouse sat up in bed and counted up to nine

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9

Then Squeaky took a great big jump right on to Tom Thumb’s bed.

Squeaky ran right up his arm and sat upon his head.

Squeaky pulled his ear and Squeaky pinched his nose

until Tom Thumb got out of bed and put on all his clothes.

Then they sat down to breakfast and ate some buttered bread,

and when they were all finished, little Tom Thumb said,

Now I’ll tell you a story and this story is true…..

Poetry Friday

Christie Wyman, over at Wondering and Wandering hosts Poetry Friday this week. She also shares her poetry–for National Poetry Month, she’s been writing poems based on Thoreau’s journal entries–pretty cool! You can also see what other poets are sharing or add your own link if you want.

I mentioned last week that my 92-year-old dad was diagnosed with coronavirus. He’s still at home (in an independent living facility with my mom) and seems to be feeling a bit better–for which I am most grateful!

Also, I’m moving a week from tomorrow, so whether I’m able to write or share any poetry next week remains to be seen.

But, as always, I’m grateful to you for stopping by. Be well!

xoxo

Three little kittens–with sock and glove puppets

Today I posted the three little kittens as a puppet play on my YouTube Channel. In case you’re not familiar with this nursery rhyme, here are the words (as I know them):

Three Little Kittens

Once three little kittens, they lost their mittens,

and they began to cry:

“Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

Our mittens we have lost!”

“What lost your mittens, you naughty kittens,

now you shall have no pie.”

Meow, meow, meow, meow.

 

The three little kittens, they found their mittens,

and they began to cry:

“Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

our mittens we have found!”

“What found your mittens, you darling kittens,

now you may have some pie.”

Meow, meow, meow, meow.

 

The three little kittens put on their mittens

and soon ate up the pie.

“Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

our mittens we have soiled!”

“What soiled your mittens, you naughty kittens”

And they began to sigh,

“Meow, meow, meow, meow.”

 

The three little kittens, they washed their mittens

and hung them up to dry.

“Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

our mittens we have washed.”

“What washed your mittens, you darling kittens!

But I smell a rat close by!”

Meow, meow, meow, meow.

The puppet play

This is a very silly poem–and it has both kittens and mittens in it. Probably why I like it so much. A while back, I made a glove puppet for the three little kittens. three little kittens glove puppet

three little kittens with pie
Three little kittens with their pie.                                                            And another time, when I was making sock puppets with my parent-child classes, I made sock puppets.

 

 

 

 

three little kittens--mama
Here’s mama kitten

three little kittens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

three little kittens

 

 

 

Both are pretty rough and simple–on purpose. But I love making puppets with stuff that I have lying around–although I did buy socks for the 60 or so families in my classes. I certainly didn’t have that many loose socks around!

three little kittens--the pie
And don’t forget the pie–this one’s made of beeswax
mittens for three little kittens
And of course, there are the mittens. I cut these out of an old sweater I’d felted. I think there used to be 6, but there are only 5 now–don’t tell Mother Dear!

My hope in making this video was not only that people would hopefully enjoy watching it, but that it would inspire people to make their own simple puppets.

Make some puppets

Many of us are stuck at home. These puppets are super easy to make from stuff you have at home–as long as you have a needle and thread–or you can use glue if you prefer. You’ll probably need a pair of scissors, too. Here are some of my favorite sock puppet tricks:

  • if you’re using athletic socks, you can turn them inside out so the fuzzy side is out–that’s what I did for my cats
  • if there’s a brand name on the end of the sock, you can just cut it off and sew the end shut
  • You can also make more than one puppet from a sock, like I did with the three kittens–just make a cut or two and then sew it together.
  • Use any fabric scraps you have around the house–or other unmatched socks or gloves–to make eyes, ears, nose, mouth, whatever you want to add to your puppet. You can give them clothes and hats, too. No need to worry about being silly when you already have a sock on your hand! You can use buttons, too–and anything else you can sew or glue on.
  • Little ones will love making and playing with sock puppets. They might need help with cutting, sewing, or gluing–or not.

The same thing goes for making glove puppets. You can have a whole puppet show on one hand. I recently saw a springtime garden glove puppet–very sweet. You can use an old glove you have lying around–like I did. Or if you want it to look nicer, you can find some cotton gloves to use and even dye them if you want.

I’ve also posted a few sewing tutorials on YouTube and here, as well, if you need help getting started with sewing. Here are links to the first 2:

Sewing Basics 1: choosing the right needle

Sewing Basics 2: the running stitch

Poetry Friday

So this old classic is my offering for Poetry Friday. Molly over at Nix the Comfort Zone hosts this week. Check out her blog to see what she has to say about making bread in the time of quarantine and what other poets are writing about this week.

This week, my dad got back the diagnosis that he does have the coronavirus. He’s still at home–in independent living–with my mom. He’s feeling pretty crummy but holding steady.

I think that’s why I took comfort in sharing this childhood favorite. Plus, it feels good to offer something to support families who are struggling right now.

I hope that you and yours are well.

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Springtime is fairy-time, 2 Waldorf finger plays

It’s fairy-time! In springtime, the fairies come out to play. In my house and my classroom, we always built fairy houses and had fairy tea parties as the weather got warmer. (You can read more about fairy houses here.) And I always liked it when the fairies came to visit my circle time, too. So today, I’m sharing two Waldorf fingerplays/hand games/tickle games for you to share with any children or children-at-heart you may have in your life.

fairy-time
Fairy house made by some of the children in my class

Fairy-time: here come those funny fairies

Here is the first one–it’s a simple fingerplay. But for the littlest ones, who can’t really move their fingers like this yet, it can also be a tickling game or you can just do it and let them join is as best they can. Of course, bigger kids sometimes like tickling, too.

The words:

Fairies funny, five are we,

Laughing, happy as can be,

Ha, ha, ha,

Hee, hee, hee,

Ho, ho, ho,

Whee, whee, whee–

And away we go!

Notice that the laughs are in alphabetical order–it really helped me to remember when I figured that out.

 

Fairy-time: the fairies are doing there spring cleaning

Sorry about the fuzziness of this video. I decided to do it with the camera horizontal so I could fit all of me in the picture, but I don’t know how to adjust the quality. Hopefully, you get the idea.

 

I often used a basket of silks–giving one to each child and teacher–for my springtime circle. We became fairies, butterflies, flowers waking from winter sleep. There’s something wonderful about how silk moves and feel. I liked using it for this verse, but it was rather hard on the silks!

The words:

Today is the fairies washing day,

With acorn caps for cups,

and tiny leaves for washboards,

each fairy rubs and rubs.

 

The fairy sheets so white and fine

upon the grass are drying.

The spider spins a line for them,

and now those sheets are flying!

fairy-time

I hope you find fairies at the bottom of your garden or wherever you wander! You can find other springtime circle songs with videos and words on my blog: Spring is coming and My lady spring

Thanks for stopping by.

xoxo

 

My Lady Spring-A Waldorf Early Childhood Song

It’s been snowing all day today here in Colorado, but I know that My Lady Spring is on her way–and she’s dressed in green, just like me!

my lady spring is coming

Here’s another of my favorite spring songs that I used in my springtime circle in my EC classroom. And I still find myself singing this song–all by myself at the moment.

My Lady Spring–The lyrics

My lady Spring is dressed in green,

She wears a primrose crown,

And little baby buds and twigs

Are clinging to her gown.

 

The sun shines if she laughs at all

And when she weeps, the raindrops fall.

My lady Spring,

My Lady Spring,

My lady Spring.

Some thoughts about this song

This song evokes a really strong image in my mind of a regal, yet playful queen wandering through the forest. As she passes, the world turns green and the sleeping creatures wake from their slumber and follow behind. She stops to greet them and her smile lights up the world. She spreads warmth wherever she goes. And her warm tears wash away the tiredness of winter as snowdrops rise from the earth.

I really respond to this song (in case you couldn’t tell!), and perhaps that is why the children always loved it. When I sang songs that didn’t really touch me, often the children didn’t enjoy them either.

my lady spring
Let your soul blossom–lady spring is on her way

The joy of song

Singing provides a wonderful way to connect with children and to raise our own spirit. In this time of the coronavirus quarantine, we need music more than ever. And our children love to hear our voices–however sweet or scratchy they are.

Yesterday, I shared another springtime song, “Spring is Coming.” And I’ll be sharing some fairy fingerplays over the next couple of days. I hope they raise your spirits and give you something to share with your little ones–if you have little ones.

And, as always, thanks for stopping by. I wish you health and joy–and hope Lady Spring comes to visit you soon if she hasn’t already.

mayapple floer
mayapple–in the wild spring garden of my childhood