Waldorf Playgroup Songs

These are the lyrics to all the songs Devana Came sang during the course of her two-hour demo Waldorf Parent-Toddler Playgroup. We’re going to be practicing and learning them tomorrow at the park.

Some of these songs are specifically geared towards springtime, so a few of them will be changed out for the fall.

In general the songs in the circle before playtime will follow this pattern:

Follow follow me (walking into home from outside to form ring)

Now Look Around, we’ve made a ring (standing)

1 – seasonal (sitting)

Rinka Ranka Rosy Ray (standing)

3 – seasonal (standing, sitting, standing)

Crisscross applesauce (sitting)

Follow, follow me
To the ring of the fairies
Follow, follow to me,
Where the fairies dance and sing.
Gather with now
All the magic you can carry,
As we circle ‘round the dancing fairy ring.

Now look around
We’ve made a ring
By holding hands you see.
Yes, here I am,
And there you are,
Together we are we.

Fishes like wishes
Are magic you see,
They slipses and swishes
Thru waters so free.

A little flower lays asleep in his bed.
A warm sun is shining over head.
Down came the rain dancing to and fro.
The little flower awakens,
And now begins to grow.

Rinka ranka rosy ray.
Welcome, welcome, golden day.
I can skip and I can hop.
I can turn and I can stop.
I can dance and I can sing,
With my friends we form a ring.

Ring around the roses,
A pocket full of posies.
Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.
The cows are in the meadow
Eating buttercups
Ashes, ashes
We all stand up.

On my head my hands I place,
On my shoulders, on my face.
On my lips and by my side,
Quickly behind me they will hide.
I can hold them way up high
And let my fingers gently fly
I can hold my hands in front of me
And clap 1-2-3.

Here is a beehive
Where are all the bees?
Hidden inside
Where no one can see
Here they all come
1-2-3-4-5 buzzzzzzzzz – They’re alive.

Dot, dot, dot
And a big question mark.
Little spiders crawl up your back
Little spiders crawl down your back
Little spiders crawl up your arms
Little spiders crawl down your arms
Cool breeze, tight squeeze.
Egg on the head and the yolk drips down.
Creepy crawlies, creepy crawlies…
Gotcha.

OR

Crisscross applesauce
Spiders crawling up your back
Spiders crawling down your back
Oops, one bit ya
Tight squeeze,
Cool breeze.
Now you’ve got the ticklies.

The Story Song
Anything can happen
In a fairy tale or rhyme
When you say the magic words
Once a upon a time

Handwashing Song (sung in the mood of the 5th)
Time to wash our hands,
Time to wash our hands

Welcome, welcome
Welcome to our table
Welcome, welcome
We all join hands together. (We sing this until every one is sitting)
Snack Time Blessing
Earth who gives to us this food.
Sun who makes it ripe and good.
Sun above and earth below,
Our loving thanks to you we show.
Blessings on our meal.

Clean-up Song
I met a little dusty gnome
Who says it’s time to clean our home
Clean our home
Clean our home

Goodbye Circle
Who will come to my wee ring?
My wee ring
My wee ring
Who will come to my wee ring?
And make it a little bit bigger?

The earth stands firm beneath my feet. The sun shines high above. Here I stand, so straight and strong – all things to know and love

I can turn myself and turn myself and stop me when I will. I can reach high on my tippy toes and hold myself quite still.

Goodbye now, goodbye now.
We leave you now
And off we go
Goodbye now
Goodbye to all of you.
Thank you for coming.

Rainbow Bridge Song
Goodbye, goodbye
Blessing on your way.
May the sun shine bright
In your hearts today.

**See clips of Devana singing most of these songs here**

 

Thumb’s Up

That new website, Paperbackswap.com, I joined last month has turned out to be a winner.

Well, in terms of getting books for free anyway. I’ve only diminished my own pile of books by three so far, but I’m hopeful more will go. I’m scouring my shelves for more books to post.

I got both of Bella’s AP summer reading books: The Adventures of Huck Finn and The Narrative Autobiography of Frederick Douglass.

And I ordered two of the three books my sister wanted at Christmas but was not able to find at Barnes and Noble: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See and Count Karlstein by Philip Pullman. (The third one was that Lessons Shamu Taught Me – where Shamu’s trainer applies her whale training techniques on her husband with great success – I just ordered through amazon.)

Five books that I wanted/needed for free in one month is pretty good I say.

 

At Least We Got Mooned

Saturday morning, by Bella’s account, was not the smooth morning we had planned. Bella had a mandatory field trip to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena for her Art Appreciation class, so I had carefully planned out a day to finally take Bella (and her friend) up to LA via train, then Chinatown by Metro for dimsum, and then up to Pasadena to the museum. The train I normally take at 10:20 wouldn’t give us enough time to get to the Norton Simon by noon, so we were stuck taking the 7:05 am train to LA Union.

Chad was skeptical, but I tell you that we were half an hour early and feeling pretty perky about it. Christian was going whooo-whooo, because he LOVES the train.

I saw the trainlight coming up in the distance, so I said to Bella, “Be sure to grab my water bottle.”

She was like, “Huh?”

And I realized that when I had pulled my beloved $20 Kleen Kanteen out for her at the ticket booth, that she had never noticed it.

I shouted for her to please RUN AND GET MY WATER BOTTLE!!!

And despite my frantic shouts and waves to the conductor, by the time Bella and her friend came huffing and puffing back, the train was pulling away. (She had thought I had wanted her to run all the way back to the car…) Perhaps I should have known better – the train never stops for more than 40 seconds – but I couldn’t bear to lose my Kleen Kanteen.

So we four stood on the platform, a bunch of boobs who missed their train.

Bella watched the train get smaller and turned to look at me and said, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?” Rightfully so, I mean we had all gotten out of the house by 6:15 am on a Saturday morning.

The worst part was that I had bought a Family 4-Pack deal, which allows four adults to travel for $30 roundtrip, anywhere in the Metrolink system. Since we were only three, I had given the fourth ticket to a nice  Filipino nanny who was standing behind us at the ticket booth. I figured she could sit with us or near us and travel for free. The tickets were only valid used together, and she, well, she made it on the train and we didn’t. I hope she didn’t get in any trouble with the conductor. I didn’t mean to con a nice little old lady yesterday.

So, we all dashed to the car and tried to catch the train in Irvine. I should have known it was fruitless, but it did make us all feel better. When we called Chad to confirm where the train station was, he told us that the train was supposed to have gone through Irvine 8 minutes ago. Sure enough when we got there, there was nobody about. At this point, I pulled over in a shade spot to think and nurse my irate baby who was pretty mad about being tired and not on a train.

The part where we salvage our day:

After much apologizing on my part, we decided to go for the 10:30 train. With about three hours to kill, I decided to take the girls and Christian out to breakfast at The Original Pancake House in lieu of dim sum. We were much refreshed after homemade corned beef hash, potato pancakes, mushroom omelet, and spinach crepes and lots of delicious coffee.

Then we went home and changed into shorts and fussed about the house for another hour. We made it to the train station in plenty of time. There were loads of cops around, even trailers and tents and a semi-truck.

We had time to make a few friends on the platform. All of us were talking to different people on the train platform because yesterday, of all days, happened to be Moon-the-Train Day. (However, because of last year’s tremendous mooning success – over 10,000 people, many drunk and rowdy – there was a large police presence at the station. The people we met were all people with cameras LOOKING for mooners. None were to be seen.)

We finally got on our train. That felt great and Bella and Maddie were duly impressed by the being on the train. As we started moving along, Bella said “Hey, you can see into everybody’s backyards!” That comment made me chuckle, because being able to see into people’s backyards is one of the best parts about riding on the train – you really see some unusual things on a train ride to Los Angeles.

And then I shouted. But by the time I had found words it was too late. I had just been mooned by about twenty people along the fence!! Bella and Maddie were sitting on the opposite side of the car and sadly, missed the mooners. I’m glad that some mooners made it past the police.

The rest of the day was less eventful, but pleasurable.

We made it to Pasadena, but late. Then trying not to be late, Bella and Maddie ran all the way from the Holly Street train station to the museum. I got there a bit later,  and then spent a very nice couple of hours chatting outside with my friend Ellen by the waterlilly pond under the shade of a large tree.

Then I wandered a while in the galleries, looking at the 20+ paintings and sculptures that were part Bella’s assignment. We had a more leisurely walk through the shopping district, back to the Metro stop, and back to Union Station. we got there with just enough time for me to show the girls the station and to buy snacks for the trip home.

Bella and Maddie were very vigilent about watching for mooners this time around and they were rewarded by being mooned too. Just a small handful, but enough to feel like we’d fully participated in the (non) event.

 

EC Update

So, the elimination communication.

It’s been going. Not terrifically well, but like all other aspects of parenting, sometimes smoothly and sometimes painfully.

I once had a wishful thought that Christian would be graduated by the age of one (as babies often were, even in this country, just a century ago), but he’s well into his fourteenth month now and I’ve still not even achieved a single completely diaper-free day (day=24 hours).

That’s okay. Christian has had many, many dry nights, to the point where I sometimes let him sleep nudie. That’s to say, he does go pee during the night, but NOT in his diaper; almost always in his potty and then falls back asleep. Ditto for his nap. He usually wakes up to pee once during his nap and then continues sleeping.

We also had two days in a row last month where we had only two misses each day. That was exciting. More typical was yesterday: he’s been dry all night and all day, and then his  sister and dad will come home, I’ll get distracted, and then miss seven pees in a row…

Our greatest success has been catching his poos. In all of 2009, I think I’ve missed about a dozen poos, meaning every other poo has been in a potty, either his little Baby Bjorn or in the regular toilet (with a seat reducer). I got REALLY excited when Christian pooed in the regular toilet, but while he loved the novelty of the big potty, he’s since shifted back down to his little potty where he can hang out and look at books more easily. It’s gotten to the point where when I have to deal with a poopy diaper I get all flustered because I don’t have a system for handling them anymore.

I figure that since Christian poops every day (approx. 180 poos so far this year), my poo catch rate is 94%. Not bad at all!

Most importantly, Christian retains a keen awareness of his elimination – often yelling for me just before or after peeing – and then pointing at the puddle. He’s even run over to the diaper pail and grabbed a diaper to mop up his mess. And practicing elimination communication has certainly heightened the level of awareness between the little guy and myself.

From what I see among the other EC’s I know, most kids seem to graduate between 20 and 26 months. They are often mostly dry, in trainers sometimes, and diapers sometimes, long before that. And while other cloth-diapered kids may potty train around the same age, I hear that most conventionally disposable-diapered kids potty train around three years old.

We’re good with it. I only wish I had started when he was born, instead of when he was three months old…

 

Craft and Game Booths

Back a few months ago I attended a May Day Faire at the Waldorf School of Orange County; I was so inspired by that family event that everything I’ve been doing to help with the World Breastfeeding Week Picnic has been to try and recreate that experience for others as closely as possible. (I promise to post about May Day separately – because it really deserves it.)

We won’t have a May Pole, live music, or dancing but… there were several well-attended craft and game booths there for the children – so we are offering one of each at our picnic.

The craft booth, Sew-Your-Own-Bean Bag, will be just like one of the ones offered at the May Day Faire. In a shaded spot there will be a helpful adult sitting at a table with pincushions with threaded needles, bowls filled with beans, spoons for scooping, and partially sewn bean bags. For the cost of one ticket ($1/ticket or $5/ 6 tickets), the child can pick a beanbag fabric, fill it with beans, and stitch it closed.

The game booth will be a Potty Toss, and sponsored by the local diaper-free group. I’m pretty proud of this silly game idea, so I hope it works. I picture 9-12 baby potties on the ground or on a table and kids standing behind a line tossing pingpong balls into the (brand new – purchased with a donation fund from my brother) potties. Depending on how hard it is to get the pingpong balls into the potties, I think one ticket gets you three tosses and three wins (you can buy more tosses) wins you a potty.

If somebody wins a potty, we write the child’s name on a potty in fabric pen or sharpie. He or she can pick up the potty at the end of the picnic.

The only glitch in the plans so far, has been to find enough people to tend the booths, but that problem may have been solved today as we’ve decided to find SPONSORS.

 

Mark Your Calendars!

What: World Breastfeeding Week Family Picnic

When: August 1, 2009 11:00 AM

Where:
Alta Laguna Park
3250 Alta Laguna Blvd
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Hi All,

SAVE THE DATE!

We’re in full swing gearing up for our World Breastfeeding Week Family Picnic! We’ve been working really hard and have scored some AWESOME donations for our raffles and silent auctions and family gift bags. We’re even going to have 9-10 booths with local businesses that have donated items and will be showcasing and selling their products (Steph Fowler Photography on-site photobooth, Balboa Baby Slings and Nursing Covers, Sherrie Williams Discovery Toys, Envirobaby Store, Arbonne from Hannah, AllBabyandMom.com, Baby UR Precious, Oasis Child, and Monica the Handprint Lady, with the possibility of a couple more).

We have donations from Earthroots School, Ellen Steel Photography, Happy Baby, Doubletree Dana Point, Milkalicious, Red Robin, Maunder Law, A Child’s Dream, Gia Anderson Yoga, Motherlove, Storksak, Bravado, Glamourmom, JuJuBe, Beco Baby Carrier, St. Regis Monarch Beach, Gypsy Mama, Traditional Medicinals, Suzie Bennett infant massage classes, and more…

August 1, 2009, 11am-2pm
Alta Laguna Park in Laguna Beach (PCH to Laguna Ave, which turns into Park and you take Park to the top of the world and turn Left on Alta Laguna, the park is on the right). Bring your sunscreen, sun umbrella, and blankets or chairs.

We hope to see you there; it will be great fun for the whole family. We’ll be having a BIG bake sale, all natural hotdog sales, and a craft and game for the kids. Please pass this info along to all your friends.

See you soon!
Sierra and Kimberly- LLL Leaders
and core volunteers Jeannie and Hope

 

Another Raw Nut Dip for the Books

I had to laugh; when I brought this raw dip (the second raw dip I’ve ever made) to a pool party last week, a raw foodie friend exclaimed, “Your dips are so much tastier than mine!” Like I was some kind of expert raw dip maker… SHE’s the expert. If she only knew how little I know about raw food… I think it was just a typical case of enjoying new flavors and novelty of things that other people make (I know I always do). Bella preferred the first dip I made with sunflower seeds and almonds.

This recipe is super-simple; it basically requires a half dozen ingredients thrown into the blender. The only pre-prep thing is soaking the raw walnuts in advance. I soak them in a mesh strainer in a glass bowl overnight in the fridge. If I hadn’t gotten to it that day I would’ve rinsed them and let them keep soaking.

The recipe is from the same book I borrowed from my s-i-l, Corrina, and it’s called Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet. (Although now I have my eye on another cookbook I saw at my other s-i-l’s house, Vegan with a Vengeance – I hear it has a fabulous carrot cake recipe…)

Walnut Pâté

1 cup soaked raw walnuts

1 T fresh lemon juice (I didn’t have lemons on hand, so I used rice vinegar to go with the tamari flavor)

1 tsp Tamari

1/4 tsp garlic powder (roasted garlic would be good here)

Salt to taste

1 T minced fresh parsley

1 T minced onion (didn’t have any, so I skipped this)

Blend everything in a food processor. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve with crudité or crackers. Can also be used as a sandwich filling.

 

Here Come Noi naa!