Dear friends,
Since the Hong Kong population began staying home to stop the spread of Covid-19, our Kindergarten team has worked very hard in fostering a sense of rhythm and positivity for our families with frequent conversations and care package. Here we are sharing the fruits of our labour with colleagues from all over the world as a means to support the worldwide movement.
The Kindergarten team tries to improve upon the care package each time so that each family will have their needs met. We recognise that while the children are home full time, it may be very difficult to complete all the tasks and to listen to the songs and games, and for parents to read the articles. Our care packages have a wide range of activities that we hope can engage children of different ages.
Disruption is a fact of modern life. By staying true to the Waldorf focus on real experiences, loving connections, meaningful work, beautiful creation, and creative play, there are lots of things we can offer to help children and their caregivers manage through these uncertain times.
With love,
Ms Tammy and team
Crafts
Songs
Spring is coming, spring is coming, birdies build your nests
Weave together straw and feather doing each your best
Spring is coming, spring is coming, flowers are coming too
Pansies lilies daffodillies all are coming through
Shake the blanket, shake the blanket
Fold it over, folder it over
I met a dusty little gnome who wanted to clean up his home
Dust, dust, dust,
Sweep, sweep, sweep
Clean his home
Earth who gives to us the food
Sun who makes it ripe and good
Dearest Earth and dearest Sun
Our loving thanks for all that you’ve done
Wash hands, wash,
The farmer’s gone to plough
If you want to wash your hands,
wash your hands now
Fuzzy little caterpillar crawling on the ground
Fuzzy little caterpillar nowhere to be found
When the caterpillars’ furry coat becomes too tight
He spins up a cocoon and sleeps there day and night
Now you see it moving, his little head you spy
Now the caterpillar becomes a butterfly
Tira lira lira, grass so green
Tira lira lira, hear the stream
Tira lira lira, sky so clear
Tira lira lira, spring is here
Tira lira lira, in the spring
Orioles and robins gaily sing
From the leafy branches you can hear
Tira lira lira ringing clear
Waken, sleeping Butterfly burst your narrow prison
Spread your golden wings and fly for the Sun has risen
We’re dancing, we’re dancing around the Maypole high
With colours of the rainbow our ribbons do fly
Dear children take a ribbon please today May flowers
All are we, around, around, around a garland we do weave
Tralala tralala tralala tralala
Tralala tralala tralalala
Baa baa black sheep have you any wool
Yes sir, yes sir three bags full
One for the master, one for the dame
and one for the little boy who lived down the lane
Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow
Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow
Do you or I or anyone know how
Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow
First the farmer sows his seeds
then he stands and takes his ease
Stamps his feet and claps his hands
And turns around to view the land
Pussy cat pussy cat where have you been
I’ve been to London to visit the queen
Pussy cat, pussy cat what did you there
I frightened a little mouse under her chair
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.
And on his farm he had some chicks, E-I-E-I-O.
With a chick, chick here,
And a chick, chick there,
Here a chick, there a chick,
Everywhere a chick, chick,
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.
Pig – Oink, oink
Cat – Meow, meow
Dog – Bow wow
Cow – Moo, moo
Mouse – Squeak ,squeak
Duck – Quack, quack
Two little dickie birds
Two little dickie birds, Sitting on a wall;
One named Peter,
One named Paul.
Fly away Peter!
Fly away Paul!
Come Back Peter!
Come Back Paul!
Here’s the beehive.
Where are the bees?
Hidden away, where nobody sees.
Watch and you will see them come out of the hive.
1,2,3,4,5 Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzz Bzzz Bzzz.
I’ll catch them and keep them alive.
Here is the boat, the golden boat
That sails on the silvery seas.
Here are the oars of ivory white
That lift and dip, that lift and dip.
Here are the ten little ferrymen
That run along, and run along
That take the oars of the ivory white
That lift and dip, that lift and dip,
That moves the boat, the golden boat,
Over the silvery seas.
白浪滔滔我不怕
掌起舵兒往前划
撒網下水到魚家
捕條大魚笑哈哈
嗨喲伊喲伊喲哼嗨喲
嗨喲伊喲伊喲哼嗨喲
Bái làng tāo tāo wǒ bù pà
Zhǎng qǐ duò ér wǎng qián huá
Sā wǎng xià shuǐ dào yú jiā
Bǔ tiáo dà yú xiào hā hā
Hei yo yi yo yi yo heng hei you
Hei yo yi yo yi yo heng hei you
Games
Pinka ponka pooster
In the house there lives a rooster
Where does he live
Upstairs or downstairs
Doggie doggie where’s your bone?
Somebody stole it from your home!
Tip tap rip rap ticka tacka too
Scarlet leather sewn together this will make a shoe
Left, right pull it tight, summer days are warm
Underground in winter, laughing at the storm
Big boots a hunting, sandals in the hall
White for a wedding, pink for a ball
This way, that way, so we make a shoe
Getting rich at every stitch
Ticka tacka too
Five little peas in the pea pod pressed
One grew, two grew and so did all the rest
And they grew and they grew and they would not stop
Until one day the pea pod popped
Sleep baby sleep, thy father tends the sheep
Thy mother shakes the dream land tree, a little dream then falls on thee,
sleep baby sleep
Waken sleeping butterfly burst your narrow prison
Spread your golden wings and fly for the Sun has risen
Tinga linga linga linga ling x 3
Where is the Easter hare
Hopping here and hopping there x 3
Hopping here and there and everywhere,
in our Easter garden
Tinga linga linga linga ling x 3
Where is the Easter hare
Slowly, slowly creeps the little snail
Slowly, slowly down the garden rail
Quickly, quickly, quickly runs the little mouse
Quickly, quickly, quickly all through the house
A tisket, a tasket, a green and yellow basket
I wrote a letter to my love and on the way I dropped it, I dropped it
Someone must have picked it up and put it in their pocket
Could it be you, could it be me
Look behind your back
🐁 There was a little mouse hiding in his house hiding in his house and
he was so hungry
He decided to go out and look for some food
But then he saw a great long tail so he ran back in his house, he ran back in his house
Repeat 🐁
But then he saw a great shining eyes
So he ran back in his house, he ran back in his house
Repeat 🐁
But then he saw a great pointed ears
So he ran back in his house, he ran back in his house
Repeat 🐁
But then he saw a great long whiskers
so he ran back in his house, he ran back in his house
Repeat 🐁
And then he ate the bread and cheese and he scattered the crumbs to the birds
And then he ate the bread and cheese and he scattered the crumbs to the birds
One, two, three, four, five, once I caught a fish alive
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten then I let him go again
Why did you let him go because he bit my finger so
Which finger did he bite? This little finger on my right.
I open up my pigeon house,
And I set all my pigeons free.
They fly around on every side,
‘Til they perch on the highest tree.
And when they return from their merry, merry flight,
They close their eyes and they say, ‘Good night.’
Coo coo, coo coo, coo coo, coo coo, coo coo, coo coo coo coo.
Nix in the water you are the river king’s daughter
Wash your legs with silver sand
Tie your hair with a golden band
Nix pick me
A fairy went a marketing, marketing, marketing
A fairy went a marketing, and she bought a little fish,
She put it in a crystal bowl, crystal bowl, crystal bowl
She put it in a crystal bowl upon a golden dish
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream
Stories
In a Waldorf kindergarten, teachers would usually remember stories by heart and tell them to the children. We would often work with the same story for a few weeks and use puppets or dress up to perform it. For older children, they may be ready for a different story sooner.
And yet, home is still home and not kindergarten, so do your best but there is no need to become a Waldorf teacher overnight!
Week 1 & 2 – Stone Soup, adapted by Shreya Sharma
Week 3 & 4 – The Elves and The Shoemaker by the Brothers Grimm
Week 5 & 6 – The Little Gnome Who Had to Stay Home by Susan Perrow
Week 7 & 8 – Mother Holle by the Brothers Grimm
Week 9 & 10 – The Little Red Hen
Week 11 & 12 – The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle by the Brothers Grimm
Parents’ enrichment readings
- The Sense of Life by Connie Helms
- The life sense schools us – it teaches us to pay attention to discomfort and in the best scenario it helps us to get enough sleep, to eat well, exercise and to rest if we are sick.
- Daily Rhythm at Home by Helle Heckmann
- In the daily life with your children there are three important considerations: i) To be flexible; ii) To set limits (borders), and; iii) To observe the same routine everyday
- Working with the Will of the Young Child by Nancy Blanning
- Remember, you, as the parent, are the child’s loving authority. Do not be afraid to claim that role. Your guidance will strengthen, not suppress, your child’s will. The child is reassured by a warm, confident adult who knows how things work in the world and who can show him or her the way.
- The Meaning of Illness by Susan R. Johnson
- The etheric body is formed during the first 7 years of our life. Routines and daily rhythms (especially around mealtimes, bedtimes, morning times, and holiday celebrations) all strengthen the etheric.
- The Sense of Touch by Connie Helms
- Various issues may arise when the sense of touch has not received enough stimulation in infancy and in the early years.
- Sleep by Helle Heckmann
- The quality of sleep depends on our feelings, impressions and general wellbeing during the day. Thus, different essential aspects of life are deeply connected.
- The Seasonal Festivals in Early Childhood by Nancy Foster
- How can we penetrate to an experience of these seasonal festivals that will be meaningful and nourishing for families of every background, and how can we bring this experience into the life of the young child in a developmentally appropriate way?
- Why are we teaching? What are we teaching? by Barbara Klocek
- Our involvement as teachers in the social realm can create an opportunity for many social skills to be learned, for many rough edges to be smoothed and for many friendships to bloom.
- The Sense of Self Movement by Connie Helms
- Children are naturally wired to move for optimal brain development.
- The Kindergarten Child by Peter Lang
- It can be shown that in Waldorf education, kindergarten is a time of thorough preparation for future learning in school and in life.
- Helping Children in a Time of Trouble – A Few Thoughts by Nancy Foster
- In a time of trouble, such as the death of a family member or friend, parents are faced with the question of how to help the children through this time.
- Choosing Fairy Tales For Different Ages by Joan Almon
- Over the years, with the experience of actually telling the tales to children, one develops a “sense” for this, but in the beginning some guidelines may be of help.
- The Sense of Balance
by Connie Helms - Balance is extremely important not only on a physical level but also on an emotional level. With secure bodily integration, the right environment is created for emotional and cognitive learning.
- Touch Becoming Trust by Holly Koteen-Soule
- Social distancing and other protocols that have been put into place to protect our families and particularly vulnerable populations has created a truly challenging quandary for Waldorf early childhood teachers. The young child lives in the joy of movement and discovers the world through wide-open senses, especially the sense of touch.
- The Vital Role of Play in Childhood by Joan Almon
- In this article I will focus on the play of children before first grade, especially from three to seven. During these years, when play should be flourishing, its development has been thwarted.
- The Kindness Ball
by Barbara Klocek - It was a gentle reminder to be kind without needing to be punitive. It was especially wonderful for little boys who was so rough.
Ms Tammy
Class Teacher for Kindergarten, 2019/20