I have made a pretty nest. Look inside! Look inside!
Hungry birdies with their beaks opened wide, opened wide.
See my little birdies grow day by day, day by day.
Then they spread their little wings, and then they fly away!
Dear Families,
Our butterflies emerged from their chrysalis beds last week and we set them free! Oh, it is bittersweet to let them go free. This week, Miss Jenn and I will do the same with your wee ones as they fly into summer. It has been a great year, and we are grateful for the beautiful whole of this group of children!!!
Only our Mighty Oaks will return Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after Memorial Day.
Last week I finished telling the Brother Grimm fairy tale "Bremen Town Musicians".
This week children will enjoy the marionette puppet show “Twiggy” that was shared yesterday at the May Faire. A copy of the story is below for your information. These presentations of story are multi-sensory...colors, songs, movement, all while “taking in” a story.
Thanks to all for a wonderful May Faire and special thanks to our room mom Sarah Canga for all the help! Thanks to all for your support and presence.
Be sure to check your child’s basket on his/her last day to take home your child’s belongings and portfolio. A reminder to Extended Day folks to send in a large bag to pack up your child’s pillow/blankets on his/her last Extended Day. Thanks! If you miss taking anything home, come back any time up until the all school picnic on June 1st to pick it up.
Donation request: The sandbox is in need of sturdy diggers, buckets, and sturdy plastic shovels. If you’d like to contribute some, please feel welcomed! No other sand toys are needed…just diggers and buckets.
Before we fly away this summer, I want to share an article for your contemplation over the next couple of months regarding the six-year change or what is often referred to in the Waldorf world as “first puberty.” Sometime in your child’s fifth or sixth year of life, you may see some of these behaviors. It is normal! Good to be thinking ahead or reflecting on this if you’ve experienced it already.
https://www.themagiconions.com/2015/10/the-six-year-transformation-discovering-waldorf.html
Warmly,
Mrs. Ieva
Twiggy
~A Ukrainian tale, translated by Bronja Zahlingen
(music)
Once upon a time there lived a man and his wife; they were getting old and had no children of their own, so they were sad and thought, “Who will look after us as we grow old, who will bury us when we are ready to die?” The wife said to her husband, “Go along to the forest, my dear, fetch me a little branch, a little twig, make it fine and smooth and shape a cradle for it too. I will put the little twig in the cradle and rock it and that shall be my joy!”
At first he didn’t want to go, but the wife kept on begging, so in the end he agreed and went off to the woods to cut a little twig and make a cradle for it too. (music)
The old man returned home with the twig and the cradle he made. He gave the old woman the twig, and she put the little twig in the cradle and sang him a song:
Sleep, my baby, soo, soo, soo. I shall make some soup for you.
I shall make a little stew. Sleep, my baby, soo, soo, soo.
Sleep, my baby, soo, soo, soo. Sun and moon may shine on you.
Glittering stars are shining bright. Guarding you all through the night.
She cradled it till the evening and when they got up the next morning, lo, the little twig had come to life and was really a little child. The two old ones were so please and, as the child was so small, they called him Twiggy. He was so pretty that they never tired of looking at him.
As all children do, little Twiggy grew and prospered. When he had grown big, he asked his father to please make him a silver boat with a golden oar. That he might go out on the stream and catch some fish and thereby nourish his parents. The old father sawed, hammered, sanded and painted a beautiful little silver boat and a golden oar. They carried it to the riverside. Twiggy got into the boat and went rowing along and singing:
Rowing in my little boat ~ On the shining waves afloat
Catching fish from water clear ~ For my parents old and dear.
When he had caught some fish, he brought them home and then went out rowing again. The old woman used to bring him his food and said, “Listen to me, Twiggy; whenever I call you, come to the bank, but should a stranger call, just keep on rowing.”
So the time passed; the old mother cooked the dinner, she carried it to the riverbank and called:
“Come to the bank, my Twiggy dear. Come for dinner time is here.”
Twiggy heard her and spoke to his little boat, “Swim, little boat, swim to the bank, for mother has brought my mid-day meal.” He rowed to the bank, jumped out of the boat and went to the place where his picnic was waiting. Twiggy ate and drank until he was quite satisfied. Then he went back to the riverbank, pushed his little boat into the water again and went on fishing.
One day, however, a snake had heard his mother calling and she slid down to the riverbank and called with a full voice:
“Come to the bank, my Twiggy dear. Come for dinner time is here.”
Twiggy lifted his head and listened. “That is not my dear mother’s voice; swim, little boat, swim on.” He used his golden oar and went rowing in his silver boat.
But the snake was clever and went along to the blacksmith and said, “Smith, take a hammer and make my voice as fine as Twiggy’s mother’s voice!” This the blacksmith did and the snake slid back to the riverbank and called:
“Come to the bank, my Twiggy dear. Come for dinner time is here.”
When Twiggy heard the fine voice he thought it was really his mother. He turned his boat around, calling, “Swim, swim, swim to the bank, my little silver boat, for my mother dear has brought my dinner.” So he landed his boat and the snake tried to get him and wanted to swallow him. But Twiggy was very quick and climbed up into a high tree. The snake tried to gnaw through the stem of the tree and with her sharp teeth gnawed and gnawed. Now the tree was nearly falling over with Twiggy on it! But just then a flock of geese was flying past and Twiggy called up to them:
Geese, oh help me please, I pray, quickly carry me away,
Through the storms and through the clouds ~ Home into my mother’s house!
But the geese only honked, “Let the last one carry you!” and they flew on. Poor Twiggy, he sat there in the tree which might fall over any moment, and that would have been the end of him. But as he looked up, he saw, high up in the air, one goose flying all alone. She must have stayed behind, and could hardly keep up with the others. Twiggy begged once more:
Help me, gentle goose, I pray, quickly carry me away,
See the snake I fear and dread ~ creeping near to bite me dead.
And lo and behold, the very last goose who had hardly any breath left herself, took him along. He sat on her back and his heart was beating, for she was flying very low. The snake stretched and wanted to snatch Twiggy, but she could not get hold of him. He was saved. The goose carried him home and seated him on the garden wall, while she herself rested awhile in the yard.
Twiggy, on the garden wall, heard everything that was going on inside the house. Mother was baking little cookies; she took them out of the oven and said, “Here, my good old man, one cake for you and one for me.” So Twiggy called from outside, “And what about me?” “There, someone else wants a cake,” the old mother said. She went to the window and whom did she see but her Twiggy, sitting on the garden wall. So they both ran outside to their dear Twiggy and were ever so pleased.
Then the woman saw the goose in the yard and called out, “What a splendid goose ~ I will take it and roast it!” “Oh, no, dear mother, don’t do that; rather give her some food, for, but for this goose, I would not be with you now.” He told all that had happened, and they gave the goose good food and drink, so she could get back her strength and could fly and follow the others. (music)
As for Twiggy, he lived on with father and mother, went fishing in his silver boat, and never again would he listen to a false voice.
Sleep, my baby, soo, soo, soo. Sun and moon may shine on you.
Glittering stars are shining bright. Guarding you all through the night.
