November Circle....

photo by Mado

Here are the rhymes and songs from our November Circle (the bits in italics are notes to myself about movement or how to link one song/verse to the next) :

Good morning dear Earth

Good morning dear Sun,

Good morning dear stones 

And flowers, every one.

Good morning to the bees,

And the birds in the trees.

Good morning to you

And good morning to me.

(from Waldorf parent-tot group)

To the mill today, to have our corn harvest ground into cornmeal! Let us find Boy Blue to help us!

Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn.

The sheep’s in the meadow! The cow’s in the corn!

Where’s the little boy who looks after the sheep?

He’s under the haystack fast asleep!

(traditional)

Oh, Blue! We will sing you a song about children who were not so lazy as you! (drumming)

In the fields, golden morn,

Indian children gather corn.

Dance to the sun,

Dance to the rain,

Dance to the earth who gives us grain.

Indian children put feathers in their hair.

Indian children string beads to wear.

Dance to the sun,

Dance to the rain,

Dance to the earth who gives us grain.

Indian children walk softly as the deer

To the tipi with the golden ear

Dance to the sun,

Dance to the rain,

Dance to the earth who gives us grain.

A little fire they will make.

Bread of golden corn they will bake.

Dance to the sun,

Dance to the rain,

Dance to the earth who gives us grain.

Bread of golden corn they’ll eat,

Then Indian children fall fast asleep.

(from Wynstones Autumn book)

now to our task... but feel that cold autumn wind !

Ali, ala, le vent chantonne

Deci, dela, voici l’automne

La terre qui tonne, l’automne est la,

Ali, ala, ali.

(from Recueil de Poemes...)

gather up the sacks of corn and we can be off to the mill... (happily marching, carrying heavy sandbags)

Blow, wind, blow !

Go, mill, go !

So the miller can grind our corn !

So the baker can take it

And into bread make it

And bring us a loaf in the morn!

(traditional)

…the miller is asleep…(mime sleep then large windmill movements with arms – vary speed and direction)

Meunier, tu dors ! Ton moulin, ton moulin, va trop vite!

Meunier, tu dors ! Ton moulin, ton moulin va trop fort !

Ton moulin, ton moulin va trop vite

Ton moulin, ton moulin va trop fort

Ton moulin, ton moulin va trop vite

Ton moulin, ton moulin va trop fort

(traditional French nursery song)

here is the miller...now we will have our cornmeal...(again with the sandbags)

Blow, wind, blow .....

Thanks to the good miller for grinding our corn! Now we can enjoy our walk home…

The wind came out to play today

It swept the clouds out of its way.

It blew the leaves, they flew away.

The trees bent low, and said hooray!

(from Suzanne Down’s Autumn Tales)

Five little leaves so bright and gay

Were dancing on a tree one day.

The wind came blowing through the town

(whoosh!)

One little leaf came tumbling down.

Four little leaves……

(from waldorf parent-tot group)

The North Wind came along one day,

So strong and full of fun.

He called the leaves down from the tree

And said, “Run children, run!”

They came in red or yellow dress,

In shaded green and brown,

And all the short November day

He chased them round the town.

They ran in crowds, they ran alone,

They hid behind the trees.

The North Wind laughed and found them there

And called, “No stopping, please!”

But when he saw them tired out

And huddled in a heap,

He softly sang, “Goodnight, my dears,

Now let’s go to sleep.”

(from Suzanne Down’s Autumn Tales)

(settle into seated position as poem winds down) …we can sing the little leaves a lullaby…

Ali, ala, le vent chantonne

Deci, dela, voici l’automne

La terre qui tonne, l’automne est la,

Ali, ala, ali.

(from Recueil de Poemes...)

(be still for a moment before moving on to candle-lighting and storytime)