Since this week is Thanksgiving, our co-op day was centered around gratitude. It was nice to get our little ones thinking about all they are thankful for in their lives.
This is what we did...
As usual, more information on our Waldorf-inspired home-school co-op can be found here.
Our bread today was our basic Valley Mama Bread, made in 100% whole wheat. Today, we talked about the gifts of the harvest, and made "harvest bread". With the help of the children we shaped a braid and decorated it with wheat and a couple of little mice. The children also made some of their own shapes with the leftover dough. As we kneaded and shaped we talked about some things we're thankful for, and tried to shape them out of our dough.
Dough ready to rise, we headed to the big rug for circle time! The hit of circle time today was Oats and Beans. To do this we stood in a circle holding hands and sang the lyrics to the traditional children's song. During the first verse we walked in a circle, and during the second verse, someone (or several someones) jumped into the middle to be the farmer and act out the lyrics:
"Oats and beans and barley grow, oats and beans and barley grow. Do you or I or anyone know how oats and beans and barley grow?"
"First the farmer sows his (her) seed, then he stands to take his ease, stamps his feet and claps his hands and turns around to view the lands."
We continued until everyone who wanted to be the farmer got a chance.
We ended circle time with a story about a little gnome who learns the change in perspective gratitude can bring. I wanted a story that would introduce our craft (making colorful corn necklaces), with a focus on gratitude. I call it, The Gratitude Necklace, and it's sort of a Waldorf-style Thanksgiving Tale. Click on the link to read the story.
Our story led right into our craft, making gratitude necklaces. Here's how we did it:
Gratitude Necklaces
The day before our group met I soaked some dried corn kernels so they would be soft enough to put a needle through. I used dried blue and yellow (posole) corn from the bulk bins at the co-op, and an ear of red Indian corn I already had.
The morning of our group day I drained the corn and put it in the warming oven of our wood stove to dry out a bit. If the kernels are too wet they are a little tricky to handle.
After our story, all the children found a place around the table and we handed out supplies. Each child choose a color of embroidery floss and some kernels of corn. The parents helped with cutting the floss the right length, tying a knot at one end and threading a needle on. We demonstrated how to poke the needle through the kernel of corn and slide in down the thread. They were encouraged to think of something they were grateful for with each kernel they added to their thread, just like in the story.
When the children were done threading their corn, we helped them tie the ends to make a necklace.
Necklace made, everyone put on snow-gear and went outside to enjoy this amazing amount of snow we have right now! The little ones had a blast, including some fun times on the swing and experiments with shoveling snow.
Then we came in for our snack of apples, pears and harvest bread, clean-up time, and closing circle...
...And one more story time with Jen!
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