Summer 2008 Circle

Our Circle verses this summer:

Morning is come, night is away, rise with the sun and welcome the day. (The children start out lying on the floor in a ring and slowly awaken and rise with the song)

There's the firm earth under me,
The blue sky over me,
So I stride,
So I stand,
And I see You too,
With the blue sky above you
And the firm earth under you.

Be you to others kind and true, and always unto others do, as you'd have others do to you. (Sung all together then in a round- challenging and fun for 8 yos.)

Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather,
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!
(which just cracks everyone up and they say it over and over)

Pioneers all work as one as one- work as one all pioneers
Pioneers all work as one- work as one all pioneers
Pioneers all work as one- work as one all pioneers
Peace shall be for all the world- all the world shall be for peace
From the dawn til setting sun- everyone finds work to be done
From the dawn til night does come- there's a task for everyone
Pioneers all work hard on the land- men and women hand in hand
As they labor all day long- they lift their voices in song
Let us work, my friends as one
Let us work til the task is done
(This is an old Israeli song "Zum Gali Gali", but we're just doing the English translation, sung as a call and response type, each child leading a different verse- lovely!)

Stillness soars as a mountain peak, seeking greatness in eagle's beak, striving lifting, reaching, climbing, gentle reason in numbers finding (They're hand in hand from "Pioneers" and join in a circle, crouch down then rise, then split into a line, marching. One child starts quietly counting the steps "1, 2, 3, 4....", the next child chimes in on the 2's, and the third child chants the 4's. In Time. We're challenged by this, but working on it! I got this from Miss Marsha's resources at waldorf home educators)

The coach is at the door at last;
The eager children mounting fast
And kissing hands in chorus sing:
Goodbye, goodbye, to everything!
To house and garden, field and lawn,
To meadow gates we swung upon,
To pump and stable, tree and swing,
Goodbye, goodbye to everything!
And fare you well for evermore,
O ladder at the hayloft door,
O hayloft where the cobwebs cling,
Goodbye, goodbye to everything!
Crack goes the whip, and off we go;
The trees and houses smaller grow;
Last, round the woody turn we sing:
Goodbye, goodbye to everything!
(Farewell To The Farm by Robert Louis Stevenson)

I can turn myself and turn myself and curl up as I will,
I can stand on tiptoe, reaching high,
I can hold myself quite still.
I can be as small as a small, small seed,
I can be as tall as a tall, tall tree!
I can be as wide as the wide, wide world,
I can just be ME!
(I wasn't going to include this one, we used it last year, and ABCD has used it since preschool, but the children begged and begged and so I included it)

Now the day is over, night is drawing nigh, shadows of the evening steal across the sky.
Father give the weary calm and sweet repose, with thy tend'rest blessing may our eyelids close.
(Sung softer and softer, as the children fall asleep, curling down to the ground.)

This circle will start each day, and also start the show we're planning for the last day of camp, at the end of August.