Friday, September 23, 2011

Granny Evergreen


 This story for this week was the tale of Granny Evergreen, a German story which I feel in love with during my Summer course at Sunbridge..


Next weeks story will be centered around St. Michael and the dragon, but I plan on retelling Granny Evergreen the week after as well...it's a beautiful story worth retelling a few extra times. The lesson behind the story is one that anyone could appreciate, especially the little ones...
Once upon a time, in a forest not far from here, lived a mother and her 2 children.
The mother was quite ill and her children did their best to care for her.
One day, mother asked the children to go to the woods and gather some sweet berries for her.
The children went off through the woods until they reached a berry patch bursting with red berries..


They bent down and gathered as many berries as they could fit in their baskets.
Out of the forest clearing suddenly appeared an old woman, all dressed in green..
"Children, I am hungry and can not bend over to pick these berries. Might you give me some of yours?"
"Yes, Granny Evergreen.." for this was her name...


The children gave her all of the berries they had collected. 
"Oh, children, no need to give me all of your berries, I need but a few to satisfy my hunger.."
Before Granny Evergreen returned to the woods she gave each child a beautiful rose.
"Children, remember that you must not quarrel and become cross with each other. Let kindness guide  in all that you do.."
The children returned home with the flowers and berries for mother, who ate them and felt revived with energy.
That night, the children quarreled over some toys.."It is my toy!", one cried..
"No, mine!"
The children both went to sleep that night quite cross..
The next morning, the children awoke to find the flowers wilted...they both cried many, many tears..

These tears fell on the flowers, and they bloomed once again before their eyes. The children vowed to always remember the wisdom Granny Evergreen shared with them and each flower continued to bloom beautifully...

....More photos from our week....



Our new drinking glasses for playschool...small mason jars with each child's symbol adhered to the outside


W and his beloved friend, L enjoying some watercolor painting together...

Wet-on-wet watercolor painting will make an appearance in our playschool rhythm beginning the month of October...our last step is to create painting boards!


I am sitting here in our dining room listening to the needle like tapping of rain against our house. This weekend is going to be another soaker, and the timing couldn't be worse...it is the weekend of my most favorite festival in our town, The Celtic Classic...a weekend full of bagpipes, kilts, Irish food, highland games, and my favorite: The Showing of the Tartan Parade...all of this happening just blocks from our home. We may have to brave the elements with ponchos, but it's just not the same when the beautiful bagpiper uniforms are covered with tarp-like rain gear..

Celtic Classic, 2010

I'm hoping for sunshine...and a lovely weekend for you and yours:)


 

8 comments:

  1. Your posts are always so beautiful and just fill me with a sense of wonder! Thank you for the inspiration you and this lovely blog are! I am also curious about where you got the wood blocks in the first picture after the Granny Evergreen story? I saw them at a friends house recently but she was not sure where they came from as they were a gift and I would love a set for our family!

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  2. Oh how I miss the days filled with stories like that, and painting, and such loveliness! You make me smile.

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  3. Beautiful images! I mourn Celtic Fest this weekend as well - but it looks like today may be salvaged??

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  4. Awe, I hope you have sunshine too. We love wet on wet watercolor in our house. Looks like your playschool days are simply magical. :-)

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  5. It's a lovely story, and one I'd never heard before.

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  6. We are so similar! When my kids were little we used small mason jars as well! I used to put coloured elastic bands around the jar so that we could tell them apart!
    When I saw the photos of the boys painting on your table I gasped!!! I thought, oh no she needs the painting boards that we made this summer.....and then I read on!
    Kindred spirits!
    xoxo

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  7. thank you for sharing that lovely story. Kenzie has been asking me to think of new stories to tell at bed time. so i will be telling him this one tomorrow! Stunning needle felted doll! xx

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  8. Oh noooo! We missed the Celtic Classic? Again?! I just can't get used to it being in September. Love the water coloring...always an adventure in our home!

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