Eugene Waldorf School Kindergarten celebrates Whitsun, as it does days named for some saints in the fall.  Children were asked to wear white or yellow on Friday and to bring white or yellow flowers from yards or gardens if any were available.  Evidently Whitsun is the old name for Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Easter, and would actually be Sunday.

This year we made Logan a white dress for Whitsun.  It started as my project, to happen over spring break.  By spring break the pattern had gotten lost, and some other thing happened that used up our time.  So we got a new pattern, and in the end John cut it out Wednesday and sewed Thursday, with Logan trimming threads and me doing gathering.

The Sunflower Kindergarten joined us at the end of the day for story time to hear a story about thirteen princes, twelve of whom journeyed together and helped no one.  The thirteenth took the same journey by himself, looking for his brothers and helped each person on the way, a woman who could not walk was carried home, one stuck in a bog was taken out, and so on.  At a decrepit castle he used gifts from the people he helped to repair the stone and refill the well and light the candles, (while the puppet prince actually lit twelve candles with help from the teachers) waking his brothers, which brought a white dove to land on his shoulder for his good deeds.  Each child received a white dove made from wool flying on a mulberry branch from their teachers.  The classes and room were very pretty with all the white and yellow clothing and flowers.

Because it was my day volunteering in Kindergarten I managed to remember to wear a white blouse, and spent the morning ironing the white and yellow cloths that were used under the puppet show.  The classes seemed rapt in their attention, but they are used to the routine of after recess stories, and because it was a new story it was even better.  Then at the end it went to the usual end of the day things everyone sings “Stars and Moon and Sun, now our story’s done.  The sun is in my heart.  It warms me with it’s power, and wakes me to life and love, each plant and animal and flower.  Good bye dear children, goodbye.”  By this time of year the parents know it as well as the children.  Then the doves were handed out, and we all sang the final goodbye song of the day: “Merry have we met and Merry have we been, Merry let us part and Merry meet again, with a merry sing song and a fiddle-de-dee, a merry ding dong and a let-us-be.  Merry have we met and Merry have we been, Merry let us part and Merry meet again.  Goodbye.  Goodbye.”  And the Parents were dismissed.  The Starflower Kindergarten was dismissed en-masse, and the Rose Kindergarten was dismissed child by child as usual.

All part of the usual ceremony of a day at kindergarten for us.  It’s one of the things I’ve gotten to like at EWS.  I’m looking forward to finding out what first grade offers in that respect.

John is now having his turn with this flu, although he’s at the misery chills and fever part so far.  He got the best results ever on his PTs at work (semi annual (I think) tests he has to pass for certification to continue testing.), so he gets to celebrate by being sick.  Logan’s moved on to just cold symptoms, which could be a completely different illness, or allergies.  What a way to spend a long weekend.

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