Earth Journey, Spring Term, Block Four, Living on Earth ~ Farming

Day One

~Welcome the Day

Light a candle and recite and sing:

Morning Verse (by Rudolf Steiner)

~Recorder Practice

~Morning Verse (by Rudolf Steiner)

The Sun with loving light

Makes bright for me each day.

The soul with spirit power

Gives strength unto my limbs,

In sunlight shining clear

I reverence, o God,

The strength of human kind

Which Though, so graciously,

Hast planted in my soul.

That I, with all my might,

May love to work and learn.

From Thee come light and strength;

To Thee rise love and thanks.

Let Us with a Gladsome Mind

Let us with a gladsome mind,

Praise the Lord for he is kind:

For his mercies ay endure,

Ever faithful , ever sure.

Let us blaze his name abroad,
For of gods he is the God:
For his mercies ay endure,
Ever faithful , ever sure.

He with all-commanding might

Filled the new-made world with light:

For his mercies ay endure,

Ever faithful , ever sure.

He the golden tressed sun

Caused all day his course to run:

For his mercies ay endure,

Ever faithful , ever sure.

The horned moon to shine by night,

Mid her spangled sisters bright:

For his mercies ay endure,

Ever faithful , ever sure.

All things living he doth feed,

His full hand supplies their need:

For his mercies ay endure,

Ever faithful , ever sure.

Let us with a gladsome mind,

Praise the Lord, for he is kind:

For his mercies ay endure,

Ever faithful , ever sure.

The Sun is in my Heart (by Cecil Harwood)

The sun is in my heart,

He warms me with his power,

And wakens light and love

In bird and beast and flower.

The stars above my head

Are shining in my mind,

As spirits of the world

That in my thoughts I find.

The earth whereon I tread

Lets not my foot go through,

But strongly does uphold

The weight of deeds I do.

Then must I thankful be

That man on earth I dwell,

To know and love the world

And treat all creatures well.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures,

He leadeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my soul;

He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I will fear no evil for Thou art with me;

Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.

Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;

Then anointest my head with oil! My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know ye that the Lord he is God:

It is He that hath made us,

And not we ourselves;

We are His people,

And the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving

And into His courts with praise;

Be thankful unto Him,

And bless His name.

For the Lord is good,

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endureth to all generations.

How Delightful to See (A sheep shearing song from Somerset)

How delightful to see,

In those evenings in Spring.

The sheep going home in the fold;

The master doth sing,

As he views everything,

And his dog goes before him where told,

And his dog goes before him where told.

The sixth month of the year,

In the month called June

When the weather’s too hot to be borne,

The master doth say,

As he goes on his way - :

‘’Tomorrow my sheep shall be shorn’

Tomorrow my sheep shall be shorn.’’

Now the sheep they’re all shorn,

And the wool carried home;

Here’s a health to our master and flock;

And if we should stay

Till the last goes away,

I’m afraid ‘twill be past twelve o’clock,

I’m afraid ‘twill be past twelve o’clock.

Spring Work on the Farm (by Thirza Wakley)

What does the farmer in the spring?

He sows the seed that harvests bring;

But first he wakes the earth from sleep

By ploughing it well and harrowing it deep.

And busy must be the farmer’s boy!

To care for the lambs that leap for joy.

To feed the calves so tender and young

He rises as soon as the day’s begun.

And then the farmer’s wife so kind

Food for the ducklings and chicks will find.

And hark! What the queer little piggy-wigs say,

‘’Don’t forget me, I’m hungry today.’’

Down in the Valley (Austrian Shepherd’s Song)

Down in the valley where summer’s laughing beam

Under the willow tree lights along the stream,

Shepherds come driving their flocks and seek the pool,

Plunging their sheep in the sunny water cool.

Ah, how they struggle, and pant, the silly sheep,

Fearing the hands that dip, fearing water deep.

Tenderly lifted up, gladly, one by one,

White in the green of the meadow, lo, they run.

Evening is over the land, with peace and light,

Now sits the shepherd alone in evening bright,

Now has he joy within, where he pipeth low,

Seeing his flock gathered round him white as snow.

~Discuss where Adam and Eve would have got their food from, how they must have depended on fruit, 

berries, roots and such things that they could find on the earth in nature. How might they have discovered

that they can make their own garden, sow the seeds they gathered from the wild plants and cultivated

them. How they may have developed farming and gardening.

In contrast, where do we get our food from? And how did it come to this point. How many different people

are involved nowadays in all the steps from sowing the seed to the food being ready to eat on our tables?

Let’s prepare the new Farming Main Lesson Book.

On the title page write in big, beautiful letters

FARMING

On page one write this lovely verse that expresses our gratitude.

For the earth that cradles the seed,

For the sun that gives it light,

For the rain that helps it grow,

For this food we thank Thee!

Around it, decorate it with some tall golden grains and a golden glow.

On page two prepare the usual contents page by writing

CONTENTS at the top and PAGE in the top right hand corner.

Now number the pages in the outer bottom corner of each one.

~Subjects you could discuss this block:

~care of the soil

~the food grains

~farm animals and their roles

~traditional tools and modern machinery

~interdependence of animals, plants and people

~Story Time

Read from page 10 (The Judgment of Solomon) to the end of page 11, of Jakob Streit’s ‘’We will build a Temple’’.

~Snack Time & Break

~Painting

David’s Dream

Begin by painting some angels and stars in the sky, using lemon yellow. Then use the same colour to paint the

bottom half of the painting, where there will be grass and also the sleeping David. Now add some golden yellow

to the angels and also to the sleeping David on the ground. Then add some Prussian blue to David, to paint his

robe, and to the ground to make the green grass.

The part where you have to take extra care is this; with some ultramarine blue, paint a lovely night sky, taking

care not to paint over the lovely bright angels and stars. You could leave a very thin line of white between the 

yellow and the blue, so it doesn’t turn green.

Earth Journey, Spring Term, Block Four, Living on Earth - Farming

Day Two

~Welcome the Day

(as on day one of this block)

~Recorder Practice

~Morning Exercises

Arithmetic Practice:

29

+ 13
____

____

45

+ 16
____

____

85
+9
____
____

~Soil, composting, the seeds starts by growing downwards first,

~Write on page three

THE SOIL

A farmer’s greatest wealth is in the soil. Soil is the home in which all plants grow, and if the soil is healthy, the plant will be healthy. Poor soil can be improved by composting.

~Under this, draw some soil at the bottom of the page and a tiny seedling on the left, that has barely began to sprout. A lager one in the middle, where one can see the strong roots and also the green stem and leaves grow above the ground. And a third plant on the right, fully grown, the green turning to gold and the golden ear of the grain.

In the background could be a blue sky and a golden sun, shining on the plants.

~Story Time

Read page 13 (Holy of Holies) of Jakob Streit’s ‘’We will build a Temple’’.

~Break and Snack Time

~Knitting

As described.

Earth Journey, Spring Term, Block Four, Living on Earth - Farming

Day Three

~Welcome the Day

(as on day one of this block)

~Recorder Practice

~Morning Exercises

Arithmetic Practice:

53

+ 18

____

____

42

+ 29
____

____

45

+ 39

____

____

~Main Lesson

What if it was always fine, sunny weather? Would that be nice? What would you do? And what would the plants do? And the farmer? Equally, what if it always rained and the sun never got a glimpse through the clouds… Discuss the weather and how it is such a blessing to us most of the time. Even the frost and snow are a blessing, covering the sleeping seeds over winter, protecting them.

Write on page four

THE WEATHER

A good farmer watches the sky closely and learns to predict the weather. Old sayings help too:

‘’When the dew is on the grass

Rain will never come to pass.’’

And:

‘’When grass is dry at morning light

Look for rain before the night.’’

~On the opposite page five, draw all kind of weather:

May be a brightly shining sun on the top left and heavy rain clouds on the top right, with pouring rain - and a gorgeous rainbow in between.

On the right, there could even be lightening… Along the ground you could draw some green grass and some flowers.

~Story Time

Read from13 page to page 16 (through the centuries), of Jakob Streit’s ‘’We will build a Temple’’.

~Snack Time & Break

~Nature Walk

Have you seen the sweet lambkins yet? The way the jump into the air with all four legs at once?

And the golden chicks, have you heard them utter their shrill little chirpings?

There can be no more doubt now: Lady Spring is here to stay!

In the woods, there are the white Anemones and the yellow Primroses.

And there are golden fields of Daffodils, shining like the golden Sun himself.

Earth Journey, Spring Term, Block Four, Living on Earth - Farming

Day Four

~Welcome the Day

(as on day one of this block)

~Recorder Practice

~Morning Exercises

Arithmetic Practice:

57

+ 18
____

____

69

+ 12

____

____

48

+ 38

____

____

~Preparing the soil - when people first started growing gardens, they must have used sharp stones and sticks, to till the soil. Then they developed these tools further and further, into hoes, spades, rakes, shovels, axes, ploughs and all kinds of specialised tools. Over hundreds and thousands of years, they improved them, changed them and made many different varieties. Only over the last hundred years or so, have they become mechanized, which has, of course, made it possible for farmers to have much bigger fields and farms.

~Write across the top of both pages six and seven (and continue writing the text across both pages)

THE PLOUGH

The plough is an important tool for the farmers. Long ago, farmers used simple hoes to till the soil, but, as fields became larger, ploughs were used. Some farmers still use horses to pull their ploughs, but most use powerful tractors now.

~Draw on the bottom of the left page, a horse pulling a simple, old fashioned plough, and on the right, a tractor pulling a bigger, more modern plough.

Above there could be a blue sky with one large white cloud on each side, the left one has ’yesteryear’ written in it, and the right one ’today’. And there could be a sun between the two.

~Story Time

Read from page 16 (The Division of the Kingdom) to end of page 17, of Jakob Streit’s ‘’We will build a Temple’’

~Snack Time & Break

~Crafts

In case the Easter Hare may bring us some eggs, we'll prepare a Woven Paper Basket.

All you need is some coloured card (you can colour it yourself or paint it), scissors and a bit of glue.

Cut 12 strips of paper, place three on the table next to each other.

Weave another three into these, leaving the same distance sticking out at the four edges.

Fold these four edges all up and weave more strips into those, making vertical walls for the basket.

It is easier if you put a tiny bit of glue on the tip of each strip, to hold it in place while you work.

Fold all ends over to make a neat finish.

Now weave the two left over strips by cutting them both in the following way: put them on top of each other, fold them in half lengthways, now open up again and cut every 1cm, up to the folding line.

Now take them apart, turn one strip the other way round and weave them together. If you like you can fold them in half again to make the handle sturdier.

Now it is ready to be stuck on, inside the basket, using sticky tape.

You could place some moss in the bottom now, or unspun wool, if you like.

Earth Journey, Spring Term, Block Four, Living on Earth - Farming

Day Five

~Welcome the Day

(as on day one of this block)

~Recorder Practice

~Morning Exercises

Arithmetic Practice:

26

+ 26

____

____

37

+ 18

____

____

29

+ 56

____

____

~Main Lesson

Try to think of all the different vegetables the farmer grows; and all the different ways one can prepare them: in a stew, a soup, a salad, seamed, boiled, fried, raw and baked. Which are your favourite ones, and how do you like them best?

~Write on page eight and nine, across the top

VEGETABLES

Vegetables are an important part of our diet. We use many different parts of plants for food. Sometimes we eat the roots, sometimes the leaves, sometimes stems and sometimes the seeds or the fruit. Each contain different nutrients for our bodies. When we eat the parts that grow above the ground, we get sun forces. When we eat root vegetables, we consume precious minerals from the earth.

~This time you could draw a red/orange border around the text and draw a red , sunset sun. Underneath, the is the farmer kneeling on the ground, planting something (on one side), while the farmer’s wife is digging up some carrots from the other side of the field.

~Story Time

Read from page 19 to page 21 (a true prophet), of Jakob Streit’s ‘’We will build a Temple’’.

~Snack Time & Break

~Beeswax Modelling

A Little Chick

Begin by warming some golden yellow bees wax and making an egg shape. Now draw out the head at one end, and the tail at the other.

Find a little bit of orange and make a little beak for the chick to chirp with, and give it some claws to sit on.