Today we celebrated May Day, the ancient pagan holiday of celebrating the awakening earth. We donned our capes, washed our faces in the morning dew (not much dew this morning, so it was enhanced by our own well water), and set off with sunflowers and raisins to feed the faeries. Upon our return, we sat at the fire circle and I told them the story of the Faerie’s Gift (see Mary Alice and Peter Amidon’s CD of the same name). In this story, a poor woodcutter lives with his wife and again parents, and each member of the family has their own wish (for a child, for sight, and for gold). When the woodcutter saves a faerie man’s life, he is given a ball of light—a wish—and he becomes confused by the competing demands of his family members. There is a wonderful singing part of it that the friends learned—ask them to teach it to you!
We also read two stories from The Magical World of Fairies by Nicola Baxter (The Butterfly Babies and The Blossom Ball). We each chose a faerie name, and called each other by it, as often as we remembered:
Charlotte: Sap
Kate D.: Bleeding Heart
Kate O’: Rosebud
Rhiannon: River
Stella: Buttercup
Sydney: Red Crocus
Zoe: Snowdrop
We danced around the Maypole in our capes and crowns, and sang a sweet song about the celebration of spring. Next Friday we will dance for Ruth at her home after we share lunch. We began our color-by-number project of the toucan, a beautiful rainforest bird.
Books We Read:
“The Butterfly Babies” in The Magical World of Fairies by Nicola Baxter
“The Blossom Ball” in The Magical World of Fairies by Nicola Baxter
