songs of life...

Busy is the carpenter; At his work he stands.
Oh, the wonders he can do With his skillful hands.

Sawing now the long boards Shorter soon he makes,
And the rough is quickly smoothed When the plane he takes.
Dz.... dz.... dz.... Rap, rap, rap, rap, rap!
Busy is the Carpenter, At his work he stands;
Oh, the wonders he can do With his skillful hands!

By his work the crooked soon Straight and even grows;
Curv'd he changes into flat; Wondrous skill he shows.
Thus he works so busily, But we hear him say,
"Here a board and there a board; Pray, what use are they?"
Dz.... dz.... dz.... Rap, rap, rap, rap, rap!
Busy is the carpenter, At his work he stands;
Oh, the wonders he can do With his skillful hands!

So the Carpenter at last All together brings;
Nails the boards and timbers fast; How his hammer rings!
Thus a cozy house he builds Where the child may live,
And for this the grateful child Love and thanks will give.
Dz.... dz.... dz.... Rap, rap, rap, rap, rap!
Busy is the carpenter, At his work he stands;
Oh, the wonders he can do With his skillful hands!

The gifts of Froebel were intended to give form and understanding to the child's world. The occupations were intended to give the child the ability to act creatively within the world. Woven through the Kindergarten learning experience were songs and finger plays that helped children to understand and feel a part of that which they observed around them. The songs were of the life children might discover around them. The Carpenter (Der Zimmerman) was one such song, the words above translated from Froebel's book, Mother Play. The whole of Kindergarten was designed to bring the child into context with the whole of life. In the illustration, note how the hands were used to convey the image of a house.

I am getting ready for my 5 days of making Scandinavian bent wood boxes with the Eureka Springs School of the Arts.

Make, fix and create...