Wednesdays are soup days in the Salmonberry Kindergarten. As we come inside the children engage in a will activity- chopping vegetables and preparing our soup. After washing hands, everyone sits down together around a long table and we sing songs and talk while we work. Vegetables are cut into more manageable pieces by a teacher and the children use what we call ‘crinkle cutters’ to chop. Children are welcome to bring something to contribute to our stone soup and often come with vegetables from their own gardens or something they got to choose at the grocery store or farmers market.
Rising first graders can be tasked with using a more challenging knife and younger children anticipate when they are old enough to do the same. In the mixed-age kindergarten, the beauty of the family style setting is that children get to share in their strengths and areas of growth. Children who are quite adept at chopping or in their second year may help others who are still learning. “Make mousie bites for the soup”, “See mine, those are a good size for bites”, “Johnny’s still learning” and, “I can help you!”
Engaging in meaningful work gives children a sense of belonging, purpose, mastery, and trust in their own capacities. Sharing a meal together kindles the light in our humanity and inspires connection. Building these social-emotional skills and work ethic creates pathways for embodied people and lifelong learners.
In Waldorf early childhood education, teachers sing while cooking and baking to bring warmth, joy, and intention to these daily tasks. Singing creates a calming rhythm that grounds children, engages their senses, and fosters language development through repetition and rhyme. It also invites participation, turning simple activities into shared, meaningful experiences. By weaving music into the process, teachers model reverence for everyday work, transforming it into a source of connection and creativity. Here are a couple of the songs that are sung in the Salmonberry classroom while cooking and baking:
Chip chop, chippity chop
Chop off the bottom and chop off the top
What is left we will cook in the pot
This is the way we chop our veggies
Chop our veggies, chop our veggies
This is the way we chop our veggies
So early in the morning
Stone Soup Recipe by the Salmonberries
Any veggies you like! (celery, potatoes, and carrots are the most loved)
Garbanzo beans
Vegetable broth
Onion
Garlic
Cumin
Turmeric
All ingredients are to taste or preference, you can use as little or as much as you like. We add all our ingredients to the instant pot and pressure cook for 6minutes. If using a stovetop start with onions, garlic, and spices then add chopped veggies and garbanzo beans. Then add vegetable broth and cook until veggies are tender.