365 Nature Walks: Day 106

#Earthschooling365: Day One Hundred and Six

Inner Work Meditation (Heart): As an adult, if you look at the photo of the two bugs below you can probably guess what they are doing. If an entomologist looks at the photo they will be able to tell you in a lot of detail. However, if you ask a child many will reply that the one is taking a ride or playing a game with the other bug. How we see the world depends on the information we already have stored in our minds. Your inner work for today is to ask yourself – what is stored in my mind? Do I want to add or take away things from that storage area? and What am I storing in the minds of my students, friends and family? Does this knowledge benefit them in a positive way?

Nature Walk Idea (Head): Today we saw two red and black bugs on a milkweed leaf. Different bugs are attracted to different leaves, plants and areas of the woods or garden. The areas they are attracted to are where they live and this is called their “habitat”. Today, find at least four different bugs and try to determine what their habitat is (hint: look on plants, on trees, on the ground, on leaves, and under logs).

Photography Notes (Hands): Today I took a photo of two bugs on a leaf. Taking a photo of something small that is moving is a challenge because the auto focus feature of the camera has a hard time locking onto small objects and if you use manual focus it takes a lot of precision and concentration to keep your focus on the small subject of your photo. One way to overcome this issue is to find something that is on the same focus plane as your subject and focus on that instead. In this case one of the small light green leaves towards the back of the bugs was on the same focus plane. By adjusting the angle I was shooting at I allowed myself and my camera a larger area to focus on. Your assignment today is to use this same technique in your photo today.

Verse: Five
Copyright Kristie Burns

An apple is the number five
But to see it you
Must look inside

Cut carefully but not too far
And you will find
A 5-point star

A hand is the number five
But to see it you
Must open wide

Spread your fingers and your thumb
Then you can count them
One by one

Bees create the number five
But to see it you
Must check their hive

Count the corners on
Their home
And find a pentagon

Vowels are the number five
But to see it
You must quickly jive

A, E, I, O, U
Then count the beats
As you chant it too

Pears and Cherries are the number five
But to find it you must
Climb trees outside

For only on the flower in spring
Can you count the petals
As the robins sing

V is also the number five
But where in a letter
Can a number hide?

The Ancient Romans felt this letter
Got rid of five lines
So made numbers better

*These poems have been created for many purposes – from early childhood circle time verses to inspirational or expressive. They vary from day to day so you may find the way you use them or enjoy them also varies. If you would like to set these poems to music consider our tutorial: Creating Your Ow Waldorf Verses or Finding Your Inner Voice.

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What is #Earthschooling365?

This series takes you through an entire year of our nature walks and is part of our non-profit project #Earthschooling365 at www.Earthschooling.org. The photos and posts in this series are all copyrighted. Please do not share or re-print them. Instead, share the link to this blog with your friends.

Along the way I will be sharing our favorite photo of the day, an inner work meditation for the day, photography assignment/tip for the day, nature walk theme for the day and a short verse for circle time (children) or meditation (teens/adults). We invite you to “walk along with us” this year, take some time to use the inner work meditation, be inspired by the nature walk theme of the day and perhaps even start a photo series of your own. To join the community on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram please tag your photos #Earthschooling365. To receive these inspirations in your e-mail inbox daily please subscribe to our blog alerts HERE. Don’t worry about missing days – you can join us as many days as you want this year!

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