#Earthschooling365: Day Thirty-Nine
Inner Work Meditation (Heart): From a young age we watch butterflies and we learn about metamorphosis. We are enchanted as the caterpillar spins a cocoon, stays in there for a period of time and then emerges with bright colorful wings. And over the years you have probably heard many metaphors that use the butterfly as a symbol for change and growth in a child or adult. However, cicadas are actually a better metaphor for the transformation we go through as humans. Cicadas have no pupal state. They transform from a fully-functioning instal to another fully-functional state. In the same way, if we, as humans, want to make a change in our lives, we don’t necessarily need to go “into a cocoon” before we make that change. Some times we wait to make change because we are waiting for that “cocoon” time to be available. Perhaps we feel we need to attend a retreat, or see a counselor, or get some time alone to make those changes. And while these are all good activities, they are not necessarily required to make a change. Many times our own personal transformations will happen at the same time we are still fully-functioning as the person we are today. Take some time today to meditate on how change is happening today even as you lead your day “as usual”.
Nature Walk Idea (Head): Today your assignment on the nature walk is to have some fun with metaphors in nature. During our inner work meditation today we thought about how cicadas are a wonderful metaphor for the transformations we make as humans in our lives. What other metaphors can you find in nature? We have all heard the metaphors, “clever like a fox” or “quick as a rabbit” but can you make up some completely new ones? Try to come up with at least three completely new metaphors today. One of mine this week was “As entitled as a squirrel”. Squirrels act as if they are entitled to the best place at the bird feeder, the best berries on the tree and the best perch on the log. If they are interrupted during their enjoyment they will give anyone (including a dog, other squirrel or bird) a fantastic scolding. Would you like more daily inspiration for your classroom? Check out our lesson blocks (available for ages preschool through high school). They are perfect for summer school or daily enrichment in your classroom.
Photography Notes (Hands): Yesterday we discussed the basics of ISO and talked about what it was. Coming into today you should have a basic understanding that ISO decides the amount of light sensitivity your camera is reading for the photo you are taking and that modern ISO quality is a factor of both the camera setting and the sensor quality of the camera.
Today we will talk about what that light sensitivity means. Yesterday you probably noticed that when you switched to a higher ISO you were able to shoot photos at a higher speed. This is because since your “film” is more sensitive at a higher ISO you (of course) won’t need as much light to come into the camera. But how much less light do you need exactly?
Let’s use an example: Say you are taking a nature walk just after sunset and shooing ISO100, which is the standard and default for most cameras. Perhaps you left your camera at ISO 100 because you started your walk before sunset when it was quite bright out and ISO100 was suitable for daylight of course. But since the sun went down you find that you need a one second exposure to capture the scene. This would of course require a tripod but you don’t have one. What can you do? The following chart will show you. If you needed a one second exposure at ISO 100 then you would need the following shutter speed for these other ISOs:
ISO 200 – 1/2 of a second
ISO 400 – 1/4 of a second
ISO 800 – 1/8 of a second
ISO 1600 – 1/16 of a second
ISO 3200 – 1/32 of a second
ISO 6400 – 1/64 of a second
Isn’t that amazing? By changing just the ISO you can actually get the camera to the point where you can take a hand-held photo in very low light.
So today your assignment is to try to take some photos in low light using a higher ISO today. You can take these photos just as the sun goes down, or in the shade or even indoors. Once again, take note of any change in quality from ISO100 to the ISO you are using. We will talk about this quality later.
Verse: Transformation Duet
Copyright Kristie Burns
Pencil to paper
The nymph* emerges and bequeaths
Thoughts flow and leave beneath
Her skin so perfectly formed
A line of poetry transformed
To a crooked tree limb
Soul into a heart hymn
A reminder of where she has been
And what she has become
*The nymph is the cicada that has emerged from her skin.
**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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