#Earthschooling365: Day Forty-One
Inner Work Meditation (Heart): Are you ever drawn to a particular animal? Do you know why? Take some time today to think about what animal (or animals) you are drawn to and why. This could also be a circle-time discussion with a class of any age or a conversation to have with a friend, partner or family member. Woodpeckers are one animal I an drawn to. Rabbits and foxes are the other two. Why were are drawn to these animals can often give us insight into fears, desires and strengths we have. Sometimes we can even find strength from these animals.
Nature Walk Idea (Head): My photo today is of a baby woodpecker. How do I know it is a baby? Because of the fluff on its breast and tail. Baby birds – even as they get older – often retain the “baby fluff” for quite a few months. In fact, baby eagles still have their fluff even six months after they are born. Can you spot any baby birds on your walk today? How about other baby animals? How can you tell if they are babies or adults? Another easy one to spot is deer. Fawns are not only tinnier than their mothers but they also have spots. Your assignment today is to spot the babies and/or talk about how you can tell the baby animals from the adults in nature.
Would you like more daily nature-inspired 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): Today will be our last lesson in ISO settings. Since we have already done two lessons in ISO you will already know where these settings are on your camera, what they mean and the advantage or disadvantage they give you with speed and light. Today we will finish by talking a bit about quality.
Whenever you increase your ISO on the camera you are decreasing the quality of your photo so the ultimate question is – what is the lowest ISO I can capture this photo at? And is that OK with me? Sometimes it is not worth taking the photo and sometimes you will need to bring in a tripod, extra lights or a flash. It really depends on why you are taking the photo.
The diminished quality usually only shows up if your photo will be displayed at an 8″ x 10″ size or larger. Below that the extra grain in the photo is not very obvious. So if your photos are for a newsletter, a blog, or social media the quality is not going to be a major deciding factor. However, if you are taking the photos for a photo contest, to enlarge and frame, to sell, or to publish in a magazine the quality will be important.
Sometimes you may not have a choice. If you are taking a walk and want to capture a photo of a bird in flight or catching fish off the surface of the lake you may need to shoot at ISO 3200 or higher to capture the wing movement. Sometimes it is worth the reduced quality to capture an amazing shot like that.
Today’s assignment is to work with the ISO on your camera again today and with all you have learned from these three lessons – make ISO decisions based on what you feel will bring you the best outcome.
Verse: Red-Headed Woodpecker**
Copyright Kristie Burns
Red-headed woodpecker
First grade taunting
Directed at my auburn hair
Red-headed woodpecker
A bird quite daunting
Determined, beautiful, fearless flair
**For an older class this could be a poetry lesson for them to explore some of the negative terms that have been directed at them. Explore the term in the first part of the poem and then express it in a positive way in the second half of the poem. Everyone has something they could write about. It could be a nickname, an insult or other insecurity. And the inspiration could come from bullies, parental reprimands or even from one’s own thoughts.
*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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