#Earthschooling365: Day Forty-Eight
Inner Work Meditation (Heart): One of my favorite things about a nature walk is observing the patterns of the season and the world around me. Over the past year I have noticed that the ducks always pair up and the same time of the year, that the Bucks only show up during mating season and then go away some time in February or March and that certain butterflies only visit during a few weeks each year. Every month has a personality, every season has a character. And this character is much deeper than the stereotypical “April Showers” or “Winter Snow”. Each season and each month has a character that is complex as a human being. And the better we understand the character of each season, the better we can adapt our own rhythms to the world around us. For even if we surround ourselves with schedules and isolate ourselves from nature our bodies still respond to it on many levels. Take some time this morning to consider how you can integrate the natural rhythm of the season or month into your day to make things more harmonious.
If you would like additional inspiration you can check out our webinars, Rhythm and Stages in Waldorf Education or our free articles, Curriculum & Rhythms and Seasonal Rhythms.
Nature Walk Idea (Head): Around here animals are starting to pair up. The woodpeckers are flitting around in pairs, I found a hawk’s nest where I can watch the mother and father get ready for their babies to hatch and I’ve noticed that not all the mallards are hanging out in bachelor groups anymore. And I certainly have my eye out for bunny dens. Sometimes the mama’s will put the new babies in some tall grass so I have to be careful. On your walk today try to spot some pairs of mammals, birds, or insects. What do you think they are doing? Are they preparing for nesting? Have they already nested? Are they protecting their young? Are they waiting for babies to be born? Then, when you get home, look up some more information about this animal. When do they typically lay eggs or have their young? How long is the female pregnant for? Does the father stick around and help or does he leave right away? How long do the babies stay around until they go off on their own? Did you know baby skunks leave home when they are only six weeks old?
To learn more about animals and their habitat check out our Man & Animal Block or any of our lessons on the Wildlife Education Curriculum page.
Photography Notes (Hands): Today is the second day that we are going to be taking our work with aperture into the practical and practice realm. The best way to learn about aperture is to continue being aware of it as you take your photos. We will spend some time over the next week cultivating that awareness with some questions, assignments and examples. Our question for today is – which of the photos in today’s post were taken with a low aperture and which with a higher aperture? What effect did that have on the photo? Your assignment is to duplicate what we did today – take one subject (in my case it was ducks) and take some photos with a lower f-stop (like f4.5 or below) and some with a larger f-stop (Like f16 and above).
Remember that the higher f-stop lets in less light so in photos like the male mallards above I used a lower f-stop because the bright day along with the reflections off the water made the photo very bright to begin with. Because of this use of higher aperture you will notice that all the mallard ducks are in focus instead of only one (even though I used a telephoto lens). This is what I wanted. I wanted all the ducks to be in focus so we could enjoy the funny things each individual mallard was doing to groom himself. I imagined they were getting ready to go on dates with their lady ducks so they were grooming themselves so they looked nice.
In the case of the female mallard I found her and her companion in the woods standing on a stump among some trees in the shade. So not only did I need a lower f-stop (more light) in the camera but I also wanted to use a lower f-stop because I really wanted just the female mallard and the gorgeous stump she was on to be the focus of the picture. I didn’t want the background in focus too, distracting from her beauty and elegance.
Verse: Fluffy Parenting
Copyright Kristie Burns
While reading this poem the first time through (to ages 3-7) read each stanza but don’t say the last word in italics. The last word rhymes in the poem which is a clue for the children to guess what it is. Allow them to shout out the last word (the name of the baby). When reading this the second time they will easily be able to do this.
A Drake and Duck swam up and down
Duck she looked nervous all around
Drake’s head held high was swashbuckling
I’ll bet they were hiding a little Duckling
Fox and Vixen ran under a log
Vixen looked like a little red dog
Fox ran away while cackling a fit
I’ll bet they were protecting a little Kit
Tiercel and Hen sat near a nest
Hen ducked down low – she hid her best
Hawk flew away to distract my eyes
I’ll bet he was cloaking a little Eyas
Buck and Doe camouflaged in the wood
Doe is standing guard as she should
Buck is already far away gone
For it’s mama that takes care of the Fawn
But there’s also another Buck and Doe
Without tall legs, but long ears though
This Doe actually looks really funny
She hops away lopsided to safeguard her Bunny
Cob and Pen enjoy the pond and rushes
Pen usually hides among the bushes
Cob sticks by his mate just like a strong magnet
I suspect they are both taking care of their Cygnet
Project: Create your own poem with these other couples and their children:
Bull and Cow have a Calf
Stallion and Mare have a Foal
Boar and Sow have a Piglet
Rooster and Hen have a Chick
Tercel and Falcon have a Chick
A Hob and Jill have a Kit (Ferret)
Goose and Gander have a Gosling
*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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