#Earthschooling365: Day Ninety
Inner Work Meditation (Heart): During our nature walk today we saw two deer grooming each other. They were so focused on what they were doing that our presence didn’t really bother them and they continued to groom each other. It was so wonderful to watch – that connection between them and the joy they seemed to gain from their mutual grooming. It was an intimate moment between two siblings and one that served a purpose as well – it kept them well groomed and bug-free. In today’s world of independence and “do-it-yourself” attitude we often miss out on that intimacy of tending to each other. Today’s inner work is to connect with another person through taking care of them in some way. Try to choose an activity that involves self-care such as brushing their hair, curling their hair, putting on natural finger-nail polish, giving them a hand or foot reflexology treatment or even washing their hands or feet. To prepare for this take some time this morning to do the same for yourself and think about how caring for another can impact your relationship with them.
Nature Walk Idea (Head): Today on our nature walk we watched some bees explore different flowers in the meadow. The photo below is of one of these bees approaching a clover flower. Another plant we observed was some milk weed. The bees didn’t explore that plant very much but we did see ants, aphids, a moth and a butterfly visit. Today’s assignment is to choose a flower or plant (or a few different flowers or plants) to observe in detail and count how many different insects are enjoying that plant. You might be surprised at the miniature insect cities that are built on just one plant. It always makes me think twice about picking flowers or stepping on too many plants when I take my walk.
Photography Notes (Hands): Today we will do our last lesson in “alternate tripod” practice. In the photos of the deer grooming each other I used a tree as a tripod. I leaned against a tree not too far from the deer and also used the tree to stabilize the camera. This helped significantly when taking the picture because the long lens I used was quite heavy on the camera and the light was very low in the interior of the woods. Today your assignment is to use an item in nature as a “tripod”. What items can you find that can help you shoot a more stable photo? My favorite natural item to use is a tree but I have also used stumps, logs and even another person.
Verse: Milkweed City
Copyright Kristie Burns
There are earthworms in the basements
Moths sit on roofs in pairs
The aphids take stem elevators
As they make their way upstairs
Rabbits speed along the highway
Field mice sniff the doors
Groundhog’s nose reaches
Beyond the second floors
There are no windows nor chimneys
No bridges nor street lights
All are active in daytime
Everyone sleeps in the nights
The ants gather on the mezzanine
With monarchs on the balcony
Spider webs connect the terraces
In the thriving milkweed city
*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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Waldorf homeschool curriculum
Waldorf inner work
Free photography lesson
Free Waldorf verse
Waldorf nature table
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