#Earthschooling365: Day Ninety-Eight
Inner Work Meditation (Heart): As I watched the snapping turtle prepare a nest for her eggs today, watched her lay the eggs and then cover them up I thought about the wisdom of time in nature. I sat on a bench for an hour or more and watched her. She had already dug most of the hole by the time I was lucky enough to see her by the path. She was out where everyone could see her, so aside from being fascinated with what she was doing I also wanted to sit nearby and make sure nobody bothered her and that no bikes ran her over. As I sat it was almost difficult to watch at first. She would take one hind leg at a time and slooooooowly dig a bit of dirt from the hole. Once she was finished she laid one egg at a time, taking a break between each one. Finally, she very slooooooowly pushed dirt back into the hole with her hind legs. She did it at the same speed I would have done it if I was using a tiny teaspoon to fill the hole. The wise part of me was calm, realizing that this was the process that had to happen for her babies to be safe. But part of my mind said, “I could just go over there and finish that job for her in about one minute.” Do you ever feel like that when you are teaching someone how to do something new, or watching them complete something using their own process? Take some time today to think about those times and re-frame them with the wisdom of nature. The rose must take time to open, the butterfly must take time to emerge from the cocoon and the snapping turtle must take time to bury her eggs. In the same way humans must take their time to learn something new and make changes. Nature has its own wisdom with time.
Nature Walk Idea (Head): Today we saw a snapping turtle laying eggs by the side of the bike trail. I was amazed that she had chosen this spot for her nest. It was right by a parking lot and a busy part of the trail where bikes zoomed by every day. But as we sat there watching her for an hour she did not seem bothered by the activity around her. She did her job, finished, and then slowly walked back to the creek and slipped silently into the dark water. Today’s assignment for your nature walk is to observe an animal, insect, mammal or plant that has adapted in some way to humans. Is it a plant that has woven itself around a telephone pole? A tree that has bent around a parking block? Is it a bird that has made it’s nest in a rain gutter or a squirrel that has used plastic bags to make his nest? How many animal adaptions can you find today on your walk?
Photography Notes (Hands): Today we be the last day we work on “color training”. Tomorrow we will talk about what we can do with this knowledge. Today’s color is red. If you notice, the color of the snapping turtle at sunset and the buck both have a bit of red in them. The brown is not a bluish brown or a muddy brown – it has more of a rust color to it. Today’s assignment for you is to take photos that feature a reddish hue. Your photos could feature red subjects, subjects reflected by red, subjects in red light (sunset is always a good choice) or even subjects that have a bit of a reddish hue like the buck and turtle I took photos of today. Take some time later to look at your photos and ask yourself, “How much red is in this photo? Is it too much red? Why is there red in this photo? What kind of red is it?”
Verse: Nature’s Rhythm
Copyright Kristie Burns
“Hurry, hurry,” says the chipmunk,
“Open up your petals wide
So I can nibble all those seeds
Hidden cleverly inside.”
“Be patient, little one,”
Mother Nature says to him
“For if the flower’s forced to bloom
It’s future will be grim.”
“Quick, quick,” Says the rose
“Spread your wings and fly
My pollen is yearning
To be carried to the sky.”
“Be patient, little flower,”
Mother nature says to her
“For if the butterfly is forced
It’s wings will never stir.”
“Scurry scurry,” Says raccoon
“Hide that tiny ball
For once you finish your task
I will eat them all.”
“Be kind, little rascal,”
Mother nature says to her
“For snapping turtle mama
Needs to keep them secure.”
*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
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Free photography lesson
Free waldorf verse
Waldorf nature table
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