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| Taken by me, with no filters whatsoever! August 21st, 2017 |
So today is August 21st, 2017. If you live in America you know that this is a big day and possibly historic because it hasn't happened in a hundred years. That is a total solar eclipse that passes over the entire continental United States. Some saw it in its totality, the eclipse that is, and some saw it as a partial based on their location in relation to the path of totality. Washington D.C., where I am at, was at 85%.
The path of totality started in Oregon and that ended in South Carolina. One of my good friends Angela is having the best birthday ever on the East Coast and Amanda on the West Coast... and the entire country is celebrating with them. He he. Happy Birthday lovely ladies! 
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When we woke up this morning we waited until the eclipse started in Oregon and we contacted our family who lives in Oregon. They drove up from Medford Oregon which is Southern Oregon to a little bit south of Salem where they were going to have the first exposure to the First full solar eclipse on this day. They said it was weird because day did turn to night and it lasted for just under 2 minutes. They saw the planets and stars.
David, my dad, was very popular because he had his telescope with him so people could safely view it and have a ton of fun doing so. Apparently, people from all around the world came to Oregon to see this. He naturally made friends with people from Beijing China and also from the United Kingdom. How cool is that?! I have to say, I kind of wish I planned my summer vacation around this eclipse. No joke. I am kind of a weather geek and freak.
So then, before the eclipse had finished in Oregon we were seeing the beginning of it here in Washington DC. How cool is that? Which means Idaho and other parts of the country were seeing the full totality. It full puts the time difference between west coast and east coast in perspective when the eclipse happened faster than that. Doesn't it? I am sure that will be a follow-up question from one of my kids.
I had one of my Girl Scouts Janelle come over and hang out with us to watch the solar eclipse because her school does not start until next week. She was thrilled. Even despite my messy house. She joined us in sitting on the back of the car to watch the eclipse.
In true Girl Scout fashion though, we opened a box of thin mints and had a competition who could bite into the thin mint and make it look the most like the eclipse we were experiencing. I am not going to lie and with pride I say, it was me. Ha ha.
From my kids, they got to use this as a learning experience and we got stoked about it.
They did a couple of lessons in the morning but after that, it was all about the solar eclipse. I'm super stoked that they got to do this into see history. They viewed the solar eclipse through the glasses that were given through the National Air and Space Museum here in DC.
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| Again, NO FILTER! Isn't this beautiful?! |
Now sometimes you couldn't see the full eclipse because of the fact that the clouds were kind of making it hard to see. But there's this moment where the clouds hit it just right that you could totally see the full eclipse by the naked eye even though, obviously, you shouldn't be looking at it through the naked eye. I have to admit I got super excited and I took a picture and hopefully my eyes will not see the damage from it and I'm going to do what I can to take very good care of my eyes from now on but I don't feel any pain afterwards or get the white spots so I feel like I'm okay.
But each of the kids got to see it and I think the little girl came out in me because I was jumping up and down and super excited. Like seriously, excited!
And talking to different people eclipse is can sometimes mean a shift not just astronomically but even astrologically. And no matter what you believe you can sit back and kind of use it as a reflective time if you really think about it.
In parts of the country where they saw the whole total eclipse, they saw day going tonight and then go back into day. That has a really cool spiritual meaning because a lot of the times we see ourselves in this bright light and then we go into darkness either within ourselves or environmentally (or we can even argue, our current social and political status right now) and then we wonder what's going on and then we see the light again. It's very symbolic of the circle of life.
I have to say I don't think I've ever witnessed a full solar eclipse in my life and so that was really super cool that even though it wasn't full it was 85% in Washington DC.
It was amazing because once it got to a certain point which was probably after 80% it got darker and it started feeling cooler. It didn't turn into the night here but it looked closer between afternoon and dusk a little bit. Even the neighbour came out.
We heard the Crickets come out. We saw the shadow of the of the Moon and the Sun in the clouds pass by on the road as they were moving because they were moving so fast. I should say that my son pointed this out to me.
And then I forget who it was but one of my kids also pointed out that the sun was hitting her car window and if you looked in the window, obviously with you know the glasses on, you could see the eclipse in the car window reflected and that was really cool too.
For Home Schooling:
So as far as homeschooling I believe that one of the best ways that you can teach a child is to show them. And what better way and showing them a solar eclipse in person. We got to talk about it as it was happening.
It's just what I ordered (hahahaha- you're welcome 
). And all the teachers in Washington D.C. as it was the first day of school for many students here. I am sure all the schools used this as a perfect science experiment. The kids won't forget.
In terms of learning science, this is one of the best ways to accomplish learning about the solar system. When we think of school we can equate it to testing and to worksheets which aren't always bad but sometimes the association takes the fun out of the experience. So for today, I relaxed a little bit of their school so that way they can fully experience it with joy and wonder. They did a little bit of a right up here on this blog post to share as part of their learning experience.
But if we let it truly marinate, when we go to sit down at the table tonight and we go over the day today and the solar eclipse will come up we could talk about and bring up that excitement of being able to see it firsthand. We can talk about how a total eclipse across the United States is so uncommon and hasn't happened in a hundred years and then we could try to figure out the math and make a guessing game out of when the next one will be.
But even looking many years into the future, it gives that spark of love of science and children especially when we take more of the nitty-gritty science out of it, need that hands-on experience. Then they get to fully experience it with every sense that they have because you're not focused on just experiencing with their brain but they're experiencing it with their mind their body and their soul.
I'm pretty sure that when the next one comes around my kids are going to want to travel for it and we are lucky enough to be able to do so because it's going to happen in 7 years. The difference is that this one's not going to go horizontally the same way across the United States the way that this one did today. It will go from South to North I believe, in the East.
And it was really cool to see the clouds come over the sun because I was initially very skeptical. I was super bummed and worried that we were going to get rain and not be able to see the solar eclipse at all. But not only were we able to see it the clouds actually enhance the experience. We were able to take breaks in-between viewing it but more importantly and really cool is that the way that the clouds came across at one particular time, probably about 75% coverage, you could see the eclipse on a camera without having to use a lens. In theory, you should be able to see with the naked eye which you could but you would do damage to your eyes. And, I have to admit that I didn't realize that viewing it for my camera was a bad thing and so I did it for taking the pictures. So fingers crossed that my eyes stay strong for many more years-long.
Back to the educational experience though.
If you think about having a hands-on experience this is the closest thing you can get to it for the real deal in terms of learning about eclipses. They are super cool and this is going to be something that millions of kids around the world are going to remember today. And even more so is that children and DC got to experience something that was stimulated that was completely free and it was one of the best experiences you could have.
Avi: (verbatim)
The eclipse was an awesome experience that that was an unforgettable experience!! It was awesome and it was so cool that I was able to see with eclipse glasses that was awesomely decorated and it's just so cool also I I was able to find out that if the clips are reflected onto a window or Flex off of window or something it would display the eclipse easily so you won't have to wear special glasses to see it. It was also a great experience to experience the natural phenomenon of the eclipse. And it was so cool watching the shadows of the clouds and other objects have the shadows elongated and it shrank over a period of time. Overall is an awesome event that I will never forget.
Via: (verbatim)
So, it was a great experience. The solar eclipse was great that we did get a full solar eclipse-- it was amazing. It was like a crescent from the Moon accept it was the sun and it was something I never seen. I really liked it and I got to hang out with my friend and it was just an overall amazing experience. It was once in a lifetime thing it was really amazing and seeing everything that was happening really felt amazing and just really carefree. Overall, I just like to spend time I'm kind of like party hang out watch something that is so cool and it was just really amazing I really liked it.
Kai: (verbatim)
I like the eclipse because it looks like a crescent moon and it looks like a banana. And it looks really cool. I have a question-- the glasses were really black and he was so confused about how come the glasses you can see the Sun from very far away and how did the glasses took away all the light from the sun? I learned that you can look at the sun through the glasses. When you look at the sun with no eyeglasses it hurt your eyeballs. And when you look at the sun with the glasses you can hurt your eyeballs too if you look too long. I had a very very fun looking at the sun. I had a lot of fun doing everything around the eclipse but not just looking at the sun. I thought I was going to be dark dark.
So... my kids had a really good time and so did I. Here's to praying that everybody's eyes that viewed this Eclipse stay healthy and strong and may the eclipse be something that has this amazing spiritual connection and meaning even if it's metaphorically speaking.
What I learned from the solar eclipse:
- To be proud to love science
- To always be in complete awe of the world around us
- To enjoy the small things in life that are free
- To allow myself to be one with nature
- How much I will miss if I don't just get outside more
- To always allow my inner child to shine and a have fun; That's where my source of love is
- To help spread the joy of wonder
- Always be the light that I know I am and to shine. out in the world
- The as we go from light to dark and back to light so does our lives and we are part of that Circle of Life
- To never stop dreaming
The next total solar eclipse will be towards the East of the United States in seven years. That will be incredibly important for me because that will be my oldest son's 18th birthday. I am already planning to take my entire family, with my loving child (and by then a newly minted adult), to camp out in total path of the next solar eclipse as it was such an uplifting experience and I cannot wait to view it in it's complete totality.
Please share this experience if you liked this totally rad experience!
Comment below!
Did you experience it today?
When have you experienced one?
I would love to hear about it!
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