The Rookery

Dear friends,

I've just heard about a new children's novel that I think you would all enjoy! (The author is one of my very favorite people and is a dear friend here in NYC.)

It is the story of a little girl in Victorian England who ventures into the forest near her home and meets several friendly (and a few not-so-friendly) animals. The Rookery is the story of her adventures in the forest, as well as her relationships with her family at home. It teaches really solid values like honor and courage, friendship and family, and the kids in your life will love it!

Just go to http://therookerybook.blogspot.com/. The author posts a new chapter each week. She started it in January, but you can start anytime. What I really love is that she has also posted discussion questions that correspond to each chapter - perfect for us moms and home schooling families. Try it out! I think you'll really like it...and be sure to leave a comment (or more) along your journey.

Happy Reading!

unit one recap.

We have recently finished our first unit with our homeschool curriculum, Tapestry of Grace, and I thought it would be fun to share some highlights with you. (at least fun for our family and some of you friends... maybe?)

If you are interested to know why in the world we are even saying "homeschool" with our four year old - you can read more on the "Homeschool" tab above.

We started out by studying Creation and maps of Pangaea and Mesopotamia. Kate made a terrific salt map and labeled various land forms that I was literally looking up definitions for in order to teach them to her. It's amazing how much you forget... or never learned. Yikes!

Then we quickly traveled into my personal favorite part so far - the study of Egypt. We looked at the ancient Egyptians and studied the geography of Egypt and also took an in-depth look at the life of Moses. Fascinating. We took a field trip to the MET to look at the Egyptian artifacts, mummies, and temples. Kate's favorite fact of the Ancient Egyptians is that they loved to wear a lot of make-up and jewelry. She had fun looking at the beautiful jewels at the museum and dressing up...during our "school days". Lol.

This is a paddle doll that Kate is painting. This is my "cardboard version" used to represent something a young Egyptian girl would play with, made from wood. Hey - you gotta use what you have! 

After Egypt, we studied the story of the Exodus - continuing with the life of Moses, including: the wandering in the wilderness, the Ten Commandments, the Jewish culture and traditions and festivals. Most of the reading we did for this section took place in a tent in our living room by candlelight (kind of risky, I know)  Sorry I don't have pics of everything, but you get the point. We looked at the model for the Tabernacle and Kate recreated one here with play dough. 

Kate has several friends here who are Jewish in addition to my sister, "Auntie-isha" and her husband, Uncle Deddy, so it was not only fun to study more of the foundations of our faith but to understand our friends and family better.  Another bonus was we regularly ate some delicious Challah bread! The kids really enjoyed that part. :) So much so, that Kate asked me..."Mom, why aren't we Jewish?"  Love it. 

Coop:
We meet periodically (ideally every week) with our Coop group - a group of other families who are homeschooling in the City. We know these families from our church but they each moved here just over a year ago and so between our three families - there are 9 kids between the ages of 18 mos and 10. It has been amazing to learn from these other mommas and friends and for Kate to enjoy learning in a group setting.

In this picture - we got together one week to read Ox Cart Man and to make our own butter (super easy - just shake heavy cream in a jar until it hardens ... really!?), start a knitting project (really not as easy for Kate at this age), and to make our own candles out of beeswax. Really fun! Kate was so proud of her creations.

Math consists of anything from doing addition and subtraction with popsicle sticks, working through some workbooks, practicing writing numbers, learning time, evaluating and creating patterns, creating and tracking weather patterns all way to baking scones and learning a basic understanding of fractions. Now - that is my kind of math!

We also made sure we had plenty of time for field trips: apple picking...

... several trips to the Natural History Museum, nature walks through Central Park and to the Central Park Zoo (while the weather is still nice) ...

... and a trip to see a play at the children's theater of Stone Soup, one of our favorite stories. Here is Kate making a clay pot before the performance began.

What does Wesley do while we are doing all of this, you ask? Well...he really doesn't have a choice. He typically just joins in! :) Some days we get way more done than others and some days I am screaming in frustration because we really didn't do anything other than live life together and visit friends and my apartment is an utter disaster. But, that's why we are doing this. It's just about living life together - not having to follow an exact curriculum.

I have really discovered the joy of getting to learn along with your children and to be exploring what this looks like in a family. Our family.

We'll see how Unit 2 goes! We just started this past week with a look at India and the culture in the Indus Valley during the parallel time period to our Egypt study and the Exodus.

I think this week we will just do some fun Fall crafts and read poetry and catch back up to the curriculum later. That's the beauty of ... well, just living life together.

Thanks for reading!

{start with art}

a few weeks ago, we started taking a class at the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) for art class each week: "Start with Art". i was giddy as we walked over for our first class. i didn't grow up visiting museums on a regular basis and so i feel as though i am learning to appreciate art alongside kate. (i can actually understand it since they are gearing the class for 2-6 year olds)

first class: the teacher talked about the Chinese moon festival, read several books related to the topic and then we made our way to a garden in the middle of the MET - representative of a typical Chinese landscape. she guided the children to identify familiar shapes within the architecture and then they working on designing and coloring their own lanterns.

another gallery we visited last month featured this painting entitled, Woman with a Cat by Leger, a French artist.

really?

i think i could be a "painting title" developer. this one in particular seemed a bit obvious and not nearly as mysterious and thought provoking as the art itself.

i'm just sayin'.

so, kate's assignment was to sketch the picture and add what was "missing".

she got it. she loved it.

one of my favorites so far is the Dogon Couple - in the African gallery. the kids (and I) studied their relationship and how the artist is conveying their individual roles (vertical selves) and their relationship together (horizontal selves). it actually reminded me of a recent sermon where JR talked about developing our vertical selves (personal relationship with God) and our horizontal selves (our relationship in the context of community). they are designed by our Creator to go together and grow together. good to remember and to be intentional with both.

in this piece the artist is showing the male as protector and the female as the nurturing role, as she has a baby on her back - kate's favorite feature.

i am s-l-o-w-l-y learning my way around the MET and the best part is that it's free with admission to the museum. we pay $1 each time as a donation. nothing like studying art at the MET for $1! plus -it's a super fun activity for us to do and learn together.

back to school party

As the Lord would so timely provide, two darling homeschooling families moved into the City over the past few months and joined our church family and our Community Group. We had a "Back to School" lunch today and it was a true celebration. I teared up during the prayer at how God so graciously provides when you step out in faith. I could expand on so much more, but I'll just say that I feel so grateful. Humbly grateful.

Oh - and I think Kate had a good time as well.

Welcome back to school, everyone!

Speaking of provison...one of the mothers and I were talking about a wonderful book that we both recently read. The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson, which I highly recommend to any mother or to those who are thinking of becoming a mother one day. When I told my new friend how much I enjoyed the read and how much it encouraged me, she said, "Oh, Sally is coming to stay with me next month." Come again?! You mean the Sally that is the author Sally Clarkson? Oh, right.

Yeah, so Sally is evidently coming to stay with her next month and we are going to be able to sit in a small room with her and talk and share and pray and discuss. Oh sweetness. Are you kidding me?! I am speechless. Humbly speechless.

deuteronomy 6:7

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

It is midnight, the night before Kate will start school for the first time. Well, that is not exactly true. I have felt a strong Spirit-led desire to be intentional with her since she was born. Don't get me wrong - there are many days when time seems to pass by mindlessly and I can't even begin to tell you what we did or what she could have possibly learned that day. But, I did make the choice to stay home with my children full-time and say goodbye to a career that was quite appealing and enjoyable at the time (three years ago). I remember the weeks of prayer that led up to that decision. I remember the words of encouragement that I received from dear friends and especially from my own mother that were instrumental in helping me make that important choice for our family. I especially remember the tears as I walked in faith and said goodbye to many things that made up my identity at the time. And I remember the commitment that I made to be intentional in my time with my children and to feel the sacrifices required to mother well.

Last week, I had lunch with some co-workers and following lunch went back to the office to see my former boss. We had a blast. We laughed. We caught up on life and we even gossiped about where people are now and what they are doing. (just being honest) Then I got back in the cab and came home in time to wake up with my son from his nap and to prepare a snack for my daughter and then take a leisurely stroll to the playground for some good outdoor time. I feel blessed that I have this choice. I recognize some do not and I also recognize that some have more of a choice than they want to admit. But, that is not the point of this blog. I digress.

The night before school. Hmmm...

A year ago, David and I began making preparations for this very week. We called the private schools that we were interested in sending Kate to for Pre-K. I followed the directions and called at 8am the day after Labor Day, coincidentally this exact week just one year ago, to collect the applications that we wished to complete. We toured schools. We met with the headmasters. We were interviewed. Kate was interviewed. Progress was made. Yet, the Spirit kept impressing on my heart something that was so foreign to me at the time. What if I kept Kate home this year? What if I didn't send her to school like I had planned and like everyone around me was doing? I prayed and prayed. I sought counsel. I prayed some more. I talked with David. I sat in silence and listened. I watched Kate. It was clear - David and I both had such a peace that for her 3 year old school year - we would have school at home. I knew I was pregnant. I knew I would also have a 3 month old. I knew it could possibly be a very lonely road. I also knew that I don't quite trust myself in the area of discipline and routine. I made excuses. I even wrote them down. But, I could not ignore the Spirit urging me to consider keeping Kate home and teaching her. Intentionally.

So, here we are. School is starting tomorrow at the Sullivan household. Kate has been excitedly asking for over a week, "Mom, what day is it? Can we start school today?" It is humbling. It is over-the-top exciting. It is a bit nerve-wrecking. I am not sure I know what we are getting into this year, but ready or not...

I can hardly sleep myself. I am giddy with anticipation. My lesson book is filled out this week. The supplies are fully stocked. I don't know all that we will learn this year. I hardly know what I am doing, but I do know that the God whom I call 'Father', commands us to not only love Him with all that we are but to share that love and teach it to our children. Not just once a week. Not just on Sundays or when we feel like it, but to intentionally plant seeds of His love and the life that He designed into the fertile soil of our children's hearts. If He commands it, He will give provision beyond measure as I seek to walk it out in my imperfect and shaky way. I have seen His provision so vividly and tangibly over our time in New York. It makes sense why I doubt myself. Because, it's not about me. It's not about Shawna's ability to make this work or to not. It's about God receiving the glory because through Him all things really are possible. Even taking someone like me and allowing me this precious time with my daughter as we learn together.

In many ways, I feel as though tomorrow is my first day of school and I couldn't be more excited.

So, here we go.