American Embroidery and Medieval Architetcure... For Kids

It's tough to get back into the blogging habit once I've taken a couple weeks off.

We had a nice, not-too-overscheduled week.  Some highlights, but also a lot of time just hanging out in our apartment, warm and cozy.  No snow yet but morning temperatures hit some single digit lows.

 

All four of us stopped in The Met on Sunday to see a cross-stitch and embroidery exhibit.  It was off in a small room with no one else there (not one of the museum's big draws, I guess), but we were all pretty impressed with the collection of mid-19th century work.  After being in the weekly cross-stitch circle for over a year, the kids could really appreciate the work that went into the pieces.  One of the pieces was a handkerchief with a long division problem cross-stitched onto it.  Apparently even girls in the 1850s had a sense of humor.  While we were there we also checked out a fashion exhibit that was ending that day and no visit to The Met would be complete without Ella sketching some Egyptian artifacts.

 

There may not be any snow in New York City yet, but the kids and I found ice.  On Thursday afternoon there was a big homeschool ice skating party on a rink we hadn't been to yet.  I had planned to just get out onto the ice long enough for the kids to feel comfortable and then head back inside where it was warm to have coffee with my friends, but it turns out I'm not so bad at ice skating after all and I had a really fun time on the rink.  The kids and I skated for two straight hours and slept like babies that night.

 Ella didn't heed the above sign and made a delicious dinner for the four of us - veggie wraps.

And not only can the girl cook but she also was proud to show us that she had written 47 lines of code.  I'm not sure I even understand what that means but she sounded really smart saying it.

The highlight of the week for the kids was starting a new class.  When I saw this class posted on a homeschool email group I thought to myself, I am so glad we're homeschooling.  How awesome is this class??

 

For four consecutive Fridays the kids will be taking a series of medieval classes at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the largest Anglican cathedral in the world which just happens to be up the street from us and which we can see from every single window in our apartment.  Listen to the description of just this first class meeting:

Medieval Journey and Medieval Arts Workshop - Enter the exciting world of the Middle Ages, and appreciate the historic role cathedrals played as centers of culture, worship, art, and pilgrimage. Discover the ways the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is similar to and different from a medieval cathedral. Discover the arts of the Middle Ages and of cathedral building. Carve a block of limestone; create an illuminated letter; sculpt a clay gargoyle; weave on a loom; make a brass rubbing; and design a stained glass collage.

How cool is that?!?  And in their first two-hour class they did ALL of that.  There's an entirely different description for next week's class but it also revolves around medieval architecture and art.  Needless to say they loved it and were happy to see several of their friends in the class as well.