After a short hiatus over the summer, we are excited to bring you another lively and informative episode (E10), from our rituals and practices in home education series.

In this episode, I sit with the charming and vivacious Erika Alicea, from Charlotte Mason City Living, to discuss her rituals in cultivating the habit of bird study in the city. Erika, who lives with her husband and daughter in New York City, is an ex-public school teacher now turned a full time home educator and a co-pastor alongside her husband, of a local church in the Bronx. In addition, Blogger, resource creator and podcaster on the Charlotte Mason For All Podcast and co founder of Art of colour, Erika is well known for her passion for the inclusion of multicultural heritage learning within CM education.

Those of us who lives in the city know what struggle there can be in finding time to slow down enough to notice anything beyond our smartphones and busy schedules. It’s an open secret that if we really want to enjoy nature and find rest, we have just have to get away from the city, right?

Well, Erika thinks not.

Join us in this riveting conversation as she describes her beautiful, slow habit of looking up to find feathered friends in the city with her daughter throughout their home school journey. The episode also includes other engaging and relevant topics on transitioning into home schooling from traditional school and finding her unique style within the Charlotte Mason philosophy.

Whether you are a CM home-edder or not or you live in the city or have a an only child, it’s arguably impossible to listen to this episode without feeling inspired or charmed by Erika’s authenticity, her love for God, her creativity and the humble way in which she talks about her parenting struggles and triumphs.

EPISODE BLOG to follow with reflections and a detailed list of tips from this episode: https://homegrownsonshine.co.uk/blog/

FEEDBACK Do let us know what you make of the episode or the series as a whole. - [ ] Leave us a voice message on anchor at https://anchor.fm/homegrownsonshine/message - [ ] Send us an email at [email protected] [ ] Join the discussion via our Facebook group: A Liturgy Of Love Morning Time Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/765110780907740- [ ] Connect with us online:•  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/homegrown.sonshine/•  Website - https://homegrownsonshine.co.uk/blog/

RESOURCES *A Liturgy of Love* A Culturally Diverse Morning Time Resource- https://homegrownsonshine.co.uk/a-liturgy-of-love-alol-2/

*Resources from Erika Alicea*

1. Feathered Friends of the City- an Urban Bird Guide- https://charlottemasoncityliving.com/product/feathered-friends-of-the-city-an-urban-bird-study/

2. Transitioning from Traditional School to Homeschool - https://charlottemasoncityliving.com/deschooling-10-tips-on-transitioning-from-traditional-school-to-homeschool/

3. Website for multicultural resources: https://charlottemasoncityliving.com

Other Nature Study Resources mentioned:

1. The Burgess Bird Book for Children: Thorton Burgess2. The Burgess Bird Book for Children: Julia Rothman3. The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady: Edith Holden

POETRY READINGS *The Sparrow - written and read by Isabel Alicea Erika’s daughter - found in the Feather Friends of the City - Urban bird guide.*The Woodpecker - Elizabeth Maddox Robert’s read by Isabel Alicea.

MUSIC Backing Track to Poems- Ranz des Vaches, by Giochino Rossini, performed by Kevin Macleod -courtesy of FMA

Podcast Intro/Outro theme music: by Kainan Awoonor-Renner