So finally we talk Shakespeare

     You might think that it was obvious, from the name of this blog, what my children and I study: Shakespeare... And we do, believe it or not. To this point, however, I have not really written much on the topic and suddenly, today, in the midst of the insanity that is our life, I realized this. Hold onto your seats and get ready to ride

  

      How did this begin? Most people would not think of teaching/introducing children my sons' ages to the Bard -- or would they? To my surprise, there are a goodly number of picture books out there for children -- and, of course, there are the recordings by Jim Weiss Shakespeare for Children and the book  by E. Nesbit Beautiful Stories From Shakespeare. The latter can be found at a wonderful site called 'Project Gutenberg' (see links). There is also a site called 'The Free Library' which has an entire section devoted to the works of Shakespeare. For us, though, it was the public library that provided the materials for the most part. There we found The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard (New York Times Best Illustrated Books (Awards)) This is a wonderful picture book along the lines of 'Sector 7' Sector 7 (Caldecott Honor Book) . Somewhat similar, though with more worlds, was the poem picture book which, in Rhyme, listed many of Shakespeare's better know plays. Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare! This last book has inspired my eight year old to start searching out the story of King Lear (LOL).

    

     But in truth, our entry into the world of Shakespeare was a backwards one and did not begin with a search for classical literature. Quite simply, it began with a search for humor.

   

     Homeschooling, as those who do it know, can seem overwhelming and exhausting. So much to cover and so little time in which to do so. And when the parent was herself publically schooled, the 'how to get there' seems impossible. We had been battling the burn out blues when I made a decision: one of life's greatests gifts is the gift of laughter so we would start a 'humor curriculum'. We would study humor -- we would read funny books, watch funny films, ask funny questions. We would do MadLibs for grammar practice and use math manipulatives to create funny images. (Indeed, in the subject of math, I discovered that there are quite a few 'funny' books to be read -- the Sir Cumference books Sir Cumference and the First Round Table (A Math Adventure) , Penrose the Mathematical Cat, The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat and 'The Grapes of Math' Grapes Of Math (bkshelf) (Scholastic Bookshelf) sping immediately to mind). As you can imagine, this 'curriculum' was an instant hit. Who wouldn't enjoy a program of study that allowed one to watch Lucille Ball and Red Skelton? And, of course, these comics led us to the study of Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, and the Little Tramp. And that led to a discussion of Physical Humor (Pratfalls etc) versus verbal humor... which in turn led us to... 'Much Ado about Nothing.' Much Ado About Nothing. Thus was born my sons' passion for Shakespeare. Having watched Benedict and Beatrice battle wits, they wanted more. The film led to books, books to film, and all to discussion.

    

     But that was not all. No, now, having seen Shakespeare, having heard and read his works, my sons are determined to by playwrights and poets -- and both have asked that l locate a theatre company that trains children! Gawk! I had already been planning to enroll them in gymnastics -- my eldest son's prediliction for pratfalls and my youngest's determination to walk in high places makes that a priority... Now, though, they want theatre training! My mother, a theatre afficianado of old, just laughs. She is not surprised, I fear. And I guess that I am not either -- I am just trying to figure out time and money! I did suggest, and had the suggestion rousingly supported, that the boys could ask for help paying for lessons as birthday and christmas gifts. (It occured to me that such gifts, while very much appreciated, would not take up additional space in my house!) The final challenge then is the time... and yet, how can I deny such excitement and delight? Surely that is one of the gifts of homeschooling -- being able to follow the rabbit trail of dreams?