OPEN HOUSE and CLOSING DAY
All Hail Fair Ones!
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I requests your presence at the
Bradley Family Shakespeare School Open House
I felt strongly about squeezing in a school open house. The last time we had done one was 16 years before. I told the girls about it and we got to work! We spent several days planning the event and getting things ready.
This book held some inspiration for some favors for our guests.
We turned some of his Shakespeare's characters into finger puppets to give away.
We set up a sign in table, with copies of the Shakespeare test
that we took at the beginning of the year.
We also made small copies of the Globe from PaperToys.com,
plus the favors from our sonnet day, and the finger puppets.
We displayed our Shakespeare books
and our school mindmap and layout on the piano.
I put together this poster that explained our rationale for the year, etc.,
and photos of our opening day.
I made a giant poster of Henry V's opening line.
The living room was hung with banners...
Brass rubbings were hung up.
We set up a television to play a video compilation of our year.
(The wardrobe blocks the dining room entrance).
I had fun watching the girls decide which things they would display and highlight. Giselle printed out the photos of her brass rubbings adventure, and displayed them with an explanation. I loved seeing the girls realize how much they had learned and done that year.
The backside of the wardrobe holds our timeline.
The family room/dining room was turned into a huge display...
with one table for the thematic refreshments Giselle made
(pewter goblets borrowed from Polly)
--Scottish shortbread, sugared rose petals, and honey-lemon mead--
and two other tables to display journals of discovery, inquiries, research projects and binders
we used easels and lamps to help in our display
our sonnet day, gondolas, and Giselle's movie
Autumn's journal of discovery
the three branches of government, which we reviewed during Julius Caesar
Giselle's dress
We hung all the banners and pinned information to them.
Some signs explained brain-integrated thematic learning...
and how the EPIC learning model corresponds to functions of the brain.
Scottish dancing and the pop-up Globe theater
Giselle is ready for the night to begin!
Queen Elizabeth invited everyone to attend, and she was there to help us greet our guests.
She was the best queen!
Diane and Joan
The Child family
Autumn and Giselle answering questions from our guests.
We performed our school song twice that night.
In attendance was a homeschool mom who chose not to school with us this year because she thought Shakespeare was too hard for her younger children. When we saw what we had done, and saw photos of other young kids, she said she realized she could have schooled with us. She loved our song.
Autumn also performed the Valley Girl interpretation of the As You Like It scene, with the Queen saying the proper words and Autumn, Valley Girl style.
Our preparation and execution of the open house was a valuable learning experience
and a wonderful night to remember. It was a mini closing day for us.
Giselle wanted one more photo before we took it all down. We were all pretty proud
of what we had worked so hard to share. Curiously, it wasn't long after this that
Giselle told me this was her favorite school year ever! Yay!
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CLOSING DAY
Our closing day brought us back to where we began,
with another fun feast, more renaissance dancing, our Queen, and more!
with another fun feast, more renaissance dancing, our Queen, and more!
William Shakespeare and the Queen were our guests of honor.
Polly's family made this amazing stage for us to perform our end of year pieces.
Chase performed part of Henry V's speech,
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
Autumn and Giselle wrote and performed The ABC's of William Shakespeare.
A is for All's Well that Ends Well
All's Well that Ends Well is a problem play.
She wins the guy but she has to pay.
S is for Sonnet
Fourteen lines of iambic pentamit-y
ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Z is for
The zenith, the apex, the one who has no peer;
The conqueror of the English language,
We give you Mister William Shakespeare!
The Queen handed out scepters to each student--the heirs to the Heavenly throne.
This was a perfect end to a fabulous year!
Farewell, Mister Shakespeare!
We loved spending the year with you!
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