When I was a teenager my grandmother gave me an antique set of all the plays of Shakespeare. These are full of beautiful illustrations and commentary.
I even made a photocopy of one of the illustrations, framed it and hung it on my wall. I was exposed to some Shakespeare at school, and memorized some things on my own, and I loved the movie version of The Taming of the Shrew with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, but that was about it. I wanted to have an entire year of Shakespeare for my children's sake and my own.
Juliet thinks of her Romeo
RATIONALE FOR THE YEAR
Our lives are a grand story—a “Once upon a time.”
We are Sons and Daughters of the King. We are heirs to His kingdom. Like the English royalty of yore, we have the greatest opportunities for learning. This year we will “live” in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. We will “hear” the plays she may have heard in her own palace as Shakespeare performed for her court.
Stories have the power to teach us truth and change us. Shakespeare is acknowledged as the greatest storyteller in the English language—his stories, words, and phrases permeate our society, and he teaches truth through his stories. This year our children will learn the structure and power of stories; they will learn about their place in their “Once upon a time” story; they will understand Shakespeare through attending his plays, reading, and performing his monologues, dialogues, and plays. They will learn the history and culture of England. They will liken the stories’ to themselves as they compare and contrast their lives to the lives of the heroes and villains in the stories.
Three moms got together to write the song. Polly brought music and I brought music. We both really wanted our own songs. I really wanted to sing the English patriotic song, I Vow to Thee my Country. But she persuaded me that we should try for some renaissance music. Polly, Deena and I chose a certain tune. Then Polly had to leave.
Deena wanted a mind map for the school year drawn by Karen. So we went to her home where she was planning to draw it for us. We three worked in the same room together--Karen drawing while she listened to us write the song. It was a fun time together. Once in a while I would go over to Karen to see what she had drawn, and she listened to us write the song.
Shakespeare sprinkles his plays with Latin, so we added some to our song. We found some Latin in Mozart's requiem and added some of his phrases. Google translate was our friend!
Deena wanted the mind map, and I had an idea for it. I had read that the Italian renaissance was all about architecture and statuary and painting, but the later English renaissance was all about words.
This frontispiece from an old book illustrates this idea--the English put the Italian-style renaissance architecture and statuary on a book title page. I gave a copy of this to Karen to help her have an idea of what I was hoping for the year mind map.
This is what she created for us.
Linear outline of the year
3 main components, with a mini intro component.
Gloriana. - Elizabeth and her times
It's Greek to Me! - Antiquities plays
All Roads Lead to Rome - Italian plays
This Royal Throne of Kings, This Sceptered Isle - English history plays
I loved our mind map and I also loved our song and I was so glad that I compromised. This was a great lesson to me on collaboration.
We first sang this song to our children in the 2nd person. But then gave them a copy in 1st person plural so they could sing about themselves.
The music and lyrics to our song:
Hail ye fair ones, full of good cheer;
Hear a tale wherefore ye were born
In the realms of heavenly spheres
To a royal manor at the breaking of morn.
When ye heard the glorious news,
To the Father praises ye did sing.
Ye were chosen, and ye did choose,
Heirs to a throne,
Sons and Daughters of a King
Vested with a birthright, tutored for a crown,
Ye, the priv'leged, regal scion.
Wedded to your duty, by it ye are bound,
Humble disciples of Judah's lion.
Inter oves locum praeta (Place me among thy sheep)
Statuens in parte dextra (Setting me on thy right hand)
Rex tremendae majestatis (Lord of awful majesty)
Salve me fons pietatis (Save me, oh fount of goodness)
'Tis your choice, the end of your story.
As ye seek the noble and sublime,
Certes ye'll ascend unto glory
When the curtain closes on your once upon a time.
Ye that wait upon Jesu
Stand renewed; mount up with eagle's wing.
Ye were chosen; now ye must choose,
Heirs to a throne
Sons and Daughters of a King.
When we finished with the song, we felt we had something significant. My children loved singing this, and it was one of our absolute favorites. We all liked singing the Latin too.
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OPENING DAY
Chase joined us for school this year. He wanted to get a handle on Shakespeare, so he joined us for almost everything we learned and did. He really learned a lot and added a lot to our year.
For opening day at home we talked about the underlying theme of the year--that we are sons and daughters of royalty and are here to learn and live up to their birthright as heirs of God
Looking back, I was really expecting a lot of my children. But I didn't know that expecting an 11 year old to watch or read all 32 plays was a little much. Oh well!
This was something I set up to help the children aspire to read/watch the plays, etc.
We did some fun and silly things too--
Donning a cape and hat, I performed both parts of this dialogue from Romeo and Juliet for the kids. It is silly and got their attention. I wanted them to see that Shakespeare was going to be fun.
Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them;
which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.
Enter ABRAHAM and BALTHASAR
Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
[Aside to GREGORY] Is the law of our side, if I say ay?
No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I
I gave the kids all our regular things for opening day--binders, dividers, paper, mind map.
I also gave them each their own miniature set of complete Shakespeare books from Costco.
Chase, Autumn and Giselle loved them of course!
My friend also gave me a box of costumes to use for the year. She was a school teacher and she had sewn some amazing costumes for her Shakespeare classes. This box had almost everything we needed! I love it when we find just what we need for the theme!
I decorated our dining room/school wall with 8 1/2 x 11 photocopies of the titles of the plays from The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare. Chase and I both had copies of this book that we got at library book sales.
I color-coded the plays according to the 4 designations:
red - histories
black - tragedies
yellow - comedies
blue - romances
By the time we ended the year we could name all the plays and their type.
I gave the kids this Shakespeare quiz just to see what they might know,
and so that we could compare by the end of the year.
Polly made these boards for us. She thought Bard Board was better than calling this kind of posted info, Potty Key Points. (See A House of Learning)
Our opening day at Polly's home was amazing as always!
While the adults readied things, Polly had activities for the kids--inquiries before the key points! Autumn paints a shield.
Polly had us choose journals of discovery for our family, with matching composition books and quill pens. She had bought leather skirts at the thrift store and covered everything in real leather. This was such an awesome idea, since the skirt leather was already colored. Each book also contained a tag so that the mothers could write children's names in them.
Polly used all shapes and sizes of journals, and each was unique.
She also used more than one color on a journal, as in Autumn's:
My composition and matching journal were lovingly filled and used by the end of the year.
After getting dressed in our renaissance attire Autumn and I led the group in some renaissance dancing, which Autumn and I had practiced at home. We took the renaissance dance tunes and some English country dance moves and taught these to the students. The favorite was our renaissance version of the Virginia Reel.
Afterwards the students prepared to meet our special guest,
all the way from 16th century England...
Queen Elizabeth the First. Jasmyn was the perfect queen. She shared some great key points and was perfectly regal. We had this amazing costume from my friend to which I added a neck ruff, and a crown-type thing I made of poster board, sprayed gold with jewelry hot glued around it. The journals were ready in baskets for the queen to present and autograph if desired.
Autumn's journal
The usual photos with our visitor
and more (This sign greeted us when we drove into the property),
so we had the kids walk down for a photo.
Our feast was fabulous! This family really knows how to put on a wonderful spread.
Then there was more dancing, with the queen this time.
Lastly, the moms talked a little about the theme, and Suzanne, Polly, and I
performed part of the witches scene from Macbeth. The kids loved it!
First WitchRound about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.
ALLDouble, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Second WitchFillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALLDouble, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Third WitchScale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.
ALLDouble, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Second WitchCool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.
This was a magnificent opening day/evening.
We were all inspired and excited to begin our school year!
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