homeschooling – Page 5 – Letters from Home

Spring term Shakespeare

These last few weeks Paige has been studying Shakespeare. We began with tragedy.

And then we needed a break from tragedy.

Next, we read A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

She wrote and illustrated a children’s version of the story.

Then we watched the play.

It was a good time and now we’re studying Hamlet. She’s an old pro at Hamlet because we studied a children’s version several years ago when we performed the play with friends.

I’m a believer in helping kids discover simplified versions of the classics when they are young so they already know the plots and they can enjoy the language of the originals when they get older.

Good preparatory Shakespeare materials:

A picture book: A Midsummer Night’s Dream retold by Bruce Coville, illustrated by Dennis Nolan

For elementary grades: The Shakespeare Can Be Fun Series by Lois Burdett

For 5-7th grade: Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield and Michael Foreman

More here and here.

A supplement idea for a boy’s curriculum

Years ago a home school friend told me how amazing the Cub Scout and Boy Scout programs are as an educational tool. I never thought much about it until a few months ago when Timothy came up to me and told me that he wanted to earn his Bear Cub Scout rank faster than he had earned his Wolf. He had a plan for when he would work on it. He figured that since he was only required to write 3 journal entries a week, he could use the other 2 days normally dedicated to journal time to focus on Cub Scout requirements.

I love the initiative he showed here. We’ve been following his plan to work twice a week on Cub Scouts outside his normal Cub Scout meetings. Timothy is not my first Cub Scout, but I have discovered that my hesitant writer and artist will tackle all kinds of projects for scouts that he wouldn’t want to tackle if it were just for school.

I discovered that the requirements for our English program mirror some of the Cub Scout requirements to write a report and compose letters. The historical characters and locations tie in to our history studies. It’s a good supplement and Timothy likes the little badges and belt loops.

I have discovered that the Scouting program for older boys is also very good because it teaches Daniel to take the initiative and I like that a mentor (a merit badge counselor) helps him through each merit badge. Writing, leadership, reading, and research are great supplemental activities to what I try to teach at school, and you can’t beat the incentive of merit badges.

Which reminds me, I am very behind in attaching all of those merit badges. Scouting keeps me on my toes, too, which is why I fully deserve those mother’s pins they give out when a boy achieves a rank.

I love the dugout with the Bee’s flag

Mark’s journal exercise today was some copy work about a certain important event in his life. He has adorable handwriting.

Integrity

Integrity is living the same way no matter what. It involves not just choices about honesty; it involves every choice that we make. Will I be a better person if I read this? Does this entertainment feed the better part of my nature? Do I react with patience to my family, just as I try to react with my other associates?

I don’t have time to read or watch rubbish. If I had to prepare separately for each of my roles, I would never have time. My literature and media choices fill my mind with the ideas that I will use in church lessons, school lessons, and nurturing relationships. I can’t live in the silly, shallow world and still expect to have the time to seek to be worthy of the Spirit.

In church responsibilities, if I’ve been wise in my literature choices and scripture study, these are resources which I can draw upon, adorning my lessons with greater insights than I can come up with on my own.

It’s a relief to realize that our responsibilities as a child of God, a family member, and church member dovetail in their required preparations. Our character, developed through acts of integrity, will be a consistent and dynamic factor in our success as we try to fill many roles.

A life of integrity streamlines and simplifies the to-do lists. I am learning that integrity is one of the solutions to the problem of being too busy.

Composers

The study of music is something I leave to our expert piano teacher because she can do a better job than I can. However, I have found a few supplements which have enriched our history, language, and music studies.

My friend bought this book of composers in Europe, but I’m sure it’s not exclusive. It groups musicians by period and discusses their country of origin, family life, etc. It’s a good little reference book. As we study history I like to focus on individuals, not just events. Learning about composers is a nice way to talk about culture, history, and language. This month we are focusing on German composers for a presentation the kids will give at the library.

These books on CD are popular with the kids, especially Daniel. There is a narration of the composer’s life and excerpts from his works throughout. These are an hour long and they are easy history lessons. They are also a fun introduction to the works of the great composers. I don’t know, but there is something right about a child getting excited when he hears a famous symphony on the radio and says, “I know that song!”

Grieg, Schumann, Sousa, and Chopin are the favorites from this series.

Our kids enter a piano composition contest each year. It’s the best exercise in music theory that I know. I love hearing what they write. Paige wrote a waltz and sarabande this year. Daniel wrote a theme and variations. Timothy wrote an A-B-A theme. We get the results from the judges this week.

Now, if I can just commission a bust made of each of my own little composers, my shelf would be complete.

Shakespeare study

It’s almost the end of third term and I am so excited to read Shakespeare next term. I found this series to be helpful for the young children. I’ve added a few more favorites to my Shakespeare how-to list.

1. The Oxford School Shakespeare Series: Wow. This series is excellent. Within each book, you’ll find introductory materials which cover relevant historical matters and some commentary about themes, as well as a detailed synopsis of the play. The play itself has excellent side notes and illustrations (which are easier to access than footnotes) and scene summaries. After the play, there are additional notes for further study and classroom discussion and projects. For secondary school years, this is very, very helpful.

A disciplined student who studied all of the introductory material could tackle Shakespeare’s plays on their own and be conversant about themes, characters, and history. I’m always looking for something which will require significant effort from the students but also make it possible to successfully navigate on their own. Of course we’ll probably read the plays aloud and we’ll definitely discuss themes and I will ask for essays, but excellent learning needn’t require constant lecturing from me.

2. William Shakespeare by Rosie Dickins: For elementary students, (and I admit I learned a lot, too) this illustrated history of Shakespeare’s life and times is just a joy. It’s accessible for young people, the illustrations are delightful, and it makes history fun. Timothy really loved this during his second grade year.

3. The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt: For the Shakespeare faint of heart. And most of us are. This Newbery Honor book takes place during the Vietnam War and follows a young man in Junior High who finds himself the only Protestant student in his homeroom, which means he and his teacher must find something to do when all of the Catholics and Jews leave school early for religious studies. His teacher decides that they will study Shakespeare. As told by this young man, the story is full of preteen angst and attitude, but through his study of Shakespeare (The Tempest, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet), he discovers that these plays help him better understand humanity and find his way through his problems. My older kids loved this book. It makes you excited to read Shakespeare for yourself and not just for your teacher. Thanks, Mom, for the recommendation.

Angie’s Book

Do you have an unlikely treasure hidden in plain sight at your house?

Here’s mine:

My house is full of binders just like this, but this is one of my favorites.

Last year I decided to collect the notes I have taken from literature since moving to Arizona and compile them in a book for easy reference.

It’s an odd assortment of stuff; some of it is personal religious study; some of it is evidence of curiosity; many books I have studied so I can teach them. I don’t take notes on everything that I read. More often you will find my notes scribbled in the margins of my books. But there are some books which require a little more effort. This is where I keep the evidence of those efforts.

I read The Republic twice last year to make any sense of it. I made notes in columns to show the dialogue.

After reading The Aeneid and making careful summaries, I decided not to use much of the work in Paige’s study plan.

This book is evidence of many elements of my life which coincide with my studies. I was a mother of a toddler at the time I was studying a text on the American Revolution.

My notes from Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith were left on a chair at Spring Lake and received a good soaking from the sprinklers.

After I read a book, I decide whether I want my children to study it. If so, I will often make a study plan, research commentaries, and write essay questions and sometimes worksheets. It’s not very often that I read something and discover that I can’t use it in some way in our classes.

I gave up personal reading during high school and college. It took me years to revive the hunger for ideas which was stamped out during those busy years. I didn’t like much of what was assigned to read during those years. I became weary from ideas of authors I didn’t admire and books I had not chosen. Of course these reading experiences had value, but I am grateful to be in a new phase of study.

This time of my life is a little bit like being back in school, but I love the freedom to read what I want and study as little or much as I please.

Mosaic tile art class

I taught an art class for children this week. I feel pretty good about it.

We had great participation and focus among the students.

There is something so great about kindergarteners. Mark is very proud to be a part of the big kid class.

We applied the tile pieces to foam board with glue.

Mark made a sunset and Timothy made a beach scene.

Daniel made a saguaro cactus in bloom.

And I made a poppy.

Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

The Tucson Gem and Mineral show is the place to awaken your inner child. You can see the sensational and the humble, the flashy and the fossilized. We like to go on the School Day because vendors bring out boxes of rocks for $1 or $2. We give each child $5 and they can collect quite an assortment.

This year they had Geronimo’s rifle and Wyatt Earp’s pistol on display. Mark was simply amazed (wink). We had to wait a full 5 minutes to muscle our way through all the old history buffs to get this photo.