Updated to add: Please note that this was written in 2015. We’ve switched Latin programs several times and I’ve not yet done the same thing with any set of kids. Because we are following the classical model of education in our homeschool, we have added Latin to our average days. I have zero background in…
Henry the Fifth is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. I love medieval England and the premodern English monarchy, so its setting and themes are right up my alley. Henry V is a great play to do with those who think Shakespeare is boring or only about tangled love stories. If you have a child…
Shakespeare is the master of the English language. My goal for introducing Shakespeare to my kids is that they grow accustomed to lilting language and skillful constructions. I believe it is one of the best preparations for good writing, a skill which often doesn’t blossom until junior high or high school – when they are…
Last month I wrote about a 5-step plan for introducing Shakespeare to my kids. It’s what we did last year with three plays and what we’re doing again this year. Just today I heard my 9-year-old wandering around the house muttering, “murder most foul” and “O, my prophetic soul” to himself – Shakespeare has great…
Shakespeare can be an intimidating subject to introduce. Isn’t the language archaic and the doesn’t high quality mean high difficulty? Actually, the language isn’t that difficult when it’s read (that is, interpreted) by an experienced reader. The profound themes within plots were created not as pure art, but also to entertain the masses. Shakespeare was…
This year I start teaching writing again. I have taught several writing classes over a scattered 5 years from 2001-2010. I started off using the old IEW teacher training materials that the mother who wanted me to teach gave me and my mother-in-law’s IEW teacher manual. Every year that I taught, I deviated more and…
I have such a hard time answering when someone asks the seemingly simple and small-talk question, “What are you using for history?” The answer feels like nothing and everything. Nothing because I’m not using any prepackaged or planned history curriculum. Not AO, not MFW, not CC, not SOTW, nor any other acronym. There is no…