To use or not to use, that is the question.

[blessedmama]

Happy New Year!! I was about to order Resurrection to Reformation and I was wondering how many of you used the Shakespeare material? If you did why? If you did not, why? I am just trying to decided if it is something we want to use.

Thanks for the help!

[Maadrose]

We use the Shakespeare study but not the notebook pages. Also dd prefers to read or listen to the story all at once instead of half each week.

[Tabitha]

We bought it, and my 13yo doesn't like it. She's tolerating it, but asked if we could please never do it again.

[blessedmama]

What kind of things are done in the Shakespeare study?

[4Hispraise]

We did use the Shakespeare study. I wanted my son to be exposed to Shakespeare before he reads plays. I can't exactly remember what the notebooking pages entailed, but I do remember that their were scenes to color. My ds HATED coloring them, but he liked to look at the pictures. I think he also copied a quote from the play. If there was more to it...maybe someone else will jump in and add it.

He really enjoyed reading Shakespeare! We discussed the plays frequently at the dinner table.

[my3sons]

My ds really enjoyed the Shakespeare study. I remember doing Shakespeare in high school, and all I could think when Carrie decided to write this into RTR was, 'WOW! I sure would have done enjoyed Shakespeare more (and understood it better) in high school if I'd been able to do the RTR plans first!!!' Carrie was careful not to overload the Shakespeare study with written work or tedious follow-ups. I remember us talking about the purpose of this study to be to expose dc to Shakespeare in a way that was not overwhelming, but in a way that left them feeling they could understand and enjoy reading Shakespeare. We found the beautiful pictures together and decided that including lovely artwork for dc to color would be a neat follow-up to reading it, that would not require much time nor heavy thinking. We also discussed how Shakespeare would be especially important to adhere to Charlotte Mason's philosophy of savoring rather than rushing through, hence the length of readings assigned. As quotable as Shakespeare still is today, we chose to use Charlotte Mason's idea of copywork of quotes and have dc copy a quote underneath their lovely pictures they colored. You can see completed Shakespeare's Notebooks on p. 30-32 of our HOD Photobooks at this link..
http://heartofdakotasphotobooks.shutterfly.com/33

My ds and I enjoyed the Shakespeare study very much. I think you and your dd would too!

In Christ,
Julie

[blessedmama]

Thanks everyone! You have been most helpful!

Just a side, but when I was in High School I memorized a piece from Macbeth for extra credit. It was really fun!

[Carrie]

blessedmama,

I just wanted to chime in on this thread to let you know that even though the responses in this thread may not reflect it, we actually hear from people all of the time how much they have enjoyed the Shakespeare study from RTR. We have had families from other curriculums buy our Shakespeare notebook pages and Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare from us to add to their other curriculum because they think they are so well done.

In reading through the comments in this thread though, I must also share that my own boys actually do not "hate" any part of their guides, and I wouldn't say that they would ever feel comfortable telling me they were "tolerating" something and asking "never to do it again". These are strong sentiments indeed for a study that is only done once each week for 30 min. or less!

I think that it is important when doing any assignment to have a clear idea of why the child is doing the assignment. So, with that in mind, I'll copy our reasoning from our website below as to why we included the "option" of Shakespeare's tales in RTR. It is also important to remember that this study is an option, so it is up to you as the parent to decide if it fits your family, but if you do choose to use it we would recommend using the study as scheduled in the RTR guide. This will keep the readings to a more manageable length of time, will help the child live with the story more CM style throughout the week, and will help the child spend time reflecting and thinking a bit on what was read as they color the pictures and copy quotes from the actual plays through the Shakespeare notebook.

Why read Shakespeare?

During the early years of educating our children, I struggled with Charlotte Mason’s recommendation that children study Shakespeare. I was sure that Shakespeare wasn’t worth studying by my children due to the inappropriate jokes, adult content, and references to love-making within his plays. However, as I continued to study his plays and ponder his influence, I realized that there would be something missing in my children’s understanding of the English-speaking world if I neglected to teach them about Shakespeare. This is partly true purely for the reason that Shakespeare is responsible for contributing some 2000 words and phrases to the English language that are still in use today.

While Shakespeare's plays were obviously not written for children, there is some merit in introducing children to his plays first in story form through Lamb’s Tales of Shakespeare. This aids students in their future understanding of his plays later in high school when they will read Shakespeare’s unabridged plays in original form.

In looking at the positive side of reading Shakespeare, his plays do look at both the virtues and vices of men. They show the consequences of sin, yet his characters often act mercifully. Shakespeare’s plays do refer to Christ and his teachings, and you can often see a resemblance in his plays to stories of other Biblical characters. Morals often play a decisive role in his plays, resulting in intricate plots that lead to consequences based on the character’s actions. The reader must work hard to follow the many plot twists and turns, which is great preparation for the reading of higher level books. Another benefit is that the tales are very entertaining and do much to stimulate the imagination.

While Shakespeare does include references to love-making, it’s important to note that the words 'lovers' and 'love-making' meant something different in Shakespeare’s day from the meaning of those same words today. During Elizabethan times, words such as ‘lover’ often meant sweetheart and ‘love-making’ meant an attraction between two people. This is different from the physical act of love that we associate with those same words today.

In our guide Resurrection to Reformation, parents will have the choice of whether to include Lamb's Tales of Shakespeare within their weekly schedule. Students will read 18 of the 20 included tales, omitting Macbeth and Measure for Measure due to overly mature content. Readings are scheduled once weekly, and longer stories are divided over two weeks. After each weekly reading, students will color the accompanying black and white artwork within the Shakespeare Student Notebook pages. A quote from the play will also be copied from each tale. Due to the length of each tale, and to allow students to better understand the various plot twists better, students are assigned to read the stories on their own.

We do not attempt to analyze Shakespeare within the provided assignments, but rather to allow students to enjoy the readings and make their own natural connections. Often the moral connections that students make on their own are much stronger than those that would be made if we were to point out the “moral lessons” instead.

While we do not wish to persuade you to pursue Shakespeare if it is not within your family’s goals, we do desire to explain our reasoning for including it as a choice within our Economy Package. As you ponder the best path for your family, we will link you to an article that we found very interesting in our own ponderings about Shakespeare. http://www.berith.org/hsres/shak/shak01.html

Blessings,
Carrie

[Tabitha]

I should clarify that when my dd found out that Shakepeare was an option that I added on for her, she wasn't happy with the added on work/subject matter (even if it is only 1/2 hr). I selected it for her and didn't ask of her interest. She did request that we "please not do it again" when moving forward with other guides. She didn't know if such a study would be repeated as an option.

I personally loved Shakespeare growing up. At this time, she does not. I would hope in later years that she would come to appreciate Shakespeare more than she does right now.

As Carrie mentioned, it's all in what seems to be the best fit for your family.

[3sweeties]

My DS will be starting RTR in a few weeks and I am VERY excited to expose him to Shakespeare's plays for the first time! Thankful for the way that Carrie has introduced them in this guide!

[Homeschooling6]

We are using it, well my daughter Annette is and she enjoys it. I wanted her to be exposed to Shakespeare. To me it's important that she study it. And I'm thankful that it is scheduled in because I don't think it would be part of our school days if it wasn't

[blessedmama]

I will be honest in saying that I was leaning toward doing the study but just wanted to see why someone would not chose to do it. I am looking forward to diving in and having some fun!! Thanks for all the responses!

[dolphingirl]

My 12 yo son is doing the Shakespeare study, and he really enjoys it! I wasn't sure what his response would be, but we are halfway through it, and so far he's liked every play. He and I do read all of them together and discuss them. (There were a couple times he read them on his own, and we even were able to get the corresponding CDs from the library, so he enjoyed listening to them and following along for a couple of the plays. However, I feel badly when I miss out on reading with him because I enjoy it too!)

We were blessed with a couple opportunities when he first started the Shakespeare study that I think helped to ramp up his interest. (If he hadn't been doing Res to Ref, I would have never thought of doing the Shakespeare study, and that's what inspired us to attend these. I'm so thankful for HOD, because both of these events are fantastic homeschool memories for us!) First, a traveling theater group came to our local university that performed two Shakespeare plays in 2 hours (Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet). They were extremely well done and done in a style that was meant to emphasize the main events of the plays, much like the Lamb's tales are meant to summarize the plays. So look around for an opportunity to see Shakespeare performed, which is what Shakespeare intended when he wrote his plays. They were meant to be watched, not just read. Also, our local library hosted a man who was a Shakespeare expert, and he was in full costume from that era and spoke in character. He was FABULOUS and got the attendees involved in speaking lines from the plays, pantomining scenes, sharing "insider" information about Shakespeare, etc.. It was amazing how God planted these opportunities in our town at just the right time when we were starting the study. So keep your ears and eyes open and you never know what you'll find!

I know that the study is meant to be short and sweet and simply an introduction to Shakespeare, so I hope it's okay to share, but here are a few extras which have really helped bring the plays "alive" for my son and are fun to add in during free time AFTER we've read the play from Lamb's book. Shakespeare Animated Tales produced by BBC are fantastic, and we watch them after reading the play. I've gotten the DVDs from the library, but the episodes are also available on YouTube! Also, the books Tales from Shakespeare and More Tales from Shakespeare by Marcia Williams are a lot of fun. They're illustrated versions of the plays in comic book style. Both the DVDs and Tales books reinforce the main events and themes of the stories and further spark his interest in Shakespeare. Also, they allow him to hear more of the actual lines from Shakespeare's plays, and it's interesting for him to discover how so many of the idioms and phrases that we use in the English language actually come from Shakespeare plays.

We do sometimes find it difficult to remember what was happening in the first half of the play when we come back a week later (or longer ) to read the second half. Sometimes we read it all in one sitting. Other times we'll use the illustrated Tales books I mentioned to remind ourselves of what's happening-- especially since so many of the stories have similar events in them. My son's prediction before each story that a lady will dress up as a man and this will result in confusion is usually correct!


I highly recommend using the study!
Kristin