A Shakespeare Class Your Kids Will Actually Understand!

Shakespeare – the very name strikes fear in even the most Classical of homeschoolers.  Why, oh why, do so many homeschool curricula insist we teach it?  Is it even possible for the average mom to handle the subject of Shakespeare without totally warping their children?

The way I see it, you have 4 choices when it comes to teaching Shakespeare:

1.  Skip it.
2. Get a book like How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare (and somehow find the time to actually read it)
3. Read to your kids from simplified versions like Shakespeare Stories or Usborne Stories from Shakespeare (and never really dive into real Shakespeare)
4. Put your children in a class that teaches it for you.

I’ll be honest with you – I’ve done ALL of these!  I skipped it with my oldest (who ended up getting his fill in college).  I bought a book on teaching my kids Shakespeare (and never read it).  I read to the kids from Shakespeare Stories (and felt like I was cheating).  And then, I put them in a class that finally taught them (and me) real Shakespeare!

And the best part…
I didn’t even have to leave my house!

 

Take a Shakespeare Class Online!

Music in Our Homeschool’s 10 Weeks of Shakespeare has been such a blessing!  My kids are actually understanding Shakespeare.  And while this class is geared toward high schoolers, I’m using it with ALL of my kids – Kindergarten through High School – during our Morning Time!  That’s right!  As part of our Morning Time each week, we sit down and work through the lessons a little bit at a time.  It will stretch way past 10 weeks, but that’s ok.  I want them to really “get it.”  {NOTE:  This class can also be used with in a co-op setting!}

Related post:  Morning Time with Multiple Ages

What you need to teach Shakespeare

First, purchase the class from Music in Our Homeschool HERE.  Make sure you look for a coupon too!  Currently, she has one for 15% off!  Coupon code: 15OFF2018

The course requires 2 books – and yes, How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare is one of them – BUT, she tells you which pages to read and what to do with the pages you’ve read.  (I guess I just needed someone to tell me HOW to read How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare! *smirk*)

The other required book is William Shakespeare’s Star Wars.  If you are not doing this class for credit, then you don’t have to buy this book.  However, it is a fun little read.  Your kids will need to be familiar with Star Wars in order to understand this book, but basically it takes the entire movie and Shakespeare-ifies it!  Your kids will be asked to choose parts, practice the parts and perform a portion of the play, BUT we chose to just read through sections of the book together since my kids are younger.

The entire course is housed online, so you have access to it anywhere and on any device you have internet capabilities.  Most of the time I use my laptop at the dining room table, but sometimes we use our smart TV or mirror it with Apple TV so we can sit on the couch.

Shakespeare Lesson Example

Let me share from Week 2 to give you an idea of what a lesson is like (and remember, you can take as long as you like with a lesson – dare I say, As You Like It? – sorry, couldn’t resist)…

The lesson starts with a list of Objectives for the week.  Week 2 focuses on teaching Iambic Pentameter – the very essence of Shakespeare.  There is a series of short video lessons on learning to read Shakespeare that my kids LOVED!  Then you review the memory work, read another chapter in the book, analyze an excerpt from A Midsummer Night’s Dream for iambic pentameter, and watch more of A Midsummer Night’s Dream presentation on YouTube.  All of the videos are on the page you are studying from for your convenience, and everything is very in-depth without being tedious.

Besides the 10 weeks of lessons, there is also an Appendix full of great resources and ideas!  And as you can see below, when you mark a lesson complete, it puts a little checkmark beside it and fades it a bit so you know where you are!

It is very in-depth without being tedious.  I can work through it at our pace (which is really nice!).  So, don’t let teaching Shakespeare scare you anymore!  This course might even teach mom a thing or two!