Ian followed along in the companion book the first time, but my goal this week was just to get everyone familiar with the songs. We started listening to De Colores and Other Latin American Folksongs, a CD from José-Luis Orozco. We also spent some time on Spanish, though I tried something new to fit in with our week’s schedule. (I normally teach both boys piano, but I let them have a break from it this week since they were already getting so much music at camp.) They both really enjoyed playing the hand chimes and creating music with a big group. This week was all about “Extras,” with music obviously taking the majority of our time. Overall, I’d say it was a successful first exposure to Shakespeare! After we had read the story, we watched the version from the Shakespeare: The Animated Tales series. By using the dolls to act out what was happening, Ian was able to follow the story well and laugh at the crazy mix-ups and silly moments. Eventually I got out four of Arianna’s dollhouse figurines to represent Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius. There are so many characters and plot lines to keep straight, and I took a break after every few paragraphs to have him narrate back to me or else just to help explain what happened if he couldn’t figure it out. Ian enjoyed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” more than I thought he would.

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I have a beautiful old hardcover edition that I purchased as a child (yes, I’ve always been a book lover), which made it extra special. We’re using Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb. This was the first week we’ve spent any time with Shakespeare. I tried to get most of our Ambleside Online, Year 1 reading done even though our mornings were taken. Here’s what we did get around to this week: Literature/Ambleside Online

It was a fun taste of what Fridays are going to look like for them this fall, and because of the schedule, I dropped most of our regular school activities. The boys spent their mornings at a music camp, where they learned a bit of music theory, how to play hand chimes, and did various other activities. Our seventh week of school didn’t look much like any other week.

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