I have found some great sites to help in your studies of Shakespeare. These links are good for elementary through high school.

Surfing with the Bard
Mr. William Shakespeare and the internet
The seven stages of Shakespeare’s life
Shakespeare Resource Center
Shakespeare Illustrated has many works of art using his writing as the subject.
In Search of Shakespeare is the PBS special. They have stuff for elementary ages.
Internet Public Library has all of his works available online.
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has interesting photos of the museum.
Shakespeare Online
Shakespeare Virtual Field Trip is interesting for the peek into Elizabethan life.
All ages can appreciate Shakespeare’s works. The younger ones can listen to selections from Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare. (The kids won’t know they “can’t do Shakespeare yet” if you don’t tell them!) His many references to scripture and his sayings that have found their way into our modern vocabulary make for interesting study.

The older ones can delve into the nuances of his work. He is worth much study over time. We will touch on his life and work many times over the remaining years.

When I was working on my lessons for the week I was copying a poem by the poet Angela Morgan (which I will share here soon as well). This is another of her poems that is so wonderful I thought I would share it with you. I hope your children enjoy it as well. We try to read all the fine literature we can, especially when it so beautifully glorifies our Creator.

God the Artist by Angela Morgan

God, when you thought of a pine tree,
How did you think of a star?
How did you dream of the Milky Way
To guide us from afar.
How did you think of a clean brown pool
Where flecks of shadows are?

God, when you thought of a cobweb,
How did you think of dew?
How did you know a spider’s house
Had shingles bright and new?
How did you know the human folk
Would love them like they do?

God, when you patterned a bird song,
Flung on a silver string,
How did you know the ecstasy
That crystal call would bring?
How did you think of a bubbling throat
And a darling speckled wing?

God, when you chiseled a raindrop,
How did you think of a stem,
Bearing a lovely satin leaf
To hold the tiny gem?
How did you know a million drops
Would deck the morning’s hem?

Why did you mate the moonlit night
With the honeysuckle vines?
How did you know Madeira bloom
Distilled ecstatic wines?
How did you weave the velvet disk
Where tangled perfumes are?
God, when you thought of a pine tree,
How did you think of a star?

We have been studying the Brothers Grimm and their literature. I said I would post some info about them so here you go. This was enough info for us. She’s only 7 and we don’t need a week or two of biographical info. We talked about them and then read many of their stories and discussed them. We have a nice copy of their stories on our home bookshelf with lots of beautiful illustrations.

Interactive online stories from the Grimm brothers here.
Long list of their stories with their original endings (which are not always kid-friendly) here.
Coloring page of the Grimm brothers here.
Chronology available here.
Biographies with a picture here.
If you have a girl into Cinderella you can see this page for info on Cinderella stories from around the world.

I used God’s Principle of Individuality for our foundational principle here. Authors so easily demonstrate this principle that I use it often in literature.

Princess G enjoyed their stories a lot and we had fun reading them together.

One of the things I thought was most interesting about their lives was when they were young men making plans to follow in their father’s footsteps and become lawyers. God’s Providence worked in their lives and they took jobs at a library to support the family and the rest is “His Story.” They were around books all the time and saw the need to preserve their folk stories as a way of preserving their German heritage. They took on the task and became honored scholars who devoted their lives to preserving their country’s literary individuality. Today their stories are known the world over and copies can be found in almost every language. What a terrific example of God’s Providence!

Rosalie Slater has written this part. The steps for reading this section are only my suggestions.
Of course you must begin at the beginning, which is forming your philosophy of literature (p. 329).

1. The Seven Loves of Literature on p. 330 is a favorite of mine. It’s very inspiring.
   The “soil softeners” article on p. 380 is great reading which discusses the inportance of instilling the idea that internal actions have external consequences. This can be accomplished through literature.
2. The overview details are the first of the real “nuts and bolts” of your lesson planning (p. 333-342).
3. The chart on p. 531 gives the overview for K-6 literature with suggestions for learning the literature of the Bible, rhymes, poems, stories, highlighting individuality of nations, history as literature and notebook studies.
4. Next you need to start with the Bible as the highest form of literature and how to study it. (p. 379)
5. Pages 382-389 discuss many forms forms of literature and how to incorporate them in your studies. These are helpful when looking at the overview.
6. Then read through America’s European Heritage of Liberty on p. 5352. This will take you through several classics that FACE also features: Pinocchio (Italy), Heidi (Switzerland) and Joan of Arc (France) among others. Then she gives you an example of teacher preparation for Hans Brinker (p. 355) so you can see her suggestions.
7. She then covers classics that feature America’s Christian history and character. read through the “Teaching American Character Through Literature” section that starts on p. 364, reading only the key classic to be taught (refer to it for each classic you choose to cover. He offers one for each year K-6.).
8. Page 378 has a blank chart you can copy and fill in to plan your lessons or you can create one like it on your computer.

She concludes with her autobiographical essay that is quite interesting . This is quite comprehensive for creating your own plans to enjoy with your children.

We are full steam ahead in our study of Abigail. As we go through the book we are gleaning principles and learning about colonial life and character. The principle we are highlighting is America’s Heritage of Christian Character. And she’s not short on godly character. What a wonderful example of godly womanhood!

What I like about this book is that it starts with her childhood (in the first person) and Princess G can really relate to her. She has enjoyed learning about life as a colonial child (see the hornbook picture below). And of course we enjoy hearing about her family’s faith.

Abigail had a dilemma that we can all relate to–keeping a promise that she should not have made. It created a teachable moment to discuss what Princess G would do and what God’s Word says about that. And G really enjoys predicting what will happen next. As we go through the book we make notes on character, setting, plot, theme and style. We also color pages and other things to add to our notebook.

In arithmetic I introduced Roman numerals with the principle that math reveals the nature of God. It is universal and unchangeable. And all people everywhere have mathematics. It is a dependable link to our past. The principles that govern math have been the same since time began. So it doesn’t matter what character you use to represent the concept of five; it is always the same. We played with numbers and had fun discovering the answers.

This week we will continue Abigail and continue our review of multiplication tables. We have a cassette tape with the facts 1×1 to 10×10 set to music. The repetitive raps are driving me CRAZY in the car but she’s learning them, so we listen (and listen, and listen…).

We have begun our study of Abigail Adams this week after a tiring 2 weeks of sickness. According to the First Grade noah Plan Lessons we are to read Abigail Adams, First Lady of Faith and Courage by Evelyn Witter. It’s an interesting biography that my little ones have enjoyed so far. (We are also doing mathematics, history and all our other subjects but I’m highlighting literature here.) Some helpful online resources I have found concerning Abigail and the colonial period are:

• The Massachusetts Historical Society has lots of information, including all the letters between
• John and Abigail (even pictures of the actual letters!) and an Adams family timeline.
• A beautiful biographical sketch of her by her son, John Quincy Adams.
• Abigail Adams Historical Society has her birthplace and other interesting things.
• Colonial Kids has video of colonial activities and even recipes from Abigail. This site is a lot of fun.
• What was cooking in Abigail Adams White House? by Tanya Larkin.
• Syllabus: Patriotic Women & the American Revolution by Rosalie Slater (FACE).

There are tons more, I know. If you know an interesting link, post it.

Abigail was adored by her children. John Quincy wrote this glowing tribute after her death.

During all the changes and vicissitudes of her husband’s political life, Mrs.
Adams exercised all the virtues that adorn and dignify the Christian character.
The freedom, ingenuousness, and pleasantry of her temper were known and admired by all who conversed with her. She was a lady of uncommon parts, ready thought, quick apprehension, and proper expression. In her letters, she used a great aptness and felicity of language, and, having a fine understanding, accompanied with a faithful and retentive memory, she soon accomplished whatever she was desirous to attain. She lived in the habitual practice of benevolence, and of sincere, unaffected piety.

We look forward to learning more about Abigail over the next few weeks and what we learn I will share here. At this time we are setting up our notebooks with a cover page and pages for each of the 5 literary elements. We have drawn and colored pictures of the gifts she received for her 5th birthday (from chapter 1) and we are keeping a running list of the foods they ate and other clues of colonial life. We are focusing on the setting in literature. Next week we will make a horn book like the colonial kids used. I use the “spirit” of the horn book all the time. We write things like scriptures on index cards, decorate with stickers, laminate and punch a hole for a cord or chain to keep them together. It will be fun to make a real horn book though. It’s a great idea, to keep a reference handy at all times.

As I said in an earlier post, our overarching theme this year is Conscience is the most sacred of all property. The Adams’ are a wonderful example of Christians guided by conscience who changed the face of the world forever. The principle we will highlight this week is America’s Heritage of Christian Character. (click here to learn more.) I love Rosalie Slater’s statement that”Becoming accountable for one’s learning and productivity is the fruit of Christian character.” That is my goal as I educate my children at home. I want to instill a sense of ownership, that she understands God has given her the gift of an intelligent mind to learn and to grow for His glory. It is up to her to discover her place in God’s Providential History and that’s what we try to uncover in our educating moments.

I hate to call it “school” because “school” is not what we do. The word school has a certain image these days that I’m trying to avoid. It’s about imparting ideas and principles, not rote memorization or learning to the test. Webster defines school as “any place of improvement or learning,” so technically everywhere we go is a classroom because hopefully we are always learning. So if that’s what you mean, I guess we do have “school.” A classroom as big as God’s creation–now that’s a school I want to be a part of!