A Midsummer Nights Dream:: Shakespeare in the Park - Eva Varga

Throughout this past year, I have sprinkled lessons on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I had selected the comedy knowing that a new venue would be opening in the summer.  I purchased our tickets early to guarantee good seats.  Thereafter, I proceeded to take measure to assure the munchkins were familiar with the plot.

The first lesson involved reading aloud Bruce Coville’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  My munchkins are familiar with Coville’s work and were delighted with the illustrations.  After reading, I asked each to illustrate their favorite part of the story. Not surprisingly, they both enjoyed the playful trickster Puck.  A few days later,  I asked them to narrate a summary (MeiLi’s narration was written while JiFu’s was oral).

We allowed some time to pass and revisited the comedy a few months later.  This time, we enjoyed a theatrical performance on DVD, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, featuring Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci & Rupert Everett.  After discussing the plot we selected a quote for copywork:  “The course of true love never did run smooth.”

MeiLi recently started a Common Place journal and selected this passage to include in her journal:

~ A fairy’s answer to Puck’s question, “whither wander you?”

Though we studied this selection throughout our 4th year of homeschooling, it wasn’t until the beginning of our 5th year that we were able to culminate the mini-unit by attending a live performance.  When I purchased the tickets, I didn’t expect that we would be living in another state!  We thereby made the drive back to attend.  Thankfully, the performance was wonderful and our drive proved fruitful.

It started off a little concerning however, when prior to curtain, dark clouds rolled in and it began to rain. Thunder was also heard in the distance and we all took cover under a small tent that was intended to shield the sound equipment from the elements.  Fortunately, the rain let up just in time and though our bumms were a little damp from the residual rain on our chairs, it held off for the entire performance.