A Homeschooling Thespian

Help PTA bring back the arts in CA - and across the entire country!  I'm happy to air their PSA, and hope more states join in.

In an article from the London Times today Richard Owen exposes a piece of parchment found in the guest book of The Venerable English College in Rome, suggesting that is it proof that the Bard sought refuge there along with many other hidden English Catholics during the Reformation.  The entries fall between Shakespeare's "missing years" of 1585, when he abruptedly left Stratford, and 1592, when he began his career as a playwright in London. According to Father Andrew Headon, vice-rector of the college and organiser of the exhibition, the names can be deciphered as “[King] Arthur’s [compatriot] from Stratford [in the diocese] of Worcester” and “William the Clerk from Stratford "There are several years which are unaccounted for in Shakespeare's life," Father Headon explains. He adds that it was very likely that Shakespeare had made a pilgrimage to Rome and was a covert Catholic. The article's best quote comes from Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel, a ...

One of the purposes of this blog is to encourage all of us homeschooling moms to remember to take time out for art -- just for art's sake! Art, a music video by Andrea Dorfman

I have been meaning to post about this remarkable woman for a long time, and her important place in music secular and sacred; but this weekend she was on my mind quite a bit. Remarkably, her "feast day" is celebrated on September 17, this Thursday, so this turned out to be a providentially good time to learn more about her! Although she has never been formally canonized, Hildegard of Bingen (1098 - 1179) led a remarkable life and is considered a saint in her native land. Born the 10th child of an aristocratic family (and hence dedicated to God as a "tithe"), she was dedicated to the Church at birth. Usually too sick and weak to be educated at home, she nonetheless was sent away at the age of 8 to live with a holy woman, Jutta, an ascetic of great wisdom and beauty, whose cell was physically adjoined to the Benedictine monastary at Disibodenberg, Germany. Here too, Hildegard received a limited education. Often bedridden and so ill that she was deprived of the use of ...

During the 1990's various plans surfaced on how to implement changes in education as part of George Bush's America 2000 plan. Instead of pursuing National Education Standards, it was left up to each state to formulate their own curricula in each of the major subjects of study, including the arts. Arts Education was advanced even further when the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 included the arts as one of 10 core academic subjects, leaving scores of superintendents across the country scrambling to include more arts-oriented activities into their already crowded school year. My state, New York, established the New York State Learning Standards on the Arts in 1996. Homeschoolers of course don't really have to follow any of their state's learning standards (as far as I know) on the arts or any other subject, but as I write out study guides for teachers to incorporate our productions into their classrooms and use these standards fairly regularly, I thought it might be in...

Our summer production of Big Bad Musical has ended, but what a success it was! Lessons learned: When your choreographer quits, older girls with dance experience get a chance to prove themselves as choreographers and dance teachers to younger students Always remember to have at least three lights on each area onstage, and don't forget the importance of backlighting! Voice projection is more important than having mikes for everyone Always remember to number your seats when selling tickets instead of allowing it to be "first come, first seated" Encourage everyone at all times, smile and have fun!