Macbeth

I've been meaning to get back to blogging more since we got back to Texas. I was just so struck by what a difference other people's blogs made in my feeling like I've kept in touch, even though I've only really been stalking. But, you know, with permission. Kids who were infants when we left Texas would be unrecognizable to me now if their mothers hadn't been posting photos of them weekly/monthly/whenever they could. As it was, I recognized many, and felt just as close to some of these friends I hadn't spoken to in 5 years.

So, my goal is weekly updates, with plenty of photos of the boys and their goings-on. This week, all I have is VIDEO YAY!

We've come to the second quarter of our school year, and Matt suggested switching from poetry to drama (specifically Shakespeare) for English. Long story short, this quarter we are studying Macbeth, and so far it is going swimmingly! We found a series called No Fear Shakespeare that is awesome. Open to any page of the script, and on the left you have the original Shakespeare. On the right, you have it translated into modern English. So what we do is read through the modern first, so the boys can get the images and plotlines into their minds, then we go back and read the Shakespeare with plenty of Mom Interruptions to point out cool turns of phrase, explain a tricky word, or just show how it matches up with the modern translation. Then we gather costumes, and the next day... WE SHOOT!

We're all learning a LOT as we go along, and it has been so much fun. So, until next week, I leave you with the first 2.5 scenes of MACBETH dun dun dunnnnnn! (We discussed the whole "curse" thing. We don't much care about it.)(Also, the video starts out with some loud rain, but once the boys start talking it's pretty quiet. Headphones or speakers will come in handy.)(And now I've ruined the intro. Better announce the video again.)

UPDATE: On my computer, the video gets cut almost in half vertically - you may have to just follow the link in the upper left corner of the vid to watch it on YouTube proper. Okay, here we go...

MACBETH!