The Finer Things in Life

Though we tend to focus on math, science, and language arts, our children need to learn to appreciate the finer things in life like art and drama, namely, Shakespeare. One of our newest courses is Art Appreciation: South African Art. This course, led by Elna Venter, focuses on eighteen South African artists from the 19th-21st centuries. It begins by asking elementary and middle school students the question, “How do we look at art?” It then goes on to explore the language and elements of art such as line, shape, mass, light, shade, space, texture, and color, as well as aspects of composition such as rhythm, focal points, and balance. Simply Shakespeare sounds like an oxymoron, but you’ll see that it’s not after taking this course. RachelAnn Rogish skillfully presents Shakespeare as anything but difficult. There are more than a dozen self-contained printable units available for children in elementary through high school. Along with studying the plays, students are encouraged to perform them as well. The background of each of Shakespeare’s plays is explained, and discussion prompts help students understand the characters, motives, etc. There are also in-depth discussion questions to help students look at the plays of Shakespeare from a Biblical point of view and a behind-the-scenes look at the vocabulary used in the plays of Shakespeare.

Tammie Bairen
Editorial Assistant
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