Shakespeare’s Birthday Party!

“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts . . .”

Last week we partied Elizabethan style! We celebrated Shakespeare’s birthday!

It was something I’d wanted to do for a long time. I was so inspired and must first give credit to Ed Snapshots, My Little Poppies, and the Poetry Teatime websites for the wonderful ideas and resources they link to in their posts about Shakespeare.

We invited a bunch of homeschool friends over for a day to celebrate the Bard. First I gave a little introduction about who he was and how he is still influencing the way we speak. Then we watched this video produced by Shakespeare Birthplace Trust so they could get a look into Shakespeare’s world.

Then it was time for some activities!

The kids took turns at various “activity stations.” There were Shakespeare word searches and coloring pages, a rousing game of Blind Man’s Bluff, and a game of “pin the head on Bottom.”

Then it was time to watch this animated summary of Romeo and Juliet to give the kids a taste for one of Shakespeare’s most famous play. After this final video it was time for lunch! Everyone brought their own packed lunches and afterwards we ate Elizabethan-inspired honey cakes and sang Happy Birthday! While the kids were munching on their cakes I read a few sonnets from Shakespeare’s Seasons.

This party was a lot of fun for me and I hope the kids enjoyed it too! It served as an introduction to Shakespeare for my kids and we are going to start reading this lovely Usborne Shakespeare Collection next year as part of our morning reading routine.

Have you introduced your kids to Shakespeare yet? If so, how did you go about doing it?