How to Handle a Play

I don't know about you, but occasionally I find something in my son's curriculum that I am not quite sure how to handle because we are a homeschool with one student. I use BJU (Bob Jones University) for reading, which I LOVE, but it is written for a Christian school setting. Today, we came upon a play. The teacher's manual suggested choosing several kids to read the characters. I have one reader...[crickets chirping]

Now, I could try to arrange for having other readers come over but I have found "reading dates" not to be overly practical. Finding six other kids with the same reader, same block of time, and same location...is pretty much a homeschool impossibility. 

I could just read it with N like a regular story, and just reading it aloud seemed like a waste.

Also, last week I read this awesome blog about not growing weary during the back half of the school year...thus, I was feeling inspired! (This is the inspiring blog post)

As I contemplated this problem over my first sip of coffee, I came up with an awesome idea! We will make puppets and enlist my non-readers into the story. My boys love making up puppet shows, it was a win/win for me. The story in N's reader was The Bremen Town Musicians, a particularly fun story and conducive to puppets. I sent N off to do his math and gave E and J the mission to gather the needed craft supplies. I attempted to drink more coffee.

Supplies Used: 
Construction Paper
Paper Plate (We used Chinet, I like the stronger plates for puppets)
Goggly Eyes (A must for my preschoolers)
Craft Feathers
Glue Sticks
Markers
Coffee (first cup got cold)

J needs the preschool version of coffee.

Robber 1

I pre-made the paper shapes and arranged the animals, so the construction could be fairly self-directed. Crazy, zaniness ensued, but fairly quickly we had our puppets. We made a donkey, dog, cat, robin, rooster, innkeeper, robber 1, and robber 2. Glue, feathers, and paper flew through the air as I got my first sip of my second cup of coffee. 
 
 We then gathered and read/performed The Bremen Town Musicians. N directed/casted (which he took very seriously)/and did all the reading. The boys had a blasted, especially N.   It was a great comprehension and listening exercise for E and J, and well it was plain, old fun. My second cup of coffee was now cold, again.

Performing the play

Did this add a little zaniness to my morning? Yep. Was it totally necessary or even in my lesson plan? Nope. Am I glad I did it? Definitely!

An important part, or at least an important part of my philosophy, of homeschooling is capturing our child's heart. We want our children to love to learn, and to see school as an amazing part of their journey. But even more, we want them to love what we love, to love the Lord. And while making cat and donkey puppets might not seem important, helping my son love school and love what he learns in his home is paramount. It is the reason for my calling, my prime directive.

The cast and crew

Do not undervalue the little things, 

they are what the big things are made of.