Pirates and Storms!

"Heigh, my hearts! cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! yare, yare! Take in the topsail. Tend to the master's whistle. Blow, till thou burst thy wind, if room enough!"

The Tempest, William Shakespeare

Chers Amis,

Prepare to be boarded, landlubbers! There be pirates afoot! Batten down the hatches, the wind doth howl! Pirates and storms have blown through these parts this last week and I aafearded our fair schooner has borne the brunt of the wild wind and savage strikes. All things electronic: DSL modems, televisions, satellite systems, and automatic garage door openers have perished. Alas, we found ourselves adrift in the dial-up dark ages. Be careful what you pray for, Mates!
Last Friday our back deck was overrun with scalawags as our Literature Club had its first formal meeting of the year to discuss Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. We had gotten together in July to see the Georgia Shakespeare Company's performance of the classic. The sponsor - Target - gave each child a pirate hat and eye-patch to take home. These were well displayed Friday accented by assorted belts, handkerchiefs, golden earrings, cutlasses and other buccaneer gear. This is our third year in this Literature Club and is has become a centerpiece of our home schooling year. We read one book a month and meet to discuss it and share whatever "rabbit trails" we have followed. This month Caddie wrote a long story about how a young stowaway survived being marooned on Blackbeard Island and Scarlett wrote a plaintive message in a bottle from a castaway seeking help. Pippin even narrated a great review of the book that he illustrated in swashbuckling fashion. During the meeting, the girls learned to use a compass to navigate a treasure hunt for pirate booty, use map coordinates for a pirate version of "Battleship", and discussed literary terms. It was great fun! Our next book is a biography of Helen Keller which should entail some really interesting and hands on activities.
Following through on the pirate/island/ship wreak/storm theme chez nous, we started reading the Tempest by Shakespeare. First, we read a portion of the story form to familiarize the girls (and Pippin) with the plot and characters, then we read the same section from the play with exaggerated voices and gestures.

" I have suffered With those that I saw suffer: a brave vessel, Who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her, Dash'd all to pieces. O, the cry did knock Against my very heart. Poor souls, they perish'd." Miranda, Act I, The Tempest

We may be Tempest tossed, but it has been an adventure and luckily the Direct TV repair man came yesterday. Now, if only that garage door were working . . .

-- Marjorie