"Performance-based" Homeschooling

I was commenting to a friend recently that if there is anything with costumes, re-enactments, or performances, either by my own children, or even better, full grown adults, we seek after these things! In other words, WE'RE THERE! I laughed and said, "Really, we follow a performance-based curriculum."

Well, the truth is, we don't "follow" any "curriculum." But whatever we do, we try to see how often we can throw on a costume and act it out.

I mentioned in an earlier post my husband and I having the discussion about what we remember from our public school appearance. Well, that is a part of what we remember. We remember anything we were costumed for. And it plays well into the natural strengths of my kids: "imagination and play." It seems like a fantastic reason to homeschool: we have the time and energy to insert or adventure into all THIS sort of learning.

There was a suggestion I design a whole "Performance-based" curriculum. If I ever get tech savvy, perhaps I'll share a video on how to cut a costume or post a few of the plays and skits we've written. But I think the whole point is to use your own imagination and go crazy on whatever seems the most engaging or exciting. So here are my tips.

#1 - A stage is fun. Yes, we have a stage at our house. In fact, there is a "stage" on every floor. On the main floor, it's just in front of the fireplace because that is where the couch faces. But in the basement, our school/play room has a "stage" with CURTAINS!

In fact, the stage is made by the presence of curtains. And I'll tell you how we came by that. At Ikea there are wires and hardware for mounting to the wall said wire for hanging, you guessed it, curtains. We bought the set which spans about 7 feet and mounted it to 2 walls dividing off a small bump out from the rest of the room. If you don't have such a floor layout, you may be able to use a corner. Anyway, the "curtains" are just 2 brown flat twin sheets which can be purchased without other bedding at Walmart for around $5 each. In fact, I have a collection of sheets bought there in various sizes for backdrops for our performances. I might recommend buying the sheets before you mount the wire to ensure the sheets reach the floor, lest the kids be disappointed in short curtains for the stage. (I'm sure sewing and fabric would do the trick too. I just don't sew and try to avoid fabric stores.) Oh yes, Ikea also has clips  (like the ones pictured in this link) you can attach to your "curtains" which can be hooked on to the wire. I recommend the kind that don't need to be threaded on. Because ours hook on, I can put the curtains up for the stage in less than one minute and take them down fast too. Because of the pulling of little siblings and friends less used to our "stage," the sheets are mostly kept, clips on, folded in the closet. (The wire is permanent, but an inch away from the ceiling and very inconspicuous.)

#2 - An Audience is a must. I spend a lot of time watching the spontaneous performances of my daughters. They draw heavily for their material from performances they have been to see, and we try and hit a lot. But otherwise, I also try to arrange for official "audiences" for anything my kids have spent time on. I started a few clubs (click to read about them in detail) to this end - so when we're sharing, via a costumed presentation what we've learned about Vikings, or Ancient Israel, or Helen Keller, a bunch of people are there to clap at the end. When the clubs fall through, we invite friends from the neighborhood over.

And performing is part of our holiday traditions. (Click to jump-start out of the box thinking for the holidays.) The obvious is the nativity at Christmastime. We also try to put on a play for Thanksgiving (our first was about Native Americans and pilgrims, roughly, but after that one, we have had a lot of fun adapting stories into plays) and the kids do a skit for St. Patrick's Day.

(While chatting with my friends about this, one shared a fabulous idea for another easy venue: family dinner! Her boy had finished Moby Dick, so the family enjoyed a themed meal, while he, in costume, told them all about it. PERFECT book report!)

#3 - Costumes can be EASY. In our toy closet are two dress-up bins out of which come most of our costumes. We have a blue bin for boys and a pink for girls. As girl dress-ups are more obvious, I'll only say we love hand-me-down church dresses. We keep all styles, and when they are too big, all the better. 

Boys can be trickier, but the nice part is, guys have been wearing pretty much the same thing all throughout history. (I know that is a HUGE generalization, but not as huge as it might be if you count out the nobles.) So old t-shirts are our friends. I made my son his Indian pants out of a large, brown t-shirt. And his dress-ups contain many t-shirts with the sleeves cut off for tunics. (He cuts holes in the sleeves and uses them for masks.) We also make sure dad's old dress shirts find their way to his dress-up bin. And old sheets for turbans and togas, etc. We have a few lava-lava's which we drape in various ways for capes and cloaks and "skirts" for periods before guys were wearing pants. Finally, one essential piece which we'll be needing to replace soon: knickers. (My skinny kids have never been good at keeping pants up that don't have the adjustable elastic straps at the top. But I saved the size 2T black knickers my mom gave my boy as part of a church outfit, and he STILL wears them anytime knickers are appropriate. Which seems to be a lot.)

Lastly, we like to add pieces of greater authenticity by hitting venues where there are GROWN-UPS in costume! (The local Mountain Man Rendezvous and the Renaissance Faire are our two favorite for guns, bonnets, snoods, corsets, coon-skin caps, etc.)

So by easy, I guess I mean no sewing, because I don't sew. But if you are lucky enough to HAVE that skill, your kids will be the ones mine covet. :) (Though I've heard that glue guns can do wonders, so watch out world! Our costumes may just make a leap into gorgeous sophistication!)

Those are my tips from OUR performance-based education adventures! Leave a comment and share what your kids do, for whom, and how, so we can increase our own "repertoire"!