There was some major drama in our preschool this morning.   

The entire school turned out to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday in an assembly. The preschoolers each recited a line from one of his works. The kindergartners, however, stole the show. (Yes, I’m a bit biased.)

My daughter made me paint her face green for her role as a witch in Macbeth. And, even though the face paint packaging said “easily washes off with soap and water,” let me warn you, it does not easily wash off. She wanted a broom to go with her hat and wig, so at 10 p.m. last night, I picked up an outdoor broom from Wal-Mart. It was all they had, and it was three times her size.  She rocked her lines:

Fillet of a fenny snake,
    In the caldron boil and bake;
    Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
    Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
    Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
    Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
    For a charm of powerful trouble,
    Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. 
      

Her friend, Brenna, impressed the audience when she perfectly recited more than a dozen lines as Witch Three.  And little Trey, as a “blood-stained ghost” assumed a British accent while presenting his lines in character.  Class clown, Matthew B. ended the performance with a bang. He added his own choreography to his lines.

I would never have guessed that a group of five and six-year-old children would have been able to perform lines from Macbeth on stage. But, too often, we underestimate the capabilities of young children.

Happy Birthday, William!