PLH- Renaissance Classes

Presenters of Living History©

Renaissance Classes Offered:
(Subject to availability)

Renaissance Crafts
Hands-on History! Nothing educates like having that little something to take home and spark those memories!

Basketry - A student favorite! A hands-on experience in basket making, while exploring basketry guilds & history.
Wheat Weaving - The art of weaving wheat -called corn- into ancient patterns. Explores history & rituals associated with different grains.
Rag Dolls - The children make toys from scraps of leftover material and explore the traditions of toy-making.
Brass Rubbings - History and purpose of Brass Rubbings, and each student gets to create one.
Garland Making - 'Tis Spring! The season in which men and women don garlands. In the class, they make them, too!
The Still Room - The uses and meanings of herbs and spices in pomanders and sachets.
Mask-Making - A period fun craft with instruction on masks in folklore and beliefs.
Needlework - Learning embroidery while delving into the historical concept of "busy hands".
Herbology - A hands-on experience in the ancient uses of nature in medicine & attraction!

Renaissance Performance and Activities
Learning by doing. Get out of the classroom, and get on your feet!

Pageants - Learn about the purposes of pageantry, and then the students each get a chance to perform in St. George.
Storytelling - Fables and legends brought to life by a master storyteller.
Shakespearean Performance - Budding actors get a chance to ham it up in a performance of Pyramis and Thisbee.
Commedia dell' Arte - Experience the birth of comedy in Italy, and learn to walk and talk like the stock characters.
Country Dance - Learn about English folk traditions by joining in the dances.
Songs of the Times - In England, you don't have to sing well; Just Loud!
Military Life - Drilling and training of an Elizabethan Soldier, including pike maneuvers.
Rounders - Elizabethan backwards baseball! The forefather of modern baseball and cricket.
Mummer's Play - Students recreate an ancient Mummers Play!

Renaissance Instruction
Our principle is: Education is more effective with Student Interaction.

Falconry - Birds of Prey! Our Royal Falconer travels with any combination of Falcons, Hawks, Owls and Eagles! Instruction, Interaction and Free Falcon Flight ensues.
Daily Life - Give the student a glimpse of Elizabethan life and traditions, including the everyday life of children their own age.
The Adventures of Sir Francis Drake - Meet the sea captain and learn the fascinating story of a pirate/privateer.
A Visit with Sir Walter Raleigh - Experience the journey from soldier to Queen Elizabeth's favorite.
An Audience with Queen Elizabeth I - Meet the monarch and experience her life from the Tower of London to the Royal Court.
Acting up! with William Shakespeare - Join with the bard in theatre games as he recounts his tale.
Crime and Punishment - Elizabethan Justice and Penalties - Big with the teens!
The Barber-Surgeon - Renaissance Medical History that is truly Medieval.
Folklore - Beliefs and superstitions based on the times and surroundings of the people. "It's not bacteria, it's witchcraft!

Performances
Best suited for the assembly, these shows can make books come alive! These can be simply performed, or in addition to a lively instruction period.

The Royal Falconer - Nothing holds an auditorium spellbound like Birds of Prey! Our Royal Falconer travels with any combination of Falcons, Hawks, Owls and Eagles! Instruction, Interaction and Free Falcon Flight ensues.
"The Taming of the Shrew" - The bard's classic battle of the sexes presented as a half hour high energy romp.

"St. George and the Dragon" - An interactive pageant from Medieval and Renaissance times.
A Visit with Sir Walter Raleigh - Experience the journey from soldier to Queen Elizabeth's favorite.
The Adventures of Sir Francis Drake - Meet the sea captain and learn the fascinating story of a pirate/privateer.
An Audience with Queen Elizabeth I - Meet the monarch and experience her life from the Tower of London to the Royal Court.
Acting Up! with William Shakespeare - Join with the bard in theatre games as he recounts his tale.