There are many children’s theater groups around the country, and there may even be one near you. Just do a web search for “children’s theater” and start exploring! There’s also a lot of great information at eHow (”How to do just about everything!”).

When our five kids were young we helped create a neighborhood theater where our five kids and the homeschooled neighbor kids all gathered at an abandoned nearby hunting lodge each week for what became a fairly serious effort to learn about drama and acting. The kids selected “Paddington Bear” as their play, and largely directed the effort and each other, and had a most delightful time doing so. While the kids never took their play to the stage anywhere, at least two of the kids went on to study drama and theater at college, and are both involved with local theater groups as adults.

Home Education Magazine has also run a few articles on children and theater, especially this terrific article, “Let’s Put on a Show!” by Rebecca Rupp: “They wore cardboard helmets to the breakfast table, worried about the stabling of their imaginary warhorses, and addressed each other as “my lord.” Eventually, however, everyday imaginative play developed a new and public twist. It acquired plots, props, and a need for an audience. It became a show.”

Rebecca’s article includes plenty of great resources and websites for further inspiration and encouragement. Also including a good bit about the topic is Rebecca Rupp’s article about Leonardo da Vinci: “‘Young people should not study Shakespeare’s plays,’ writes Robert Sugarman, ‘they should do them.’”