Think of this memory device: Helping verb 'had' in English = use of 'era' in Latin verb tense ending, off of the perfect stem Here's a formula for the formation of a Latin Pluperfect verb: Perfect stem +era +active PE orav- +era +t = oraverat 'he had prayed' Also remember that pluperfect is completed action in the past whereas imperfect is continuous action. Think of the present stem more along the lines of continuous action, while the perfect stem is used for tenses with completed action (rather than present stem for present happenings, and perfect stem for past happenings). Hope this helps. Brenda

Looks good. I would just say that, technically, if you want to say 'we were giving' then you would use the imperfect which is on the present stem, so translate as: 'dabamus' we were giving dederamus = 'we had given' since it is off the 3rd principal part and using the perfect stem, but with 'era' in the ending, which is my big clue for pluperfect. I think of it this way...a bygone 'era' since pluperfect is the past before the past, in a way. And I must agree, I love Latin, too! :lurk5: Brenda

I just wanted to thank you for posting this thread. In doing Henle Reading No. 23 today, I suddenly understand a translation better because of this discussion here on the WTM forum! Cupidi victoriae et belli gloriae... Eager for victory and the glory of war... I remembered that you could have what I like to think of as an 'embedded genitive' placed in front of another genitive, since we would not say, 'Eager for victory and the of war of glory' or 'Eager for victory and (the) war of glory' like I used to try to translate the above. (Note: cupidi requires the genitive case). So, thanks guys...you helped me today! :hurray: Brenda

Thanks for sharing this example. One thing to note is that the first genitive mentioned is actually a 'quantity' adjective (omnium) so it is listed before the noun it modifies (provinciarum), but with an embedded 'of Italy' genitive 'noun' that is acting more like an adj., stuck in between). At least that is the way I am trying to process this, thus: I don't know the names of all the 'of Italy' provinces. What do you think? Fun discussion, though!

Well, I do know from Henle that quantity adjectives go before the noun and adjectives that show quality go after the noun, as a general rule. But that still does not explain the genitive case word order.

That's interesting. Yes, we do have to break out of our English grid to learn a new way to combine words when we study other languages. I guess we could think of it as, 'The dog of you, behind the 'of father feet', was sitting.' I think why this is especially challenging for us is that 'post' is a prep. that takes the accusative case and the acc. case shows up here two words after the word 'post' instead of directly after it. And the word in between is a genitive, of all things!! I love discussing Latin, though. It's my new favorite thing, much to my son's chagrin! Brenda

What about orabat (he was praying) vs. orabit (he will pray)? With your English translation, I would have thought the verb would have been 'orabat' in Latin. Brenda

I have a degree in linguistics and taught grammatical analysis for years at a college level. I loved Essentials! The only part I disagree with is how they classify the indirect object. Although this is a bit of a tangent, here goes: I gave the book to the girl. I gave the book to her. I gave her the book. In which situation is the girl/her the indirect object? I say that all three sentences have an indirect object, but I think that Essentials class would say that only the 3rd example has an indirect object while the other two are objects of the preposition. In the dative case of Latin, the word 'dative' comes from 'do dare dedi datus' (to give) and the dative case is the case of the indirect object. Otherwise, I totally agree with the Essentials method for teaching grammar, at least from what I remember from doing it one year with my 12 dd. She learned a ton and I wish my son could have done it, too, but we came in too late to CC, so he started off with Challenge A. Latin was very tough for him because he had not had the Essentials class, but it was very easy for my dd with her Essentials background. Blessings, Brenda

Regarding the issue of doing Saxon 8/7 followed by Alg. 1/2 the following year, we did this. Art Reed's suggestion was to check the last 5 or 6 tests of the year in 8/7. If the average was less than 80-85%, then he recommended taking another year and doing Alg. 1/2 instead of going directly to Alg. 1. What we did was let our ds test out of Alg. 1/2 until his score was less than 80% and then start from there. So we ended up skipping the first 25 lessons or so, but otherwise did both 8/7 and Alg. 1/2. We are now just finishing up Alg. 1 and my dc has a B+ average, so it was the right decision for us. Regarding test scores, I graded all or nothing for 8/7 and Alg. 1/2, following Art Reed's recommendation. However, I have relaxed this rule for the last half of Alg. 1 and am now giving partial credit. I think what is hard about this is that math is a subject that lends itself to objectivity...the answer is either right or wrong (compared to trying to grade an English Composition class, for example). And yet once we get into giving partial credit...oh oh, subjectivity has entered the race and we have to decide whether it is fair to take off 2 or 3 or 5 points for an incorrect answer. I guess we just do the best we can, trying to be as impartial a grader of our own dc as we can, and go on from there! Blessings, Brenda

Thanks, everyone. I think I'm all set. I never would have found the Technopoly resource on my own, that's for sure, and it is quite interesting! :driving:

I agree that this topic seems to be not so current as it used to be. And my dd wants to avoid Procon.org in lieu of a 'real' article. Sigh... Keep the ideas coming, if you can. Heigh Ho, thanks for trying to help! :)

My 8th grade dd is taking a Current Events class and I am to help guide her to find an article that debates both sides of the following issue: Whether tablets should replace textbooks in the classroom. Being that I am 'sicker than a dog' right now, I thought I would ask the Hive to help me find some good article links that I can print out: one that supports the affirmative of this issue and one that supports the negative position. Thank you! Brenda

I LOVE MP First Form Latin and above. I can only imagine that Latina Christiana is also great and wonderful preparation. I really believe that Memoria Press does Latin extremely well!!! I had no Latin experience, either, before doing First Form Latin alongside my dc and we all progressed so well that two years later I was able to lead a Latin Study Group to other Moms and dc using the First & Second Form Latin materials and watch them do exceedingly well! :) Brenda

That all sounds great, Derek. Definitely report back after some time using it. Next week, I will get to compare 4th vs 5th editions side by side and will decide if I want to purchase the newest student workbook or not. Looking forward to it as we all know that we homeschoolers love to hold the curriculum in our own hands before buying, if given the chance! Blessings, Brenda

We did a Latin Study Group this summer. Everyone used First Form Latin and we had parents and their dc meeting together to do oral drills, watch the DVD, play games, and go over the highlights of the weekly lesson. At home, they did their workbook pages for the week. It's been a fun and educational experience. Brenda

Just agreeing with what has already been said. We currently have both BJU Physical Science and Apologia Physical Science sitting on our shelves. To me, 1/2 of Apologia Physical Science handles what we already covered in BJU Earth Science. But I have one dc who prefers Apologia and the other prefers BJU, so we will probably keep both on our shelves all the way through high school. Have you heard Mr. Harmon teach any classes? If online classes are an option for you, I'd definitely recommend checking out samples of Mr. Harmon's teaching style. My ds loves him! My dd, OTOH, cannot stand listening to BJU lectures and so she much prefers just working through the reading and studying of a textbook on her own. I am a bit concerned that she will get a strong enough science education using Apologia, but the reviews seem to be good, so I guess we will continue. I think it is important to verify the scope and sequence when you want to change to a different company, so you don't run into either duplicates or gaps. Blessings, Brenda

Garga, I am no expert, but I think LToW would be totally suitable for a 9th grader. In fact, CC tutors modified the program for 7th graders to make it work for them, as I believe this resource is best intended for high schoolers! So I'd say, "Go for it!" Brenda

Great, Derek! Good to hear from you and glad to know you've decided to go with this curriculum. I love how LToW has helped my son's writing improve, but am in complete agreement about the benefit of the proposed changes for ease of use for both students and teachers. I now need to decide if it is worth purchasing this curriculum again when I have one dc going into Challenge I and the other into Challenge B (having used LToW for either one or two years already at this point). Hmm.... Anyway, thanks for the quick feedback and I will keep pondering my next move! :) Brenda

I would still love to hear from anyone who could compare LToW Level One 4th vs. 5th edition. It looks like Classical Conversations is using the newest 5th edition this upcoming year and I don't know if I need to buy it or just use our 4th edition. Thanks, Brenda

I agree that this upcoming year can be good for doing all the things you couldn't make time for last year. But I also think you may have had CC burnout because of tutoring each year as well as your dc being so little. I would consider the possibility of going back to CC in the future in order to do Essentials with your oldest, even if it's not for 2 or 3 years down the road. And it looks like you have a baby in the mix, so that's a reason in itself to stay home and enjoy nap-time, etc. Blessings, Brenda

I recommend using First Form, Second Form, etc. Latin by Memoria Press and then going over to Henle.

That's great news! It's so nice to hear a positive update! Interestingly enough, I've had to apply Art Reed's advice just this past week as my ds hit lesson 60 in Algebra and got a D on his test, with his last test being a C. Before that it was all A's and B's so I am now going back and revisiting the past 10 lessons, just to be sure. What is it about this magic 60 number in the Saxon lessons that causes so much pain for some! Brenda

Common Core touts college and career readiness standards. Who is to say that, one day, these standards will become the ones that will be 'accredited' or get that official transcript stamp of approval (as someone else has mentioned)? This could become a 'backdoor' way to regulate homeschooling if employers and/or college admissions offices want to see this official 'proof' of college and career readiness (particularly if federal dollars or support was at stake). I certainly hope this would not happen, but just thought I'd throw it out there since we are trying to guess at future trends.

I have heard that the new SAT will be lighter on geometry, which actually makes me sad because my dc is so good at it! She is the one who actually WANTS to do an extra year of straight geometry using Jacob's in between Saxon Alg. I and II.

Our plan is to continue Saxon with a year of Jacob's Geometry thrown in, after completing Algebra I.