Email Latindr3@comcast.net for a list of corrections for LiCT.

One that I enjoyed as an adult and had my older teens read is "Witness" by Whitaker Chambers. It is his autobiography and tells why he was a Communist, what happened to him that made him realize there IS a God, and how he became a Christian. Such a great, but long, book!

My children are grown now, but yes, I chose the subjects they needed to learn. They all were accepted and even given scholarships to great colleges (two, Naval Academy), and I believe it was because I knew what they needed to study. The good news is that later on, they will ask you for their Latin books as a review, and they will tell you they are glad you made them do it! "Do not grow weary in doing good!"

Besides Alpha Phonics, you might want to try McGuffey's Readers. We taught several of our children how to read using the Primer book. My daughter has taught her four year old to read well with it. At the top of each page it lists the sounds of the letters and new words to learn. You help your child sound those out and then you can teach. We did page 1 on day one.. pages 1 and 2 on day two... pages 1,2, and 3 on day three... pages 1, 2, 3, and 4, on day four. Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 on day five.... They feel encouraged that they can easily read the ones they have already done... By day six, we drop off page 1, so each day that we do reading (maybe 3 times a week), we have dropped off one page and added one, so the total number of pages is only 5 a day. About $8 a year. Only drawback are some dated words like Nag for horse. But it is not a problem for the early reader. My own children are grown.. military officers, astrophysicist, and homeschooling parents too. Just words from a grandma, retired homeschooler.

One of the mothers of grown children recently advised me that a child who is dyslexic or has trouble learning should definitely learn from a parts to whole method. She has 35 years' teaching experience and she told me that adults learn better with whole to part, but children learn best, generally, when they learn on a "need to know" basis, i.e., parts to whole. Just our opinion. From Mary, mother of 11 grown children.

Yes, absolutely let him use the charts. The only one they have trouble remembering is 8 X 7. Just drill him on that one frequently. (From a mother of grown children who majored in math in college...)

My own twin sons only listed Latin as their foreign language when they applied to the US Naval Academy in 1997. They were accepted and admitted to the academy. I think that most are accepting it now.

Actually there are two types of pronunciation.... the way you learned with music (church Latin) and the classical method (Germanic... like Wheelock's). If you are just concerned about pronouncing phrases, most of them are pronounced in the church Latin way. veni vidi vici...........VAY knee... VEE dee.........VEE chee. The classical would say: WAY knee... WEE dee... WEE kee. My Latin professor, Dr. DiPippo (yes, Italian), said that he could not imagine Caesar using the classical one when he returned in triumph.

My favorite, a historical novel, is A Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell. She did 11 years of research, some in the Vatican library, before writing this. It gives you a love for Cicero, as a republican who wanted to preserve the Roman republic. You learn his personality and that of Caesar too. I have my advanced Latin classes read this before beginning to translate some of Cicero's work. I wrote questions to go with every 100 pages, to make sure they understand the important themes presented in each part of the book. Hope this helps! Mary@latintrivium.com.

Why not do half of each exercise? And do some orally. Or have her type. We who write textbooks have to do some "overkill" to help those who have trouble learning something, but if she understands, don't overwork her. Honestly, when I teach Latin, if they get it, we don't do the English to Latin exercises after awhile. Same with some other subjects. Listen to her and find out if she gets it. Have her explain it to YOU instead of doing all the textbook.

More and more colleges rely on the SAT more than the ACT. SAT determines the ability of the student to think and to figure out things, whereas ACT just tells what they have learned.

How about Tapestry of Grace? That seems like a well planned program for the trivium.

We did Computer Keyboarding first, along with Golf. Then, moved on to slightly harder subjects, Japanese Literature and English Composition (because I knew the teacher)... Next semester it was full blown... US History, Logic, and Latin. The boys started at age 15, but my daughter was only 14. She took her time and graduated from the two year college the day after she graduated from our homeschool co-op school. I do think the Keyboarding is a great beginning class... all the other classes were easier because they could type so fast... one went to 120 wpm. (I think he wrote the the the the over and over though!)

Our twin sons graduated at 17, and then, to escape mom's rules (that's a joke, sort of), they joined the Marines. They were little.. only weighing about 135 lb. each. But they seemed strong and mature. They did okay, but David did keep writing to tell me to pray for him as his comedy was not appreciated by the DI's. Doug sailed through. By the time they were 19, they decided to try out for the Naval Academy, and we were surprised to learn that Prior Enlisted Marines have an excellent chance of getting in. The net result is that they learned so much more than I could have taught them. They are both officers now, age 31, and are the joy of my life. So, I say, if they are boys, and want to "jump off the high diving board", then you have to let them go with blessings. Again, though, "it all depends."

I am trying to figure out what TO charge this summer for a 3 morning a week Latin class.... A school is paying me $200 a week for four girls, but I don't think I can honestly charge a homeschool mom $50 a week to add her one daughter. Do any of you Latin teachers have an idea of a good price?