I don't think that at the Prima Latin level, you really need to be able to randomly spit out verb forms. The important thing is to be able to chant the endings, and maybe practice putting some endings on a few verbs. This is really just an exposure program, with some vocab-building. All this will be re-taught in LC1.

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I thought WORLD had an article about this, but no, the WORLD article is about the book A Walk With Jane Austen.

because we take December off.

Good comments, Carrie. I think it's important to understand the reasons for the customs, and not just think, as many do, that women were simply "undervalued" in earlier times. Someone also mentioned that Austen was a feminist, and I don't agree, though I guess it may depend on your definition of the term.

The free offer was over, but if people were having trouble, I should reinstate it. As of 7:00 p.m. EST it will be free again for a day.

Well, I'm using Omnibus for history, and they give various types of writing assignments, from short persuasive essays to higher-level progym assignments. I skip the ones that I know he can't handle, and let him try the ones I think he can. Some that have been good fits are those that he does in chart form. Comparison charts are good for the logic stage. You can also take these a step further if you like, and try to put the chart into essay form. However, I wouldn't worry about your writing assignments for history. I think it's a good idea to reinforce the writing you're doing in CW in other subject areas. When you get to the later parts of Homer, you'll see that some of the skills work very well with history (like learning how to re-arrange the chronology of an event, or learning how to be more credible in your writing).

for your younger ones, you may like the Dover Thrift Edition by Bob Blaisdell. It's available from Amason for about $3.50. My 8yo ds loved this edition, and practically devoured it. Here's the Amazon link: Robin Hood by Bob Blaisdell By the way, I quote from the Howard Pyle version (public domain) in my Medieval Copybook! :)

Oh yes, I know that male equivalent well! :)

for some reason nothing is showing up on my Lulu "dashboard." Usually, it would have shown about 50-100 downloads by now. I'm thinking that maybe they don't count the free stuff anymore. (Everyone doesn't have to respond, but if a couple of you can let me know, then I'll know that it's working.) Thanks,

I'm glad to hear it, and there are some longer passages that will be perfect for someone in 8th grade. Hope it helps!

If you use the workbooks, you don't have to schedule anything. The grammar review as well as new topics are scheduled for you.

He's signed up for the T/Th class from 8-9:30 a.m. ;)

There are several phases to SWR. If you're using it from the beginning, the lessons will be different from those you'll do later on. To begin, you're introducing the alphabet, but as "phonograms" instead of letters. Each day, you'll learn a couple of letters, with the sounds they make. Your dc will practice writing them and saying the sounds as they write them. For example, "a" is not just "a." It's "ah, ay, aaah" (as in map, fate, father). After learning the alphabet (single-letter phonograms) your dc will learn the two-letter phonograms. At this point, he is ready to begin his logbook and learn actual words. Sample lessons from SWR for primary beginners: First Week: Mon: Say, write, quiz phonograms: a,c,d. Play "Guess the Word." Tues: Say, write quiz g,o,qu. Quiz all 6 phonograms. Wed: Say, write, quiz f,s,e,l. Quiz all 10. *** Third Week: Mon: Reveiw "Vowel-Consonant Page". Quiz all 26 phonograms. Tues: Say, write, quiz sh,th,oo,ee,er. Add to Reference Page. Wed: Section A words. Quiz all 31. Read "My Bed" (p. 96) While doing these lessons, you're also reading aloud to your dc every day, and making sure they are surrounded with lots of good books. My daughter actually learned to read by herself at age 4, by listening to me do SWR with my ds7, listening to read-aloud literature, and having me read picture books to her. At first I was afraid that she had taught herself without phonics; then I realized that she was listening in on the SWR lessons and that had given her the foundation she needed.

PhotoDraw is a program that came with our Microsoft package. I found out I could use it, because when I right-mouse-clicked an image, it came up with a box of choices, one of which was "Open in Microsoft Photo Draw." So, I did it, and WOW! Try right-clicking an image to see what choices it will give you. If you don't have Photo Draw, you may have another program, or you can just use Word.

You're right -- it's Disc 2, not Disc 1 that has the re-sizeable figures.

Beowulf (Seamus Heaney translation) Jane Eyre Moby Dick -- this one is worth sticking with! Pride and Prejudice Crime and Punishment Don Quixote would also be a good choice, but I have to admit I only got halfway through and moved on. So many good novels, and so little time!! :o

Have you read Orthodoxy? It's definitely not light reading, but gets you to look at worldviews in a new way.

Did you know that you can use the Homeschool in the Woods figures from Disk 1 and open them in Photo Draw? When you do this, you can resize each figure to make it as large or small as you want. If the notebook-sized figures are still a bit too large, you can make them even smaller. Or, if you want a larger size for the image boxes in the HIstory Portfolio, you can make them a nice 4" tall. You can copy & paste your re-sized figures onto one PhotoDraw doc, so that you don't have to waste paper. I love this!! :D

You have to cut it out and glue/tape the sheets together. It has everything formatted for the time period, as well as civilizations marked in different rows. We accordian-fold it and spread it out on the table when working on it. (Our house is on the market, or I'd put it up on the wall.) I use the Homeschool in the Woods figures, but make them teeny-tiny in Photo Draw, so that they'll fit. They're still large enough to color in though. :D

however, I don't regret what I did in a huge way. I just had to learn and find my style, which has probably also changed due to the number of children we have (and Baby #6 is due in October!). Don't worry about getting everything right at the start. You will make changes as you go along. You will change curriculum at least once ;), and you will find that different methods work for different learning styles. Bring them home, and have fun! Blessings,

I have just published the GDI version of my Medieval Copybook, and am offering the downloadable version for free for a limited time. Here's the link: Medieval Copybook, GDI Italics Version

so much so, that I have signed up my son for next year's Omnibus III class.

I forgot I was on the high school board. Oops! I wouldn't have made my comment about age-appropriateness if I had realized that. Sorry! For the high school level I totally agree with you. :)

The thing is, even when there's a good reason for bawdiness, there is still an age-appropriateness issue here. With very young children, you have to pick & choose what images and ideas they can handle.