How old is she? This book has been a huge hit with my preschooler. There are sheets in the back that you can laminate to make flashcards they can practice on with dry erase markers. This is only the lowercase letters, but they make one for capital letters, too. If you google d'nealian there are also free printables online.

I find it interesting the seeming disdain she expressed. I once reached out to one of my old classics professors with questions about dd learning Greek. He seemed both surprised and delighted that children were being introduced to the subject. This teacher you speak of is likely a perfectionist and very good at what she does. Perhaps the idea of having to undo the "bad habits" formed by home study (not using the methods, pronunciation she prefers) outweighs the delight of the prospect of an increased amount of students with a passion for learning Latin. I personally don't expect my child to work to a mastery of a classical language under me. I do expect to provide her with a solid foundation, though, and she can expand it further if it becomes a passionate pursuit.

I haven't used it, but I love the look of it. I sent an email to the company for more info. after I saw your post. They quickly answered my questions. Did you see the sample lesson? That is one of the things I emailed about because I couldn't find it on my own. I think we are definitely going to add it in next semester. I also like that her level is American art, and we're studying Am. history this year. :) http://artinactionathome.org/lesson/show/id/12

I have been very pleased with them. They are gentle yet thorough.

I clicked the link she gave for Google Docs at the top and had no trouble. Perhaps you should try that. (Directly beneath the title is the docs link set off by asterisks.)

We're going through it right now using Jessica's worksheets (thanks Jessica!): http://dontneednoeducation.blogspot.com/2010/01/grammar-land-worksheets.html

We plan to. We school for six weeks and then take a week off. Since our last break came just nine weeks before Thanksgiving Week, we'll push through and then take that full week off.

What a great opportunity! Dh was in grad school when dd was that age, and she got to attend the Montessori preschool I worked at. It was a wonderful experience for her. I would love a 3 hr Montessori school for ds, but there isn't one around us.

We are doing the Rod & Staff preschool workbooks and Literature Pockets Nursery Rhymes along with some of the book suggestions, themes and activities from MFW K. He knows his letters and letter sounds, but he isn't ready for blending. We are working with making words using alphabet magnets until he's ready to move on in phonics.

We adore Visual Latin here. I'm using it in a supplemental way because I feel more comfortable also using a more traditional grammar-focused approach. Mr. Thomas is hilarious, and we laugh a lot. I attribute the sparkle she has in her eye now in regards to the language to him and VL. I would be greatly interested in any online classes he offers in the future. I purchased my final DVD in that sale and received it quickly as always; however, that was prior to them receiving far more orders than anticipated. They are very responsive and try to provide great service. Hopefully the DVD situation mentioned above was resolved ASAP.

We officially started back today and are almost done. A couple of subjects were just review today, so they didn't take as long as they normally will. Writing, independent reading, and piano are all dd has left. YAY!

We are very much enjoying Visual Latin as a supplement to our grammar-based program. I'm not skilled enough in Latin to critique it fully or to contribute to the immersion vs. grammar discussion, but I thought I'd mention it as an option. I personally think the grammar-based route is key, but I have seen how VL has opened my daughter's eyes to the language in new ways and helped her see it in a more "big picture" way. It is a wonderful addition to our Latin studies.

From the HSBC description: I'm assuming that means you get the information from the parent manuals...at least you will get more than just the dvds. I'm also trying to figure out how to work this in to an exhausted budget. :)

Here is the placement chart. If you click on the level at the top of the chart and then on the individual modules, you can see samples as well as read what art concepts are being taught. It will definitely work for multiple ages, but you'd have to find the best fit for the group using the chart. It has been several years since I used it, but I remember having to purchase things like charcoal pencils, tempera paint, colored chalk, liquid starch, pastels...nothing that really was difficult to find or too expensive. Hopefully those who are currently using it can chime in and comment on this.

direct link I have purchased several things from Homeschool Buyers Co-op in the last year after being a member (free to join) for several years. I have been very pleased with each purchase. The discount will increase as more people buy, but, as the OP said, you can commit to buy it at the discount you want to receive. If it doesn't reach that discount level, you will not be required to purchase. We used Atelier Art for one year. The only reason I stopped was that we moved to a town that offered weekly art lessons at a community center. The Atelier program was very impressive and easy to use. All I had to do was gather the materials for each lesson and then start the dvd. I was very surprised by how beautiful the creations were. I have been considering purchasing another set and am delighted HSBC was able to work this deal out with them.

Thank you so much. That sounds perfect. I plan to use it in conjunction with the other MP K phonics recommendations and guide, too. I also have OPGTR, so it is great to know about being able to pick up where we leave off in there.

I'd love to hear reviews of this program from those who have finished (or were unable to finish :) ) it. Ds will have some experience forming letters prior to beginning it, so I'm not concerned about the combination of phonics with handwriting. However, I am curious to know if the program was effective re: producing confident readers. Also, please let me know if you used it in conjunction with another phonics/reading program. I know the program is fairly new...but I hope there are people out there who can offer some insight. I've looked through it, so I'm just seeking feedback about effectiveness rather than content. Thanks so much!

Thank you! Thank you! That is a fascinating article! It is very interesting to me to see that, according to him, Koine would have been pronounced more like modern Greek than like the older versions. I've only read partway through but will spend some time studying this later. I'm looking forward to reading deeper and exploring the links....thanks again so much for sharing. I was fortunate enough to travel to Greece with my husband early in our marriage. Ahhh... I would so love to go back with the whole family when the kids are older.

I would love to see such a list, but definitely at your leisure...I'm in no hurry. If you do find time to compile it down the road, do let me know. Thank you!

Marie, how I wish you were close enough to meet for coffee. :) I'm very intrigued about the pronunciation differences. When studying classical Greek in college very little time was spent on pronunciation since the emphasis was on reading and translating. We did listen to various recordings "experts" made based on their research. Our professor explained to us that what we learned in the class would not help us communicate in modern Greece at all, due to the vast differences--vocab and pronunciation. The pronunciations we used was different from those used in the recordings of the Koine materials; however, it was still just a different version of a reconstructed pronunciation. Anyway, I find the discussion very interesting and appreciate your input when you contribute to these threads. You and Ester Maria add a lot to these Greek discussions, and I'm glad you're both here and so willing to offer help.

We started off the year in WT1. It is a great program, well-laid out, user-friendly for both the parent and child. The amount of work for each day is very manageable, though one day a week (the retelling of the story the first week and final draft the second) can be quite long. My dd loved WT, and I could see improvements in her writing. It was a lot of writing, but she didn't complain. I sometimes broke the main writing day into two days. It may have been that my dd was more verbose in the retellings than other children, but hers would sometimes be more than two pages long. (This, of course, was around the teen weeks of the program.) This semester we switched to WWE. I did so because I began to think I was playing to her skills with WT1. This child could retell any story or movie almost word for word. She didn't care about writing all those details over...but I began to notice that she was clueless regarding how to summarize a story or passage. After hearing SWB talk on writing at the conference, I decided I needed to switch gears and focus on teaching a skill that didn't come easily to prepare for future years. That's why we switched to WWE. I think they are both great programs. If we had time to do them both, we would. :) So, my view is you can't go wrong either way. It really depends on which fits best for your family at this time. WT will afford more opportunity to actually write and there is an option for some creative changes in the final draft which appeals to children who enjoy creative writing. The skills being taught through WWE are also very beneficial for use in the logic stages: developing outlines, condensing paragraphs to their most important point. I hope I've offered something besides more confusion. :)

We took a full year on the alphabet alone prior to starting EG. It is definitely not necessary, but if your dc are young enough when starting it is a very gentle, no-stress introduction to the language. Also, by the time we started EG dd was very comfortable with the alphabet, and we didn't face the combination of learning both the alphabet and vocabulary simultaneously. Again, I'm not advocating that a full year on the alphabet is necessary, esp. for older children, but if your children are too young for a formal program it is a nice foundation year. I think as Ester Maria said it wouldn't be necessary to do both Koine and a roots study. Once you are comfortable with the alphabet you can make the connections. I just wanted to add that it is not as intimidating as it seems. We used "Hey, Andrew" level 1, which is just the alphabet, and Greek Alphabet Code Cracker. We sang the alphabet to the tune of "Mama's Little Baby Loves Shortnin' Bread." :) I've heard people give good reviews of Bluedorn's Greek Alphabetarion also. Ultimately, whichever choice you make is going to be fine. I just wanted to encourage you that you can do it! :)

Agree that this is very child specific. I recently made an alphabet notebook using sheets from this site for my ds (if you click on each letter there will be multiple choices for handwriting worksheets in the printable activities section). I placed the sheets into page protectors so he could use them with dry-erase markers. He loves tracing over the dots and has since begun writing everywhere...sidewalk chalk is his favorite.

I would think June would be a high-traffic month since most people are finishing this school year and getting ready for the next. I personally purchase my materials for the next year early, around March. I found almost everything I needed used. I think it's pretty fluid year round; however there should be a spike in early summer just because so many people are on a typical school schedule and sell as they finish.

We love, love, love it. We are going into lesson 9 this week. After only a few lessons I purchased all the rest of the available lessons. The teacher is indeed hilarious...I laugh out loud on a regular basis, as does dd. We are using it currently as a bridge from one grammar-based Latin to our next, and then I will continue it as a supplement. This program is doing a great job of helping my dd see the big picture of Latin in context and is helping things click more than before. I can't recommend it highly enough. Each lesson is split into three parts: grammar, sentences and readings. Each lesson has a short video and a worksheet to complete after watching. We currently do one section (a, b, c) a day.