Once upon a time I read this article somewhere that mentioned there are ___ amount of steps to translating a Latin sentence but I can't remember where I saw it. I found myself looking for it because we are doing LCII this year and ds does well with it but sometimes misses steps in translating (and I am learning along with him). So today, while working on translation, I attempted to make my own list (don't laugh!). Keep in mind that we are only translating very simple sentences right now and I know that my list is not complete...I will have to add to it as our sentences get tougher. Also, we do a lot of grammar study through Latin so there are several English "grammar" questions in there. I just need some kind of "checklist" I guess so that neither he nor I miss any steps until we get really good at it. So if you don't mind, tell me what you think, what I might have missed or made a mistake with etc. Thanks! Example sentence: The student carries a small tablet. 1. What is the subject of the sentence? Student 2. How do you say that in Latin? Discipulus, i 3. What declension is that? 2nd declension masculine 4. What case is the subject of the sentence? nominative 5. How is that word declined in that case? Discipulus, discipuli 6. Is the subject singular or plural? Singular 7. Which form of the nominative case do you need? Discipulus 8. What is the verb of the sentence? Carries (I carry) 9. How do you say that in Latin? Porto 10. What conjugation is it? First conjugation 11. What ending does it need to match the subject? –t 12. How should the verb look in this sentence? Portat 13. Where do you place the verb? At the end of the sentence 14. Are there any direct objects? Yes 15. What is it? Tablet 16. How do you say it in Latin? Tabella 17. What declension is it? First declension feminine 18. What case is the direct object? Accusative 19. How is that word declined in that case? Tabellam, Tabellas 20. Is it singular or plural? Singular 21. Which one should you choose? Tabellam 22. Are there any adjectives? Yes 23. What are they? Small 24. What noun do they modify? Tablet 25. How do you say the adjective in Latin? Parvum 26. How should you decline it to make it agree with tablet? Parvam 27. Should it go before or after the noun? Before 28. Why? It is an adjective of quantity. 29. How should the translated sentence read? Discipulus parvam tabellam portat. Also, one more question...in LCII it states that adjectives of quantity and size come before the noun and adjectives of quality come after the noun so that's what we did. But in the answer key it has "parvam" AFTER "tabellam". Anyone know why?

I would LOVE your opinion!

Yup...what they said. It is not, in my opinion, "lighter" by any stretch of the imagination. It is just more focused and streamlined but it is VERY rigorous.

I need your help . Even though my first class in my doctoral studies just started two days ago, the university expects me to come up with a topic for dissertation ALREADY! Luckily, there are SO MANY things wrong with public education, that I have plenty to choose from. But one of the topics that is a particular thorn in my side, and one I am hoping you will help me with is that of...drum roll.... new teacher preparation. I know many of you here went to college for teaching and have been through the education courses (and may some day have sons or daughters that will go through it) so I'd like to get your opinion on it. I personally believe, based on my own experiences and that of my former colleagues, that colleges and universities do a very poor job of preparing students to be teachers. The attrition rate of teachers in their first 3 years is extremely high. Sure I learned a lot about my subject matter in college but I felt my actual education courses were a big fat waste of time. The most I learned about how to teach while still in college was during student teaching and that was only for a semester (which was not enough). During my first year of a real teaching job I felt like I had been thrown to the wolves! I feel that I had to learn about teaching "on the fly." Some may say "so what?" But think about it....a neurosurgeon doesn't learn about neurosuregery "in theory" only and then they just send him out to do surgeries after a couple of tries at it! We are talking about our children and their education! We are talking about the future of our nation and the prevailing attitude is that what is going on with teacher preparation is good enough and it's not. People want to BLAME teachers but they are not interested in better-PREPARING teachers. My dissertation has to be a "contextual" one and not just a "research" one as that want us to write about ideas that could possibly be implemented and not just talked about and my idea is that teacher preparation needs to be revamped. Teachers that are poorly prepared often become inadequate teachers and then students miss out on learning opportunities (unless their parents take them out and homeschool them!:D). SOOOOO, after that huge introduction, here are the questions I am supposed to ask of my fellow current/former teachers who have been through this teacher preparation process: - Do you think this would be an interesting topic for the educational community at large? - Would a research study/dissertation contribute to the field of education and/or bring about social change? - Is this topic significant or important to the field of education? - Any other opinions or anecdotes you'd like to share? Feel free to be completly honest! THANK YOU!!!!

Although we are just finishing up MUS Gamma (and we supplement with CWP, too), my intention is to continue on with MUS and add in LOF. So I am glad to hear that you are following this route and I will be watching closely to hear the results! :D

my ds REALLY made me laugh today. We were working through a test prep book since he has to take the ITBS in April for the first time. We were talking about managing his time during the test and I read from the book: "What do you do when you have a limited amount of time left and a lot of questions still to answer?" My son's response: "Panic?" I can tell he is REALLY looking forward to this test!:D

love it, love it, love it!

Grammar- every day (in our Latin) Writing- every day History- once a week Science- once a week Geography- once a week Bible/Religion- once a week

The first one does seem to be more earth science-topography related but I am looking forward to volume 2 which has the geography/culture type stuff that I am looking for.

math reading latin piano

Yeah, what she said!

That would be fun!!! I am so excited to have this planned out. I've never been ready this early on!

I have a degree in Spanish and am learning Latin along with ds. I say keep Latin and start Spanish...you can really see how one builds on the other and my Spanish knowledge has made understanding Latin so much easier. It would work in the reverse as well.

To learn the various verb tense endings you can make flashcards like this: -one side says "BO" and the other side says "I will" -one side says "BIS" and the other side says "You will" etc. Once my ds had memorized what the various ending stood for, I had him conjugate all the verbs from each lesson in present, future and imperfect tense aloud along with reciting what it meant. HTH

For the little guy: Math Reading Handwriting Bible For my older son: Math Latin Music Writing Bible

I was looking at both of those logic programs. Do you plan to go further afterwards? I was looking at the MP logic classes for high school and thought the Fallacy Detective and Thinking Toolbox might be a good start to those. Yes, my ds has had Prima Latina, LCI and we are finishing up LCII this year. I have no Latin background and have relied heavily on the DVDs from the LC program to teach ds and myself. This is why I am considering the online course for Henle...it makes me feel better! :D I will look into that grammar guide...thanks! I really like the AIG products and I have lots of them! We went to the creation museum last summer and it was awesome!

WOW...that is a lot of awesome information!!! To be honest, I was kind of bummed that he has no interest in art of any kind...no crafts, no coloring, nothing. When I make him color the pages from our SOTW AG he basically scribbles all over it and doesn't even attempt to stay in the lines. He took an art class at co-op and CRIED over it. The only thing I have found that he likes that is art-related is pottery so he has had a few of those classes. It's weird because he is VERY musically-inclined. He is wonderful on the piano and is picking up guitar quickly so you would think he had that right-brained creative streak in him...but in reality, I think it is the mathematics behind the music that he loves. He loves grammar and Latin and Math but loathes writing and art. I am going to try some of your suggestions and see what happens!

With the age of your kids, I would say neither...go with SOTW with audio CDs. It has been wonderful for us! I taught with TOG at a co-op and it is a good program and I agree that it can be as light or as in-depth as you make it BUT the mere act of trying to assemble all the necessary pieces, all the books and what-not, might be more hassle than you need right now. My kids will listen to the SOTW CDs over lunch or while coloring or playing legos, whatever. I can throw a load of laundry in and when the CD is over, we talk about what we heard. We do the map activity and if we find a particular topic really interesting we read more, watch a movie from netflix about it, etc. It is amazing how much they are learning and they really like it! ENJOY your littles...you have two more cycles of history after this one to cover things they may have missed!;)

Art is just not happening. :( Ds can't stand anything related to coloring, pasting, painting, etc. He has never liked it, even when he was little. I even tried doing lapbooks with him and he hated it. We do "informal" art history like museum visits and what-not but that's about it for now. For junior high I am thinking about Omnibus which includes some art history as well but I have given up on him actually creating any art. We don't do "formal" PE either. So his PE basically consists of being a 9yo boy...riding his bike, running, climbing, playing, swimming, etc. He doesn't care for "team sports" but loves to play outside with his brother and friends. Luckily, Art and PE aren't required subjects where I live or I would be in trouble!

We have done 3 years of separate grammar study in addition to 3 years of Latin so starting next year I am dropping the separate grammar program and plan to concentrate more of our energy in Latin and the grammar therein (a la LCC). It's interesting that you mentioned logic as that is the next area I plan to explore, figure out my options, make a plan, etc. You're planning to use mind benders? Hmmm... I'll have to check that one out. I was looking into The Fallacy Detective, too, but, to be honest, this is one area I have not researched very much and I need to. :o

http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicStore/product/Answers-for-Kids-Complete-Curriculum-Set,5177,237.aspx This is the one I am using. I will do a lesson each week and it should last half the year. After that I plan to go with this one: http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicStore/product/It-All-Begins-With-Genesis-Teacher-Edition-NIVNAS,4515,238.aspx HTH!

I can't believe I may actually have the curriculum figured out for next year already and in time for the big hs conferences and book fairs! I have a rising 5th grader and this is what I am planning...what do you think? Music= Piano, guitar lessons Math= MUS Epsilon supplementing with Singapore CWP and Life of Fred Latin= Henle I (MP online course) Writing= IEW ancient history theme-based writing History= Egypt (various materials), Greece (FMOG), Rome (FMOR) Science= Education Exploration Geography= A Child’s Geography (vol. 2) Bible/church history= AIG and Peril and Peace Greek= Alphabetarion, Hupogrammon We lean to the LCC end of things and we will do Music, Math, Latin, Writing, and Greek everyday. History, Science, Geography, and Bible/church history are each once a week. Oh, and, of course, he reads every day! Thanks for your help!

I switched from Saxon to MUS and my ds couldn't be happier! He hated Saxon so much he actually asked to burn his Saxon book in the fireplace...and I let him! Math has been so much better since we switched to MUS.

I bought "The Big Picture Story Bible" for my kids: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Picture-Story-Bible/dp/1581342772/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203476426&sr=8-1

That is nice to hear. I think I will stick with the Science-light until 7th grade!