I think it depends on your setting and your goals. There've been lots of good answers already; I'll just add that in restored classical pronunciation, the sound of a word almost always tells you the spelling of a word, which offers some advantages for parents and children. (Ecclesiastical pronunciation has more sounds which can be spelled more than one way.) If you choose classical, yet want your children to be able to sing choral music using ecclesiastical pronunciation, it's not difficult for children to learn the pronunciation for a musical piece while they are learning the tune, whether it's ecclesiastical Latin or another language entirely.

I was going to mention Greek roots, too. "Hypodermic" and "psychiatric," "euthanasia," "euphoria," "odometer" and "hermit" are among the words that a Latin program's derivative coverage will never include, no matter how extensive that coverage is, because these words have Greek roots. You'll get access to words with Greek roots from a classical roots program, which will tie the derivatives to their Greek roots, or from a general (not roots-based) vocabulary program, which may supply the words but won't make the connection. [P.S. added later: uh oh, "hermit" does not belong on that list. Yes, the original root of "hermit" is Greek but "hermit" itself came into English from late Latin. My husband caught me on this one. :rolleyes:]

. . . is the title of a good DVD from Illustra Media on the ID movement. http://www.illustramedia.com/umolinfo.htm.

Thanks for your comments! My husband appreciates them, too. Yes, he should have called Dr. Ross a "progressive creationist," as Dr. Ross calls himself. My husband included him with the theistic evolutionists for purposes of this discussion because Dr. Ross is an old earth proponent and a proponent of the mainstream geological and paleontological timescale. So his views do differ from those of theistic evolutionists, but on the chronology issues, he can be included with the theistic evolutionists. And theologically, Dr. Ross accepts the idea of death before the fall, another way in which his position is closer to theistic evolutionists than to creationism. Still, he's not exactly a theistic evolutionist, and thanks again for calling us on this one.

My husband has studied this area and so I checked with him for resources. Here are his thoughts. Most of these books are geared towards helping you understand the issues yourself; by high school, students will be able to tackle some of them. [Added later: I apologize--I intended this post to reply to the OP.] In his words: "This list is not even complete--there are many other good books. Also, I'm going to ignore cosmological issues (where the universe came from etc.) along with all kinds of secondary issues. Positions, as I will refer to them: * Evolutionism = any variety of materialistic (= anti-supernaturalistic) evolutionism (e.g. Richard Dawkins) * Theistic evolutionism = belief in macroevolution as the basic story of how God created living things (e.g. Robin Collins or Hugh Ross) * Creationism = belief in creation of all living kinds by direct divine intervention, taking place thousands of years ago (not millions or billions) (e.g. Ken Ham and Answers-in-Genesis, or Henry Morris) * ID (Intelligent Design) = belief that there is scientific evidence of design in the biological realm (e.g. Michael Behe, Bill Dembski, Philip Johnson) Note that ID can be held by creationists and by theistic evolutionists. (Note that there are members of both groups who are opposed to ID.) It is even held by a few evolutionists (the self-organizing cosmos people, for example), but because they are outside the mainstream of evolution, I will ignore them. All of these positions fight with all the others, but the really important debates are: (D1) ID versus evolutionism (D2) Creationism versus evolutionism (D3) Creationism versus theistic evolutionism Start with debate D1, ignore debate D2 for the moment since there's so much overlap with D1, and then if you're interested, look into D3. D1: Here's what I would read, in roughly descending order of priority: (a) Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God (Zondervan)--interviews ID advocates and comes down in favor of ID; nice overview of ID position(s) (b) Thomas Woodward, Darwin Strikes Back: Defending the Science of Intelligent Design (Baker)--a history of the ID vs. evolution war since 1996, very readable; written from a pro-ID perspective © Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker (Norton)--THE book advocating neo-Darwinian evolutionism (i.e. mainstream evolutionism); predates the ID debate, however, so it can't respond to ID arguments (d) Jonathan Well, Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? (Regnery)--a very entertaining but scholarly look at the various "poster-children" used to promote evolutionism, such as Haenkel's embryo drawings and the peppered moths; anti-evolutionist (e) Kenneth Miller, Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul (Viking)--probably the best of the recent evolutionist attacks on ID The rest of my recommendations for D1 get into the deeper philosophical and historical issues, and therefore have less popular appeal: (f) Dal Ratzsch, Science and Its Limits (IVP)--a careful and competent discussion of philosophy of science as it relates to these and other issues, from a Christian author who seems to lean away from creationism and from some ID thinking (g) Nancy R. Pearcey and Charles B. Thaxton, The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy (Crossway)--a careful and competent discussion of the history and philosophy of science from authors who are pro-ID (h) William A. Dembski and Michael Ruse, eds., Debating Design: From Darwin to DNA (Cambridge)--a collection of papers from leading advocates of all the major (and some non-mainstream) views; quite balanced (i) Robert T. Pennock and Michael Ruse, eds., But Is It Science? The Philosophical Question in the Creation/Evolution Controversy (Prometheus)--a reasonably careful and balanced discussion from evolutionists of whether any kind of ID or creationism counts as science On debate D3, I recommend: (j) Joseph A. Pipa, Jr. & David W. Hall, eds., Did God Create in 6 Days? (Tolle Lege Press)--a careful discussion of the biblical and theological issues that comes down in favor of literal days (k) Hugh Ross, Creation and Time (Navpress)--Ross is probably the leading advocate of old-earth views; this book is his classic on this question, though he has written others more recently that would take into account recent debates (l) John Hartnett, Starlight, Time and the New Physics (Creation Ministries International)--a very recent book by a physicist arguing on the basis of relativity theory for a recent creation in a short time (m) John Byl, The Divine Challenge (Banner of Truth)--a superb overview of cosmology written from a staunchly biblical but also staunchly skeptical perspective by an astrophysicist; is as skeptical of creationist scientific theories as he is of evolutionist I'm already thinking of books I shouldn't have omitted, but I'd better stop." And he did!

Most of the Christian content in Levels I and II is located in the derivative worksheets. There are some translation sentences with religious themes (God, church, etc.), though most sentences are about other topics. There is little or no Christian content elsewhere in the program (e.g. in grammar lessons). The grammar and translation do not depend upon the derivative worksheets, so the derivative worksheets can be omitted if desired. Some derivative questions appear on chapter quizzes, but otherwise, derivative work occurs only in the derivative worksheets.

Jackie, the Christian content of GLA is located primarily in the derivative worksheets. In later chapters there are more translation sentences with Christian themes than there are in early chapters, but most translation work is about other topics.

I use Fruit of the Earth no-alcohol aloe gel, in a tube, available from Drugstore.com. You use just a dime-sized amount or so for shoulder length hair after each shower, so it lasts a long time. I do blow dry (on low--high was causing damage). The aloe has helped me with dryness and limpness; it seems to help my hair use whatever moisture is in the air. This brand is not 100% aloe, but I'm sensitive to LOTS of things and it doesn't smell, itch, or bother me in any way.

If the loops are pulling out on the towels you mention, if you spread the loops apart and look at the fabric the loops are embedded into, you will probably see that it is a loosely woven material that was too loose to keep the loops in place--porous, unstable, too prone to opening up into holes. Lands' End is good as others have said, but if you buy from somewhere else, checking the backing may help you out.

Design a restaurant menu. Use only one font--different sizes and weights and colors, but only one font. Alter the character spacing and/or character scaling of some of the text to produce a customized font variant which will still blend in with the others. Learn to make and use custom colors in Word for more text color choices. Work with the spacing before and after paragraphs (not just multiple uses of the "Enter" key) to achieve a pleasing layout. Next, try two fonts instead of just one. Use this great hint from a graphic design book: it's not usually the differences between fonts that cause font conflicts, it's the similarities. So often a serif font and a sans-serif font are easier to use together than two fonts that are more similar, such as two different script fonts or two different italic fonts. For a more advanced layout, use text boxes as a way to position text. Text boxes can also be used as a way to give an entire page a fancy border. Print the menu on different papers. Do different fonts look better or worse on different papers? (They will--the fun part is figuring out why.) After saving the menu, do a Save As and do another version--change to a new restaurant name, switch fonts, use a different paper. Have your daughter create the restaurant in her mind, imagine the decor and the music and the way the customers are dressed, then decide what the menu should look like. Word is not the best place for graphic design--at all--but for a ready-at-hand introduction to some of the artistic fun you can have just with fonts and layouts, it's a perfectly good place to start, and you'll soon notice whether you have a budding graphic designer on your hands!

I was always, always disappointed with frozen broccoli until a friend gave me some Bird's Eye frozen veggies when I was ill. They have a mix with broccol, carrots, water chestnuts and mushrooms which is excellent. It costs more than store brands but way less than eating out and I think if you want fast, good, healthy results from frozen, I think you would be very pleased with it or maybe with another one of their mixes. I've also had very good results with Hanover sugar snap peas and Trader Joe's frozen asparagus. When the asparagus is still frozen it's easy to break into smaller pieces if you like that better than whole. I've never found any frozen green beans that really taste good to me, and very few frozen peas that taste sweet to me, and also I have not had much success with frozen corn. I don't usually actually fry the veggies. I simmer the veggies in a sauce I make, and add some olive oil at the end. When you have your perfect recipe, please post!

I'm so pleased your dd wants to write poetry! I write poetry and recently had the privilege of helping a young friend edit a poem she had written. My hint is this. Well, it will turn into a few hints. 1. Teach her how to hear the pitch variations in what she has written. Meter is founded on pitch. She won't be able to fix meter problems unless she can hear meter problems, and to hear meter problems, she has to hear the pitches that she has written. She doesn't have to be able to NAME the pitches, just hear "up" and "down." 2. A good exercise is for her to use the scoops and slashes (correct names, anyone?--I think "scoop" is right but have my doubts about "slash")--these are the marks used to indicate lower and higher pitch. You apply them syllable by syllable. She can use tracing paper over a poem in a book, or make a row of marks on a separate piece of paper. Or if it's her own poem, she can write the marks in above the words. Once they are placed, then it's easier to analyze the metrical scheme of the whole poem. 3. The tricky part is being honest about the rhythm. The idea is not to hear in your head an idealized version, with the rhythm forced to be what you want it to be. The idea is to hear what most readers are likely to hear when they read it. You can't make readers respond differently than they do. (There may be some variation in what readers hear in their heads, but you can't make them hear everything the way you want them to hear it if your words and syntax don't naturally lend themselves to producing your intended effect.) 4. Having someone else read your poem out loud can be eye-opening! 5. If your daughter can analyze the rhythm of other poems correctly but hits a patch of one of hers that she just can't analyze, then probably there is a problem in that area of her poem that she needs to fix. 6. How to fix rhythms that aren't right? Word and phrase replacements if possible; larger recastings of ideas if needed. So a good vocabulary is a huge help in writing poetry. ("Dear, 'breathlessly' breaks your metrical scheme. You need a different three syllable word with the stress on the second syllable, not the first.'" Etc.!) 7. Not all interruptions to a metrical scheme are ugly. They can actually be very beautiful, and less "canned" sounding that something "perfect." But badly chosen metrical interruptions can also ruin a poem! Well, this turned out rather long. I wish you and your daughter the best. HTH a bit.

I'm not a nurse or doctor, but lower back ache makes me wonder about kidney/adrenal function. Impaired adrenal function can affect energy levels. Headaches would not surprise me either. If she has bladder function issues, your doctor will want to know, as that could be a kidney clue. You've already had your appointment, but as you follow up, I'd think about kidney and adrenal function tests and if basic ones are normal, maybe ask to see an endocrinologist who can run more sophisticated tests. I hope you find a solution for your daughter soon.

Well, the title of the post is the post! I looked up "contingent" to double-check that the etymologies are there, and there was the Latin ancestor, after the word's definition.

Thanks, everyone--I appreciate the comments!

Hello again, Natalija-- I should add that what kind of program you end up using should reflect your goals, and your daughter's, for fluency level. If she just wants to be able to use some phrases with Russian speakers, she could use a conversational program light on grammar. She could do that on her own. If she wants to become fluent--to read and to hold significant conversations--she'll need a substantial grammar component. I second Oh Elizabeth--fluency requires learning those paradigms. If this would represent too much time on your part (grading, learning alongside), then a distance program might be best for you--but I'd still look closely at the syllabus and make sure it mentions declensions and conjugations. A conversational component would be great too, of course. I'm most familiar with parts-to-whole programs, but you can read on this board about "reading" programs, in threads about Latin. This might help orient you to what you'll find as you explore Russian programs, as a lot of the issues would be similar. latinteach, who posts here, is knowledgeable about these methodologies (and others).

I replied to your other post. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92389

Henle is Catholic; Wheelock's features "Sententiae Antiquae," sentences adapted from ancient Roman authors. Wheelock's teaches classical pronunciation; Henle, ecclesiastical. Henle is targeted at high school students; Wheelock's, at college-age students. Both are sometimes used for younger students, though.

Natalija, I am not familiar with high school programs, but I studied Russian in college. The first year text was by Stillman and Harkins. I used it at the age of 17. (Way too long ago!) In terms used on this board, it would be considered a "parts-to-whole" program. Paradigms and grammar instruction came first in each chapter, then translation work. I found it laid a solid foundation for learning Russian as a second language. You are probably wondering why I am even mentioning a college textbook! And why I asked about your daughter's language background. There are quite a few people adapting the Latin text called Wheelock's, a college text, for use by younger students. So if your daughter is capable with grammar, motivated, and you will work along with her, she might well be able to move slowly through a college text. She would almost certainly need extra drill and translation sentences, to master each concept before moving on, but I am guessing you are a Russian speaker or a speaker of another Slavic language, and you would be able to supply these for her. If she has any background in the grammar of Latin or Greek, she'll have a great head start on Russian since the noun systems are similar. I'm sorry this is not the perfect recommendation--especially since I am not familiar with recent editions of the program--but I didn't know if you'd get ANY leads, so I thought I'd toss it out as a clue. At any rate, using a college program might help you in your quest for college credit. Happy hunting!

. . . or comment on pros and cons of a scripted method?

Don Aslett has a set of useful and very funny books about streamlined cleaning and decluttering. His take on clutter is that possessions take a lot of time to maintain and by getting rid of what we don't need, we can have more time for the things that matter the most to us. That's been said by lots of people, but his way of approaching it gets you to laugh, which is a great start to actually doing the decluttering. Clutter's Last Stand is his decluttering book. His cleaning books are great too. (I know you're fed up at the moment with decluttering but maybe if it's fun and it gets you somewhere, you'll feel differently about it. Maybe it's decluttering over and over that's more of a nuisance to you.) But it sounds as if the biggest difficulty you are having is that you are feeling the urge to do things over and over and are finding it very difficult to get yourself to do what you'd really prefer to be doing instead. The ADD/OCD angle might be well worth looking into, as others have said. Medical help (conventional or alternative) may help you. One interesting approach to OCD, though, simply recognizes the power of doing things differently. Relabeling an obsessive urge and then resisting it for 15-30 minutes and doing something intentional and productive instead can cause those urges to diminish over time. It rewires the brain (b/c of neuroplasticity) and also fits in very well with any religion or philosophy that values a deliberate and directed life. A book called Brain Lock discusses this approach. People with OCD are very motivated by fear--their repetitive behaviors are motivated by a desire to avoid some bad thing they fear will happen if they don't do the behavior--so this may not be exactly your area or issue, but I mention the book just in case it might be helpful to you or to someone else. You've gotten a lot of great answers--best wishes and my prayers.

For the blackberry sauce, heat raspberry jam (seedless) in microwave until hot and melted. You just want enough to coat and bind the berries. Stir in a pinch or more of powdered ginger and some lemon juice until taste brightens. (You're not shooting for ginger-flavored sauce, but a little ginger intensifies the fruit flavor w/o calling attention to itself.) Stir in frozen (not thawed) blackberries. They will thaw in the hot jam and in a little while you will have a gorgeous, jewelled, not-too-sweet sauce for your cheesecake. I make a sauce like this with mixed frozen berries from Trader Joe's. Or, send the blackberries to my house and do anything you want with the crust! :001_smile:

. . . including ".pdf" or ".doc" etc. in your filename when you save the document (at the end of the filename). That tells your computer what kind of document you have saved so that it knows how to open it. E-books are usually PDF files and so when you save them you have to call the file "Whatever.pdf" and not just "Whatever" and definitely not "Whatever.doc," which would hopelessly confuse the poor computer. (".doc" is used for Word documents.) To open your PDF file later, you will need to have something like Adobe Reader installed on your computer, but your computer probably already has it. If not you can get it free from the Adobe site. If you have never seen a file extension, your operating system (Windows or whatever you have) is probably set up to hide them. A techie you know and love can unhide the file extensions for you and then you'll see how different types of programs produce and use files with specific file extensions. I hope this helps. Enjoy your e-book!

The programs known as "reading" programs teach forms horizontally. One example is Ecce Romani. Some users of reading programs are eclectic and slip in some vertical paradigm teaching on the side, just for context and orientation. I know there are posters here who are very familiar with reading programs. So if you decide to go that route you'll definitely get help here. My background is more in grammar-translation or part-to-whole programs. I'm glad you liked the flash card and quiz ideas. Happy teaching!

You are absolutely right that you should know the endings inside and out as you describe. It sounds as if your child has memorized the declensions "vertically," which is a great place to start. (Down the singular side and then down the plural side is what I mean by "vertically.") If you're not already giving quizzes on the declensions, you might want to try that. Maybe I'm a throwback, but a quiz with a grade provides motivation to kids in a way that just daily repetition does not. They can see how well they're doing and where they need to improve. Knowing a quiz is coming can really speed up their memorization gears, too. It can actually make things more fun by keeping the process from getting long and drawn out when it doesn't need to be. If you're not already doing this I think you'll be delighted with what a difference it makes. But meanwhile, if you make flash cards for each ending, with the ending on one side and the declension, case and number on the other, I think you'll find this helps a lot with "horizontal recall," or recall of the endings by case in isolation. Some children achieve horizontal recall without doing horizontal drilling, but some need the horizontal drilling. It's a good foundation for translation work where endings have to be recalled/understood outside of a paradigm. Horizontal recall can be quizzed, too. (Some Latin programs are even structured so that they teach the endings horizontally in the first place, but that's a whole other topic and Henle is not like that.) Hope this helps!