Halcyon Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) Okay, we're reviewing for our first big Henle 1 test this Friday, and the "practice test" had us write down all the declension endings, and all forms, as well as sample nouns for all declensions (but all the 3rd declension neuter nouns learned thus far). I am depressed to say, that, despite studying MUCH HARDER THAN MY SON :glare:, he completely smoked me. He made only two errors in the whole thing (ETA: wait! just remembered!! he messed up the 5th declension! ha ha! {insert evil laugh}. I, OTOH, could not remember all of 4th, any of 5th and forgot a whole bunch of 3rd declesion neuter. I am fairly used to a lot of memorization-in grad school I had to remember HEAPS of information, and I had a system which suited my visual nature: i would write the info in different colored pens and on different "parts' of the page, and in calling up the info later, I would usually remember "where" on the page it was, and what color pen it was in. I also used a lot of mnemonics, and spent a fair amount of money on a system another student printed up with weird animals representing different Chinese herbs (I was in acupuncture school) doing weird things to represent how the herbs acted in the body. This was perfect for me. But with Latin endings, there are just fewer "hooks" to help with mnemonics. I am trying, through sheer practice and writing, practice and re-writing to memorize these doggone endings...I've got 1-3 fairly well, and 4 and 5 are coming. But it's SLOW going. I don't see how I am going to fare when we get to the heavy duty stuff. Any suggestions that might help a visual learner like me? I purchased Looking at Latin, which has definitely helped (especially when I mark it up with different colored markers and funny symbols), but I don't know if it will be enough. How did you, or your visual learner, memorize declensions and such in Latin? Suggestions greatly appreciated! ETA: I remember reading in a memory book about placing flashcards in different areas of the house, that you encounter throughout your day. Another idea was putting flashcards up on your dashboard in your car.....not sure how wise that is LOL. Edited January 24, 2012 by Halcyon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I don't have any help to offer but I feel your pain. I am having the same experience with dd in our Latin and Greek studies. She just remembers things easier than I do. I can usually remember things by where they were on the page as well but the endings are all so similar that wasn't helping for some reason. What is helping for me is chanting them which is the way they are taught in our curriculum Latin for Children. I'm still behind dd though and nothing seems to be helping with Greek so far. It's like my brain just doesn't want to do Greek. I'm going to try an online course in iTunes university to see if it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 In my googling, I came across this, which is an interesting visual way of remembering endings. I am going to study this; maybe it will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 My brain just doesn't deal with the complexity, and I have to have my grammar book beside me to do a Latin translation. I teach a local Latin II at the high school level using the second half of Henle I, and I use handouts that have it all scripted so that I don't tangle myself up in front of them. I do pretty well with noun and adjective declensions, but the verbs are a big jumble although sometimes I am pretty accurate guessing. Maybe I'll have it after another decade or so of study? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I have nothing useful to add to your query however my eye happened to fall upon the 'similar threads' links at the bottom of the page and this is what is listed.... ~need a recipe for smoked chicken with "bite through" skin... ~leftover ham? (smoked shoulder picnic) ~if you were going to feed a large group a 'nacho bar' how much meat per person? Perhaps it's the kind of day I've had but I'm highly amused by the strange confluence of nacho bar, leftover ham, chicken with 'bite through' skin and latin. :smilielol5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I have nothing useful to add to your query however my eye happened to fall upon the 'similar threads' links at the bottom of the page and this is what is listed.... ~need a recipe for smoked chicken with "bite through" skin... ~leftover ham? (smoked shoulder picnic) ~if you were going to feed a large group a 'nacho bar' how much meat per person? Perhaps it's the kind of day I've had but I'm highly amused by the strange confluence of nacho bar, leftover ham, chicken with 'bite through' skin and latin. :smilielol5: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 I have nothing useful to add to your query however my eye happened to fall upon the 'similar threads' links at the bottom of the page and this is what is listed.... ~need a recipe for smoked chicken with "bite through" skin... ~leftover ham? (smoked shoulder picnic) ~if you were going to feed a large group a 'nacho bar' how much meat per person? Perhaps it's the kind of day I've had but I'm highly amused by the strange confluence of nacho bar, leftover ham, chicken with 'bite through' skin and latin. :smilielol5: :lol::lol: That's hysterical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manyblessings Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I have nothing useful to add to your query however my eye happened to fall upon the 'similar threads' links at the bottom of the page and this is what is listed.... ~need a recipe for smoked chicken with "bite through" skin... ~leftover ham? (smoked shoulder picnic) ~if you were going to feed a large group a 'nacho bar' how much meat per person? Perhaps it's the kind of day I've had but I'm highly amused by the strange confluence of nacho bar, leftover ham, chicken with 'bite through' skin and latin. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldilocks Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 About two years ago I learned the fourth and fifth declensions with a silly story. I can't remember all of the story, but I can get you started. My children and I came up with the story based on what the latin sounded like. So.... For the 4th declension we imagined a cat- a puss- (us) and a moose (us) dancing together and accidently stepping in something gooey (ui) while doing the rumba (um) and the cat lost his shoe (u). I know we continued the story for the plural, but I can't remember what it was. The fifth declension is a a guy playing poker with a strange deck. In his hand he has an ace(es) and two 80's (ei, ei). He wants to win a gen (em). The guy he's playing against realizes he is cheating and calls out "Hey!" (e). Again, I don't remember the story for the plural endings. I know that you mentioned being a visual learner, so I don't know if visualizing these silly stories will help or not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I really admire you for fighting so hard to memorize/internalize it all. I waved the white flag months ago. There seems to be a gap in my grey matter where I used to keep my listmaking-style memory. I miss it, but evidently there's no bringing it back. I'm contenting myself (for now) with understanding what we're going for, and remembering where all the pertinent charts and information are. I know exactly what's going on in our Latin program but can't do it myself. Sigh. I might look into gingko biloba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGHEALTHYMOM Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I have listened to some mentors say, " We want our kids to be smarter than us!" It is great that our young ones can soak up all this information and retain it! The prime age is past us and we must do the best we can, and I do try, but don't compare (especially in Latin and Greek) right now. I play Scrabble and Words with Friends, Wii Fit Plus, and teach our children. I don't expect to be able to learn like I could have when I was younger, and I do lament my own public school education. The best thing I learned was reading, basic math, grammar,a little Spanish, typing, and good work ethic. An open mind limiting tv, reading the classics, tackling higher math, and Foreign Language are goals for me too.:grouphug: GO for it! Just don't beat yourself up over it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) I was wondering yesterday if maybe this is the point where they start learning things and we just facilitate their learning. For example, my son is obsessed with South America. He's actually learning Spanish right now, because he wants to travel there someday. I've realized that he's going to be learning Spanish without me. With 4 kids, there's no way I can master everything that they are all learning. (I try- LOL). Not sure if that makes sense- I shouldn't be allowed to post at 1 am. :tongue_smilie: Also, I wanted to add: they're nice and rested. We're exhausted and responsible for everything. Edited January 24, 2012 by starrbuck12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Also, I wanted to add: they're nice and rested. We're exhausted and responsible for everything. :lol::lol: So true. Well, I have a goal for myself to read the classics in Latin, but I do recognize that I won't be able to do everything my kids do...but I am going to try!! i printed some images from the online book I linked above, the one with the hands--i spent a couple of hours last night studying and chanting and I think I am getting it! I taped them on the wall of our kitchen--hopefully it will help this visual learner! What's cool is that my son is seeing how very hard I am working, and he's suitably impressed :) Hopefully, (by watching me, it seems) he'll learn that struggling is a part of learning LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 :lol::lol: So true. Well, I have a goal for myself to read the classics in Latin, but I do recognize that I won't be able to do everything my kids do...but I am going to try!! i printed some images from the online book I linked above, the one with the hands--i spent a couple of hours last night studying and chanting and I think I am getting it! I taped them on the wall of our kitchen--hopefully it will help this visual learner! What's cool is that my son is seeing how very hard I am working, and he's suitably impressed :) Hopefully, (by watching me, it seems) he'll learn that struggling is a part of learning LOL. Thanks so much for the link to the book. That will be perfect for my very visual son. :hurray: I think I'm going to do like you did and print and hang it in the school room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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