First, I gave up learning Latin!

Once upon a time, long ago, I wanted to learn Latin. I was not necessarily convinced by all the discussions and articles that went on at length about the benefits of Latin. I was a teenager, and Latin was “dead” they said. So I wanted to know more.

After trying out a few courses, including Wheelocks Latin, I gave up. I did not understand why the endings of the words kept changing. I did not get how they did that thing with action verbs and being verbs. And let us not even start talking about prepositions. Back then Latin tutors weren’t even thinking about tutoring yet. Self-included.

Latin from a Grammar vs. Vocabulary Emphasis

Fast forward a few years, and a couple of babies. Of course, you must decide on which curriculum to use before your child turns 2, so I was on it. I was reviewing and reading up on anything and everything that might prepare me and my children for their education. This time around, there was more discussion around the learning of Latin. I had given up hope for myself, but I was convinced that Latin was necessary for a well-rounded education for the sake of my children. But this time I decided to go a different route. Rather than learning Latin from a vocabulary emphasis, I decided to learn it from a grammar emphasis.

What is the difference? Well, with a vocabulary emphasis the goal is to have the student reading and speaking Latin as soon as possible. The more you read, the more you understand which endings go along with each other, and the more words you memorize the broader your vocabulary so you can start to understand what you are reading.

With a grammar emphasis, the rules of Latin are taught, alongside vocabulary to be sure. But there are a few key reasons why one might want to learn Latin from a grammatical perspective if one is already fluent in English.

1. Latin grammar and English grammar are very similar so as one learns Latin grammar it can double up as English grammar. What we take for granted as “the way it is” in English will be explained as a logical and reasonable structure for communication.
2. Latin has 4 conjunctions and 5 declensions. That is all. (Ok sure, there are a few more things you need to know, but once you get the pattern and basic structure of conjugating and declining, everything else will fit around your basic knowledge of Latin.) Once those are learned, it is just a matter of using those endings and pairing them with the vocabulary to create grammatically correct sentences. There is not as much “guess” work. You have the pieces, you know how they fit together, now you just need practice.
3. The Latin language has gender forms. By learning which gender a declension signifies, it is easy to tell the gender of vocabulary without memorizing that little bit of important information and all the vocabulary. Does it end with -a, -ae? It is feminine; -us, -i? Masculine.
4. By learning how to put the grammar rules together, I have also learned how to parse English, and English grammar has become one of my favorite subjects. Words matter. We need to know how to construct a sentence with accuracy and precision.
5. Many English words come from Latin. As Latin vocabulary knowledge expands, so will your understanding of the English language.

There are great minds who have written extensively on the benefits of Latin. I would encourage you to read a few of their thoughts. And if in doubt, just jump into teaching Latin in faith. The riches are there, and some of them cannot be explained; you have to experience them. Here is the plan that I have pursued.

A Plan for Teaching Latin

Latin Resources for Ages 4-6

Song School Latin Book 1

• After I’ve said all that, I’ll be honest and admit that yes, this is a vocabulary program and it’s an excellent way to start with a young child. It introduces them to the language and gives them a few words to use around the house. This is especially fun if you have older kids learning Latin. Anything that makes the younger ones feel a part of the family is a winner. The DVD is the best part of this course. If you have a child who loves workbooks, add that in. But if your child isn’t into that, then just do the DVD.

Latin Resources for Ages 7-8

Latina Christiana

• This is a simple program that teaches a list of vocabulary words, a Latin saying, and a grammar form each week for 25 weeks, with 5 review lessons. If this is your first time teaching Latin, then I recommend the DVD or Online Streaming videos.
• The flashcards are a helpful, simple way to review the weekly memory work.
• Age 7 can do this work, but do not add on the extras.
• Age 8 can do this for a second year and add in the extras, or start here.

Add ons:

• Ludere Latin
• Latin Review Worksheets (year 2)
• Ecce Caecilia Et Verus (Latin Reader).

Note: if you are someone who really needs to learn from a vocabulary perspective, then you would love Song School Latin, Book 2 followed by Latin for Children, Primer A instead of the above. 

Latin Resources for Ages 9-12

First Form Latin, Second Form Latin, Third Form Latin

• This program can also be an entry point for a student. If you are just starting your Latin lessons at these ages, start with First Form Latin.
• This is a slow, methodical walk through Latin grammar forms while presenting vocabulary to memorize. The Student Workbooks presents repetitive work for mastery.
• The DVDs or Online Streaming are necessary if you have not learned Latin before.

Add ons:

• Ecce Caecilia Et Verus (Latin Readers)
• Lingua Angelica
• Acts of the Apostles: A Latin Reader
• Lingua Latina Series

Note: if you are someone who really needs to learn from a vocabulary perspective, then you would love Latin for Children, Primer A, Primer B, and Primer C instead of the above. 

Latin Resources for Ages 12+

Fourth Form Latin and Henle Latin

• With some study of Latin, a student can start here. This reviews First – Third Latin: all the forms and vocabulary.
• By adding in the First Year of Henle Latin, this program will launch the student on to 4 more years of study using the Henle program.

Note:

If you really need to learn from a vocabulary perspective, you would love the Latin Alive Program instead of the above. 

by Hester VanBraeden

Hester is a second-generation home-educating parent who is keenly aware that her own education is not complete, and comfortable that it probably never will be. She has many years of experience with children, books, and curriculum. She loves to travel to worlds and times beyond the present with her children through many books. Hester and her husband have four children and live in the lower mainland of BC.

The post A Path for Learning Latin appeared first on Classical Education Books.

These are questions that humans have been asking from the beginning of time, and we wanted answers. This science program tells us about those men and women who asked the questions and then proceeded to find answers to them. With a solidly Biblical beginning in, Science in the Beginning, we move on to  Science in the Ancient World. The stories of Archimedes, Galen, and Hippocrates describe some of their first questions and how they were answered. Archimedes is the first person who recorded his observations of mathematics in space as well as things like water displacement, engineering in movement, and calculating volume. Galen observed the human body and how each part connected with the others. Hippocrates decided that fluids in the body influenced the emotions that we experience.  

You may wonder, how is this relevant to our world today? What is scientific about these things? Science is something that is not settled, it’s actually constantly being discovered, tested, and changed. So how can we tell our children about this world of discovery? By reading the stories of the men and women who observed and wrote about their findings, we can show how our knowledge of the world in its minutest and grandest forms was discovered, but not always with a definite conclusion.  

Aristotle, one of the greatest scientists and philosophers in history, believed that the Earth was the center of the universe. While we can learn so much from his work, we now know that he was wrong on this very important subject.  

How can this program help our students to study and learn about science? As an elementary program, this is the story of how people came to believe what they did. Young children love to hear stories, and imagine them, and play them out. Rather than giving children dry facts of anatomy, astronomy, chemistry, and the other sciences, this program tells them the story of the discovery.  

However, it’s not just a story. Each lesson also has an experiment. Again, as a course for elementary students, it’s a beautiful introduction to start the first books of the series with younger ages. The experiments are very basic and engaging, and even mind-blowing to 6- and 7-year-olds.  

After those first basic discoveries, we move on, with the ages, and engage with the renaissance world as they build on the ideas first discovered. Galen told us so much about the human body, but he was not correct in everything. Leonardo da Vinci begins to show us more and we experiment with more complex materials. Copernicus and Galileo challenged Aristotle’s ideas about the universe and bravely published their works, showing us that even the most intelligent Aristotle could be wrong on some things.  

This is the story of science. It’s a method: purpose, hypothesis, materials, procedure, results, conclusion. In telling our children about the brave men and women who were able to publish their conclusions to a world that might not accept them, we are raising up a generation of young people who can lead us into the next generation of scientific discovery.  

 Stay tuned as we recommend more scientific texts for middle school and high school.  

 Quick facts: 

• This tells the story of science from the beginning of time including the people who presented their ideas.  
• This is not just a story. Experiments accompany every story as the students are compelled to prove the theory. 
• As an elementary program, it begins very basically and as they are more able to understand and build on discoveries, this program guides them.  
• These books do not have to be done in order. Each text stands alone in content.  
• Every lesson concludes with questions for the student. The questions are for three levels: youngest, older, oldest.  
• This is an excellent program for a one-room schoolhouse approach. You can teach many ages with one text.  
• The reading in each lesson is very manageable.
• Printable Notebook Pages are included and can be accessed through links in the product descriptions on our website. See sample.

5 Volumes – 180 lessons in each volume

Science in the Beginning
Science in the Ancient World
Science in the Scientific Revolution
Science in the Age of Reason
Science in the Industrial Age

Or buy the entire set for an excellent price: Science Through History.

Optional but Recommended Helps and Hints Resource

Helps and Hints for Science in the Beginning
Helps and Hints for Science in the Ancient World
Helps and Hints for Science in the Scientific Revolution
Helps and Hints for Science in the Age of Reason
Helps and Hints for Science in the Industrial Age

*You can purchase the text and helps and hints as a set or separately.

by Hester VanBraeden

Hester is a second-generation home-educating parent who is keenly aware that her own education is not complete, and comfortable that it probably never will be. She has many years of experience with children, books, and curriculum. She loves to travel to worlds and times beyond the present with her children through many books. Hester and her husband have four children and live in the lower mainland of BC.

The post Curriculum Spotlight – Science Through History appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Sprinkled heavily with French words and sentences, this book would be a nice stepping stone into reading longer French texts. While the reader doesn’t need to fully understand all the French to appreciate the story (my French is virtually non-existent!), it would be fun for a blossoming French student to be able to read a book that brings French and English together. If you have children who enjoyed the Dear Canada series, this book would be excellent for continued reading. Historical figures like Governor Frontenac and Sieur de la Salle are woven into the story, similar to how historical events are treated in the Dear Canada books. 

A head’s up to parents: while there are few mature topics, and the ones that are discussed are dealt with subtly and delicately, this book may not be suitable for younger children, and may not be a good choice for a read-aloud. Young Jacques’ mother is the town prostitute, abandoning her son to the elements and good nature of her neighbors while she entertains the sailors who come and go from Quebec City. While her activities are never named explicitly, it is clear what is going on at her hotel. Mentions of torture endured by Catholic priests at the hands of some Indigenous nations are also briefly described and may be disturbing to younger children. 

Despite touching on heavy subject matter, this book reads like a cross between a Dear Canada novel and Lucy Maud Montgomery’s books. Descriptions are vivid and captivating, and the characters jump off the page. The ideals, values, attitudes, and hard-working character of the first generations of French settlers in Canada thread through the book, and the reader comes away with an appreciation for the hardship and an admiration for the tenacity and good nature of generations gone by. Overall, this book is a lovely addition to your Canadian history bookshelf and will captivate the imagination of your children. 

Abigail is a Royal Conservatory of Music graduate; she completed her ARCT in Piano Pedagogy in 2020 and she teaches piano and violin. Abigail is the oldest of 7 and was homeschooled from start to finish. She likes to listen to Bach, Beethoven, and jazz. Other interests include reading, watercolours, and crochet.

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I didn’t know much about Well-Ordered Language when I bought the 1A student edition earlier this school year. I thought it’d be a bit of a last-ditch effort for my (ahem, older) kids to properly learn grammar after doing practice with Daily Grams, some IEW sentence wrangling, and some really great Ruth Heller picture books when my two were younger. Nothing seemed to stick. They could stumble through the two afore-mentioned curriculums; paying attention just enough to get them done within the prescribed 3 minutes a day, but they had zero interest or motivation to allow the sticky notes of information in their brain to actually…stick. 
 
I’d read a different book from Classical Academic Press and had heard quite a bit about the program so…why not? I’d try it out to see if we could get anywhere with it.  I’m very pleased to inform you that we’re just now finishing up Book 1B and will work steadily through 2A until the end of term, teaching two kids of different ages, and abilities and the ‘notes have stuck!’

Easily Adaptable Language Arts Program

Well-Ordered language can be taught to any child at any level. It starts at the very beginning of basic grammar and sentence structure, with subjects and predicates, and moves through levels 1-4, with both A and B components or two books per year, one per semester, for four years/levels.  I’ve only done level 1 so far, so I’ll stick with talking about that, but I’ve been very impressed with not only the ease and logical progression of the program, but the adaptability, and the quality literature and language it tucks in between the covers, as well.
 
My children are not grades 3 and 4, as suggested for the Classical school’s use, but are in middle school. One has diagnosed learning disabilities, the other, just assumed (and not as severe). The ‘stickiness’ of concepts is often a cause of low executive function. A lot of review, slow pace and daily practice with solid momentum helps a lot. A beginner program that can be adapted to use for older students is always something I’m keeping an eye out for. 
 
Although there are some portions that we’ve skipped due to age (like the songs/chants–these help younger kids, I’m sure, but my older kids just feel like they are too ‘babyish’. Fair enough-if they can master the content, they can skip that exercise in each chapter). I also have adapted the program for two students to use one book as opposed to just one. It cuts my cost in half, but it also cuts the work in half, though they still get the quality content, teaching, and review.  Those who struggle with a lot of writing/content at one time, this ‘less work more often’ system is very helpful. 

Great Layout and No Drivel!  

The content is excellent. Classical Academic Press (CAPs) always uses quality literature, poetry, and Latin words/definitions in their teaching, which I strongly prefer to made-up sentences that amount to drivel or uninteresting paragraphs you’d find on a standard test. My kids have had a broader understanding of the grammar rules because the way they lay out everything is, as Goldilocks says, “just right”. It’s orderly and you don’t spend too little or too much time on it before moving on to the next concept, which just builds on the prior one. It is aptly named.

Complimentary Writing Program

Well-Ordered Language has a sister writing program, called Writing and Rhetoric, and although I didn’t know it at the time, they mesh beautifully together. That was just a happy little accident that worked out for the benefit of my family by working through them side by side. (See also: last-ditch efforts)

Working Well-Ordered Language together with Writing and Rhetoric has improved my children’s ability to understand the parts of a sentence, grammar rules, and amplification with description and dialogue drastically within one year.  Their writing ability has sky-rocketed in the last 6 months alone. I am very pleased with these two programs, see the immense benefits of working them in tandem, and will continue to use them next year. I’m just a little disappointed I didn’t know about them until this past year!
 
If you’d like to know more on how to adapt them to different ages, and abilities, or have more questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment and I’ll be in touch.  

Shop here for all Well-Ordered Language Levels.

My name is Sarah Mast and I homeschool my two kids in Ft. Langley, BC. One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is the community gained, and I  volunteer with a local support group to help foster that and connect others. My family loves the outdoors and traveling, and our weekends include skiing, swimming, hiking, or biking depending on the season. I found Classical Education Books at a conference and noticed their well-curated selection of children’s books. I kept tabs on their collection of the classics and hard-to-find books and reached out. Now I get to help customers hone their collections, and work on the ever-growing inventory here at CEB!

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Book 1

The first is a K-2 enrichment book that is used with The Story Bible. This three-year program will read through all the Bible stories with the children once. Each lesson will review big words and ask comprehension questions.

Book 2

The second part is for grades 3-5 and it covers the stories of the Bible in three years. This part is based on The Golden Children’s Bible. Each lesson covers Facts to Know, Comprehension Questions, Geography, Activities, and Memory Verses.

Book 3

The third part is a one-year overview of the entire Bible. It can start at grade 6 and it relies on the student’s understanding of the stories of the Bible as they read through the Reader which has an overview of each book. The Student Guide will then review key people, terms, and geography, and an outline of each book.

Common Questions

Questions that commonly arise ask about the Bible storybooks that are used in this program. While the student and teacher’s guide refers to the required storybook pages, they also refer to the stories being taught. So one could use any story Bible to complete this course, but it would be best to use the recommended resources. These resources are the closest to the text that I’ve seen, which is one of the strengths of this program. Without getting theological, or imposing judgment on characters and situations, these texts faithfully tell the stories that are recorded in the Scripture.

The course is a Bible literacy course, not a theological treatise or Bible study. It tells the story and helps the student remember the characters, time, and place. As such, it is a good resource for all Christians who want to know the Bible well, commit passages and texts to memory, and understand key phrases and words.

Quick facts:

• Read through the Bible in three years with the K-2 Enrichment book
• Read through the Bible again in three years with the Christian Studies books I-III
• Read through an overview of the books of the bible with Christian Studies book IV
• Each part can be done independently of the other
• Bible story resource with parts 1 and 2 not required but it is strongly recommended
• This is a Bible literacy course, with memory verses required every week.
• Add in memory verse flashcards to help with memorization
• Learn the books of the bible and an outline of each book by the end of all 7 years
• Memorize 200+ trivia questions
• Create a timeline of events
• Can include maps of the geography for classroom or kitchen walls
• Grades are a recommended starting place, but it can be used in higher grade levels as well

by Hester VanBraeden

Hester is a second-generation home-educating parent who is keenly aware that her own education is not complete, and comfortable that it probably never will be. She has many years of experience with children, books, and curriculum. She loves to travel to worlds and times beyond the present with her children through many books. Hester and her husband have four children and live in the lower mainland of BC.

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