Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Latin for Lunch

The "play" at left is Perseus and Medusa...the classic tale brought to life in the adorable Minimus: Starting Out in Latin curriculum from Amazon. Just to keep my boys' brains engaged and fully functional this summer, we are learning Latin...one chapter a week each of the 12 weeks of Summer.

My main goal is to improve their English vocabulary, have fun and keep them busy! Nearly 2/3 of the English language has heavy Latin influence...so learning the Latin roots can really empower your verbal skills. Little did I know that in going through the curriculum, we'd learn other language skills as well such us gender AND that the curriculum is actually based on a REAL FAMILY that lived just south of Hadrian's wall in Great Britain in the year 100 A.D.. To see an actual Roman birthday invitation, real artifacts like dishes, and to learn cool cultural things like how the Romans ate lying down propped up on their left elbow make it fascinating and fun!

Our strategy has been to listen to the audio during lunch each day and do the related activities right after we eat. It's been so successful that even my 4 year old has been asking for Latin for dinner as well!

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