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As you try to hang on to your New Year's Resolutions a little longer, don't forget to watch TED talks for inspiration. If you don't have time to do that, just watch "Every TED talk ever". https://youtu.be/_ZBKX-6Gz6A

Over the Christmas break, I watched a movie on Julius Caesar.  I am surprised I had never heard of it before. It's very well done.  There are a few scenes that would merit a PG-13 rating.  But, just barely.  The entire movie is tastefully done and masterfully acted....

A student asked over the holidays, "Mr. Thomas, How do I say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in Latin?" Here is my reply: ================================================= As for Merry Christmas, I would go with: felicem natalem Christi! It’s often helpful to look...

Well... the party's over.  Time to get back to work. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If you are in any of my classes, we will be back to work on Monday.  Or, if you have decided to learn Latin this year, we will be back to work on Monday. As a...

Hey, everyone! There will be no classes from December 21 – January 6. Our last class will be this Thursday, December 20. We will be back on Monday, January 7. Hope you guys have a great break!

I get a lot of emails every day.  A lot.  It's hard to keep up. If you, like me, find yourself buried under a mountain of emails, you may need help. What I am about to tell you about will help.  It has helped me tremendously.  I still find myself behind on emails most...

Last night, I interviewed my friend, David Durham. David speaks seven languages and teaches French and Spanish online. Check out his site right here: https://daviddurham.org/ Here is the interview: https://vimeo.com/306361859

Good morning, everyone. Once again, I am locked out of my own webinar this morning.   Working on the problem right now.  I am sorry.  Sigh. Update: Okay.  I think I figured it out.  We will start with Italian today... in about 10 minutes. 6:02... well, I guess I was...

For those of you in the Italian class... the system is not allowing me to begin class. Working on this right now. I apologize. Update:  For reasons I can't explain... the system has locked me out.  Sigh.  No Italian class this morning.  I am very sorry.  :-(...

In the middle of the Christmas season, I know one question burns in your mind...  Is it better to learn Latin, or is it better to learn a modern Romance language like French, Spanish, or Italian? It's time to find out.  It's time to settle this. This Thursday...

Catching up on emails this afternoon. I was out in Heber Springs, Arkansas for a few days.  Was on my way to Oklahoma, but stopped off in Heber Springs to visit some Visual Latin students.  Ended up "iced in" in Arkansas and never made it Oklahoma. I emailed my friend...

Slowly catching up on emails.  While crawling out from a mountain of correspondence, this made me happy:   "Thanks for offering all of your classes for such an affordable price.  I truly appreciate your generosity!  And your humor.  Some days you provide me a...

Sigh.  For those of you in my early morning classes, I am doing my best to get Go To Webinar to turn on right now.  But, alas.  No luck.  For reasons I cannot explain. I apologize. UPDATE: Okay... problem solved. The following classes are on: Italian 2 New Testament...

If you are bored the day before Thanksgiving and you want to look over a test for Henle 2 (because what could be more fun), then this is the post for you! This is still up for comment.  I will be posting it into the automated system in a few days. Feel free to check...

I received this question: Is there online testing for Latin 2?  I told Janae I wasn’t seeing any reports of grades for her.  She’s only on lesson 9 right now, so are they at the end of a segment or just none for Latin 2?  Thanks, Here is my reply: Hi, Misty! For...

Guys, I am writing tests as quickly as I can these days. My goal is to have the tests for Henle 2 done before the end of the year. I am writing them in two stages. First, I am trying to catch up with the Tuesday class (currently in chapter 10)/ Second, I am trying to...

I received this question: Hi, I'm working through the Visual Latin curriculum with my kids. On lesson 6c (Reading and translation), I believe there may be a mistake in the declension of the word "herba" in a couple of the sentences.   -"Suntne bestiae et herba in...

I just wanted to say thank you for your Latin classes. I started Latin in 7th grade with classical conversation and did well in everything except Latin (I mean I was failing) and i didn’t get any better for 3 years. At the beginning of the year someone recommended...

Since John Gatto died a few weeks ago, I have posted some rather edgy posts about the government school system. Some people have suggested I tone it down. No. I will not back down. My fellow Americans love to vote.  We love to go to the polls.  We are going to get...

After I sent the last "Tip of the Week", I received this note: Thank you for sharing this Mr. Thomas.... GOD knew I needed this today.  Hope all is well with you and your family, especially your son! We still have him in our Prayers here in Colorado. Here is my reply:...

I voted again today. I voted with my children and with my family.  I kept them out of the arms of the government.   https://youtu.be/8ogCc8ObiwQ   Not sure what I am referencing when I say "I voted"? Read...

I skipped the voting lines today.  I had better things to do. But, I voted the day before.  And I voted the day before that. And, I will vote tomorrow.  And, the day after tomorrow. I voted with my children.  I kept them out of the government schools today.   I will...

This morning, while cleaning out some old files, I came across the most popular "Tip of the Week" I have ever sent. Since I wrote this nearly two years ago, many new subscribers have not seen this.  I thought I would share it again....

Last week, I responded on my blog to some complaints about my classes: https://dwanethomas.com/some-complaints-about-my-classes-and-my-reply/ I received this reply from one of my students: "I saw your post about complaints. First of all, any complaints you have about...

Guys, I am going to cancel all of my morning classes tomorrow (Friday, November 2, 2018). I abruptly canceled three this morning because I was having vision problems.  What I failed to mention was that I was also not feeling well.  I had hoped the sensation would...

Last summer, I received some complaints about my online classes. There were basically three: I complained about Henle Latin. I skipped some of the small grammatical points in the book. My classes are too long. The author of the email wanted to know if the complaints...

I received this question: Hi, Mr. Thomas! I've been taking your Henle II class. (The previously recorded ones, I have not been able to attend your live classes because of schedule conflicts.) I started my study of Latin my freshmen year of high school purely out of...

I received this question: Hi Dwane! Hope you are well. Getting along well with Lingua Latina at the moment. I have two questions: 1. How do you say the word "must" in Latin? (i.e. I must go to school, he must change his clothes.) 2. What is a deponent verb? (Explain...

I have adjusted the early morning class schedule. I have moved "Word Up: Live!" (which is really just an etymological hangout) back 30 minutes.  That "class" will now meet at 5:30 am (central time zone) instead of 5 am. I have also moved the "Book of the Month" class...

For lots of reasons, I am moving the "Tip of the Week" to Monday mornings.  Saturdays are just too unpredictable for me. If you think this is a terrible idea, just reply to this email.  I would like your feedback. But, I would also like to be consistent.  So, for...

I received this question: Would you please provide your input as far as having my children take the NLE this year? They are currently in your Henle Latin 1 class and although they cannot always attend your live sessions...they have been keeping pace right with the...

I received this question: Good evening!  I heard about your classes through a friend who's daughter is using your recorded classes.  I have a daughter who is a sophomore and struggling through an online French year 2 class.  My husband and I cannot help her b/c we...

This is more for me than for anyone else. I find the accent marks in Greek and Latin frustrating. I have been studying both languages for over 20 years.  The accent marks in both languages have helped me exactly not at all.  But, they have been a great hindrance and a...

Here is the Q and A from yesterday: https://vimeo.com/295663378   Here is the link for the next one: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/316911531104256513   Here are some links we talked about during the webinar: Reading the Bible in...

Guys, I am experimenting with a Q and A time.  This is for any Latin class, including Visual Latin. The webinar is free to join.  Simply click here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/316911531104256513  

I didn't have this ready Saturday, so I am showing up in your email on Monday. It's October.  By now, quite a few of you are struggling with Latin.  Especially Henle Latin.  I know.  I get the emails. Just so you know, I take students through Henle Latin every year. ...

My wife is out of town, and tomorrow morning, I am taking my girls to cross-country practice. I am sorry to say that I will have to cancel the following classes: Word Up: Live The Book of the Month Italian 2 New Testament Greek First Year Latin by Robert Henle Third...

I didn't send a "tip of the week" last Saturday.  Nor, did I send one the Saturday before that. Honestly, I just couldn't think of anything to say.  So, I said nothing. I really try to come up with something useful for you guys every week. Often, when I can't come up...

I apologize for the delay. Finally catching up this evening… Pronunciation is a tricky thing in Latin.  This is simply because no one knows for sure how it sounded.  The Romans left us no audio recordings.  They had plenty of time.  Their civilization lasted over...

I received this note: some people say visual latin is sufficient for high school credit and others say it is not, and I am not very smart in this area as I took French many many many years ago. So, I feel pressured to do something in addition to visual latin to make...

Guys.  You know how much I hate canceling classes.  I apologize for what I am about to do. There will be no classes tomorrow morning.  My house has been surrounded by peasants waving pitchforks and firebrands.  I offered them some cake, but that seemed to make things...

Dr. Gary North wrote this article for LewRockwell.com in 2003.  His advice survived the last recession, and I suspect it will survive the next recession. The original article is here: https://www.lewrockwell.com/2003/01/gary-north/how-to-succeed-in-america/...

There is a little swearing in here.  I am sorry. But, if you are an Apple fan, or if you are a fan of infectious laughter... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XSC_UG5_kU

I've been a reader of Dr. Gary North for a long time.  Personally, I don't think it's a bad idea to listen to our elders. He wrote this in 2003.  I doubt it has gotten much better.  The original article is...

I received this question: Also, with the pronunciation, it seems a little random. In 2C you had iratus pronounced eye-ray-toos, rather than more like ee-rah-toos. Also Lie-toos for laetus, which at least makes sense from a classical pronunciation. My kids seem pretty...

As some of you know, I am in the middle of a rather extensive demolition project these days. Long story short... I bought a house for my family ten (or so) years ago.  The county refused to accept the old septic tank and refused to allow me to add a new one.  After I...

Years ago, I bought a small, run-down house in the country.  The plan was simple.  I was going to fix the place up and we were going to move into it. But, I was a house-buying rookie.  And, I made a rookie mistake.  The seller lied about the septic tank.  He said it...

A friend of mine is an expert in dyslexia.  He has dealt with it all of his life, has studied dyslexia professionally, and has even written a book on the subject. On Wednesdays, he is offering a free series of classes.  If you have dealt with dyslexia, or if you know...