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In case you didn’t know…
Bogged down in Visual Latin vocabulary? You might not know this, but some time ago all of the Visual Latin vocabulary was loaded into Quizlet. You can quiz yourself with flashcards, games, and more! Just click on the link and start learning!...
Latin Pronunciation Practice
I received this question: Hello, My children are taking Visual Latin 1 as high school students. We are on week 10 where they are starting into reading the Familia Romana. We are not sure what is meant on the daily schedule for "Listening" on day 1 and day 5. Of...
Demonstrative Pronouns, part 2.
It's been a long time since loaded a video in the chalkboard series. Long enough. I am ready to get back to creating these. In this video, you will learn more demonstrative pronouns. These are the pronouns you use to point to something some distance away from you....
How to focus on the goal.
Chances are, you are reading this because you have decided to learn Latin, or maybe Greek. Write the goal down. Clear, written goals force you to focus. Clear, written goals keep you on track. Do this now! Set a goal. Be sure that your goal is specific. Wanting...
Why did you learn Latin?
Now and then, someone will ask me, “Why did you choose Latin?” Here's why: I’ve always been fascinated by history. When I was younger, I read avidly. For the most part, I read biographies. I enjoyed the biographies of early American explorers and adventurers. I...
Oversight.
Those of you in my live online Latin and Greek classes need to know... I messed up. While setting up classes for next semester, I did not catch a detail in the default settings. When you downloaded the class login information, that download expired 24 hours later. It...
On the road again…
Guys, I will not be around today. My grandfather turns 90 today. I will spend much of the day driving to a party for him. While I am on the road, here is a repost. Of course, if you have never read this... it is a new post. It is an answer to the most common...
How to improve your life.
Gratitude: an emotion of the heart, excited by a favor or benefit received; a sentiment of kindness or good will towards a benefactor; thankfulness. From Latin gratus (pleasing, favor). Turns out, gratitude could be the secret to turning your life around. How? Find...
A bad trip.
"I have a New Year's tradition. I lay all my travel dreams on the table, sort them out, prioritize, and begin the process of turning those dreams into reality." - Rick Steves I do the same thing with my kids on New Year's day. This June, we are heading out West. ...
How to write resolutions.
Happy New Year, everyone! Bill Myers is the online video, product development, and marketing guru. Last year, he wrote a short guide to setting up resolutions for the New Year. As you know, I am a fan of New Year resolutions. Only if they are done correctly, though....
Resolution
People either love New Year's resolutions, or they make fun of them. I don't know which person you are, but I fall into the first category. I love New Year's resolutions. Resolutions are fresh beginnings. And, I love fresh beginnings. I love the morning, the fresh...
The Problem With Problems
By Seth Godin We have limits. There are challenges, limited resources, people or organizations working against you. Your knee hurts, the boss is a jerk, the systems are down. We have opportunities. There are opportunities, new sources of leverage and ideas just...
Help?
I fell of the wagon this year. In October, my wife and I had an argument. We argue from time to time. It's no fun. This one, however, was, for me, demotivating. The fallout spilled over. For a while, I stopped blogging. I stopped posting the "word of the day". I...
Eliminate this word in 2015
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." - C.S. Lewis This is one of my favorite quotes by C.S. Lewis. I started late. I graduated from high school late. I was nearly 20. I had failed English so many times in middle school I had to...
Online Vocabulary Class?
I am thinking of offering a new class in the spring. There are so many English words that come from Latin and Greek roots. Really. Once you start digging, it is astonishing what you find. Growing up, I had no idea how influenced our language was by Classical...
The two types of people…
"There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded." - Mark Twain
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
What would you do with one year off?
How One Simple Christmas Gift Helped Harper Lee Write One of the Most Profitable Books of All Time By Brian Warner Merry Christmas. Hopefully you didn't ask for the standard iPad, PlayStation, Beats by Dre, smartphone etc. and instead you decided to think a little...
Visual Latin: How to learn the words
I received this question recently: My son is doing your visual Latin course and he is on lesson 13. When he translates the sentences and paragraphs there seems to be a lot of words that he has not learned yet. Should we look these up or are missing where they are...
Lingua Latina. Read it again.
I received this question: Is there a particular grammar book for Latin that you would recommend reading and re-reading? Here is my reply: Yes. There is. Short answer: Lingua Latina by Hans Orberg. Long answer: I looked for an answer to this question for years....
Habere plus the Accusative
A few weeks ago, I received this email: Hi! I am enjoying learning Latin along with my daughters age 16,12, and 11. Chapter XII test. Problem 40. The woman has wisdom. The answer key shows the answer to be sapientiam. This led to a spirited conversation of whether...
Distractions and Attractions.
My family and I are in East Tennessee this weekend. For the last fifteen years or so, we have spent at least some of our Christmas vacation out here. Teaching can be a tough way to make a living, but, there are some perks to the job. Teachers get much more time...
Good reminder.
"Sadly my favorite activity -- spending time with my kids -- is now denied me. Alex and Stephen are 24 and 21, busy with their own lives, and too old to hang out with mom and dad; Stephen is away at school in Pittsburgh. When they were young and the kids wanted to be...
Affluenza
A few days ago, I blogged about the word influenza. The annual malady continues to wreak havoc on my sad household. This morning, though, reading an article from Early to Rise, I discovered what could be a worse malady. This one has wreaked havoc on many households...
Extra chocolate
Need extra chocolate this Christmas? This video will help: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10203692003648109&set=vb.1457985215&type=2&theater
The Flu
Influenza: an epidemic catarrh. Naturally, you know what a catarrh is. Neither did I. A catarrh is an inflammation of the nose and throat. It is from the Greek κατάρροος, which is basically a “head cold”. Kατάρροος means, “I flow down.” Just use your imagination....
Visual Latin and non-Christians
I received this comment recently: "I just discovered your site and plan to use it to augment your VL course that my daughter and I are taking (home school)..and enjoy. I also purchased your "Word Up!" which she really enjoyed. My daughter is a writer. She loves...
Visual Latin or Henle Latin?
This week, I received this inquiry: "We currently own years 1 & 2 of Visual Latin. My daughter is enrolled in Classical Conversations where we use Henle. She is struggling and I am now wondering if we should hold off the Henle and complete years 1 & 2 of...
Amphoric Sound
Amphoric sound - a sound made by blowing across the mouth of a bottle or jug. In medical terminology, amphoric sound is an abnormal, resonant, hollow, blowing sound heard with a stethoscope over the thorax. It indicates a cavity opening into a bronchus or a...
Adage
Adage - a wise saying. For example: Eagles soar, but weasels do not get sucked into jet engines. From Latin ad (to, toward) and agere (to do, to drive). Here are a few more of my favorite adages: Experience is a comb which nature gives us when we are bald. You...
Butterfly is a strange word…
I was wondering this morning... Why in the world is a butterfly called a butterfly? Found out more than I ever wanted to know. Personally, I like the German theory. These insects are actually milk-stealing undercover witches. In Middle English, Butterfly was...
Amphora
Amphora: Among the ancients, a two-handled vessel, tapering at the bottom, used for holding wine, or oil. Sometimes amphorae, filled with oil, were awarded to victorious athletes in the games… which is why, even today, trophies take on an amphoral shape. Amphora...
December
December: the twelfth month of the year. December follows November, and precedes January. In the ancient Roman calendar, December was the tenth month of the year. Naturally, the ancient Romans wanted a creative name for the month, so, they named the month December…...
The way history went down.
One of the historic advantages of Western Europe was that it was conquered by the Romans in ancient times -- a traumatic experience in itself, but one which left Western European languages with written versions, using letters created by the Romans. Eastern European...
The state is a straight-jacket.
The fall of the Roman empire fascinates me. I have read more about it than a normal person should. I only wish evernote had existed back when I first started studying the subject. Just started reading another book about history's most famous collapse. Charles Norris...
Because I just can’t let it go….
Found this note in an old email from a student. "Also, for the girls (I doubt boys'll be interested) who've watched Frozen in your Latin class(es), this is an awesome video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guZxkqIBbp4. Someone translated and sang the most popular song...
Prepositions + adjectives = boring post
Recently, I received this question: When an adjective governs case and is followed by a prepositional phrase, where is it placed in the sentence? Here is my reply: As for adjectives, watch the nouns and the prepositions closely. If there is no preposition, the noun...
Here’s a pile of tests and quizzes.
I received this question this week: "I am hoping to find a midterm and a final exam for this curriculum to use for a high schooler. Any recommendations?" Here is my reply: Hi, I need to create those two tests. This is actually on my list of things to do. Thanks for...
How to get others to listen to you:
http://youtu.be/eIho2S0ZahI
Lingua Latina recordings
For those of you in the Lingua Latina online class... you know I have had issues with the recordings lately. There is a fall-back plan. Spend some time on this website: http://llpsi.blogspot.com/ As stated in the heading, this is an "unofficial" blog site for the...
Made me happy…
Received this comment in my inbox this week. Have to admit. It made me happy. "If you want your child to make a good start in Latin we recommend this curriculum. Dwane is a fantastic teacher, with a great sense of humor, my son enjoys the Visual Latin lessons and...
I can’t wait.
A few weeks ago, venturebeat.com ran the following article: My prediction is that in fewer than 15 years, we will be debating whether human beings should be allowed to drive on highways. After all, we are prone to road rage; rush headlong into traffic jams; break...
Read it all.
If you are using Visual Latin with another program, I recommend you skip Visual Latin, section C. This saves you a little time. Besides, the other program you are using will provide plenty of extra reading. At least one Visual Latin user, however, disagrees with me:...
How to find the gender of a Latin noun.
I received this inquiry from a student: "I think one question I have is how do I know if a word is Masculine, feminine or neuter when they are not in root form? For instance, on togarum I matched it with the neuter endings for nominative, accusative, an masculine...
Hang out with your kids. They are leaving soon.
"Sadly my favorite activity -- spending time with my kids -- is now denied me. Alex and Stephen are 24 and 21, busy with their own lives, and too old to hang out with mom and dad; Stephen is away at school in Pittsburgh. When they were young and the kids wanted to be...
Ditch that expensive, old car!
It's about time! Those of you who know me well, know that I consider cars an awful, expensive, depreciating, yet necessary evil. This email from Peter Diamandis made me feel better: Elon Musk's announcement of a semi-autonomous Tesla Model D this past week is one of...
How do I start learning Spanish?
I received this email today: We purchased Visual Latin and we are really enjoying it and learning a lot. I had a question for Dwayne Thomas: we are appreciating his approach to learning a language. Does he have any recommendations on a Spanish curriculum? I know there...
Where can I find a copy of the Vulgate?
I received this email today: We are homeschoolers studying Latin. We enjoy your program very much! My daughter would like to have a Latin Vulgate bible. We would like minimal commentary in the bible. Can you recommend one? Thank you! Here is my reply: Glad to hear you...
Phantasm
Phantasm: something imagined; an illusion, or apparition; something that seems to exist, but, in fact, does not. The Latin word for ghost is phantasma. It comes from the Greek φάντασμα (a phantasm), which derives from φαντάζω (I make visible). The English word ghost...
Learn the Demonstrative Pronouns
http://youtu.be/IKgWoRS8vVI