Whizbang

by | Oct 5, 2022 | Vocabulary

Whizbang This word has multiple meanings.  A whizbang is someone (or something) extraordinarily successful or effect.  It can be someone or something flashy or impressive, recognized by its noise, excellence, or startling effect.  A whizbang is also another term for a...

Some new developments

by | Sep 30, 2022 | Uncategorized

Many of you know that a few weeks ago, Google turned my email off.  No warning.  Just turned it off. Since I do a lot via email, this was rather annoying. I believe all is well now.  I have access to email once again.  Of course, I know have a pile of emails to crawl...

Tip of the Week #244: How to Conquer Worry

by | Sep 24, 2022 | Tip of the Week

I once ran across a great worry-eliminating tip. Here it is. Write down all the things you are worried about right now. Whatever is giving you anxiety right now.  Write it down. Now, cross out the things you have no control over. That’s it.  Stop worrying about those...

Tip of the Week #243: Consider a Back-up Email

by | Sep 17, 2022 | Teaching online

A few days ago (Thursday), Google suspended my Gmail account. I am now locked out of my email account: dwane@visuallatin.com. So, my tip this week is this: Have a backup email account.  I should have had a backup email account. I didn’t. I am looking at some...

I am locked out.

by | Sep 13, 2022 | Uncategorized

Google suspended my email account today.  Not sure why. When it comes to Latin, it’s no secret that I prefer the Ecclesiastical pronunciation of Latin.  Also, called the Italian pronunciation. I suspect Google prefers the Classical pronunciation.  And, so they...

Tip of the Week #242: Embrace Boredom

by | Aug 27, 2022 | Tip of the Week

I recently read Atomic Habits by James Clear. Unlike so many of the current productivity books, this is a book I can actually recommend. It feels a little corporate of times, and the opening story is rough (Mr. Clear suffered a traumatic injury), but I recommend it....

Tip of the Week #239: Expedition Bible

by | Jul 30, 2022 | Tip of the Week

I woke up super early this morning, and just couldn’t go back to sleep.  I am sure you know what that’s like. Naturally, I spent some time binge watching archaeology videos on YouTube.  It’s what we all do when we can’t sleep. I want to share with you my new favorite...

Tip of the Week #238: How to pack light for a trip

by | Jul 23, 2022 | Tip of the Week

You are familiar with hibernating.  Hiberna, in Latin, means winter quarters.  Military term.  When animals hibernate, they go into “winter quarters”. The Latin word for summer is aestas.  From aestas, English gets the word aestivate. Aestivating is the same as...

Lingua Latina… which books do we order?

by | Jul 19, 2022 | Uncategorized

I received this question: I am having my 7th grader start your Visual Latin this coming school year and am planning to add in Lingua Latina part way through per your recommendation. Can you send me a link to exactly what book(s) I will need for Lingua Latina? Will I...

How to prepare for the National Latin Exam

by | Jun 7, 2022 | Uncategorized

I received this email last week: My son has completed  VL 1&2. Not knowing where to continue after that, he has been reading through Lingua Latina and (attempting to) translating Proverbs into Latin but without the exercises. I am hoping to have him take the NLE...

A student asks: How do we conjugate verbs?

by | Jun 4, 2022 | Uncategorized

I received this question: Hello. My sister and I are taking your Lingua Latina course and are having trouble figuring out how to conjugate verbs. For example: The tree cant drink the water. How would we translate the word drink? Is there a paper or video or maybe even...

Tip #235: Where to find free audiobooks

by | Jun 4, 2022 | Uncategorized

If you’ve been reading my ‘Τip of the Week’ email for long, you know I am a big fan of audiobooks.  (I missed almost the entire month of May, so I suppose I should call it the “not so consistent tip”). Whenever I am looking for a new audiobook, I always check...

Words are the symbols of knowledge

by | Jun 2, 2022 | Education, English

Words are the symbols of knowledge, the keys to accurate thinking. Is it any wonder then that the most successful and intelligent people in this country have the biggest vocabularies? It is not their larger vocabularies that made these people successful and...

Tip #234: How to learn a language in six months

by | May 7, 2022 | Uncategorized

You are probably familiar with the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle.   According to the 80/20 rule, 80% of the consequences come from 20% of the causes.  Put another way, 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people.   Or, think of it this way.  Look at...

Tip #233: Chatterbug live streams

by | Apr 30, 2022 | Uncategorized

A few days ago, I discovered the site Chatterbug.com.   If you are attempting to learn French, Spanish or German, you may want to check it out.   Using live streams, and short videos, the hosts offer lots of opportunity to practice.   For the past few days, I’ve been...

Tip #232: Happy Easter!

by | Apr 16, 2022 | Uncategorized

I didn’t send a weekly email last Saturday.   I was on the road all day driving home from Colorado to Nashville. I had gone to hang out with my son in the Rocky Mountains.  He taught me to snowboard.  I am now, officially, the world’s slowest snowboarder. On the way...