by Dwane | Dec 16, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Latin, Vocabulary
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....
by Dwane | Dec 15, 2014 | Education, Latin, Visual Latin
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...
by Dwane | Dec 13, 2014 | Education, Latin, Visual 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...
by Dwane | Dec 12, 2014 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
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...
by Dwane | Dec 12, 2014 | English, Latin, Vocabulary
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....
by Dwane | Dec 11, 2014 | English, Latin, Vocabulary
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...
by Dwane | Dec 10, 2014 | Education, English, Greek
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...
by Dwane | Dec 10, 2014 | Education, Latin, Vocabulary
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…...
by Dwane | Dec 9, 2014 | Education
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...
by Dwane | Dec 6, 2014 | Education, Motivation, The Future
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...
by Dwane | Dec 5, 2014 | Latin
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...
by Dwane | Dec 4, 2014 | Grammar, Latin, Visual Latin
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...
by Dwane | Dec 3, 2014 | Education, Latin
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....
by Dwane | Dec 2, 2014 | Education, English
by Dwane | Dec 1, 2014 | Latin
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...
by Dwane | Nov 15, 2014 | Education, Latin, Visual Latin
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...
by Dwane | Nov 4, 2014 | The Future, Travel
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...
by Dwane | Oct 24, 2014 | Latin, Visual Latin
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:...
by Dwane | Oct 21, 2014 | Uncategorized
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...
by Dwane | Oct 21, 2014 | Uncategorized
“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...
by Dwane | Oct 14, 2014 | The Future, Travel
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...
by Dwane | Oct 13, 2014 | 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...
by Dwane | Oct 13, 2014 | Latin, Latin in Literature, Visual Latin
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...
by Dwane | Oct 3, 2014 | Greek, Latin
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...
by Dwane | Oct 3, 2014 | Education, Latin, Uncategorized, Visual Latin
