Tag Archives: curriculum

Otter’s Botany – a One Semester Option

Posted on by

homeschool botany curriculum

I now have a 2nd option for those of you interested in studying botany – a ONE SEMESTER botany schedule. Click here for access.

This new option uses Ellen McHenry’s Botany in 8 Lessons as the main spine, while still incorporating the Botany for Dummies Book. Leave out the Dummies book and you have a 3rd option – either a shorter schedule that can be accomplished over the summer or a low key science program that will allow you to focus on other core subjects.

I’ve been working on the upcoming biology curriculum. It should be ready by the middle of August, although I will continue to tweak it as necessary over the course of the year as we use it.

Free $125 Art Curriculum (Adventures in Art)

Posted on by

I just downloaded this myself, so I know it’s legit.

You can get a free download of Adventures in Art eCurriculum from Cornerstone Curriculum that retails for $125! Here’s what you need to do:

  • Click here to go Cornerstone Curriculum and add the Adventures in Art eCurriculum to your cart (I clicked on the order button underneath where it says Sale price $75).
  • Go through the check out process and choose PICK UP as your shipping option.
  • Enter in the promotion code Blessings2013 at checkout.
  • You don’t need to enter in any payment or credit card info.
  • Once you get to the confirmation page, select DOWNLOAD on the right hand side and download it to your computer!
  • The file saved in a weird format on my computer but I was able to open it with Adobe Acrobat like a PDF.

There are 105 pages with clickable links to see the art online. Grab this great value while you can as I don’t know how long it will last!

Here are a few screenshots (click to see them larger – apologies to those of you who get the RSS feed or email subscription where the pictures are full size and giant).

 

Eighth Grade Curriculum Plans

Posted on by

Otter and I are looking forward to starting 8th grade. One more year and my last homeschooler will be in high school!

Here’s a peek at some of the things we’ll be using this year. Of course I tweak & customize just about everything we use to make it work perfectly for Otter but you can at least see the main framework for our 8th grade year.

History

The Awesome History Timeline Schedule

We’ve been working on this for awhile now and are enjoying our journey through history. I have lots of living books (click here if you are wondering what living books are), activities, movies and more scheduled to help history come to life. This year we’ll be studying colonial times and heading into the American Revolution with an emphasis on civics/government and a mix of world history.

We’ll also be studying lots of artists, music and scientific inventions along the way (it is a TIMELINE history program after all, and those items fit in perfectly!).

Otter will be keeping a history notebook full of narrations, notebooking pages, map work and projects. He’ll also paste in book covers, people and events into his timeline as we move through the curriculum.

Geography

Most of our geography studies are tied to history. This year we’ll be using Map Trek maps to help Otter see where history happened along with some maps from the Interactive 3-D Maps book. *I’ll be review Map Trek soon and adding in Map Trek assignments to some of my history schedules!

Otter will also get plenty of free-play in Google Earth, a favorite of his.

Language Arts

Writing

 Classical Writing for Older Beginners – This is going to be our main writing program, but I have plenty of extras to keep things from getting stale, or in case we need to spend more time on a particular concept. We’ll be using the Poetry for Older Beginners program during the 2nd semester.

Grammar

Harvey’s Revised English Grammar – This grammar program is tied to the Classical Writing program.

Vocabulary

We learn a lot of vocabulary in the context of reading as well as through our writing program, but I wanted an additional workbook as an option so I ordered this:

Words on the Vine -

“Ancient Latin and Greek live on in the words we speak every day. Introduce your students to the fun and challenge of word genealogy with Words on the Vine, a 36-unit vocabulary program based on common Latin and Greek roots that will provide you with a framework for an entire school year. Each unit introduces 10 related words and shows how their definitions can be traced back to a common meaning. Students first examine each word in context to understand its correct usage. Then they have the opportunity to put the words to work for themselves in creative and challenging assignments. Each unit provides easy-to-remember visual clues, fun-to-read usage examples, and hand-on activities.” Quote from Amazon

We’re also going to use these:

Marie’s Words SAT GRE Vocabulary Flash Cards - I LOVE these flashcards. I’m going to post a review on them soon. We’re going to use these through high school for SAT prep.

Penmanship practice

Otter is going to keep a copy book with famous quotes, etc. This is scheduled via the Classical Writing program.

Reading

I’ve scheduled in some adventure novels with these comprehension guides (chock full of optional activities). We may not do all of the activities in the guides, but it’s nice to have the option to spice things up and help retention. We’ll probably do one guide every 2 months:

(Veritas) Adventures of Tom Sawyer Comprehension Guide

I’m going to order the Kindle version of Tom Sawyer so Otter can instantly see the definitions of some of the harder words in this story with a swipe of his finger (we have the Kindle Touch).

(Veritas) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Comprehension Guide

(Veritas) Swiss Family Robinson Comprehension Guide

I’m going to order the Kindle version of Swiss Family Robinson too.

(Veritas) Twenty-One Balloons Comprehension Guide

Redwall Teaching Guide

Otter will also be reading tons of other books for history, science and free reading. We’ll be doing many read-alouds (one of his favorite things) as well. He’s also going to continue working through a 1970′s reading comprehension workbook series I got for free from a library book sale. They are awesome and have really helped him improve his reading comp. skills.

Spelling

We’re going to continue using Apples & Pears.

Science

Otter’s Botany

This is a totally customized botany course created just for Otter with lots of activities, experiments, notebooking, cooking projects (fitting a little home-ec in our science program!) and living books. We’re also mixing in some nature study with plenty of field trips and a bit of art using books like:

Illustrating Nature: Right-Brain Art in a Left-Brain World

and

Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You

Foreign Language

Latin

This year we are continuing our Latin studies with a variety of resources. One of our goals is to someday participate in the National Latin Exam.

Spanish

Learnables Level 1

We plan on continuing with Spanish throughout high school. Otter wants to be a CHP officer and believes learning Spanish will help him with his future career goals.

Math

I’ve worked VERY hard to help Otter connect with some of the abstract concepts in pre-algebra using many different resources, some of which you can find in my pre-algebra schedule (scroll down the linked page to find it). This year we’re continuing to build a firm pre-algebra foundation with a variety of materials as he’s not quite ready to move on to algebra yet. You can read about some of the hands-on based items we’re going to continue to use in my recent blog post here. Otter also put in a request to use Life of Fred so I’ll probably order the set of LOF pre-algebra books soon. I’ve got Teaching Textbooks as a back-up if Life of Fred doesn’t work out for whatever reason. I’ve also been eyeballing Systematic Mathematics and my dear friend has offered to loan me a couple Practical Arithmetics books. I’m still not 100% settled on this year’s math, but as always, I’ll use a variety of things that will help Otter really understand the WHY behind what he’s doing vs. just an algorithm.

Other Stuff

Philosophy, Logic, & Bible – using a variety of resources

Art & Music – Much of our art this year is tied to history and/or botany, but sometimes we’ll be working from books like these:

Illustration School: Let’s Draw Happy People

and

Drawing Manga Animals, Chibis, and Other Creatures

Otter will also continue taking his piano lessons and will be participating in many extracurricular activities he’s expressed an interest in.

That pretty much wraps the main things we’ll be using this year! If you’d like to look at other back to school posts, check out the:
Not Back to School Blog Hop

Otter’s Botany is Ready! (BETA version)

Posted on by

Botany Curriculum

I’ve finally finished a BETA version of Otter’s Botany and posted the download.

Why study botany? I think botany is an overlooked topic that gets shoved into a chapter of biology and then forgotten. Plants affect and enrich so many parts of our lives! Our houses and clothes are made of plant materials. We eat plants. We enjoy their beauty. They provide us with medicines, fuel, perfume, dyes, paper and a variety of other products. They are tied to history and even our future. They are an integral part of our lives!

I decided to study botany with my son as a sort of pre-biology course. I want Otter to understand the science behind plants as well as to take the time to appreciate the myriad contributions they make to our lives!

My main goals for this course are:

  • To understand many scientific concepts concerning plants
  • To understand and appreciate many practical applications of plants
  • To learn how to identify many different plants, flowers and trees
  • To learn some history and geography as it pertains to specific plants or plant discoveries
  • To be involved in the natural world on a more frequent basis
  • To hone Otter’s observation skills, nurture an interest in the natural world and have time to reflect on beautiful and interesting things – to see the hand of our creator in nature (although almost all of this year’s resources are secular)
  • To keep a nature journal and learn some artistic skills that will help him reproduce on paper what he observes
  • To learn how to grow, cook and use plants in a variety of ways
  • To learn about bees and worms as “side topics” (creatures that are beneficial to plants)

I’ve scheduled many different materials for this year. Otter’s Botany is full of hands-on labs, experiments, notebooking, drawing and art exercises, interactive websites, videos and more.

Check it out!

Making Math Fun with Hands-on Pre-Algebra

Posted on by

It’s not often that Otter asks to do MORE math. However, after incorporating some recent hands-on pre-algebra activities into our summer studies, I’ve been hearing that quite a bit!

Transitioning from concrete math to the abstract can be a little tough for some kids. It doesn’t have to be though!  Below are some of the resources I’ve used to help make pre-algebra not only tangible, but also fun.

Exploring Algebra and Pre-Algebra with Manipulatives

Learning about integers while playing a game!

Exploring Algebra and Pre-Algebra with Manipulatives is one of Otter’s summer favorites. Chock full of lots of activities, this book even comes with tear-out tiles you can use for some of the games. You do need to copy some of the pages though for things like the algebra dominoes, game boards, and activity sheets.

Otter was having trouble solving equations like “40 – 2X = 6″. Looking at rows of problems like that in his math text just made his eyes glaze over. After playing a game with some math dominoes, he was solving these types of problems like a pro and then asking if he could do MORE. After I picked my jaw up off the floor we played for about an additional 45 minutes or so.

Matching up math domino cards with mom

math integers

Learning about integers the easy way

integers game

Playing a game with mom to learn about positive and negative integers

The Hands-On Equations Learning System

 

Another big hit is The Hands-On Equations Learning System. I honestly think this is Otter’s favorite math “program” he’s ever used. Every time I pull it out he’s enthusiastic and his math confidence soars.

Basically the program takes something that is usually thought of as abstract and makes it totally concrete, helping to lay a terrific foundation for algebra. I really wish I had had access to something like this when I was a kid.

Hands-on Equations

Learning how to solve a linear equation

Hands-on Equations is so easy to use and understand. In the above picture, Otter is solving the equation 5X – 3X + 2 = X + 5. In this particular lesson he is learning to take away pawns as part of the set-up process. So, the first thing he needs to do is get rid of 3 pawns from the left (that’s the 5X – 3X part). Once he’s done that, he has things set up and is ready to solve the equation.

The next thing he would do is subtract one blue pawn from each side (because it’s a balance whatever you do to one side you must do to the other!). Finally, he would subtract 2 from both sides (get rid of the red 2 cube and replace the 5 cube with a 3) and come up with the final answer of X=3.

Afterwards he has to check his work. He checks it by looking at the original physical setup, NOT the original abstract equation. This way he understands the concrete meaning of the abstract equation.

The program comes with 3 levels of books and each step is spelled out visually to help you easily teach each concept. There is also the option to purchase DVDs, but the books were enough guidance for me.

I also order the Verbal Problems book that goes with the program. Using this book, he’ll be able to solve problems like the following by using hands-on methods that really help make the meaning and problem solving clear:

Dave had one package of cookies in his bag. Ed received 4 cookies from a friend on the bus to add to the 2 packages that his mother had packed for him. Andy did not eat breakfast that morning, so he had already eaten 2 cookies from his one package of cookies. Each package of cookies had the same number of cookies at the start. When the boys were ready to eat the cookies, they counted a total of 10 cookies. How many cookies were originally in each package?

You can purchase Hands-on Equations from Amazon or Rainbow Resource for around 35.00. It’s one of the best supplementary math purchases I’ve made.

Another hands-on pre-algebra resource I bought is ETA’s Hands-On Standards Math Online for grades 7-8.  You can order physical copies, but I found it easier to use the online version which is basically PDFs you can print out as needed.

Hands-On Standards

“Home” screen for ETA’s Hands-On Standards Math Online

Each lesson has full-color lesson pages as well as black and white student pages to print out and work on. You can look at some of the sample lessons online for free. The only downside to the program is that you have to purchase a lot of manipulatives. Fortunately I already had some of the required items, but I had to search all over the ETA website for the rest of the ones I needed and the cost added up pretty quickly (over $100 bucks for the program and the manipulatives!). I also had to put in a special request for a single order of some algebra manipulatives as they only had a classroom sized set listed on the website. Because of this, I would recommend the other two previous resources, if you are looking for something that is inexpensive, quick and easy to implement your math studies. However, if you really need more, the ETA program is well put together with lots of different “things” to play with while you are learning math that help keep the interest level high.

ETA Hands-On Math: Using fraction towers to find percents

ETA Hands-On Math: Using fraction circles to figure out decimals and percents

ETA Hands-On Math: Figuring out decimals, fractions and percents using colored square tiles.

Just because you’ve got a middle schooler or a high schooler doesn’t mean you have to stop using manipulatives! In fact, for some kids (like Otter), they really help foster a true understanding of higher level math. Pre-algebra doesn’t have to be boring and it doesn’t have to be hard!

amBooks by Mining Gems Review / Opinion

Posted on by

amBook
amBooks

My rating:

Otter’s rating:
“I like amBooks but parts of them can be boring.”

AmBooks are digital books that have a combination of text, video, explorations, games, animations and experiments presented in an engaging, interactive format. There are a variety of topics to explore with chapters covering a multitude of science concepts. A small sampling of the chapter titles currently available are:

  • Chemistry:
    • Elements, Compounds and Mixtures
    • Acids & Alkalis
  • Earth Science:
    • Earth’s Landforms
    • Weathering, Erosion and Rocks
  • Life Science – Biology
    • Respiration
    • Diffusion, Osmosis and Active Transport
  • Physical Science
    • Measuring Volume, Mass and Density
    • Transmission of Heat

There are lots of other titles available with plans for more additions.

Each AmBook can be purchased for around $4.00, downloaded to your computer and installed as a small piece of software. Each chapter has to be activated before using it by entering in your email address and password. You can only have one computer activated at a time. I downloaded 10 different chapters matching some of our current science topics. As soon as Otter saw me open up one of the colorful “books”, he was chomping at the bit to try one!

When you first open up a “book” there is an introductory page that tells you what you will be studying. All of the subsequent pages are tabbed on the right hand side and can be accessed with a click. The book featured below can be purchased from the Physical Science section of the website and covers the transmission of heat.

amBook

As you click through the pages, you learn about the topic by reading, listening, watching and doing.

Here is an interactive exercise where you drag the items to the proper bin. (Yeah, yeah, I know copper should be dragged into the other bin…lol.)

amBook

And here is a video that helps illustrate conduction:

amBooks

Each amBook has a different amount of pages. The longest one I ordered had 26 and the shortest had 13. This particular book has a total of 17 pages. Within many of the pages are additional “sub” pages or activities.

Here on page 14, when you click on one of the large purple buttons….

amBook

you get a popup box that has additional information.

amBook

In this particular book there are couple of check point quizzes to make sure you understand what’s being taught. If you get an answer wrong, a popup box explains why. On the last quiz it said if you get all 7 answers correct you’ll get a secret code to move on to the last section. Well, we got all of the answers and the code, but it didn’t really appear that the code did anything at all. confused To get to the last section we just clicked on the tab as usual.

amBook

There are also some boxes on a couple of pages where you can type in a prediction and explanation. Also, at the very end, there is a summary of all the main points covered in the book (which is great for record keeping purposes), a concept map and a test yourself section with essay (or interactive in some books) style questions such as: “Explain why only radiation can happen in a vacuum.”

As you can see from the screenshots, amBooks are colorful. Each page just begs to be clicked on and explored. Otter really enjoyed the short videos that usually demonstrate an experiment. He also liked the activities. One of the problems I ran into though was getting him to stop clicking around like a maniac and actually read and study the text!
That’s one potential problem I see with amBooks. A student can click around and “play” without really taking the time to truly absorb each concept. Even though there are quizzes, you don’t have to pass them to move on to the next section. In one way that’s convenient because you have instant access to each topic within a book. However, there is no way for you to know your student actually studied the material unless you assign the questions at the very end of the book. If you do assign the questions, there are no answers for you to check so you’ll either have to be familiar with the concepts yourself or you’ll have to read over the book to know if your student got them right! I think this could be solved in the future by letting teachers download an accompanying PDF answer key.

After trying out all of our amBooks, I would say they are appropriate mostly for middle schoolers, although younger and older students could also benefit from some of the material. The only thing about using it with older students is that some of them might be put off by some of the “kiddy” graphics, although some of the books have a more mature feel to them like the one about solutions and suspensions. As for using it with younger students, there might be some activities are concepts that are too advanced. For example, we ran into some math in one of the books that kind of made Otter’s eyes glaze over. A student would need to have a good understanding of pre-algebra to be able to complete it unassisted.

math in amBook

After reading the above page, you are asked to calculate the pressure exerted by a brick if it’s placed on its largest and smallest surfaces. Otter wasn’t sure how to proceed and there is no hand-holding to help explain the math. There is a solution if you get it wrong, but it was all mumbo-jumbo-yeah-whatever to Otter.

math

The book just assumes you have this level of mathematical knowledge. If your student doesn’t though, he can just move on to the next section anyway.

I also ran into an error in one of the books. On the page below there is a little “Remember This” box that says, “To read more about mixtures, click here.” Otter clicked and got an alert window that said that feature is not available. Maybe this is a bug that has yet to be worked out.

amBook

I’m glad I had a chance to review amBooks as they have added a fun component to our science studies. Otter likes them, but he has to be told to sit and actually study each page instead of jumping around to see what novelty each click will bring. He thought the books were mostly fun, but a few books didn’t engage him as much as the others (hence the 7 stars rating, instead of something higher). I did hear comments like “Ohh neat!” and “Hey mom, look!” frequently enough to know he was having a good time, for the most part.

Overall, I think amBooks does a good job at getting concepts across in a way that is engaging and memorable. The animations and videos help make things very clear. The interactive sections are generally fun and bring a lot of life to what could otherwise be just plain, old-fashioned reading. Visual learners will likely think amBooks is a treat, but some students may be totally distracted by all of the choices, colors and cartoons all over the page. There is still some room for improvement. Some pages could have used more detailed explanations (like the math in the Force and Pressure book, as mentioned above) and sometimes there was a wide mix of graphics and activities that don’t seem to know just what the intended audience is (elementary, middle school or high school?). The price is right for most of the chapters. $4.00 will get you about an hour’s worth of learning and entertainment mixed. This time period might be shorter for some of the smaller chapters.
If you are looking for something to jazz up your science lesson and your kids enjoy learning things on the computer, amBooks are an affordable solution that you can purchase and download in a matter of minutes. They can help get a concept across that ordinary textbooks might not be able to.

You can download a free chapter of amBooks from the Mining Gems website. Just click on the contact form and make your request.

*Note: We received amBooks for free in exchange for this review. However, our review was not in anyway influenced by this fact. All our reviews reflect only our personal opinion(s) of materials. We aren’t experts! We’re just a homeschooling family with 3 kids and ideas of our own about what works and what doesn’t for US. smile

In the Hands of a Child Renaissance Project Pack Lapbook

Posted on by

Wow! It’s been a long time since I’ve worked on my website or blog! I’ve finally found a minute to post a review of In the Hands of a Child’s Renaissance Project Pack Lapbook.

My rating:

my rating

Otter’s rating:

Otter's rating

 

Renaissance lapbook

This 72 page, affordable lapbook project pack from In the Hands of a Child has everything you need for a 7 day unit study on the Renaissance! It’s designed for grades 6-12, although I think it could easily be adapted down to 4th grade.

I’ve always liked lapbooks. They offer a hands-on, interactive way of learning a subject. Lapbooks are crafty, they break up writing into manageable chunks and they look GREAT as a finished project.

In the Hands of a Child contacted me and asked me if I was interested in reviewing one of their lapbooks. I jumped at the chance. Our history study was heading into the Renaissance and this offer came along at the right time! Over the years we’ve finished lots of lapbook projects. Some have been absolute hits (like this one I made for nutrition) and others have been disastrous flops! Here are my impressions of this particular lapbook project pack.

My project pack came as a PDF. Instead of printing out the entire thing I only printed out the items/elements I wanted to use and read the instructions from my computer.

Graphics / Illustrations:

  • All of the graphics and illustrations are in black and white or grayscale.
    Pros Cons
    Printing only in black helps save expensive color ink. Some may find black and white graphics boring.
    A creative child may enjoy coloring things in. A kid who doesn’t like coloring might think it’s busywork to decorate his lapbook.

The sample lapbook displayed inside shows most of the lapbook elements printed on colored paper, which kind of jazzes things up a bit more (note: the picture below only shows part of the lapbook). I think the sample actually looks quite nice:

Renaissance lapbook

Everything appears to be clip art-based with different fonts for variety. This is not a beautifully “hand” illustrated lapbook like the ones featured at Homeschool in the Woods. However, the graphics are mostly crisp, clean and print well.

Content:

  • This lapbook covers a wide variety of topics from the Renaissance. All of the research for each lapbook element has been done for you and put together in an easy-to-read format sprinkled with pictures and clip art. Culture, art & artists, religion, architecture, music, literature, government, and exploration are all explored.

activities

Because the lapbook is intended to cover only a 7 day period, nothing is covered in great depth. However, you get a good overview of the main topics and what the Renaissance was all about. I think this lapbook would be a good addition to just about any history curriculum and it could stand alone as well if you didn’t want to linger in this particular time period too long.

Lapbook Elements:

  • There are quite a few different lapbook elements to create (20 in all). A few of the items you can make are:
    • Booklet for vocabulary words
    • Flip flap book about Renaissance facts
    • Venn book comparing the Middle Ages to the Renaissance period
    • Shape book about Gutenberg
  • All of the lapbook elements come with written instructions on how to construct each one. I thought it was a little inconvenient that the instructions were separate from the actual lapbook element pages (all instructions are together in the beginning of the lapbook guide), but you could easily print the instructions out for reference. Perhaps it was designed this way so that they aren’t cluttering up each project page.
  • Answers for each lapbook element are contained at the end of the guidebook. Most of the answers are suggestions showing what your child could write on each project piece.
  • Reluctant writers may like how each element breaks down the task of writing into a smaller chunk. Instead of writing papers, information is displayed on each lapbook element.

Fun Factor:

Crafty kids who love to cut, paste and color will most likely enjoy completing this lapbook. Kids who like their schoolwork to be cut-and-dry will probably groan their way through it. If you already know your children like lapbooks, then I think this particular one will probably go over pretty well. It’s one of the better ones I’ve seen for this topic. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the worst and 10 being the most awesome activity we’ve ever done in our entire school career) I’d give this lapbook about a 6 1/2. Otter rated it as a 2. When I asked him why, he said there was too much writing and he didn’t think it was varied enough (with drawing or cut/paste activities, etc.). He also disliked the lack of color.

Overall Impression:

I think the In the Hands of a Child Renaissance Project Pack Lapbook is a solid choice if you are a fan of lapbooks or want to give one a try to add some variety to your studies. I think this particular project pack is a great overview of the Renaissance with plenty of activities at an affordable price. This is definitely something I would have considered purchasing to supplement our history lessons and add in a hands-on element. It’s well put together and saves a LOT of time! Unfortunately though, Otter doesn’t like it at all and while I like the content, I’m not in love with all of the graphics. I think it’s a professional product but not as polished as I personally would like it to be.

Check out the free sample at the In the Hands of a Child website and see for yourself whether it would work for you and yours!

*Note: All our reviews reflect only our personal opinion(s) of materials. We aren’t experts! We’re just a homeschooling family with 3 kids and ideas of our own about what works and what doesn’t for US. smile

Visual Latin

Posted on by

Visual Latin

I’ve become somewhat of a connoisseur of Latin programs. We’ve tried quite a few and I definitely have my favorites (along with some real duds). One of the best programs I’ve recently seen and tried out with my son is Visual Latin. Visual Latin breaks out of the usual Latin program mold and interjects a much needed dose of fun, humor and solid Latin instruction that sticks!

While I have loved learning Latin ever since we started, Otter has been a much more reluctant student. Latin has almost always elicited groans and a general disposition of one attending a funeral, or at least having to eat a heaping plate of brussel sprouts (no offense to you who love that vegetable). It’s always difficult when you love a subject and your child doesn’t. I’ve wanted to somehow inject the my own soul-felt knowledge that Latin is AWESOME, beautiful and a worthy pursuit of time. He wasn’t buying it. He was learning (painfully), but not liking.

Enter Visual Latin on the scene. I was skeptical. “Laugh through Latin…” Hmmm, I doubted it. As much as I love Latin, I’ve certainly never run into any program or material that makes me want to laugh while learning it. Let me tell you right from the beginning, it’s true. We have been laughing through our Latin lessons and for the first time, Otter is ENJOYING them! This program is a gold mine in that regard. He actually wants to….continue. You know that parent’s dream of seeing your homeschooled child who hates a subject change his opinion to actually wanting to spend time doing it, without pouting and even, *gasp*, looking forward to it… That’s what’s happened in our house thanks to Visual Latin. I’ve even caught my college-aged daughter peeking at a lesson and laughing along.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think all learning has to be fun. There are certainly some things you just have to do, whether you like them or not. How much nicer it is though, when a way to learn something kindles that fire in you and makes you hungry for more. Provides you with a little humor and smiles to boot? That’s a really special bonus!

While Visual Latin delivers with the laughs, it also delivers with content. From the very beginning you are exposed to grammar concepts, vocabulary and the way Latin works. We’ve just finished with the 10th set of lessons (each set has 3 videos with 3 corresponding worksheets) and Otter is translating controlled vocabulary paragraphs with ease. Visual Latin also has a knack for presenting things in a way that seems so natural and easy to learn. Nothing ever feels overwhelming (think of endless drills/chants/tables that are a drudge with other programs). There really is an easier way. This isn’t to say that Visual Latin is too easy (Otter rates it at a medium level of difficulty), but the creators of the program have a terrific insight to how kids learn and offer up lessons of the perfect duration and presentation (at least for us!). Maybe that’s because the teacher and producer have 8 homeschooled children between them.

For the purpose of this review I was able to obtain the first 10 lessons. Each lesson has 3 videos and 3 worksheets. So with the first 10 lessons you get 30 videos. Each video is usually about 8-10 minutes long. Each worksheet is usually just a single page (with the exception of later translation exercises that may span two pages to make room for a box of vocabulary words). We usually take 15 to 20 minutes to finish our entire Visual Latin lesson, although it can sometimes run a little shorter. You get the idea.

The lessons are broken down into 3 bite-sized pieces of material. First Dwayne Thomas (that’s the guy teaching the lessons in the video) introduces a grammar concept. The 2nd day you see these grammar concepts illustrated in sentences. The 3rd day has you working from a Latin text (abridged stories from the Latin Vulgate). Otter just recently (and easily) translated the following from worksheet 10 C (30 days worth of lessons for us) after first watching it being read in the video and repeating it out loud:

“Est dies septimus. Caeli et terra sunt perfecti. Opus Dei
est completus. Deus est laetus. Opus est bonus. Terra
est bella et bona. Caelum est bellum et bonum. Adam est
laetus. Hava est laeta. Hortus est bonus et pulcher.
Animalia sunt laeti. Est multa herba in terra. Herba est
cibum bestiarum in terra nova. Cibum Adami et Havae est
fructus aut holus. Omnes sunt laeti in terra nova. Opus
Dei est bonus. Deus complet opus. Deus requiescit.”

Compare this to what was being translated after nearly a year with a different program when you FINALLY get to a chunk of text vs. the sentences and phrases you’ve been dealing with all year long:

“Lavinia femina est. Lavinia agricola est. In terrā laborat.
Equī et taurī in terrā habitant. Sunt gallinae et gallī et porcī.
Est frumentum in terrā. Sempronia amica est. Hodiē Sempronia visitat. Heri Lavinia laborābat. Hodiē Lavinia nōn laborābat.
Hodiē amicae in silvīs ambulant. In silvīs explorant. Lavinia et Sempronia in fluviō natant. In silvīs cenant. Crās Lavinia in terrā laborābit.”

Don’t worry if you don’t understand a word of Latin in the examples above. What I wanted to show you is that with Visual Latin you are translating large chunks of text every 3 days from the beginning and understanding what you are reading without spending tons of time trying to memorize vocabulary. The vocabulary is learned in context and retained without a lot of effort. It’s a very similar approach (the immersion approach) that is found in Lingua Latina, a program Dwayne Thomas of Visual Latin recommends, and one that Otter and I have also been working through very slowly. In fact, Visual Latin has really enhanced our study of Lingua Latina and added a bit of insight that has made it easier and clearer.

Another great thing about Visual Latin is that it employs a variety of ways to get the material in your head. You listen, watch, read, say and write Latin. It’s also very approachable. It doesn’t feel like some stuffy Latin scholar is force feeding you lessons. Dwayne Thomas makes mistakes and catches himself and just comes across as real. I think it’s reassuring to Otter to see a teacher make a mistake and then correct it. You can also tell that Dwayne loves Latin. It really comes across in the lessons and is infectious.

Latin is one of those subjects a lot of people aren’t sure how to approach. I’m happy to say that Visual Latin has made it not only very approachable, but even entertaining. It’s given Otter a confidence I’ve not seen with any other program we’ve tried and it’s made our Latin time something we BOTH look forward to. I’m happy to report that we have the rest of the lessons that are available and are looking forward to the next batch (Visual Latin 2) as soon as it is out. I’d be ecstatic if they would consider continuing on and creating even more lessons beyond that!! We’ll continue to use every last scrap of what is created because quite simply, it works and we really, really like it.

If you are thinking about purchasing a Latin program, take a look at Visual Latin! The website has some freebies for you to try (4 introduction lessons and 2 “real” lessons). The program gets even better as you move through the lessons beyond lesson 2. Also, so you know, we were provided with the first set of lessons for free in exchange for this review. All of the above is my real opinion and I’m not pedaling their program because I received a freebie. I’m sharing a real and true love for Visual Latin of my own accord. Check it out!

*Note: The above comments reflect our personal opinion(s) of materials. We aren’t experts! We’re just a homeschooling family with ideas of our own about what works and what doesn’t for US.