Keeping Latin Alive!

Publisher:  Classical Academic Press  

• $24.95 Student Text
• $29.95 Teacher's Edition
• $139.95 Latin Alive Bundle

Ages:  Jr. High- High School


I have been teaching my older two children Latin for the past five years.  Why teach Latin?  Many consider Latin to be a dead language- but indeed it is not.

• Latin teaches English:  Over half of our English words (the most difficult ones) come from Latin.  Learn those Latin roots and you can decipher so many more English words.  
• Latin teaches grammar better than English (or other languages for that matter).  
• Latin prepares the student to study Romance languages like Spanish, Italian, French...  these languages derive about 90% of their words from Latin.  
• Latin, like mathematics and music, teaches order and forms habits of the mind.  It trains the student to pay attention to detail.  Thought processes are complex.
• The study of Latin is also a study of history- our history.  One cannot study Latin without exploring classical history (which is crucial for understanding our own).  
• Students will be exposed to and have a better understanding for cultural literacy.  
• So many more reasons...

My family had the opportunity to set aside the Latin program we have been using to use and review Latin Alive! by Classical Academic Press.  What an amazing program!
I received the Teacher's Edition, Student Text, and DVD/ CD Set taught by Karen Moore.

TEACHER'S EDITION & STUDENT TEXT:

• 322 pages
• 7 Units, 29 Chapters
• Preface & Teacher Intro:  Walk through and explanation of each section of the chapters. Tips and ideas of how to teach each section.  Extremely helpful.
• Each chapter contains:  Great Seals or mottos containing Latin, Oral Practice, Written practice- reproducible worksheets included, Parsing and Labeling Sentences, Latin Passages-  Most chapters include a Latin reading.  Students will begin translating passages from Latin.  These passages are inspired by Livy's history text,  Reading Aides & Comprehension Questions, Unit Reviews, Assessments- 7 unit tests, Supplemental Lessons- authors include projects they have used personally in the classroom.  Answers to student exercises.
• Teacher's Edition contains Student Text with the above mentioned items.  
• Reference-  The Teacher's Edition contains a Reference section listing helpful charts for vocabulary, declension charts, pronoun charts, tenses, etc.  Helpful to have these charts all in one location.  
• See Chapter Samples

DVD/CD:


The DVD shows the author, Karen Moore, in front of a book shelf teaching the material.  To her left is a white board that is only in view when she is presenting written material.

My children and I enjoy listening to Karen.  She is an excellent teacher and it is obvious she has a great love and knowledge for her subject matter.  We do not normally enjoy watching teachers via the computer- many have annoying habits or come across flat.  Karen is not annoying, teaches at a moderate pace with some pauses, and is exciting.  I would absolutely purchase these DVD's.  They made learning so much more fun and being able to fast forward and pause are wonderful options.

The CD contains a male voice reading the chapter readings in Classical Latin.  He has great voice quality and we completely enjoyed listening to these CD's.

WHAT I THINK:


This is a tremendous program!  I plan to continue using it along with the text we have already been using, as my children are halfway through that text.  I will purchase Latin Alive 2 for next year.  I can't say enough about the videos- they really make learning much easier.  I watch the video, with text and notebook in my lap, almost every night when my children go to bed.  It has excited us even more about our Latin studies.
HERE you can see a sample video, samples of the texts, as well as several articles and a link to the author's blog.

A great benefit of this program is the ability to contact the author and have questions answered through a yahoo group.  I truly believe this program is worth the affordable price!  Check it out!!


Classical Academic Press also publishes Latin for Children and texts for Spanish, Greek, and French, logic, Bible and more.

Check out many more reviews of this product HERE

I was given the teacher's edition of Latin Alive, student text, and DVD/CD set in exchange for my truthful review.  I received no other compensation.  

Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him?

Publisher:  Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc.
Cost:  $39.00
Audience:  Target ages 6-14

Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him? is the first volume in a soon to be IV volume series.  Volume III will be released this year and volume IV in 2012.


I will start my review with the Physical Appearance and Layout of the book:

• Hardback and extremely sturdy 
• Beautiful full color photos and drawings throughout
• 251 pgs. 
• Written to the student- can be read as a family or by the student alone
• How To Use Section- gives ideas on how to use, note booking ideas- including several formatted note booking pages online.
• See the Table of Contents

As you read through the book, each chapter will contain:

• The Big Idea-  Introduction to the new topic & a brief review of what has already been learned.
• What You Will Do-  Lesson Objectives
• Short Story-  A short story that reinforces the lesson being taught in a "real life" setting.  These are often carried through several lessons.
• Think About It-  Thought provoking questions pertaining to lessons learned from the story.
• Words To Know-  Vocabulary to write into student notebooks
• Hide It in Your Heart-  Bible Memory 
• Integrated Learning-  Ties the lesson concepts with other subjects such as science, art, math, history.
• What Should I Do?-  Highlights a specific character trait and applies it to the child's life.
• Prayer-  Each lesson ends with a prayer that draws child's attention to specific attributes of God.  Prayers may be adapted to use as a family.
• Worldview Study-  Introduces the child to the idea of worldview and how people perceive the world around them based on their beliefs.   This section leads the child to understand WHY he believes what he believes.  
• House of Truth-   An optional hands on memory aid.  This is a model kit that students can construct one step at a time as new concepts are learned.  As they build the foundation, walls, and roof of the house- they see a concrete picture of their life in God's kingdom.  For this volume they will complete the foundation and one wall.  
• Lesson Plans-  Daily suggestions are given for completing each lesson within two weeks. There are 10 lessons.
• See a Sample Lesson

"Christians are faced with at least two critical questions:  'How do we know what is true?' and 'How must we live our lives in relation to the truth we come to know?'  This curriculum is designed to address questions like these."  


"It is based on the biblical Christian worldview, which affirms that truth is absolute and knowable through the revelation of God."

What I Thought:

• Beautifully made book- very professionally done- though a bit too large for holding and reading.
• Incorporates many unique and interesting pieces of information and weaves them into the lessons.
• Very well thought out
• Age spread seems too stretched-  my 12 and 13 year old children felt some of the stories were written for younger children- though my 7 yr. old enjoyed them.  I can't imagine a 14 year old really enjoying the Short Stories so much.
• The book contains many separate boxes and categories on most pages. Can be distracting to some.
• Some sweeping statements (my pet peeve here).  Example:  For avoiding sin:  "Then do as Jesus did and quote scripture to Satan.  He will have no choice but to run away."  
• Overall I love the ideas and topics in this book.  I do think it seems somewhat artificial to teach worldview through a text book.  
• I definitely think this hardcover text is worth the price.  You will want the four volume set to last for many years. 

Also available to supplement this text:  Audio MP3 CD- $15.00, Notebooking Journal- $24.00, Coloring Book- $8.00

Apologia is a great source for Christian science curriculum from elementary through high school, as well as resource texts and online courses.  

* Minor points of doctrinal difference have been avoided to focus on larger issues that make up our faith.
* Apologia Website contains many resources to use with the text.  You will be given an access password upon purchase of the book.


I was given a free copy of:  Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him?  in exchange for my truthful review.  I received no other compensation. 


Would you like to read many more reviews about this text?  Go HERE