English from the Roots up...finished!!!

Hurrah! School's out for summer! Although we really keep learning all year round, the official sit-at-the-table-and-do-schoolwork season is over for a couple of months. (and the crowd goes wild)

Here are all the kids with their 100 English From the Roots Up cards. Do they look happy to be done???

We began English from the Roots Up in the fall of 2007. Technically, this class should only take one year to complete. We managed to stretch it out over two full years. However, we had fun doing it and we learned a lot, too. Maybe "slow and steady" really does win the race!

The kids' favorite things about the class: playing Rummy Roots and Root Word Bingo, of course. We all love games.

Their least favorite thing: when I was too lazy to think up an interesting assignment and just assigned them to find 10 words for each rootword studied that day. I can see how that would be boring. I didn't do that all the time, but it was often enough to make the class drag out over two years!

That was the one challenge I had with this program. Creativity. Some days I had it, some days I just didn't. Resources were a bit limited online, too. Apparently I'm not the only one who draws a blank when it comes to creative assignments for every day. If I had more time and faster internet, I would create a blog for Greek and Latin root word activities. That's a big IF. Don't hold your breath waiting for that blog.

Don't get me wrong, there were some really fun assignments which the kids really enjoyed.

• Lithos: stone -- use a bar of soap as your stone and make a lithograph
• Zoon: animal -- search for a famous zoo online. Did you know that the San Diego Zoo has webcams where you can watch the elephants live? Very cool.
• Write a story using demos, urbis, polis, and populus (people and city) as many times as possible.
• Make up words using the Greek and Latin root cards. Get creative!

As time went on, and as our Spanish improved, we found more and more Latin/Spanish crossovers. Surprise, surprise. I'm not sure whether the Spanish helped with the Latin or vice versa. Either way, by about halfway through the course the kids were all able to discern the meaning of the Latin roots pretty much as soon as I wrote them on the board.

Their final assignment, which is actually due at the beginning of next month, is to write a story using one Greek or Latin root word as many times as possible. I'll post them when I get them. I'm looking forward to grading this assignment!

Boys

Today's "English from the Roots Up" root word is bracchium, meaning "arm". Sarah assigned the kids to find 10 words with that root word. Seth is now busily scouring the dictionary to find his 6th word.

With sarcasm dripping, Seth says, "Wow. Mom -- brassier: an undergarment worn by women to support the breasts. I SO didn't need to know that."

Keep that thought, son! :^)

It's Greek to Me!

I took this picture while we were on furlough in the States this fall. The kids are generally pretty good about taking time in the morning for their personal Bible time, but while we were traveling it was sometimes difficult. Occasionally a Bible was misplaced in the van or who-knows-where and one child or another would have to borrow one to read. Believe it or not, this photo was not posed.

Caleb and Jessee were reading (borrowed) Bibles at Grandma's house. When I looked closely, I noticed a couple of things about the Bible that Jessee (on the left) was reading. First of all, I saw that it was upside down. I was just about to comment to him about the fact that he was being deceitful, when I saw that it was also Hebrew-Greek. I had to take a photo before I called him on it.

It turned out that the Bible was a factory second that Grandma had gotten for a really good price because it was bound incorrectly. Jessee was really reading the Bible -- in English, upside up!

English From the Roots Up...FINALLY!!!

Ok, homeschoolers, here's a question: have you ever bought a wonderful curriculum item and been so excited to get it home and to use it, and brought it home...and had it sit on your shelf for 5 years? Now, I'm not talking about the Abeka Kindergarten Art program that I spent $200 on and brought home and was immediately repentant. No offense to Abeka curriculum users. I obviously like the looks of it, or I never would have bought it. I just couldn't use it. It wasn't "ME". What I'm talking about is that book or resource that you've looked at and researched and tested and saved for and then, finally, purchased -- just knowing that this class was going to really work with your kids. But you never did it. "English from the Roots Up" was that curriculum item for me. Who knows why? Maybe it started looking a little "teacher intensive", or maybe my kids just weren't quite ready. Or maybe I just kept having little ones, so I didn't really feel like starting something new when I was exhausted and nauseated all the time. Well, I tend to be a little perfectionistic, so I think my biggest problem was wanting to do a really good job, since the class looked so good itself. Whatever the reason, I purchased the book in 1999 and never actually did the class...until this year.

To be totally honest, I'm not actually doing the class this year either! My 15 year old daughter, Sarah, wanted to do a class on word origins. Being the cheapskate, er, uh, frugally-minded mom that I am, the lightbulb flashed over my thick skull and viola! She has her curriculum, and the 5 younger kids get a new teacher -- who actually gives homework assignments!!! gasp! Sarah's doing such a fantastic job! All I have to do is keep her supplied with notecards and colored pens and occassionally rebuke the odd brother for disrespect. I now have an hour a day when I can do grading and recording grades without interruptions. Woo-Hoo!!!

So -- now how do I feel about English from the Roots Up? I love it! The kids, ages 8 through 15 are absolutely enjoying the class -- even with homework assignments -- and we've been playing Rummy Roots a lot and the two little ones are making a Greek and Latin root word BINGO. Sarah comes up with neat ideas for assignments. She's so creative! Very cool! The kids are noticing that a lot, well, actually ALL of the Latin root words have Spanish equivalents. Go figger! Maybe the Spanish will move along faster, too? Hay que esperar y orar! One can hope and pray!!!