The Old Schoolhouse has launched a new series of e-books, the "WannaBe" series.  Basically, this is a fun set of unit studies on different career opportunities available to children and teens. 

I was able to read and review the following "WannaBe" e-book for The Old Schoolhouse:

When I Grow Up, I Wanna Be a Chef!

The girls and I read through most of this ebook together, and then I finished reading the rest without them because I'm going to have them do some of the fun activities this week from this e-book, during our last week of school.

My girls were very interested to see what this e-book had to say about being a chef and working in the food industry, because they both love cooking...and eating!  Kelsi loves cake decorating and baking, and Brittany just loves everything having to do with food. 

There were a number of things that I really liked as I read through this e-book:

1.  It has a strong Christian focus to it.  The cooks who are interviewed or are being written about express a strong belief in God and how God has used their interest and talents in cooking to be used as a ministry and in an occupation that they just love!

2.  This e-book is definitely a UNIT study, something I didn't realize until we were quite a few pages into it.  Not only does it contain informational reading about being a cook or someone working in the food industry, it also contains some neat activities, both academic and just for fun.

3.  Writing promts - these encourage children to write about their dreams and desires of working with food.

4.  There are strong connections to math and science.  Scientists of the past and their Christian worldview are mentioned.  This is a definite bonus to show how the Lord can use us in the fields He has placed us in. 

5.  Vocabulary words and definitions - great for enhancing knowledge of cooking and the food industry.

6.  Bible memory verses...Hooray!  Always wonderful to tie in Scripture with everything that we are learning and doing in our lives.

7.  Activities and games to enhance learning and make studies more fun are included:  crossword puzzle, word search, and more!

8.  Food safety is addressed.  Always great to learn about or be reminded of how to safely prepare food.

9.  An ANSWER GUIDE is provided, making this unit study easy, easy, easy to use for a busy mom.

10.  A list of Additional Resources as well as LINKS is provided.  For those children and families who want to learn more, they know where to look at the library and on the internet.

11.  Related occupations are also discussed, to show how a child's idea of being a CHEF can also lead to other career opportunities in their lives.

The e-book also contains some other components that are great:

*coloring pages about being a chef

*handwriting practice pages

*copywork

*ASL finger spelling signs

I'm looking forward to seeing the other "WannaBe" career e-books in the future.  Great job, TOS!

Copyright © 2009 by Julieanne Miller

     Memoria Press was so generous this year to send a large box to me containing a full upper elementary course in Latin, their penmanship program (New American Cursive), and a Hymns and Prayers Cursive Copybook.  I feel so blessed to be able to use these this year with my children! 

     I haven't had the chance to tell you about their cursive penmanship program that they sent, so here you go!

     The New American Cursive Penmanship Program  was designed by Iris Hatfield, with the assistance of numerous members of the Penmanship Council of America and some handwriting teachers and specialists. 

     New American Cursive uses a simplified cursive font specifically designed for beginning writers. Line height in the Cursive Copy Book is 3/8". 

     "In our current educational system, most students are not taught cursive until the second or third grade, if at all.  However, the Penmanship Council of America recommends that 'cursive script be taught as the primary form of writing in the first grade.'  By the third grade, students' printing habits are so fixed that it is difficult for them to learn an entirely new way of writing.  The transition time between 'unlearning' and 'new learning' frustrates and confuses many students, and they often revert back to printing."  (quote from Introduction of New American Cursive Penmanship Program). 

     When I was teaching fourth grade in the public school system, if you had come to me and suggested that the first graders should be learning cursive instead of manuscript, I would have laughed.  Isn't that sad?  That's because in the 1970s, when I was in the first grade, we were taught manuscript, and I didn't learn cursive handwriting until the third grade, which is fairly typical these days still. 

     However, when we began using a specific spelling/reading program with our oldest child, the author strongly urged us to consider teaching our children to write in cursive instead of manuscript.  I almost scoffed at this until I mentioned it to my parents.  They looked at me and said, "We learned cursive in first grade!" 

     What?!!!!     In first grade?!!!

     I couldn't believe it.  I still didn't want to teach my daughter cursive in the first grade, but we ran into a little problem.  Well, actually, it was a big problem. 

     She really couldn't print manuscript letters, even though she was beginning to read and was advancing in all other areas academically. 

     We decided to take the reading/spelling curriculum author's advice and begin teaching her cursive handwriting instead. 

     What do you know?  Within a few weeks, she was writing very legibly.  After two months, she could write better in cursive than most 4th graders...and after six months, she could write cursive better than most adults!  I was shocked.  But the joy she had of being able to write well, legibly, and also be able to read adults' cursive writing, was indescribable!  We were so excited for her! 

     I highly recommend teaching your first grader how to write in cursive handwriting.  Now, please don't misunderstand me here...your kindergartner doesn't need to be learning cursive handwriting right now.  Back before kindergartens were mandatory as part of elementary schools, children didn't typically start school until they were already six to almost seven years old.  Their fine motor skills are much better suited at those ages to do cursive writing than a 5-year-old child. 

     Interestingly, my dad belonged to the last class in his school district which learned cursive first in the first grade.  According to his mother (my beloved grandma), from that point on, the rate of dyslexia and reading difficulties, especially amongst boys, grew by leaps and bounds.  It is too bad that no one had figured out why those with vision and tracking disorders as well as those who had a weakness for dyslexic tendencies suddenly had huge problems with reading, all of a sudden back then. 

     The script chosen for New American Cursive is  a simplified script that is legible, fast, and attractive.  Every stroke was chosen for its clarity, speed, and ease of learning. 

     I like the fact that the pages are in black and white, and aren't completely cluttered with graphics winding all over the pages.  StartWrite, a handwriting software program, can also be purchased to be used with New American Cursive to make your own copywork and handwriting pages for your family. 

     The teaching guide contains excellent tips on teaching posture, pencil position, and paper position, how to teach the letters, and the "Three S's," which are:

*Size - capital and lower case letters are the correct size and proportion

*Slant - letters slant foward evenly

*Spacing - letters and words are evenly spaced apart. 

     A cartoon character, Mr. Meerkat, gives very simple tips throughout the book to guide children to better handwriting.  This character isn't drawn in a distractible way, which is nice. 

     This book is spiral bound on the left hand side, but the pages are printed in a landscape format, so that the spiral binding doesn't get in the way of attempting to learn the handwriting techniques.  Plenty of practice space is provided on each page.

     The only concern I had with using New American Cursive was that the handwriting does not start letters and words from the base line.  This required students to make a guess to where the middle of the line may be when they begin transfering their skills from this workbook to regular lined paper.  My children learned with a handwriting style that was also simplified, but it always (except for rare circumstances and some of the capital letters) started on the base line.  This made it extra easy for my daughters to learn how to write in cursive, because nearly everything started on the base line. 

     New American Cursive does not require a teacher's guide because of its simplicity and ease of use already. 

     For most children, this is a great choice that I recommend for learning to write in cursive. 

     Click here  if you'd like to see a sample lesson from this program for yourself!

Copyright © 2009 by Julieanne Miller

If you had told me one year ago that I would be working on learning Latin with my daughters, I would have laughed.  I've been encouraged over the years to consider teaching Latin to my children, and inside (and maybe outwardly, too?) I've scoffed.  How can I even begin to teach a foreign language that is rarely spoken today?

Enter Latina Christiana:  Introduction to Christian Latin by Cheryl Lowe, a Classical Trivium Core Series program by Memoria Press. 

I received several different materials from Memoria Press as a member of the TOS Crew this year, and I've really liked what I've seen from this company I had never heard of until a few months ago.  Our version of Latina Christiana is the completely revised and updated third edition which was published in 2006. 

Mrs. Lowe explains in the preface of Latina Christiana that this program is designed for parents, teachers, and students who have no background in Latin or foreign languages. 

While lots of foreign language programs make these kinds of claims, it is not always the case.  Often, foreign language programs are not user friendly and are difficult for parents to grasp for themselves, let alone work on with their children.

What did I receive?  How much does this program cost?

Latina Christiana, designed for 3rd through 9th graders, has been a wonderful introduction to learning Latin.  The program consists of:

*Teacher Manual

*Instructional DVD set

*Student Book

*Audio Pronunciation CD which contains a pronunciation guide and most everything that will be learned throughout Book 1.

Optional materials include flashcard sets, a separate translation course based on hymns and prayers, and Latin wall charts and history maps.

Our family received the Teacher Manual, Instructional DVD set, two Student Books, and the audio Pronunciation CD.  You may notice that the core package for Latina Christiana contains the Teacher Manual, one Student Book, and the Pronunciation CD for $39.95, and the additional Instructional DVD set is $55.   

How does Latina Christiana work?

When I sat down with the teacher's guide for Latina Christiana, I started at the beginning and read through the Grammar Overview, Student Goals for 1st Year Latin, and General Teaching Directions.  While I didn't understand everything, it was clearly written and simply laid out the curriculum.  Then, I read through the History Key and Notes, viewed the colored maps of Italy and the Roman Empire, and read through Lesson Plan I. 

What is there a "History Guide" with Latina Christiana?

"The study of the history and culture of Rome and the Middle Ages, the two eras in which Latin was the dominant language, will greatly increase student motivation for learning Latin", according to Memoria Press.  Latina Christiana encourages the use of chapters 1-13 in a separate book titled, Famous Men of Rome, which covers the legendary founding of Rome in 753 B.C. to the Punic Wars in 264 B.C. 

Our family had already read this book together as part of our studies of ancient history and the Middle Ages, so we chose to not read through portions of this additional book along with learning Latin.

What does it look like to teach a lesson in Latin with Latina Christiana?

Using Latina Christiana and its instructional DVDs was surprisingly quite simple!  I opened my teacher's guide to Lesson Plan I, put in the first DVD, and we watched and listened together as we were walked through the beginnings of learning Latin.  Here is what we covered in about 45 minutes together:

*a formal greeting to students and to teachers of Latin

*a Latin prayer

*a Latin song (Christus Vincit)

*a Latin saying

*five vocabulary words

*a first conjugation grammar form

*derivatives of our five new vocabulary words

Whew!  Does that seem like too much all at once?  Well, surprisingly, Leigh Lowe guided us so gently through each step of the lesson that while we thought it was challenging enough, it wasn't too difficult.  I was so prepared in my mind to "throw in the towel" right at the beginning, but this seemed so simple and easy!

During the week, I quizzed the girls on each portion of Latin we were learning.  They also completed their accompanying worksheet page in their Student Book.  We learned that it is better to quiz the girls separately instead of together, at least for our own family.  I have one child who answers questions immediately (oh, how I wish I was such a quick thinker, myself!), and one child who often needs 5-10 seconds wait time before she is ready to give her answer.  The bonus of reviewing each day separately with each child is that Mom gets to review the materials twice a day!  And as many of you know, children learn things so much faster than most adults, so I appreciate two glances at the teacher guide each day!  

How long does this program take each day or week?

For our family, each DVD lesson takes about 45 minutes on Mondays, give or take a few minutes.  Then, to review each day, or at least 3-4 times during that week, we spend about 10 minutes per child working on a review.  On Fridays, we will often pull out a board game, and in order for each child to receive a turn at the board game, they need to correctly answer a Latin translation question pulled directly from the teacher's guide.  Board games tend to take more time for our family, but because the girls enjoy this method of review so much, I think it is well worth taking 30-45 minutes on a Friday to do this. 

Are the DVDs necessary for using this program?  They are more expensive.

The DVDs are a more expensive option for teaching Latin with Latina Christiana.  Yes, you can teach this program without the DVDs.  But, my experience would have been far more frustrating in working through each new lesson, trying to figure out ahead of time how to pronounce everything correctly.  Leigh Lowe does an amazing job of easily presenting the weekly lessons.  Personally, I wouldn't want to use Latina Christiana without the instructional DVDs.  They are THAT good!  I highly recommend them.

What about the additional materials that can be purchased?

Once again, I highly recommend the instructional DVDs.  We are considering purchasing the set of flashcards to go with this program, because our vocabulary list has now increased considerably and will continue to grow as we finish this program.  We could make our own flashcards, too.  Either one is suggested by this program.

My overall impressions of Latina Christiana

Love it, love it, love it!  I can hardly believe how easy it is to use Latina Christiana.  My girls just are really enjoying it, and I think that the way the grammar forms are presented right from the start is an excellent tool that I which more foreign language programs included.  I sure wouldn't have been so lost when attempting to learn German and Spanish in high school and while homeschooling. 

I highly recommend this program, if you are wanting to learn Latin along with your children. 

If you have children younger than 3rd grade, Memoria Press also sells Prima Latina, and I've heard great things about it from the other TOS Crew reviewers as well. 

If you are considering learning Latin with your children, I don't think you will be disappointed with Latina Christiana!