Thoughtworthy

:: 1 ::

This week, we started Anne of Avonlea and Greenmantle as read alouds! I wasn’t necessarily planning to read straight through either series, but the kids are really into it, so we’re reading these. It’s nice to have everyone enjoying both these books — so unlike each other in style and plot — and yet both well written.

:: 2 ::

The Charlotte Mason West conference is next week in Los Gatos! This means, besides the fact that I will be having a lot of fun at this time next week, there will not be a Friday Thoughtworthy post.

In the words of our dear friend Anne, this should leave you some space with more scope for imagination. Ha.

:: 3 ::

I have been using these base 10 math manipulatives this week. On Wednesday, instead of doing our regular math worksheets, we played a math game with a grid and a pricing sheet — this really helped with understanding of bigger numbers and money and such. Plus, it was fun. I ended up playing the game with my three younger children, which left me wishing I had given in and ordered the classroom kit instead of this one. It said “enough materials for 5-6 students” and technically that’s true, but the game I organized required more than that, even though only three were playing it.

I had felt like math needed a little inspiration, and this seemed to provide it. Who knows? Maybe we’ll do this one a week for a while.

:: 4 ::

If you listened to the week’s Scholé Sisters episode, then you probably caught wind of my latest big idea, Charlotte Mason Boot Camp! I’ve been working on it in my imaginary spare time, and I’m really excited about it. It’s going to be fantastic, if I do say so myself. Click the image and go sign up for the interest list.

:: 5 ::

Speaking of Scholé Sisters, we kicked off Season 3 this morning!

:: 6 ::

This week’s links collection:

• President Trump’s Executive Order and the Moral Confusion of the Immigration Debate from Alastair’s Adversaria
  • This is long, thoughtful, and interesting.
• UCLA Geochemist: Life Arose “Almost Instantaneously” on Early Earth from Evolution News and Views
  • In the words of my pastor, “It’s almost like it was spoken into existence.” Ahem.
• Machiavelli is misunderstood, new biography says from USA Today
  • Hmmm…

:: 7 ::

Answering your questions: 

• Question: I started Visual Latin because I saw it on your site over a year ago. My oldest is ready for the next round. Do you suggest VL year 2 or something else? Are you still happy with VL? I am NOT a Latin expert; therefore, can only assess my son by his test grades.
  • Answer: Yes! I still adore Visual Latin! Here is what I’ve done so far…though admittedly I am not an expert, either. With that said, my oldest really is headed toward fluency in reading and writing, so something must be going okay. Ha. What I like to do is Visual Latin 1. After that, I start having them use Henle for about a year, with VL videos to back them up (Compass Classroom has a guide on how to match them up.) Henle is a bit of a grind, it’s true. If I had a child really fighting me on it, I’d probably just do VL2 instead. But, for me, I was hoping they would bear with it for a year or so and try to get a pretty good grasp of the grammar. My third child is only on VL1 (she’s 10), so we’ll see how this continues with her. But anyhow … after that bit of Henle, I put my oldest into online classes with Dwane Thomas. (But not Henle classes — Lingua Latina classes.) He’s in his second year of these classes and they are so good. I’m thrilled with them, and I do feel like spending some time with Henle beforehand helped. With that said, Mr. Thomas will take kids at age 13, I believe, so depending on your son’s age, you might be able to go direct from VL to the online classes.

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