"Intellectual distinction is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for election to a Rhodes Scholarship. Selection committees are charged to seek excellence in qualities of mind and in qualities of person which, in combination, offer the promise of effective service to the world in the decades ahead. The Rhodes Scholarships, in short, are investments in individuals rather than in project proposals..."

Saturday, July 17, 2010

All the rage this Summer...

I found out about this on a Yahoo! group about Latin Centered Curriciulum.  Minimus is a Latin program written by Barbara Bell from England.  My kids are absolutely loving it.  We have two student guides and one CD.  The girls pair up and the oldest boy sit and listen to the CD and read the book.  It's a bit of a graphical novel (read Comic Book) about a mouse that lives in Roman Briton with a Roman family.  The story is based on historical artifacts found at a settlement called Vindolanda.  So, it's not only Latin, but a small unit study on Roman History in Britain.

I haven't used it as a text book.  I simply put the books and CD out on our school table, which is in our family room, and the kids found it on their own.  They are noticing on their own the differences in pronunciation from Prima Latina and pointing them out to me.  We talked about Ecclesiastical and Classical pronunciation. 

My seven year old will be using Song School Latin next year and now I am struggling with which pronunciation to use.  Song School Latin has both on the CD.  For those of you who have taught Latin before, what have you used?  I could use some help here.

I will now, most definitely be getting Minimus Secondus, if not for a Latin text, then just to leave out again for the kids to find and enjoy on their own.

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