Tag: Greek

Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! – Level 3 Set fromGreek ‘n’ Stuff: A TOS Crew Review

Grace-Filled Writer

Greek 'n' Stuff  When your grandfather is a professor who teaches Greek in seminary, it may mean you have a keen interest to know more about biblical languages at a young age. My dad has been teaching Greek for years so it did not surprise me when Rose came home having learned how to spell her name in Greek letters when she was in 2nd grade. She began writing her name this way on everything she created and for her science class as well! While she has had a keen interest in learning Greek, we have not had an opportunity to pursue it yet. She was very excited when our package with Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! – Level 3 from Greek ‘n’ Stuff arrived!  Hey, Andrew!Teach Me Some Greek!  I have heard wonderful things about this curriculum and when I mentioned it to my dad he was already familiar with it. I was surprised to learn that my daughter would start in level 3, but this is because the first two levels in the series are for elementary aged students. Since Rose is in 7th grade now, this was the best fit for her.  

 

I love that the first lessons focus on Greek alphabet recognition, writing the letters, and memorizing their pronunciation. The pronunciation CD is quite helpful for beginning students and parents who do not have a base knowledge. While 1 page a day is the intended use, it is strongly encouraged to not move faster than mastery will allow. This was very important for Rose because this was her first formal instruction in biblical Greek. As she filled the practice lines with the Greek letter she was studying, Rose would also pronounce the letter to aid in memorization. This worked well for her and she found learning the alphabet less tedious. For students who have already completed the first two levels or have previously learned the Greek alphabet the beginning lessons would act as review. 

 

Rose completed 1-2 pages a day when she used studied. I really liked that the memorization of the alphabet included visual, tactile, and auditory components. I use this type of method for note memorization while teaching music and I think it is highly valuable. She did feel a little awkward speaking out loud while writing I think, but quickly noted the benefits of learning the letters this way.
I also very much appreciated the handwriting lines given for writing. This provided clear guidelines for how to correctly write the letter. Three lines of writing space were adequate for this activity. 
 

 Each lesson is expected to last about a week, but the first two lessons took her a little longer than I expected. Because she was learning the letters for the first time and it was important to master them fairly well, we took our time. I was excited to see her move into the next lessons where she began mastering specific Greek words. Some of the things I love about these lessons is that there is explanation in the student book for pronunciation and a place to draw a picture. My girl loves art and this is a wonderful component for her and her learning style.  

The teacher’s guide is an incredibly helpful tool. My dad is an expert in Greek, but I am not! I have never taken any classes or studied Greek in any way. Still, I feel completely confident in guiding Rose through this course because of the teaching guide. In addition to teaching tips and explanations, it is a full answer key with even the handwriting portions completed! I personally am intrigued for myself and am considering getting my own guide to learn biblical Greek.  

 The last portion which I absolutely love is the inclusion of flash cards and copywork from the Greek New Testament. These are two components which will help ensure mastery of the language. The flash cards are available in the back of the workbook, but may also be purchased separately for convenience. For the copywork you will need your own Greek interlinear Bible, but this is easily obtained whether in a digital format or hard-copy.  We are very pleased with this course and Rose is eager to continue as we will soon begin our traditional school-year. I’m excited for her to learn biblical Greek as a foreign language for her own benefit as she continues to study God’s Word on her own. 
Take a look at what my Crewmates have to say! Teach Me Some Greek {Greek 'n' Stuff Reviews} Crew Disclaimer

It’s Not Greek to Me!: Moms of Master Books Review

Grace-Filled Writer
I have been so excited about reviewing this new DVD from Master Books! It’s Not Greek to Me by Todd Friel came in the mail when my girls were right in the middle of a horrible summer fever, so we didn’t get to start it right away, but even in her feverish state Rose perked up when she saw it. 

My eight-year-old Roe has been pestering me for a while to learn biblical Greek. I’m not at all opposed to this, but I didn’t want to get into a full curriculum at her age and really didn’t know where to begin. Her interest came when she realized this was one of the classes her grandfather teaches at seminary. In 2nd grade he taught her to write her name in Greek and she does this all the time! This is a great course for beginners. Todd Friel explains that this is perfect for the everyday layman in the church as well as those who will be going on to study biblical Greek in a scholastic setting. While this is geared towards a slightly older age bracket, my daughter has really enjoyed it so far. We’re just taking it slow and repeating lessons before moving on.

So here is Rose, completely natural, I promise! She is wholeheartedly focused and genuinely enjoys these lessons. Friel is quite humorous, but I wasn’t certain she would catch all he said. Her favorite line in the introductory lesson was when he was talking about the benefits of learning biblical Greek and stated, “You’ll learn English gooder!” She really got a kick out of that. You can see she is intent. She was so intent in fact she didn’t even realize I was taking pictures.

We had some other students join our class as well. The dollies were actually already seated here, but Rose asked if they could stay while she watched when she realize I was starting to pick them up. These sweet little girls were also very studious although they didn’t want to take any notes.

Rose uses the note pages from the separately available Intro to Biblical Greek Parent Lesson Planner. This is excellent and well worth the price. Included is not only plans for how often to work through the DVDs, but also note pages and practice sheets to ensure retention. I strongly recommend purchasing this guide along with the DVD in order to get the maximum usefulness and benefit.

I honestly wasn’t sure how well this would go over with Rose. She was so very excited to have the chance to learn Greek, but as I stated before, this is geared for students a little older. However, Friel’s manner is very engaging and he is as clear at teaching as he is entertaining. She begs me to do more lessons, but I’m trying not to go too quickly with her. I’m surprised just how much she is really enjoying this. I appreciate that Friel expresses this is a beginners course, something to precede full-on Greek training. I have no idea if she’ll want to go further with this language, but it is an excellent place to start and to see if it is something that interested your student.

I also think this is excellent for anyone who simply wants to know more about the Greek language for your own personal study. After seeing the first few lessons with Rose I’m planning on joining her in these lessons. I said before that my dad teaches Greek. I remember having the same desire to learn as Rose when I was younger, but just felt too overwhelmed with all. I believe we will both enjoy our toe-dip into this ancient biblical language.




Disclaimer: I received It’s Not Greek to Me as well as the Parent Lesson Planner as part of the Moms of Master Books Team. I was not required to give a positive review. I was not compensated in any other way.