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

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

VocabularySpellingCity: Review

 photo VSCLogo300x300_zpsa95c604b.jpg
One of the first sites I stumbled upon as we began our homeschooling journey was VocabularySpellingCity. I thoroughly enjoyed the site and felt it was very helpful from the start. Getting to use the premium membership ($29.99 for up to 5 students) has been even better! The extra content which is now available to us has really been fun for Beth, my 1st grader, as she works on her spelling words each week. This is a great internet-based program for grades K-12. Not many cover this wide age range!
Since our iPad is new and shiny I’ve enjoyed finding learning apps for the girls. I was so excited to find out I could use this for Vocabulary Spelling City and she was too. I give my daughter a pretest of 20 words each week, then the words which she misses or she had to think longer about become her spelling words. I don’t believe in busy work and in my opinion including words she already knows is busy work. This program allows me to include only the words I want which can range from 1 all the way to 51. She has been averaging about 6 a week. 
Once I enter the words under the parent account she can log in under her account (which is connected to mine) on the computer or the iPad. She of course typically chose the iPad! I really like that when I enter the words I also chose a definition from a pre-selected list which also created a vocabulary aspect to her spelling lists which hadn’t been present before. 
There are so many games to choose from for practice. She liked to try them all and when I asked her which was her favorite she said, “I don’t know. They were all so fun!” It is great to have something fun to add to our spelling. She is already learning spelling rules which she seems to enjoy, but a change of pace is always a welcome diversion for any subject. The games are colorful and fun with immediate feedback so she knows if she made a mistake and how to fix it. 
This past week I let Beth enter the word list herself instead of doing them for her. She felt so grown up to be able to do the parent’s part and it was also great practice. She choose the definition she thought fit best and I was pleased she did this with ease. I also really like the option for a spelling test. The program calls the word out and she types out the correct word. Since everything is scored and recorded with the premium account her weekly spelling tests have been a breeze! 
Rose, 3rd grade, has also been using the site, but only with the supplied grade-level appropriate lists since she doesn’t have weekly spelling tests at the moment. I love that even without imputing a list my girls can practice their spelling skills and find it very enjoyable. Even Grace, four-years-old, has been wanting to spell! She watches her big sisters play on the site and will try to help them. She doesn’t quite understand it all yet, but she does know letters have to go in a particular order to spell correctly so she too is gaining insight from this website. 
Click here to see what my Crewmates had to say about the site!

Photobucket

 photo Disclaimer2_zpsff718028.gif

Lone Star Learning: Greek and Latin Roots Review

Photobucket
When I was in college and studying to be a middle school English teacher I spent a lot of time researching vocabulary. I was taught via the memorize-each-word-and-definition approach in school. To be honest, my vocabulary increased more through reading, but this didn’t help a lot on tests like the SAT. As I researched and studied I came to be a believer in knowing roots from Greek and Latin. I incorporated this into my vocabulary teaching and still do with the homeschooled middle schoolers I teach once a week. 
PhotobucketStuck in the back of my mind was always the desire to teach Greek and Latin roots to my daughters, but they are still very young and I wasn’t quite sure how to go about doing this. Lone Star Learning has made this easier than I ever expected with their Greek and Latin Roots Picture Vocabulary Cards. Pictographs beautifully illustrate the definition for each root in an memorable way for elementary students…or any age!
The package costs $39.99 and contains 60 sturdy, laminated flash cards comprised of 30 Greek roots and 30 Latin roots. Also included is a definition card with sample words. A separate page gives helpful tips for studying and creative ideas for using the cards including activities and games. While the cards are intended to be used with upper elementary and middle school students (3rd-8th grade) I found them very appropriate for my second grade daughter, Rose. She already reads at a higher grade level and is constantly asking what words mean so she was more than ready to be introduced to Greek and Latin roots. 
My daughter saw me open these the day they arrived in the mail. She was so intrigued that she began studying them even before I had a chance to look through the pack myself! She was immediately drawn to the colorful, artistic illustrations. Because her grandfather teaches Greek at seminary, she already was excited about learning Greek roots. He has taught her to write her name in Aramaic Greek and she was very excited to begin learning more. Rose literally danced a little jig when I told her it was time to study her Greek roots! 
We spent two days a week studying and reviewing roots. In just four weeks Rose has mastered the 30 Greek roots! The cards were easy for Rose to read and quite often she could figure out the root’s definition simply by the picture. There were a couple of cards which were more difficult for her, but even those didn’t take her long to master. I had her study them by saying the root name out loud, then the definition. Once she reached 20 roots I decided to see if she could remember the roots without the cards. She knew all 20 I quizzed her on the first time!
I had already explained how roots make up a lot of the words we use daily and knowing them helps us understand their definitions. The day I realized this was really taking root (tee hee) was when she was reading her book for literature to herself in the other room and she came running in saying, “Mommy! Mommy! Guess what? I just found the word hydrate! It has to do with water, right? Just like hydr?” Success!
I intend for Greek and Latin to be a part of their entire education. This has been a beautiful way to start my daughters learning about roots!
Don’t forget to check out the other reviews by my Crewmates! 

Photobucket

Disclaimer
I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. No other compensation was received.