Latin and Fire Pits - Collage Friday
Friday, September 13, 2013 at 5:00AM 
Our weeks contain so much learning - it is impossible to document all that I want to in each Collage Friday.
Each week I have been alternating writing about my son and daughter and what they are doing in Classical Conversations. This seems to work well, so I will stick with this format.
Last week I gave you a peek into my son's at home memory work for Foundations.
This week I'll give you a glimpse into my daughter's world of Challenge A, and also show you a fun project our family completed this week.
If you've followed along here for any length of time, you know that this year has held big changes for our homeschool. Learning has been formalized much more for my seventh grader.
It has been a BIG adjustment, and there have been bumps in the road. When we see, however, how much she is learning and the PRIDE she has in her accomplishments, we know it's all worth it.
The biggest reason we chose Classical Conversations Challenge A program for Anna was the quality of the academic work, with the overarching goal of knowing God and making Him known.
Studying Latin
An area that seemed daunting at first was Latin. We had TRIED to study Latin before and it just never worked. I believe the books Anna is using (Henle Latin) combined with the accountability of a group setting is helping us to be more successful this time around.
I loved the very beginning of the Henle First Year Latin text - it emphasized to the student that Latin is rigorous and challenging. It takes a lot of time and effort. Practice, repetition, and memorization is key.
Latin isn't just a language. It is a DISCIPLINE that will serve you well in other areas of your life.
We are finding this to be true.
Each week Anna has vocabulary, rules to memorize, translations, declensions, and diagramming sentences. It IS a lot of work, but well worth the effort.
The resources we are using:
Anna's tutor guides her through the assigned material, and I follow up at home. It's wonderful to have Miss Nancy as a resource to help us!
{If we weren't doing CC this year, I think I would still choose Henle Latin, but probably purchase the study guide for the text through Memoria Press.}
My words of wisdom to you: Latin really isn't that tough. It just requires discipline and a commitment to much hard work. Give it a shot!
Dad's Fire Pit Project
This past summer my husband spent a day taking the kids' old swing set out of the back yard. While it was a sad time, he promised them he had plans for something fun (once the weather cooled off!)
Well, the weather cooled just a bit, and my husband started to work on a backyard fire pit area. He enlisted the help of the kids and was able to complete this project in just a few days.
Wednesday was his birthday, and he took it off so they could finish.
The area was already dug out and had a frame (from where the swing set was). They cleared out the area and got to work.
It took careful measurement to know just how much mulch and river rock to purchase. (I think I heard someone talking about the area of a circle.)
Using this great YouTube tutorial, the actual fire pit was pretty easy.
The kids helped with most of the project. My husband is a great dad.
Basically, he built the fire pit from the tutorial, then measured a 5 foot radius around the pit and lined this with stones.
Inside the circle went river rock, and outside the circle went mulch.
There is a small sandbox area that still needs perennials (that's next week!), and then it will be finished.
One fire pit, ready for kids and S'Mores!
The last big happening of the week was the release of SQUILT Volume 2: Classical Composers. This volume will be on sale for $6.99 through MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (9/13), then it will go up to the normal price of $8.99.
That's it for this week! I hope you can join me for Collage Friday!
If you'd like to link, you can do so in a couple of ways:
- Enter your link below. Be sure to link to your post with photo collages and link back to this post (or include the Collage Friday button on your blog).
- Share your photo collage(s) on Instagram, FB, G+, or Twitter - use the hashtag #collagefriday so I can find you!
Reader Comments (20)
Congratulations on another successful week! Latin seems to be a subject that works better in a group setting with accountability. Thanks for sharing the resources that you're using. The fire pit looks really good too. I'm sure you're looking forward to having wonderful gatherings around the fire soon. :-)
Loving the firepit! Huzzah to Hal! Congrats on SQUILT 2! You Rock just like Amadeus!
The fire pit looks fantastic! I think we are going to have to take down the swings soon. The kids are shaking the whole thing with their vigorous swinging.
Blessings, Dawn
I agree with you about Latin. We are taking a much slower, less rigorous approach, but it still is a discipline. We also do Greek for the same reason.
Great fire pit! That gives us the push to get outside and get ready for the mild winter here in Florida with smores!! Thank you for sharing great stuff! Holly
I love the way the firepit turned out! I keep showing my husband cute ones on Pinterest to see if I can drum up any interest from him :-)
What a GREAT firepit! Love it! We decided to turn a metal wheelbarrow into a portable, moveable firepit in the spring. Small fires only of course, but it works great!
Mary
What a fantastic and full week you all had!
Love rdg abt your week, seeing your collages, etc... Your family is just awesome.
enjoy that firepit....ours is not nearly as nice, but we have had many memories around it. What a great project...building your own. Wow.
Thank you for hosting, friend and God bless
I want that fire pit, it's looks like a great place to sit around. We've got a rather small unofficial one, but that one looks much more inviting.
Ooh I want to come sit round your fire pit! It looks so inviting! I'm also a little envious of your sunshine - it has been decidedly grey and rainy here in England.
So pleased CC is working so well for Anna. Latin is a wonderful discipline, I agree!
Thank you for hosting, Mary. Have a lovely weekend.
Great week. I'm glad Anna is learning so much in CC and perhaps some of the bumps have been sorted out. The fire pit project looks nice; that was a great idea for the swingset area.
We've been doing Latin here since the last half of 4th grade and it can be hard at times, but we tried to take it slowly in the beginning and now things are going quit well. It really does benefit many subjects.
Have a great weekend.
Like that fire pit - well done! It is so nice when the children are able to help fix or build something around the house - such practical learning and lots of family fun - not to mention all the fun y'all will have around the fire these cooler months :-)
Completely agree about the Latin - we use it to help with the diligence and perseverance of our children - it is definitely work, but I really like all the other benefits, too - better understanding of grammar (English) and a wider appreciation of other cultures, etc. That being said, I cannot deny it is hard work, lol.
The fire pit is awesome! Happy Birthday to Hal :)
What a neat fire pit! We're loving SQUILT over here!
--Gena
I love the fire pit!! Happy Birthday to your sweet husband! I'm so proud of Anna and Grant helping to build it and how hard they are working on their CC studies. I know CC is a challenging curriculum. I enjoy reading about what you all are doing with CC each week! And congratulations on Squilt 2!! We are still working on Squilt 1. It's so much fun. Thanks for writing such a fabulous music curriculum! =)
I love your fire pit! I want to do that, too, but I haven't figured out the best spot in our yard. We did just get a new playset, though, so I can't complain!
I love the fire pit! We have one that is a large hole dug in the ground, lined with rocks stacked into a 12 inch wall. But it's going to be in the way of our front porch/deck when we build it so we'll have to fill it in and then I want to do a fire pit like this. =)
I love the fire pit! It's been on our to-do list all summer, but we haven't gotten to it yet.
Awesome! You will love it:)
Looks like another great week, Mary. I love the fire pit! I have heard great things about Henle Latin :)
Love the fire pit! I'm really enjoying hearing about your experience with CC, thank you for sharing. Is this your first year doing Latin?