Marina - how is Latin club coming on?

[RosaTransylvania]

I have 12 recruits and we start next month. I am so excited!

Hi Marina
I have done two sessions now - the children are loving their Roman names. I am starting on Lesson Two next week - food - we don't have access to the school kitchen as another group uses it, but I was thinking of baking those Roman biscuits and bringing them in - have you tried them? We did thank you cards for the PTA and Primary Latin people who gave us the money for the books.
That book looks great, have put it on my Amazon list. I got a book of Easy Latin Crosswords on Amazon which I will start giving them in a couple of weeks - of my 15 kids, there are three or four who are much quicker at picking stuff up and could do with something to keep them busy while I am explaing stuff to the rest.

Just stumbled on this thread and wanted to say congrats to those of you doing Latin clubs! I'm a Latin teacher in a secondary school and it's brilliant that we now have kids who've done it in primary coming up with such enthusiasm. I teach Minimus to 120 year 8s, and they do CLC in year 9. Barbara did our school prize-giving last year and came in on another occasion to meet some of the students; she is fantastic and so personable.

Good luck to you both

Thanks jetgirl
Barbara was at my training day, along with some great volunteers including Oliver Makower, who has written some excellent short plays - and a teacher who had incorporated it into the Year 8 curriculum, as you have.
We had such an interesting time and as you say, Barbara's enthusiasm is inspirational
I reluctantly packed Latin in when I had an insuperable A Level timetable clash, and have wished many times now that I had challenged the school more fiercely about it. I adored Latin and it's been such a treat to revisit it and demolish a few lingering stereotypes.
I will look up the crosswords book Rosa, thanks for that - I too have a few who are clicking with Latin right away and on top of gender endings and even some cases already, so that might be a good way to proceed.
Salutem plurimam vobis dico, magistrae sorores!
And I make them sit still too fio with variable results

Hello Rosa, as well as that fab suggestion for Easy Latin crosswords, thanks I had a scuffle about on Amazon and came across some lists compiled by one Marcus Horatius, a classics teacher

I have bought Cattus Petasatus (The Cat in the Hat in Latin) and Fabulae Mirabiles, a Hippocrene collection of fairy stories in Latin

Both of these are somewhat beyond my little gang at the mo but I think looking at them will refresh my memory, and to be on the safe side I've also bought the Daily Telegraph QED series book Learn Latin, which is excellent for refreshers such as how we know how Latin was pronounced.

Are you aiming to be at the BM on 26th April? We have an afternoon slot for our Club and it would be lovely to see you! Long way to come, I know.

Hi Marina
No, there is no way we can do the BM thing sadly, it is just too far for us. I can't even take my lot to the museum in Exeter which has a good Roman section as it is closed for the next year and a half for refurbishment .
Thanks for the suggestions - they look great. I got Olivia in Latin from Amazon which I think might be fun for them to have a go at when they get a bit further along. I am trying to build up a little lending library for them as well - I brought in Asterix in Britain yesterday and it was snapped up at once - I am planning to lend out my Caroline Lawrence and Rosemary Sutcliff collections too and some non-fiction books.
JetGirl - thanks for the comments. It is great to know that there are some secondary schools which are still teaching Latin. I was thinking of offering to start a club at our secondary school next year to follow on what I am doing at the primary. I am brushing up my own Latin with the OU and hope to have a Classics diploma (and a history degree), by the end of 2009. Would it be feasible to do this do you think, or would you need to have a proper qualification to run a club at secondary level?

Rosa - I wouldn't have thought it would be a problem, unless you are planning on diving straight into GCSE, in which case you might need some support. What course would you plan on using?

We have lost Lullingstone Roman Villa for now as the building which houses it has gone beyond the point of no return...but we do have the re-opened Vindolanda Room at the BM this year which I am sure they will make much of
Would a trip to Bath be at all feasible instead?
Olivia sounds wonderful, I hadn't spotted that in Latin (makes note for three ladylike 10 year olds marooned in my group of lively nine year old tykes "Marina, Henricus improbus est! Henricus SORDIDUS est..." )
Of course you know about Minimus Secundus already...and that mythology book would be wonderful for Yr 8 starters IMO.
I just had not thought of the OU, duh . I will look into that myself I think.

there's always fishbourne roman palace marina, or of course the remains of the amphitheatre under your very own place of work... well nearby anway!

The amphitheatre is a curious realisation though, have you been to see it?
Fishbourne is lovely

Jetgirl - I thought of following on with Minimus Secundus for Year 7 and then looking for something else from Cambridge to take them on further - do you recommend CLC?

Marina - the OU course is really good - but they push you through the basic stuff really quickly - great for those of us who are rusty, but a bit of a nightmare for complete beginners I should have thought.

LOVE Henricus Sordidus - maybe someone should translate Horrid Henry next! Petrus Probus would sound good too!
I have one or two noisy boys in my club too, and a clutch of disapproving girls. My DD1, who is in the group, tells me that if I was a REAL teacher I would shout at the boys and make them sit at different tables. May have to try that next week...

hi marina, no i've never made it to the amphitheatre - it's only open at weird times like 2pm on the fourth Tuesday of every month or something. fishbourne is worth a trip...

i'm so pleased it's going well for you both