Super-Hopers
I created this tiny Latin word study to post on our homeschool community’s dedicated social media platform. I like this word I found in the Latin translation of the Psalms! (“super” as a prefix means pretty much the same as … Continued
Storytelling in Latin with Social Media Collaboration
Here is a little story I made up…with some help from my friends! I posted several “polls” on our homeschool community’s dedicated social media platform, asking what characters to use, where they should be, and what they were seeking. Here … Continued
“O Mira Gratia” (Amazing Grace Sung in Latin)
Every two months, our Sursum Corda homeschool community learns a song, a scripture verse, and a proverb in Latin. The first song for the 2020 school year was this Latin translation of “Amazing Grace.” My sister, Lindsay Feldmeth Westra, graciously … Continued
“I Feel Like a Kid Again!” Learning Languages with Your Child
It is not easy to work on a foreign language with a child. When I work on literature or history, I have a sense of easiness. Even if I have never read the particular book or studied the subject at … Continued
The Geography of Narnia (a Latin Reader)
This is the first in a series of illustrate-it-yourself Latin readers that I created for our homeschool community, Sursum Corda. It uses mostly words from chapter one of our textbook (Familia Romana), along with familiar proper nouns. Apart from proper … Continued
Antiphona (Call-and-Responses) for Latin
There’s nothing like a 30-second snippet of literature that feels like an inside joke! The teacher calls out a phrase, and the students respond in these “antiphona.” Most of these we used in upper school Latin class last year, but … Continued
Creative Margins: Hello From Paul (Colossians 1:1-2)
Here is the first study on Colossians, using my Creative Margins method. Hello From Paul Colossians 1:1-2 (ESV) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers … Continued
Creative Margins Bible Study: an Introduction
Why would we need another style of Bible study? Let me tell you why, in this introduction to my new concept of “Creative Margins,” an imaginative and playful way to engage with scripture, drawing on the practices of medieval Christians. … Continued
Latin Vision Board & A Whirlwind Tour of Latin Literature
This “vision board” collection of images was created for students to paste in the front of their Latin journals, to inspire them with thoughts of all the great works they will someday read. On the first day of classes, they … Continued
Colloquia (Skits for learning Latin)
In Renaissance times, students often memorized colloquia (dialogues, like skits) as a way to learn Latin. I have been reading the Colloquia of Erasmus and Corderius recently. Here I try my hand at a few modern versions: one between students … Continued
Grammar and Wonder
This article about the “wonder” in learning Latin first appeared on the website of the Sursum Corda homeschool community. What do you think of, when you hear the word “grammar”? As a child, I picked up the attitude from adults … Continued
“Believe in Me”
My belief in Jesus does not make him more real! It might, however, make me more real… In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” Project. Each day, we each tried to … Continued
“Shrinking”
Feeling humbled as I read about scholars of the humanities in the Renaissance, in this poem I reflected on scholarly ambition and my own self-image. In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine … Continued
“Phrases & Praises, Quarantine Edition”
A few months after our first Phrases & Praises sheet, designed to be posted on a family fridge or wall, I asked my students to come up with some new phrases that would be useful in the strange times we … Continued
“Beyond Bene”
My Latin students were posting on our dedicated social media platform, and responding to one another’s work…but one student complained that everyone was just saying “bene” (‘good,’ lit. ‘well’) all the time. So I created this handout of all kinds … Continued
“Chiasmus”
I had just been teaching my Latin students about chiasm, the literary device that makes a kind of mirror of repeated words, or concepts, or grammatical forms–and often nests the most crucial thing in the very middle. This poem considers … Continued
“Naming Details”
thoughts on the much-maligned study of grammar, and on why humans actually enjoy learning details… In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” Project. Each day, we each tried to write a … Continued
“Christ at Study”
I had been reading about medieval meditation, and on Good Friday I imagined Christ’s passion as a form of study. In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” Project. Each day, we … Continued
“One Windy Day”
I start this poem remembering a day full of the joy of learning, in graduate school…then reflect on how rare and precious that was in my education, and how I long to see it in my daughters’ days. In April … Continued
“Beginner’s Mind”
Reflecting on how naked it feels to make or learn, compared to the comfort of critiquing and teaching—and how wonderful it is, after all. In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” … Continued
“Palm Sunday”
Imagining what it feels like for Jesus to relive that day every year, as his people remember. In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” Project. Each day, we each tried to … Continued
“Projects”
Swatting at to-do lists, I imagine a more instinct-driven life. In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” Project. Each day, we each tried to write a sonnet, and we posted them … Continued
Latin Grammar from 30,000 Feet
This very quick overview of Latin grammar was designed to orient a complete beginner–as if she were seeing the territory from an airplane! This video was part of the online Latin course for mothers/teachers in the Sursum Corda homeschool community.