1. What ages or grades is the BigBook for? The BigBook of LivelyLatin, Volume 1 is geared for kids roughly between 3^rd and 6^th grades. That said, younger students have used this successfully with more parental assistance and older students have used it more independently as an appealing beginning to their Latin study.

2. How big is it? It’s big—approximately 400 pages filled with language lessons and exercises, English derivatives, Roman history and culture, geography, art study, character study, puzzles, activities, and fun!

3. What is covered in BB1? BigBook 1 covers all the elements of a first year elementary Latin program in a systematic, thorough, yet fun way. These elements include: 1^st and 2^nd declension Latin nouns in their cases, and genders, the use of the nominative and ablative cases; 1^st conjugation verbs in the present, imperfect, and future tenses; the irregular to be verb in 3 tenses; 1^st and 2^nd declension adjectives; sentence diagramming; 175 Latin words with the many English derivatives which come from them. We also cover Roman history from Romulus’ founding of the city in 753 BC to the end of the 3^rd Punic War in 146 BC, complete with maps, paintings, review puzzles and activities.

4. How long does it take to complete BB1? It takes a year, on average to complete the BigBook. Of course, younger students or those with less time can take longer. Older students or those who study Latin more frequently will finish before the year’s up.

5. What we do after BB1? You can then go on to BigBook 2. It picks up where BB1 leaves off in the same lively style .

6. What’s covered in BB2? BigBook 2 covers Declensions 2-5 of Latin nouns along with uses of all the rest of the cases; Conjugations 2-4 of Verbs and all verbs in their 6 tenses (present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect); personal pronouns. Completing BB1 and BB2 is roughly equivalent to 1 year of high school Latin.

7. How much time should we spend studying? Minimum study time is 20 minutes twice a week; even better is 20-30 minutes 3 times per week. Students make more progress if Latin is taken in small bites more frequently rather than large chunks once a week. Every study session should start with 2-3 minutes (No more! Burnout may occur.) of reciting chants and/or working with flashcards.

8. Is there an audio portion? Yes, there are MP3 files for each set of vocabulary, both in Classical and Ecclesiastical pronunciations. These are found and clickable in the virtual classroom, Study with the Magistra. On the CD set, there is a disc which also contains all the vocabulary audio files with both pronunciations.

9. What’s the difference between Classical and Ecclesiastical pronunciation? Classical is the pronunciation which scholars think the Romans used. Today it is what is taught in secular colleges and universities. Ecclesiastical pronunciation evolved in the Middle Ages and is used by the Catholic Church. You can choose to listen to either type of pronunciation online or on the CD set.

10. Is there an answer key? Yes, you may print out or consult the answer key in the virtual Study with the Magistra classroom online, or from the data disc in the CD set.

11. What about a hard copy? Yes! Finally! See #23 below.

12. What’s the virtual classroom? The Study with the Magistra classroom is your access point to download the PDF lessons, consult the answer key, listen to the pronunciation guides, play online vocabulary games, and ask questions of the Magistra. It is passcoded so you will need the enrollment key given to you upon purchase of the BigBook. Once you purchase, your access will never expire.

13. How is this different from other programs? It is a comprehensive, systematic Latin language and Roman history program which consists of kid-friendly, varied, and visually vibrant lessons and exercises. Students and parents alike testify that it’s fun, engaging, and they learn a lot! What more could you ask for in a program?

14. We’ve already done Roman history; can we skip it? Of course. You can just use the Latin grammar and English vocabulary-building exercises which makes up 2/3 of the 400 pages.

15. I don’t know Latin. Will I be able to help my child do this? Yes, I’ve written the lessons so that an upper elementary student could teach him- or herself independently. The sixteen lessons in the BigBook are each subdivided into 3-5 mini-lessons. The mini-lessons give a manageable bite of new information. The student then practices the new skill with an exercise on that same page. Then follow a page or two of varied exercises which reinforce that skill along with others learned previously. So students (and parents) build up a body of knowledge and skill little by little with plenty of practice and reinforcement. Interspersed among the lessons and exercises are the history stories and activities, art study, character study, English vocabulary building, etc.

16. Is it whole to parts or parts to whole? The BigBook is a parts to whole program, meaning it starts with the fundamentals and builds up from there to a full understanding of the language. I prefer this approach as it teaches the patterns of the language so that students can take new words and fit them into the pattern to gain meaning. The whole to parts approach forces students to memorize individual words and their meanings without the benefit of the pattern.

17. Is history included? Yes, from Romulus’ founding of the city in 753 BC, through the overthrow of the kings and the establishment of the Republic in 509 BC, clear to the end of the 3^rd Punic War, the stories of famous and infamous Roman figures and deeds is presented. I’ve taken stories from two works in the public domain, The Famous Men of Rome and The Story of Rome, broken them into 1-3 page stories, and then added an activity at the end of each which will review or expand upon the major points in the stories so that students can fix them in their heads better. Of course, included are dozens of maps, battle plans, and famous pictures of the events.

18. How much does it cost to print? It costs me about $15 for the paper and ink to print the book in color on my home printer. Your cost, of course, will vary depending on the cost of your ink cartridges.

19. Can I print it in black and white? Though it’s not quite as inviting, you can print about 90% of the book in black and white. You should look ahead to each lesson, though, as you will want to print the art pictures in color.

20. Is there a different pricing for co-ops? I am willing to work with co-op leaders on a pricing arrangement that’s beneficial for all. Contact me directly at magistra753bc@cox.net .

21. Does it have a religious bias? Though I have my own religious beliefs, I have written the BigBooks from a secular point of view so that many different groups can feel comfortable using it. Also, families involved in public charter schools can use their funds for purchase of the BigBook.

22. Can this be purchased by charter schools? Yes, I accept purchase orders and am willing to become a vendor to charter schools.

23. What are the ways to purchase the BigBook? You may purchase the BigBook of LivelyLatin in 3 ways:

A. Online , where you go to the virtual classroom and print off the lessons as you need them, listen to the pronunciation files, and play the online vocabulary games. You consult the answer key here, also. You can print it out as well but to save ink and paper, I don’t recommend it. There is no expiration date to your access. This is $55.

B. 2 CD set: One CD contains the 400-page BigBook in PDF form that you print out lesson by lesson, the answer key, notebook dividers, etc (everything that’s in the online version). The 2^nd CD contains the audio files for each set of vocabulary, in your choice of either Classical or Ecclesiastical pronunciation (again, just like online). You also get access to the virtual online classroom to play the games as well. This CD set contains everything the online version does but you have the option of not having to go online print or listen. This is $79 + $5 shipping.

C.Hard copy. The 400 pages are printed on high quality paper, shrink-wrapped, hole-punched, with dividers and a binder, plus the 2 CD set (see option B above) and access to the online classroom (see option A above) to play games and use the resources there. This is $125 + $12 shipping.