www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
admittedly silly, but they do help students
remember the correct Latin word!
•;Use;coloring;pages;to;help;students;re-member;these;words.;Ask;your;child
to;color;the;sky;caeruleus and the grass
viridis.
•;Play;a;board;game;such;as;Candyland©
together, using only Latin words for
the colors.
• Write each Latin color word on the
same color construction paper. Spread
them;out;on;the;floor.;Call;out;the;dif-ferent colors in Latin (r fus! āter!) and
see;how;quickly;your;child;can;run;to
retrieve the correct color paper.
2. Use the following chant to learn
common household items. Start by saying
the;first;line;in;English;in;a;loud;dramatic
voice, and then follow with the English
words and their Latin translations while
pointing out each object in your house.
In MY room, I have a:
bed, lectus;(LECK-tuss);and;a
chair, sella (SELL-ah) and a
table, mensa (MEN-sah) and a
lamp, lucerna;(loo-KARE-nah);and;a
window, fenestra (feh-NES T-rah) and a
door, iānua (YAHN-oo-ah) and a
floor,;solum (SO-loom) and a
wall, pariēs;(PA-rih-ace);and;a
ceiling, tēctum;(TAKE-toom);and;a
clock, horologium (hor-oh-LOW-gih-
oom) and a
picture, pict ra (pic-TOO-rah) and a
carpet, tapēte;(tah-PAY-teh)!
•;If;you;are;knowledgeable;about;musi-cal notation, you can chant the items
in the list in the following four-beat
pattern: half-note, four eighth-notes.
Say;it;like;this;while;beating;the;four
beats: / one - three & four & /one - three
& four &/
•;Do;this;chant;together;two;or;three
times;a;week,;learning;one;or;two;more
lines each time. Have your child run
around the house pointing out each
item as you say it together in Latin.
•;An;older;child;can;make;flashcards;and
tape them on each item in your house.
•;Ask;your;child;to;draw;a;picture;of;a
room with a sella, a lectus, and a
lucerna (or whatever you choose) and
label them.
•;I;found;or;made;each;of;these;items
for a felt board display. As we went
through the chant, I would put up
each item (or point it out, in the case
of the wall or ceiling) on the felt board.
Later on, the students chose the correct
items and put them up on the board
when;we;said;them;together.;Be;cre-ative with what you have around the
house;;you;might;use;Playmobil© objects, dollhouse furniture, or whatever
you;can;find.
Figure 1 - Latin Colors
ENGLISH LATIN PRONUNCIATION HINT
blue caeruleus (kie-ROO-leh-uss) “The blue KITE flies.” Caeruleus starts with the sound “ki...”
green viridis (WIH-rih-dis) Picture a green WIG.
yellow croceus (CROW-key-uss) “The CROCUS is yellow.”
orange aureus (OW-reh-uss) “OW! That Orange squirted my eye!”
red r fus (ROO-fus) Red ROOF Inn
purple purpura (PURR-purr-ah) Sounds like its English counterpart.
black āter (AH-tair) “The OTTER is black.”
white albus (AHL-buss) “ALL BUSES are white.” (Of course all buses are not white! This is
just a memory trick sentence.)
pink p niceus (poo-NICK-eh-uss) “Winnie the POOH is not pink!”
Figure 2 - Simon Says or Simon Dicit
LATIN ENGLISH IMPERATIVE (Command)
sedeō (SEH-deh-oh) I sit sedēte (seh-DAY-teh)
stō (STOH) I stand stāte (STAH-teh)
plaudō;(PLOW-doh) I clap plaudite;(PLOW-dih-teh)
vertō (WAIR-toh) I turn vertite (WAIR-tih-teh)
dēmonstrō (day-MOHN-stroh) I point out dēmonstrāte (day-mohn-STRAH-teh)
tangō (TAHN-go) I touch tangite (TAHN-gih-teh)
veniō (WEH-ni-oh) I come venīte (weh-NEE-teh)
recēdō;(re-KAY-doh) I return recēdite;(reh-KAY-dih-teh)
supplōdō;(sup-PLOH-doh) I stamp supplōdite;(sup-PLOH-dih-teh)
saliō (SAH-li-oh) I jump salīte (sah-LEE-teh)
