I began teaching Latin for Beginners for the Homeschool Co-op 2020 in March 2020 in reaction to the global pandemic which led to many parents having to home-school their children for the first time. I took Latin for many years and I minored in Greek and Roman Civilization as an undergraduate.
Although the classes were advertised to “high school students,” I had students ranging from middle school to adults. The last class was taught in August 2020. It is possible I will revisit this class in the future, but for 2020 there will be no more classes.
Below are the classes that were taught. I am slowly beginning to make recordings of these lectures, mainly because I feel it helps to hear the language, but also because I do provide more details that are not completely on the slides. I did not record my classes live out of respect for the privacy of the minors who attended.
If you are interested in learning greater detail on any of the topics (or if you believe you have spotted a mistake in my Latin grammar – I am human, after all), please feel free to email me (alexis_kantor[AT]yahoo[DOT]com) with the subject line “Latin for Beginners.”
Lesson I: First declension and mythology basics. Link to video here.
Lesson II: Second declension and the founding of Rome. Link to video here.
Lesson III: Verbs and Prometheus and Pandora. Link to video here.
Lesson IV: Third declension and gladiators. Link to video here.
Lesson V: Question words and myths on love and loss. Link to video here.
Lesson VI: Review of question words and slavery in ancient Rome. Link to video here.
Lesson VII: Vocabulary for people, relationships, plus the afterlife and Pluto and Proserpina. Link to video here.
Lesson VIII: Vocabulary – animals, verbs, adjectives, and the Punic War. Link to video here.
Lesson IX: Conversation, vocabulary, and Orpheus and Eurydice. Link to video here.
Lesson X: Vocabulary review, food, and entertainment. Link to video here.
Lesson XI: Vocabulary review, answers to questions from class about the end of gladiatorial combat and the remnants of Carthage after the third Punic War, Roman education, and the beginning of the Trojan War. Link to video here.
Lesson XII: Vocabulary around nature, weather, the military, and information about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79CE and the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. *Note* This lesson contains adult subject matter; discretion is advised. Link to video here.
Lesson XIII: Vocabulary review/reading comprehension, colors, and a summary of The Iliad.
Lesson XIV: Review of military vocabulary and the life of Julius Caesar
Lesson XV: A summary of The Odyssey.
Lesson XVI: Caligula, the mad emperor. *Note* This lesson contains potentially distressing material; discretion is advised.
Lesson XVII: Latin humor, the myth of Eros and Psyche (AKA Cupid and Anima), how Latin evolved into Italian, Latin and the Catholic church, and Roman medicine.
Alexis Kantor, MLIS, MS 