I have posted about this program before, but wanted to post again before the school year starts.

Minimus Mouse is a two-year (or two-level) conversation-based Latin program with some grammar instruction included. It was designed for 7-10 year olds in the UK, and is gaining popularity among homeschoolers here. One of its main attractions is its fun approach to learning Latin. Children learn to speak Latin through cartoons and other activities centered around Minimus Mouse and the family he lives with, a Roman family of true historic origin that lived in Vindolanda, Britain. I know children in the UK can take a field trip to the Roman ruins at Vindolanda and see artifacts from the family used in the book.

Many people that are using Minimus use it in conjunction with another grammar-based Latin program, such as Prima Latina. While Minimus does include basic grammar, people like the additional program for the structure and Minimus for the fun. One of the group's owners says that her children, who are now in grammar-based Latin programs, still pull the Minimus book off the shelf, after having finished it some time ago, for casual reading because they enjoyed it, and still enjoy it. My daughter is 7, and I use only Minimus. For us, it is an enjoyable program with enough introduction to Latin grammar at this age to keep us happy.

There is no set Lesson time or format. The first program has 18 lessons, and each lesson would take more than one day. You can spend as little or as much time as you'd like on the program. We usually break the lesson into 3 days, no more than 30 minutes a day, and then spend extra days playing the games to reinforce the language. I expect to take this whole school year getting through the first program, going at an easy pace that doesn't distract from other studies. I know another mother who allots about 15 minutes a day. What they get done in 15 minutes is where they stop in the manual for that day. There are worksheets in the Teacher's Manual, but the program could easily be done without any worksheets if the parent so desires, or if the student is not ready for worksheets.

The student manual is nonconsumable, printed on heavy glossy paper, and is designed for use with more than one student. This means it is easily resellable after finishing the program. All worksheets are included in the Teacher's Manual, and are designed to be photocopied (or printed from downloads, in our case).

Because the book was designed for a school setting, where the school owns one copy of the Teacher's Manual for all teachers, the Teacher's Manual is pricey. Our Yahoo group has obtained permission from the author of the program to act as a type of school, and we have posted a .pdf version of the TM online for all members to download without charge. You need only purchase the student book (hopefully from the sites we will give you). In addition, a pronunciation CD is available, and optional. We have both the first-year (Minimus Mouse) and the second-year (Minimus Secundus) Teacher's Manuals available for downloading. When you join the Yahoo group, you'll be sent a notice about how to order the student manuals.

For a very brief look at the first-year student manual, go to

http://www.amazon.com/Minimus-Pupils-Book-Starting-Camb.../105-4765481-2870807

and search inside.

Also, the Minimus website has a great deal of extra information, and more fun activities for Minimus users. Going to this website would also help you get an idea of what the program is like:

http://www.minimus-etc.co.uk/

The Yahoo group is a private group. If you are interested in joining and checking out the TM, please e-mail me at deannaclarkson@hotmail.com, and I'll send you an invitation.

PLEASE NOTE: The student book also includes some brief historical information about Roman Britain, as well as many stories from the Greek/Roman myths. If you do not wish to expose your children to Greek mythology, then be forewarned.

Enjoy your school year!
Deanna

Can you clarify for us what would be needed for the first year? The student book, teacher book and the audio tape. . . is that it?

Thanks for sharing about this program,
wendy

The Teacher's Book will be free to access from the Yahoo group, so don't worry about buying it. As long as you can download pdf files, the first and second year TM's are available at the Yahoo group.

You would definitely need the student manual ($14-ish on Amazon), and the audio CD is optional. Should you buy the audio CD? If speaking it correctly is important, and you have no Latin background, it might be a good idea. I'm anal about things like that, I don't have the CD, and I have often thought, "I wish I had the CD." BUT...it is $20, and then I had to wonder why I was being anal about a dead language. I have decided that I know enough of the pronunciation to make it, and that knowing Latin is not mainly about speaking Latin, but about having a foundation for English and other languages.

If that doesn't answer your question, let me know!

Deanna

Thanks so much, Deanna -

I will join your yahoo group after we purchase the student book.

wendy

If you plan on purchasing through Amazon, then join the Yahoo group first. The lady who paid for the TM's has allowed us to use them without any reimbursement, asking only that people use her amazon links (which are given to you in your welcome message when you join) to purchase materials. She then gains points (or whatever Amazon does) to go towards her own book purchases.

Amazon's price is roughly $14 ($20-ish retail). If you find the book cheaper, go ahead and buy from somewhere else. I just wanted to write in case you were going to purchase from Amazon anyway.

Thanks!
Deanna

Deanna,
I am interested in joining you yahoo group and checking out this program further. It sounds like a lot of fun. We have Prima Latina and this sounds like it might be fun to use along with it as long as it would not be over kill. My son is 8.
Sincerely,
Rebecca L

UPDATE ON TEACHER'S MANUAL ON YAHOO GROUP: We have to remove access to the Teacher's Manual of Minimus from the website. The yahoo group still exists as a suppport/help for Minimus Latin, but not TM is available to download.

Thanks!
Deanna