- How We Homeschool: An Overview
- Multi-level Homeschooling: Little Ones Part 1
- How We Do It: Family Worship
- Multi-level Homeschooling: The Homeschool Room
- Multi-level Homeschooling: Little Ones Part 2
- Teaching Reading
- A Child’s World
- Multi-Level Homeschooling with Sonlight
- Memorization System Tutorial
- Why Teach Greek?
- Teaching with Nature Journals
- Daily Bible Reading
- Teaching Handwriting
- Multi-level Homeschooling: Our Schedule
- Homeschooling Multi-grades: Have Questions?
- Sonlight: A More Specific Schedule
Amy at Buffaloes and Butterfly Wings said, “I would love to know why you chose to teach your kids Greek over Latin or another language, and what the practical benefits are.”
I’ve been saving this question for a full post, but figured I would at least hit some basics now, since I keep procrastinating.
When we began homeschooling we assumed we would teach our children Latin and began researching Latin programs. In our circles, homeschoolers teach Latin and we didn’t really think about that in relation to our goals for our children’s education. As we researched and prayed, God brought a godly homeschooling family into our life. This family taught their children both Greek and Hebrew, how strange is that? As we got to know them we had a few conversations about priorities and goals. God used that family to help us see that we need to pray about what subjects we choose to teach our children and the message that those choices send.
So our primary reason for teaching Greek as opposed to Latin goes back to our goal in educating our children and that is to equip them to serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Both studies (Latin or Greek) will be a considerable investment of our children’s time and both will improve their language, vocabulary, grammar and logic skills (among other things).
The difference comes with what is written in Latin versus what is written in Greek and with that where we want our children’s focus to be. If they become proficient in reading Latin they will be able to read, in the original tongue, some of the greatest logic, philosophy, poetry and history ever written by men. If they become proficient in reading Greek and/or Hebrew they will be able to read, in the original tongue, logic, philosophy, poetry and history that was inspired by God.
We understand that Latin is the “language of scholars”, but that is not where we want our children’s focus to be. We prefer our children to be focused on gaining a better, more thorough understanding of the Bible rather than other great literary works and want their time spent studying the Bible as opposed to the works of men. (I’m not arguing that we shouldn’t study works of men, that would be foolish. I’m merely talking about focus. If our children had a thorough understanding of one of the Biblical languages and wished to study Latin, we think it would be a good second choice.)
One of the main arguments that I have heard for teaching Latin is vocabulary development. Here are two of our thoughts on this aspect: 1.) The English language has its roots in both Latin and Greek and while there are more words derived from Latin, Greek is a solid second. So while Latin may have a edge, both languages provide a excellent basis for vocabulary improvement. 2.) If the goal is simply vocabulary development, the study of Latin roots will suffice, rather than a whole language study and will require a much smaller investment of time.
One reason that we chose Greek over other traditional languages such as Spanish is that our children will, Lord willing, use their knowledge of Greek their whole lives, no matter what calling God has for them. Every Christian can benefit from a deeper study of the Bible. It is very possible that some of our children will want to study other languages in the future, depending on the calling that God has on their lives. We will encourage and assist with that as it becomes evident.
These are some of the things that our family has discussed and part of the reason that we have chosen to teach Greek. Our tentative plans for the future include a possible Latin root study and, depending upon how proficient they become with Greek and what direction their lives seems to be taking, a progression to Hebrew or another language.
This is another one of those topics that we must be willing to disagree with love. Our goals are different from other family’s goals and so our homeschool looks different from that of other families. We don’t know many other Christians who are working to teach their children Greek, most of our friends have their children studying Latin. We realize that we hold a minority opinion and would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
I have more to say on this topic, but this gives you our main thoughts in a nutshell.
I posted about our Greek curriculum if you’re interested and as always I’m happy to field questions.
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I’m with you on the benefis of Greek. We’re considering it for next year. However, the real reason I came over was to tell you that I have nominated Raising Olives as the Best Nitty-Gritty Blog in the Homeschool Blog Awards. You need three nominations to make the voting list.
Blessings,
Dawn
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Raising Olives Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Wow, thank you. I’m honored!
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Ok, so I am with Dawn, I am also nominating you for best nitty-gritty, so you only need 1 more nomination.
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Raising Olives Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Thank you, friend.
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Enjoyed your post today. Yesterday I started thinking about a post on the Hebrew method of homeschooling versus the classical method. Trying to think about the differences without offending. I do know of several families (classical is HUGE in our area) who seem to have taught classical material but maintain a seemingly Hebrew lifestyle. Does this make any sense? There are very few families around us who model a true Hebrew homeschooling lifestyle and those who do are considered a little strange. : (
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Raising Olives Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Please be sure to let me know when you post about the classical versus the Hebrew method. The Hebrew method is our goal, though I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone outside of our family use that terminology. We are praying and learning as we go. I know that we really don’t understand it all and would love to learn from someone else who has this view.
Yes, I know what you mean. We see much of the same here.
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My husband and I want to teach one of these three languages, as in fact, we want to learn them all ourselves! I have always had a fascination with Latin, but he often talks about the Greek and Hebrew language roots that help us to translate the bible ourselves. I suppose it would be overkill to learn them all
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Oh, thank you you much for this response! Almost a year ago I won a free-sample-type “Hey Andrew” beginning Greek kit from a blog give-away. My oldest was in kindergarten at the time and we hadn’t made any decisions about what languages to teach. With him now in first grade we still haven’t begun teaching a language, but plan to in the future. While you see many families learning Spanish, French, etc, and quite a few learning Latin, you don’t see as many studying Greek, so it was wonderful to hear your opinions and reasoning. Thank you!!
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Raising Olives Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
You’re welcome Amy. Thank you for the question.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to tell what subjects you teach and why. I am just starting homeschooling with a first grader, a pre-schooler, and an 1 year old. So I really appreciate hearing what other people are doing and why. I really enjoy your blog! Thanks again!
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Raising Olives Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Thank you Laurie. Best wishes as you begin your homeschool journey.
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Excellent post! I have not quite decided how we’re going to teach them yet. I am an oddball, in that I have learned the basics of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew (I was a classical studies minor in college and took Hebrew in high school and for one semester in college). We have not decided yet in what order we’re going to teach them to the kids! The benefits of all three are incredible. I would like to encourage anyone that might be hesitant to learn/teach one of these languages… it’s just another language! For some reason, there is a stigma frequently attached to Greek AND Hebrew. They are seen as being for “Bible scholars” and too hard for the average person to learn. Latin is often considered for “really smart people”. Not so! They’re just languages… neither harder nor easier than learning Spanish or German. So, anyway, good post, Kimberly! I’m enjoying getting caught up on your blog after my “having another baby” break!
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Thanks for sharing you reasons for studying Greek, my husband and I are leaning toward teaching this to our children, instead of the latin but didn’t know anyone who was actually doing it.
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I’m allowed to agree with love too, right?
If/when we are able to home school, we have always wanted to teach Hebrew and Greek. My hubby and I are both obsessed with Hebrew, and (Biblical) Jewish culture in general, and love the idea of being able to read the Scripture in the original language.
What curriculum do you use? Kaleb has a Hebrew tutor for our computer that is fun, and some big Greek books, but what do you use for your children?
Blessings!
Hannah
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Raising Olives Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 5:47 am
Yes you’re allowed to agree in love.
We are using Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! with the children. They have really enjoyed using it and it has been super easy to implement.
A friend of mine just recommended a Hebrew text, but we aren’t considering any more curriculum until next year and forgot what it was she suggested. If you’re interested let me know and I’ll give her a call and get back with you.
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I find this an interesting topic. I only took 1 year of Latin in school and also an honors vocabulary class that reviewed both Latin and Greek roots. My language of choice in high school was German, because we had lived there and my parents were Germanophiles. Then in college I took French and two semesters of Hebrew. I absolutely loved Hebrew!
I tried Latin with my kids last year and it was ok. This year we aren’t taking a language. I may try Greek next year. I hope some of my kids will inherit my love for languages and study several of them. I agree with you that you can accomplish as much with Greek as Latin, especially if you supplement with some kind of Latin roots vocab training.
There’s nothing as cool as reading the Bible in its original language! I have a Hebrew Old Testament, a Latin Bible and a German Martin Luther translation Bible. Back when I was single and had lots of time on my hands I liked to memorize the same verses in different languages. I would love to learn Greek with my kids.
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Raising Olives Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 5:49 am
I’m always fascinated by people who have a gift with learning languages. I struggled through 2 years of Greek in highschool and remember very, very little. I have enjoyed learning along with the children, but pretty soon I’ll have to get my own book and really study if I really want to keep up.
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That’s the fun of homeschooling! I love that about Sonlight, that I get to learn right along with them!
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I have never heard of the Hebrew Homeschooling lifestyle. Can you please share? I am interested in learning about this. Thanks!
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When you mention Hebrew Homeschooling, do you mean Heart of Wisdom?
We use MFW, which uses English from the Roots Up…we learned Greek roots last year, and are learning Latin roots this year. We also have Latina Christiana I, but haven’t used it. I would love to get Rosetta Stone Hebrew.
Maybe we’ll look more into Greek though!
Found your blog today (Large Family Mothering comments), and am loving it!
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Raising Olives Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
I’m actually not familiar with Heart of Wisdom. What I mean by Hebrew Homeschooling is homeschooling based on the pattern of the Old Testament and how God tells the Hebrews to train their children in the things of the Lord. My husband and I believe that if that method or system is God-ordained for teaching our children the most important things in life, then it should be the best way to teach our children those things that are not quite as important.
If I were to summarize what I think of as Hebrew homeschooling it would be in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, teaching our children as we live our lives together. Relational homeschooling.
Maybe I should go check out Heart of Wisdom……
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I think it’s wonderful that you’re teaching your children Greek! I took four semesters (i.e. two years) of Greek in college with the focus on Classical Greek and Koine(Biblical) Greek. Learning the Classical first made the Koine easier to learn. I also took two semesters (one year) of Hebrew and absolutely loved it! I firmly believe that I learn much more from reading the Bible in the original languages than I do reading it in English. Translating it takes much extra time and effort, but I feel that it is always worth it!
If the Lord blesses me with a husband and children someday, I plan on homeschooling our children and teaching them Greek and Hebrew.
Keep up the good work!
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Kimberly @ Raising Olives Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 8:12 am
I hope that at least some of our children will progress to learning Hebrew. What a great background to have experience with both.
Do you know of a good program to teach Hebrew to kids (especially if the parents don’t have that knowledge?)
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Erin Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Unfortunately, I don’t know of a program to teach Hebrew to kids. We used the text book “Fundamental Biblical Hebrew” by Andrew Bartelt when I was first learning Hebrew. It’s published by Concordia Publishing House. I’ll email my Hebrew professor and ask him if he knows of any good resources for teaching kids Hebrew.
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Kimberly @ Raising Olives Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
I appreciate you looking into that for me.
Our oldest son (10) is very interested in Hebrew. We want him to get a little more established with his Greek, but will be looking for something in the future.
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I recommend this self-teaching book for learning the Hebrew alphabet:
http://behrman.powerwebbook.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=6065
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