'A Little Latin, Less Greek'

In listening to Cindy Rollins' recording this summer over at Circe Institute, entitled 'The Long Haul: Morning Time' , I was truly inspired to rise to the challenge of an elite education for the ordinary kid. Or more likely, the ordinary parent.
If you have followed me for any time, you know that neo-classical education has been a part of our style of learning at home. But there comes a point when you must address basics that seem to be sliding through the cracks, like reading skills, math facts. We did that by cleaning the slate of all the extras, bells, whistles-- out they went.
Some will say, "But this is why we homeschool? right?" Actually, many homeschool because they are seeing something missing that has nothing to do with 'extras', but more are the nutrients of great learning. Maybe a child has learning issues, maybe the level of education isn't on a desired level. Lots, and lots of reasons.
Last summer, while planning for fall, I let Latin go. (audible gasp) The method we had used really was just spinning wheels. As much as I tried to effectively support this, it wasn't sticking (kind of like snow in the south--all the excitement--nothing to show for it.) So I let it go. It was painful, but liberating. It gave us time to shore up some tools of learning that needing mending.
When you deal with a highly intelligent student whose executive skills are lacking, sometimes the balance of using the 'bright and shiny' is a challenge.
While many recommended curriculums promise attention keeping material, underlying learning issues continue to get in the way (fun, grade level, abridged math still requires memory of basic math facts), (group activity still requires focus on the instructor to learn the memory sentence/song/fact)
But at this point, I'm ready to re-engage with Latin. And most importantly, I believe he is too. We have developed a rhythm for reading and vocabulary, and it can be enhanced by an outside instructor that can be replayed, for auditory learning, enjoyed, because of the sense of humor, and visually followed in brevity, because of the limited written connection of on-screen print while speaker is presenting. All effective methods for learning. Sign me up. So I did.
I've signed up with Compass Community, using their $1 trial homeschool package, which includes 'Visual Latin.' (will go to reasonable charge of $14/month after month trial)
I arrived at this conclusion, after a search for material on logic. Realizing that there was a connection with Jim Nance, writer of the materials we'll likely use for logic, I felt confident this was worth the try.
I'm going to start today, and use in our phonemic awareness time slot. While phonemic awareness will continue to be important, keeping material at a level that is challenging to the (my) student is critical. Remember all those changes and needs that come with middle school? That's all there even if you are homeschooled. That student is developing a self-awareness, and phonics isn't on the priority list.
Carpe Diem!!