Want to make learning Latin a little less overwhelming? Here's an idea: Latin Study Boards! Latin Study Boards take the elements of each lesson needed for memorization and posts them readily in front of the student. No more stalling to remember that vocabulary word or struggling to look up that grammar rule in the book. Having that information readily available, posted in front of the student, means they can reference the information and actually memorize the information more quickly.
Classical Conversations offers a Latin Trivium Table that has handy charts for endings and whatnot. It is VERY thorough with lots of information. Really great if you already know what you are doing but totally overwhelming if you don't.
I have found it much more effective to build your board as you go
This shows a Latin Study Board with all the charts and vocabulary lists used for the year in Challenge A or Units 1, 2 and 3 of Henle First Year Latin.
You could absolutely make one of these on your own! There are only two steps.
FIRST STEP - Decide the base for your board. You have several options.
The easiest option: purchase one outright. Look on Amazon. Search for “Privacy Shield,” “Privacy Partition,” “Study Carrel,” but they are usually pretty pricey.
The cheapest option: go to the Dollar Store and look for a ready-made tri-fold board or "project board" and cut it in half. The Dollar Store tri-fold boards tend to be smaller (20 x 27 when folded in.) Michael's or other craft store suppliers carry larger tri-fold boards (24 x 36) which work if you only keep them at home, but get a little bulky for transport. (Come on. You know sometimes you've got to do Latin in the car, or over at a friend's house, or at grandmas. Take your board with you.)
The crafty option: make your own. You could make your own out of a piece of foam core or regular old cardboard and duct tape. I have seen boards made out of three manilla folders too, which is probably the most portable, but also a little flimsy. (Watch for another post on the HOW TOs for both of these options.)
SECOND STEP - Just start adding charts and information. I recommend using one small piece of regular ole scotch tape so that you can move things around as needed. A chart of noun endings and a vocabulary list are a great place to begin. You could just post a simple piece of notebook paper and add to your list for vocab as you go. Eventually you may need to re-work some things, but that just means an opportunity to copy and review, right?
If you run out of room, just layer the charts over one another.
In my shop, I offer a Latin Study Board set of "Charts and Parts" that cover Units 1, 2, and 3 of Henle First Year Latin. 13 pages total. This is the equivalent of the entire Challenge A year of Classical Conversations (and therefore also approximately the first semester of Challenge B.) Each chart is labeled with its corresponding Lesson and Exercise.
You could print these out and have your student add them to their boards as you go along. Or you could use these as a reference for yourself, as a template for the student to make their own charts and lists.
This idea transfers to all other subjects and curricula. I bet younger bothers and sisters will want to make their own Study Boards. Fantastic for anything you want to memorize or reference easily. Please share with me, if you make one. I would love to hear about your success.