about
salve sodalis,
And welcome to Legonium. This site has grown and grown since it first started a few years ago, so here is a map of sorts to help you to navigate your way around.
disco - I learn
Disco is a Latin word meaning I learn. It is also an English word meaning disco. This is a great place to begin if Latin is new to you, or if you are teaching somebody Latin for the first time. Each lesson has its own little story, and there are even games that you can download to help you practise. I hope that you will enjoy getting to know the folks of Legonium almost as much as you enjoy learning Latin.
disco games
This is where you go to download the games that support the Legonium course. These really are a great way to practise the language in a meaningful way, full of both repetition and purpose. The site will ask for credit card details, but you can simply leave that blank.
season 1
This was the first thing to ever appear on the Legonium website, a story told completely in Latin and illustrated with photographs of Lego. I still love this story, and I hope that you will consider reading it and loving it too. Episodes 7 and 12 were born of a collaboration with the Nicholson Museum and the world-reknowned Lego Pompeii.
season 2
I am writing season 2 at something akin to an George R. R. Martin pace, although without the anticipation. But I do love this story too. Season one was a bit of an adventure tale, but season 2 focusses mainly on the upcoming marriage of Claudia and Miranda (although there is a lot more going on too).
homines
These are a set of short readers that introduce some of the main characters from the Legonium stories and lessons. While the language is not overly simple, each reader follows a very strict structure, and I have found beginners enjoy the sense of achievement they get from getting better and better at reading each story.
Gilbo
Gilbo has been used by teachers around the world for almost a decade. It shamelessly parallels the Cambridge Latin Course, introducing both vocabulary and grammar in the same order as the first 4 stages of that textbook. It is the perfect support text for students beginning that (or any other) course.
Kalends
Stay up to date with the ancient festivals of Rome in this month by month guide to the major Roman religious holidays. There is a guide to the days of the week, and you can download a year-long calendar from Resources (see bellow).
grammatica
Like much of Legonium, grammatica is a work in progress. But the ‘uses of the cases’ slides that can be found here are a great way to introduce case use to beginning students. This section of the site will only become more useful as it continues to grow.
Troia
Troia is an ongoing Latin comic that ran in the Orbilian Society’s Acta Diurna during the 1950s and 1960s. I am collecting them here on this site. I have tried to find a copyright owner, but to no avail. If you can help me with this, I would love to hear from you.
Richie’s
Richie’s Easy Latin Tales is a classic of intermediate Latin learning. It is also conveniently out of copyright. I tend to use it in class when students have finished a set activity. I can project a chapter up on the board for them to read, translate or discuss in Latin.
Aeneid
This is my favourite Latin text. Here are some selections from Book I that are the proscribed text for the New South Wales Higher School Examination (my local exam). I have used the old parallel text method that was popular earlier in the 20th Century. It is my hope that it will both help students to prepare for the examination, and help readers beginning their exploration of Virgil’s epic.
verba
These are a series of simple vocabulary builders. If you have a lot of Lego at home, no doubt you have some of these objects. Here is a first step to discussing your Lego in Latin.
Resources
There are all sorts of resources here for you to download, from Festival Calendars, to a wide range of posters, to units of work suitable for senior students. There are even two chapters of a retelling of the Hobbit in simple Latin. Nearly everything here is free - you will be asked to give a credit card number, but you can simply leave this blank. One the other hand, if you would like to support Legonium, buy a copy of the days of the week posters for $5. Or press the donate button bellow. gratias tibi ago!
Tweets
I tweet a lot. You can follow Legonium of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Every few months I update this section of the site, in which I collate some of my favourite posts, handily organised into a few categories - ancient authors, maxims, pop culture and movies.
et cetera
There is a great deal of material here, some new and some that I have made over my years of teaching. There is material to help with the early books of both the Cambridge and Oxford texts, and graphic novels based on ancient authors. Take your first steps into the Latin translation of Harry Potters, check out undecim res, and DEFINITELY read Ever Wonder Why? And so much more. explora!
commentaria
There was a time - so many years ago - when I used to write a blog post every day, one for every page of season 1. There is some good stuff here, and I’m surprised by how often some posts are still read. My explanation of the Hogwarts motto is one of the most visited pages on the site.
disco (old)
disco - I learn is actually my second attempt at beginning a Latin course. I learnt a lot from this first attempt. I’d be happy to remove it from the site completely, but I know some people are still using it in their teaching, so I will leave it here for them.
cives
Ignore this - it’s a workaround.
Well, I think that is everything. I really hope that you enjoy the site. Any feedback is always appreciated. You can like the Facebook Page or follow Legonium on Twitter or Instagram if you want to be updated on new materials. Have a great day!
vale,
Anthony