Review: Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek - Level 2

10-year-old Nature Angel is enjoying learning Greek via her Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek -Level 2 worktext from Greek 'n' Stuff.

For review purposes, we received 3 items from this product line:
1.  Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek -Level 2 worktext
2.  The "Answers Only" Answer Key for Level 2
3.  The pronunciation CD for Levels 1 and 2 that includes The Reader.

The worktext is spiral bound and the pages are simply designed in black and white.  Is is a hair over 1/2" thick, so it is not intimidating at all.  It is consumable and meant for one student.

The first 24 pages of the worktext review the Greek Alphabet, two letters at a time.  The pages are not labeled as lessons, rather each two-sided page is labeled "ALPHABET REVIEW"  or "MORE ALPHABET REVIEW" on the front, and "LET'S PRACTICE" on the back.  So each front/back page feels like one lesson, but because it is not labeled as such, a child who completed the first level and is actually only reviewing the material could work as quickly through the pages as desired without feeling pushed.

On the flip side, each single-sided page includes a reminder to review the flashcards (included at the back of the worktext--they need to be cut out and mounted on index cards).  This makes it easy to slow the pace down to learning a set of two letters one day and reviewing them the next.  A very nice pace for younger learners.

We are new to Greek, but Nature Angel is slightly older than recommended for starting at this level, so Nature Angel stuck with completing one front/back set per study session.  It was a good pace--challenging (once there were more than half a dozen letters to remember) without being overwhelming.

The LET'S PRACTICE pages include writing the letters and identifying the letters and their sounds with 1-3 worksheet games.

After the first 24 pages of reviewing the alphabet in 2 letter sets, come 12 more pages of practicing with all of the letters.  Included are dot-to-dot games, writing activities, matching activities and more.

Then the vocabulary words start!

The pace I was able to discern is that a single word is introduced.  On that page is a simple activity to practice identifying the word, and a reminder to add the new word to the flashcard set.  Then 9 pages of practice follow.  Each page has 1-2 activities and the reminder to review flashcards.

(There are sample pages available to review here)

Nature Angel has not gotten to the words in her work with this program.  I can guarantee, though, that we will slow down to completing a single-sided page per day when she does get there.

This is not overkill.  Learning Greek is learning a whole new alphabet, and kids are doing in just days/weeks what they took years to do learning the alphabet and how to read in their first language!

I could not find any formal grammar lessons.  Rather the vocabulary words included nouns and verbs conjugated in the "I" form.  I could find no lessons combining nouns and verbs into sentences at this level.  And honestly, I don't have a problem with that.  There is plenty of challenge just learning how to identify, read, and pronounce the vocabulary as individual units.

Some practice pages have a goodly amount of writing.  Some practice pages have more matching or circling.  The activities seem varied without being random and repetitive without getting boring.

I appreciate the simplicity of the Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek program.

Thus far in our experience, I have not needed the answer key, but I've looked ahead at future lessons, an I am very grateful for it.  On busy days, when I need to review Nature Angel's work quickly, it will be very nice to open the answer key and just mark where corrections need to be made without having to decipher which Greek word is spelled correctly on my own! 

We've used the CD very little (but that's a common theme in our home).  All tracks are clearly labeled and easy to use.  I appreciate that the letters and words are available to review both lesson by lesson and as a whole.  That way the student can focus on just the letters/word of the day or practice all of it at once with ease.

The odd part was having The Reader on the CD without having a physical copy of it.  The Reader is a darling poem that describes how the letters look and how to say them, but just listening to it is hard.  I recommend getting a copy of The Reader to go with this level of study.  Then use the CD and book together to really cement the images and sounds in the student's mind.

Overall, Nature Angel has been quite pleased with Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! - Level 2.  She feels challenged by the work; at the same time it is definitely approachable and doable.  If she is feeling ambitious, she can do a few pages at a time, but on busy days or tired days, she can complete a single page very easily and feel a sense of accomplishment.

To read what other families have experienced with Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! - Level 2, as well as other curriculum products by Greek 'n' Stuff, click here or on the banner below.