Greek for young kids

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Hi! My name is Lucy and I am looking for Greek curriculum to homeschool my children for the first time this year. I would like them to get started with some Greek, but am a little lost on which resources to use and am hoping to find advice for starting out with Greek for young children.

“Elementary Greek: Koine for Beginners” looks friendly for young kids, and while it seems like Koine is easiest for kids (and I do want them to be comfortable with Koine eventually), ideally I’d like them to start with Epic because I am hoping they can read poetry and plays. I read that Epic is a good base for later reading Attic and then Koine, but that starting with Koine might make it difficult to try Epic or Attic later. Does anyone have recommendations on curriculum resources, or thoughts on how to approach ancient Greek with little ones?

I came across a resource “Learn to Read Greek” by Keller and Russell, but I’m not sure what type of Greek it is, or whether it’s age appropriate for beginning grade school. Is anyone familiar with this text?

I have very little experience with classics, only taking some Latin and H&Q Greek in college, but not keeping up with them beyond school. I am still very in love with poetry and plays that I was able to read in Greek at that point in my life and am hoping my children will be able to experience that and more.

Thanks for any advice!

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Hi Lucy,

I have no hands on experience with (home)schooling or young children, but I suspect the “Learn to Read Greek” textbooks may well be too much for them, unless you’re planning on making your own lessons and resources from it. In the UK there are two series designed for really young kids.

  1. Basil Batrakhos. More info https://basilbatrakhos.com/
  2. Gorilla Greek (very basic). More info www.gorillagreek.com

I can’t vouch for these, their efficacy, or their level. I suspect you’ll have more luck with Latin materials for English speakers at a young age.

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Thank you so much! I’ll look into those two sources. I probably won’t be making my own lessons at this point, so those other options might work well!

We are starting with Latin as well, but it has been easier to find kid-friendly materials. It might end up being better for the kids if we wait and add Greek after doing at least a year of Latin so they have a sense of inflected language.