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Latin Alive or Lively Latin


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Hi all,

 

I did LFC A and part of B with my son a couple of years ago-- we're not doing any now and I'm pretty sure he's lost much of it. I'd like to start over in 7th grade with a new program. SWB recommends Lively Latin in one of her lectures, but I really liked LFC, and think Classical Academic Press's stuff is top-notch.

 

Has anyone used these programs, and could you tell me about your experiences with them?

 

Many thanks for your help!

Amy

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We have used LFC A, B, and C. We are starting Latin Alive! 1 this year and it will be mostly review for him. We need it b/c we'll be doing Omnibus and CW, so I think it might be a heavy year.

 

I love CAP. Latin Alive! looks user-friendly and fun. It has Chapter readings and a Culture corner to integrate Roman History. It also includes activities to aid in oral proficiency, and Latin Mottoes used in America.

 

I am excited to start this fall. I know I sound like an infomercial for CAP, but after looking and using other programs, I just think their products are by far superior. They have weaved a delightful sense of humor troughout all of their publications, which helps to make these (Latin, Logic, etc.) potentially dreadful subjects vibrant and engaging.

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I think it depends on the focus you want to give Latin. We used LFC A&B and Latin Alive this year (7th grade). Because of life situations we are going to finish Latin Alive book I next year, stretching it out over 1 1/2 years.

 

Latin Alive is excellent, but it does move along a quicker pace than LFC. My ds has some reading delays, but gets Latin. We had to slow down a few times this year. Remember Latin Alive can be used well at a high school level, so you may have to adjust the pace for 7th grade.

 

We follow a Latin-Centered philosophy so Latin gets our main focus through the day. Latin Alive fits our purposes. If you're looking for a fun reintroduction to Latin, or you want something your dc can do independently, I might wait on Latin Alive.

 

There are plenty of Latin program available. You might do a search for Galore Park Latin, Getting Started with Latin, & First Form Latin (memoria press).

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How comfortable are you with Latin? I taugth Latin Alive to a group of students this past year, and I would not have wanted to use it if I didn't already know Latin. There were a lot of errors in the answers, and the book needs some additional explanations in many areas.

 

I really, really like CAP, so I used it based on that. I also think it would be bad for a whole-to-parts thinker. It, like LNST, takes an incremental approach which can drive some kiddos crazy. An experienced Latin mom/teacher can help with that, though.

 

I don't know anything about Lively Latin. I would honestly just use Wheelock's, planning to complete a quarter of the book in each of 7th and 8th grade, finishing it in 9th. Henle is another good choice, too.

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How comfortable are you with Latin? I taugth Latin Alive to a group of students this past year, and I would not have wanted to use it if I didn't already know Latin. There were a lot of errors in the answers, and the book needs some additional explanations in many areas.

 

I really, really like CAP, so I used it based on that. I also think it would be bad for a whole-to-parts thinker. It, like LNST, takes an incremental approach which can drive some kiddos crazy. An experienced Latin mom/teacher can help with that, though.

 

 

We're about 3/4 of the way through Lively Latin, and it has the same problems that you listed above. It introduces new chants to memorize, but doesn't explain what they mean until much later. That annoys the bejeebers out of me--I spent several months trying to figure out what a declension was while dd happily chanted endings for the first and second declensions. It also had a few mistakes that I noticed, but it wasn't a huge deal to me. For the most part, the correct answer was obvious to me even though I don't speak Latin.

 

I think for 7th grade, I would avoid Lively Latin. IIRC, it's geared toward 3rd through 6th grade. It seems like it would be too easy for a 7th grader.

 

I'm not even sure if I will use it again for my upcoming 3rd grader. Those CAP products look awfully nice...

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...and I have two years of college Latin background. Here are my thoughts.

 

We started with Minimus when dc were 2nd/3rd, then added in Lively Latin Book 1 the next year. I wanted to keep it fun and both of those were gentle. They were definitely different approaches, with LL being a bit more systematic. That said, I agree with the other person who mentioned that chants are learned ahead of the actual application of them to translation. It didn't bother me too much and I do have to say that dc still know those chants cold.

 

We spread LL1 out over the next 2-3 years or so and then folded in Secundus. I kept waiting for LL Bk 2 to be released, but I was never able to see samples online, so I didn't order. There was a TOC, but in comparing it to LFC, I felt like LFC would have a bit more that I wanted since dc were now older. We skipped a year of Latin last year (long story), so I bought LFC-A for this year (7th/8th). We only did about 8 lessons and it was really too easy for them. However, it is presented in a logical, straightforward manner and IMO is the best of similar level programs. That said, I had avoided it for 2 years because I knew my ds would glaze over with it if I used it when he was younger. LL and Secundus were just the trick for him and he then made the transition to it later very well.

 

We started Latin Alive 1 halfway through this year and it's going very well. I think the DVD presentations cover the material thoroughly and the author has very good explanations and emphasizes being systematic in the approach to translation. There is solid vocabulary/root work and I really like the philosophy behind the progression of translation difficulty in the levels. There is a good comparison of LA to Wheelocks on the CAP website. I used Wheelocks in college and was planning to with dc until I found this program. There is some very good reasoning as to why LL is better for middle/hs students v. college students for whom Wheelocks was originally written.

 

Just so you know...the Latin goal I have for my dc is to have a firm basis in roots and vocabulary, and to gain a better understanding of english grammatical construction because it is so connected to the Latin. We'll have "fun" learning to translate increasingly difficult passages, but I'm not going to push it. I plan to have them complete all three LA volumes, but if it takes more than a year per book, I'm ok with that. If one of them wants to take the NLE, great, but it's not a goal at this point. I'm going for mastery and solidification of the vocabulary primarily. BTW, the CAP website has a study and games area called HeadVentureLand that is great for practicing vocabulary. We still use the LFC levels to review.

 

As to the mistakes in LL and LA...I really just see them as proofing errors. In programs that are newer, I think some of it's to be expected. I will say that I have a bit of an advantage because the Latin is familiar to me.

 

I'm not sure I totally answered your question, but I've tried to tell you what I know of the programs you asked about.

 

Blessings,

PameLA in VA

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Thanks for all the comments and help. I appreciate PameLA's advice to use LA but slow it down. Part of the appeal of Lively Latin for me right now is I still want to keep Latin fairly light until we reach 8th or 9th grade. I think it's important to learn, but during these years I want to focus on other things and not have Lain taking up too much time or energy.

 

Thanks!

Amy

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I'm trying to decide between Latin Alive and Lively Latin. I am wanting to go with Latin Alive because of the dvds. I am wondering if Lively Latin has dvds as well? I see there is a package for cds.

 

I will have my two middle students using Latin Primer A and my two youngest using Song School Latin.

 

I have no Latin background.

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LL is a course for children in about 3rd or 4th grade, where LA is more of a 6th -8th grade course, so I don't see it as a one or the other decision. I was unthrilled with LL. I love the CAP products. They are very sound and challenging in my opinion. If your child is in 6th plus, I would definitely use LA, but it moves at quite a quick clip and the readings at about chapter 6 and higher are pretty challenging. My dd is finishing and this is her 4th year of Latin. She would tell you it was hard, but she does very well.

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I'm trying to decide between Latin Alive and Lively Latin. I am wanting to go with Latin Alive because of the dvds. I am wondering if Lively Latin has dvds as well? I see there is a package for cds.

 

I will have my two middle students using Latin Primer A and my two youngest using Song School Latin.

 

I have no Latin background.

 

 

LL does not have DVDs. The CDs include PDF versions of the course along with audio recordings of the vocabulary.

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Lively Latin 1 has video instruction online (up to lesson 11). There are 3-5 videos for each lesson. I have found these to be a great addition to the written exercises.

 

My 13yo daughter is using Lively Latin Big Book 2, but she struggles with grammar...English or Latin.

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