Latin...What do you love?

[Old Dominion Heather]

We are about seven lessons in to Latina Christiana and I am beginning to worry about how little translation ds is doing. We have the first conjugation and first declension, but he really isn't getting that the subject and verb have to agree. He will start memorizing the second declension next week.

 

Do the other programs move this fast? Just memorize, don't worry about usage? Will the translation part come later?

 

The DVD's are about to drive me berserk and yet I have to say that we need the extra help. I didn't take Latin and have NO clue about pronunciation.

 

Are you all using something that you love? We don't hate it, but neither is it our best friend!

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

There's very little translation to be done at that stage. It's mainly memory work.

 

We switched from Latina Christiana to Latin for Children. It comes with an extra book with stories to translate. The first book (year A) is on Ancients. Year B on Middle Ages. So it could follow the history rotation cycle.

[Laura Corin]

How old are your kids?

 

Laura

[Elinor Everywhere]

When my dd was starting Latin (3 years ago), we used Latin for Children and loved it. But you may have the same problem--lots of memorization at first with little translation. For younger kids (less than 10) I think it's a good way to go--we learned so much vocab that translating now is not that difficult.

 

My dd is now 10, and we're finishing up Latin Prep Book 1. If your kids are 10 or older, I would suggest using Latin Prep from the start. It moves quickly, but there is a lot of translating right off the bat. I just stop and make sure we have all the vocab memorized before moving onto the next chapter.

 

FWIW, if Lively Latin had been available when my dd started Latin, I'd have used it. I'm starting my son on it in March, and just by looking at it online he is very excited, and I think it'll be a good fit.

[Plaid Dad]

My dd seems to be understanding the grammar side of things better with Lively Latin than she did with LC. I don't know if that's a function of Lively's format, or maturity on my dd's part, or a little of both. I do appreciate that Lively Latin presents English grammar concepts before launching into the corresponding Latin; that it presents grammar incrementally; and that there are lots of written review exercises. That combination has been a winning one for my dd. HTH!

[Old Dominion Heather]

My oldest is eight, the younger is five. He doesn't really do Latin, just sort of tags along for the ride. They both did Prima Latina last year and enjoyed it very much. LC is a whole different animal though...

 

Maybe we just started too early, though ds8 enjoyed it very much and breezed though it.

[Old Dominion Heather]

At what point in LC did you switch?

 

And does Latin for Children end up at about the same level as LC?

[Old Dominion Heather]

That combo would be helpful... ds gets the memorization with NO problem... he just doesn't understand the grammar. I am wondering if I am just dealing with a lag in skills. He can't understand the Latin before he understands the English grammar.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

We moved from LC1 to LC2 when DS reached about half of LC1. We didn't get far with LC2, he was just bored.

 

With LFC, we started right in the B book, added the Activity Book which he LOVES, and the Libellus de Historia B.

 

There are words my son didn't learn because we skipped A, but he's not missing any grammar.

[Heather in VA]

My two favorites are Lively Latin and Latin Prep. I'd use Lively Latin with kids under 9 or so and 11 and up Latin Prep.

 

Heather

[Storm Bay]

We're using Latin Primer because that's what we bought when we first started. Yes, all memorization the first book, but we bought the grammar I book and there is translation there--it comes next. Personally, I think you need to memorize some vocabulary before translating, but I'm not an expert in Latin by any stretch of the imagination. I like it because we use the videos for the teaching as I just don't have time to learn all this Latin right now.

[chai]

We are using Latina Christiana. I don't love it, but I don't know enough about Latin to keep switching programs. LC was a little overwhelming at first (for me anyway, I don't know about dd), but it has really started clicking lately. My dd (almost 9) really likes the memorization and gets a real kick out of knowing the declensions better than I do. (I know words better just because I have a bigger English vocabulary.) I'm not overly worried about translation because I know that will come later.

 

I like the looks of Lively Latin and have considered switching, but I keep getting back to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I am intrigued by Latin Prep, for our next step, but I'm afraid to move from the LC/Henle path. The differences in pronunciation would be a problem for me. I chose Ecclesiastical because dd sings and I thought this would be helpful in her future.

[Tressa]

We have about 5 more lessons in LC 1. I haven't loved it, but I think that it is starting to click with them. My 7th grader finds it very easy and I could probably zip through the rest of it. I do like that they are able to make short sentences with predicate adjectives and predicate nomnatives. They make silly sentences and have fun with it.

 

I do not have any Latin background and this has been very easy for me to teach. I didn't purchase the DVDs. I guess I could say that I love that about the program.:) We don't use the history portion at all.

[Desert Rat]

We started Latin for Children this year and really like it. I like the organization of the book, I think. Plus, this is the first time in latin for me as well and it's been easy for me to learn along with them. We use the history book and watch the DVD but my son finds the girls a bit silly. It's a boy thing, I think.

HTH

[LisaNY]

We moved from LC1 to LC2 when DS reached about half of LC1. We didn't get far with LC2, he was just bored.

 

With LFC, we started right in the B book, added the Activity Book which he LOVES, and the Libellus de Historia B.

 

There are words my son didn't learn because we skipped A, but he's not missing any grammar.

 

Hi Cleo,

 

Are you still using Lingua Latina in any fashion?

 

BTW - Your picture is very close to how I pictured you! :)

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

Hi Lisa.

 

*I* am the one using Lingua Latina for now. My son was given the choice between LfC and Lingua Latina, and he much preferred the games in the LfC Activity Book. He laughs out loud very often when he works in that book.

 

I'm going slowly through Lingua Latina, but I can see how it's making me a much better Latinist than any other book.

[LisaNY]

Hi Cleo!

 

I know what you mean. I've never encountered anything quite like LL. It has helped me to understand all of that grammar I was trying to figure out in Henle. :)

 

I'm currently using Cambridge w/my younger dd, because she preferred it to LL. She likes the online activities.

 

Thanks for your response. :D

[BarbaraL in OK]

After PL, I couldn't face LC -- all memorization, very little Latin use (to me). So... we've enjoyed Minimus with my 7yo son (turning 8 in Feb). After Minimus I think I'll go to Lively Latin; he'll be ready for more grammar and yet the Latin use seems to be there as well.

 

We probably wouldn't have started Latin quite so early -- he was 6.5 when we started Prima Latina -- except that my older son was starting Latin (5th grade at the time, and newly HSing). My younger son could easily have waited until age 7.5 or 8, in which case I would have gone right to Minimus.

 

I discovered that I really felt strongly that they should have as much Latin reading (or translation) work as they have grammar and vocabulary. I loved the Latin prayers etc in PL, and had planned to do LC & Lingua Angelica -- but I just couldn't stay with the heavy grammar/vocab approach. Gotta have that reading. I really like Latin Book One for my 12yo son partly because there is reading in practically every lesson.

 

Anyway, that's a long answer for a short question, sorry!

[angela in ohio]

I like Latin for Children more than Latina Christiana, but...

 

When I taught it at a co-op, I would add more translation work in, making up sentences for the students. They really liked that. Just make a list of all of the verbs you know so far and all of the nouns and start combining them to make sentences for dc to translate.