Thanks! I did email RR over the weekend and asked if the Christendom program should really be done as a whole and I was told the lectures give a good overview of the books that are read and I can use them with another curriculum. Maybe the unit you are doing is a little different? I am still trying to figure out what to do. I wish they had more samples videos up than just the introduction. That would help me decide.

No problem! I will ask over there. 😊

I'm not planning on doing everything MP has listed for 9th grade, like American and Roman history, Christian studies, their Logic, or Latin. Does that make a difference?

Yes, so would it work to watch the lectures, but do MP history and literature from the same time period? I'm sure the most ideal thing would be to do OWC as a whole, but I'm just trying to figure out all my options. I've only looked at the one video they have for Christendom, which is the introduction, so I can't tell if what I'm proposing will work or not.

And along these lines, can the OWC video lectures stand on their own? Can they be paired with another curriculum purely for the benefit of listening to Wes Callihan? I am wondering if I can pair the videos with MP Middle Ages history and lit.

Thank you, that is helpful. So in OWC, do you read any full works or just excerpts? Can the OWC video lectures stand on their own? Can my son watch the lectures, but do the MP readings and student guides or would it be better to do the whole OWC program?

Is it possible to combine RR Old Western Culture Christendom with Memoria Press Middle Ages history and literature? This would be for 9th grade next year. I've been using MP history and lit for two years now and it's going well. However, I recently discovered RR OWC, and know we could all greatly benefit from Mr. Callihan's teaching. My husband watched a segment and immediately said, "Sold!" Would combining the two be too much? Thoughts? Advice? This is my first foray into high school and I want to get it right.

^^^ I agree. There are many things we do that stretch our kids, and Latin is not the only route to accomplish this. My kids can't stop playing piano, learning math, struggling through biology, etc. just because they don't like it when it becomes difficult. Just because we let Latin go doesn't mean we let it all go.

Thanks for responding. I've decided to let him stop and he's so excited.

My son will be finishing up CLE Math 8 this year in 8th grade and has done very well with this curriculum, getting A's on the majority of quizzes and tests. Are there algebra programs that have a similar teaching style to CLE math since their spiral approach has been a great fit for him? I am looking for something with engaging video instruction, too. I know CLE has algebra 1, but no videos that I'm aware of.

Absolutely! We don't have time to waste.

I totally agree with you. I am not worried about him having difficulty learning another language with or without the Latin background. He is very much like me, and I learned French in high school without any trouble and I had no Latin. When my husband and I went to Europe, I had no trouble learning German and Italian in order to communicate, and I also began learning Russian a few years ago and had no difficulty with that, either. Could Latin have helped me learn better? Who knows? We are musical people in my family and I tend to believe the listening skills you develop playing instruments helps so much when learning new languages. I also believe he won't benefit much if it is forced upon him year after year. Time would be better spent on things he actually enjoys, or at least puts up with, which is everything but Latin!

The answer for us is, "no, not anymore."

Thank you! I think I needed the permission to stop from those with a different viewpoint. I like the idea of dabbling in the other languages. He's had fun doing a little of that on Duo Lingo.

It's been a few years since I read Climbing Parnassus, but I own Consider This and keep coming back to it. I think the purpose is the same, but she brings up how modern educators, including myself, use learning Latin grammar as a way to train the brain in logic and reasoning, boost SAT scores, help with learning other languages, etc., not just for the end goal of reading Latin authors. Referring to Charlotte Mason, she says, "By the time she lived, there was so much great literature either written or translated into English that she could see that a pupil no longer needed to clear the hurdle of Latin and Greek in order to read great literature, and in fact, spending too much time on that process did not allow enough time for real reading." I think this is where I am at this point in my oldest child's Latin journey. It's taking too much time and he isn't reading as much as he used to. I hope this makes sense. Writing isn't my strong suit!