I'm hoping for some help choosing between the Big Book of Lively Latin and Latin for Children. If you have used either, what did/didn't you like about them? I'd be starting with a 10 year old -- would that be too old for these programs? She really doesn't want to do Latin, but has a agreed to give it a shot and I don't want to dive into an intense program that is intended for older kids, as that is likely to be a disaster. My main goal in studying Latin is to improve vocabulary by understanding root words. Secondly, I hope to see an improvement in grammar.

I'm looking at starting my 4th grader in Latin next semester. I was looking at buying Latina Christiana for him (It's in my RR cart...) But then I realized I already own 2 (no make that 4!) Latin programs. Geesh! I should just delete this and run away before you guys throw tomatoes at me. :leaving: Now that I think about it, I've got Getting Started with Latin, Minimus, First Form Latin 1, and Lively Latin 1. I started to use FFL with him (since I was already using it with dd13), but quickly realized it's too much for him right now--we didn't even get through the introductory lesson before I shelved it. Minimus is fun and all, but it doesn't really teach. I loved the explicit, grammar approach of FFL, which is why I'm considering LC1. Lively Latin annoys me for the same reason. I took my oldest through it in 3rd/4th/5th grade, but I felt like we chanted a lot of stuff and learned some vocab without really learning any of the "why's". It wasn't until we started another Latin program that I discovered what a noun declension is. And she'd been chanting declension endings for almost 3 years! Maybe I could use it with him. It felt like busy work and a waste of time... but he'd probably enjoy it anyway and it's independent... GSWL is still a possibility. I tried it with my older ds when he was in 2nd or 3rd grade, and it was too hard for him after 20-30 lessons, but this ds has more grammar experience and is better with language. Sooo... any opinions on Latina Christiana? Does it do a good job teaching the grammar of Latin? Is it engaging? Is the amount of writing appropriate for a 9yo? Should I just forget it and print out a chapter of LL for him to try? I'd really like to get him into the MP First Form/Second Form series when he's older, and I'm wondering if LC will help us reach that goal without killing his love of learning Latin.

I planned on using Latina Christian I because we've enjoyed our past year with Prima Latina. But I was just looking at their schedule and it looks like I may need to transition to First Form. However, I'm confused because my boys are split. It lists: Latina Christian I : grades 3-6 - just right for my youngest (4th) but too young for my oldest (7th). First Form, it suggests grades 5-12, possibly too advanced for my youngest?? My hunch is to go with LC which will not be very challenging for my oldest. Has anyone used LC I with a 13yo? Or maybe to go with FF but simplify it for my younger son. Has anyone used First Form with a 9yo? Backstory: We used Prima Latina 2 years ago when they were ages 7 & 10. They liked it at first but grew to dread it. The large vocab list plus chants was too much to fit in each week. Plus they thought it was really dry. The LC has been more fun, I think, bc they are familiar with all the prayers. I do still have the Prima Latina books, though, and could probably go back and pick them up where we stopped - around lesson 11, I think. I guess my main concern is not turning off my oldest to Latin too much (with Prima Latina) but also not expecting too little of him (with Latina Christiana I.) Is LC I sufficient or too little? And since I'm re-thinking Latin, I may as well look at the Big Book of Lively Latin which I've not yet considered. Another thought just occurred to me. Since we already own the Prima Latina books, I guess we could slow it down to LC pace: half the vocab words and 2 weeks to cover a chant. However, the prayers really are fun. We go to a very small, but very old-school Anglican church, and they enjoy knowing the prayers in Latin or at least being able to transcribe them in my ear. Plus I like the accompanying Copybooks. Perhaps my goals for Latin should be re-considered. My goal is not really that they become fluent in Latin but that 1) taking the SAT/ACT test will be easier with a solid Latin background (I once taught SAT tests to juniors and seniors) and 2) learning a second language will come easier with the Latin building blocks. So... I guess that means I'm looking for a Latin program that will be useful as building blocks to vocabulary/testing and for language acquisition. Oh and for context: My 12yo is also going through "Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek" and my youngest is reading simple books to me in Spanish and already has a bit of conversational Spanish down, since we lived in Mexico for a while. I liked the grammar reinforcement they got in Prima Latina. Whew, didn't mean to write so much. I wonder how much we figure out on our own by just asking the question. I seemed to have narrowed it down somewhat. But still, I'd love to hear from anyone else about your experience with these programs and/or with similar situations. Thanks!