butterfly113 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I am torn.... so I am asking... Which Latin program do you prefer for elementary. This will be for 4th grade. I am looking at the following... Prima Latina/Latina Christiana Latin for Children Lively Latin If you have used any of these, I would love to hear your experience. Were your ds thrilled, bored, etc. Were the lessons looooooooong, too short, just right? Why should I pick one over the other... are there any major differences? Thanks hive ladies! (and gents)! :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 :lurk5: I'd love to hear more on this subject, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyR Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 We've used Prima Latina and the lessons were just the perfect amount of time. I chose to use the DVD's since I had zero Latin experience. My girls enjoyed it and we actually finished this whole program. We will be going on to Latina Christiana pretty soon and am looking forward to it. I haven't tried the other Latin programs other then Song School Latin by the makers of Latin for Children. Other then that I am perfectly happy with the Latina Christiana series. I guess it just depends on what you are looking for. the LC series offers learning the Christian prayers in Latin along in the program. The LFC and Lively Latin do not. Price comparison wise (brandnew) Latina Christiana is less: It is $32.95 (without DVD) for Prima Latina, It is $90.90 with DVD included Latin for Children for Bundle A is 99.95 Lively Latin has three choices: PDF format which is $55 ( also think about the price of ink as you print out all of those pages too so its actually more then that.)they also offer more things such as free downloadable pronunciation, online games etc. CD version includes the 400 page book and access to online games for $75 for two cd's (again think about the ink that you will use to print out 400 pages. BIG Book- 400 page book ,, 2 CDs and access to online games for $125. That doesn't include shipping for the last two items either. Next the DVD's. Lively Latin does not have this feature. Latin for Children has a sample of their DVD. I've watched it several time and I like how the kids help along with the chants. BUT I don't like how fast they go, and I have a tough time getting "into" the LFC teacher. I believe ( I maybe wrong) but the LFC DVD teaches Classical Pronuncation even though they have an Ecclesiastical chant CD. I maybe wrong about that but I don't see an optional Ecclesiastical DVD. With hearing both Classical and Ecclesiastical I prefer the sound of Ecclesiastical( more Italian) then I do Classical. Not sure why. That's just me. With that said we use Song School Latin by the makers of LFC and I do very much like this course. I just can't seem to get into their upper level programs for some reason. I don't seem to see a sample of the PL/LC DVD's. But we are happy with these and the chant CD. The chants work at a very reasonable rate. My daughters don't have any problems following along. The magistra(teacher) teaches at a rate we can all follow and doesn't speak over their heads. So far the program has worked really well with my daughters so we're sticking with it. PL/LC uses the Ecclesiastical pronunciation and teaches prayers.Which is something you can do or not its up to you and it won't affect the program in any which way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I am torn.... so I am asking... Which Latin program do you prefer for elementary. This will be for 4th grade. I am looking at the following... Prima Latina/Latina Christiana Latin for Children Lively Latin We tried Prima Latina and found it boring. We are enjoying Lively Latin. My dc look forward to Latin, and I am learning along with them. We just practice the vocab flashcards and do the next thing (I don't have to tweak LL). We listen to the audio pronunciations and like the sound of the magistra's voice. We haven't tried LfC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillieBoy Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Next the DVD's. Lively Latin does not have this feature. Latin for Children has a sample of their DVD. I've watched it several time and I like how the kids help along with the chants. BUT I don't like how fast they go, and I have a tough time getting "into" the LFC teacher. I believe ( I maybe wrong) but the LFC DVD teaches Classical Pronuncation even though they have an Ecclesiastical chant CD. I maybe wrong about that but I don't see an optional Ecclesiastical DVD. With hearing both Classical and Ecclesiastical I prefer the sound of Ecclesiastical( more Italian) then I do Classical. Not sure why. That's just me. With that said we use Song School Latin by the makers of LFC and I do very much like this course. I just can't seem to get into their upper level programs for some reason. I think your choice depends on your goals for Latin. Are you interested in learning Latin for better understanding of the English language and vocabulary or are you planning to go all the way and hope for fluent reading and translation? We are using Latin for Children and are enjoying it. Yes, it does move fast, but there is no reason in the Grammar stages you can't slow it down. Yes, it does give out more vocabulary than other programs. It is what they call a "reading" driven program. It does offer classical and ecclesiastical pronounciation on the DVD and the CD's. I learned ecclesiastical in high school but the majority of classical studies at a university level uses classical. I would say that classical is a bit more useful for law and medicine studies as well. Overall we are very happy with LFC. I understand some people using Lively Latin supplement with a "reading" type program like Lingua Latina or Ecce Romani. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbie Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 We tried Prima Latina and found it boring. We are enjoying Lively Latin. My dc look forward to Latin, and I am learning along with them. We just practice the vocab flashcards and do the next thing (I don't have to tweak LL). We listen to the audio pronunciations and like the sound of the magistra's voice. We haven't tried LfC. :iagree: Prima Latina is great, but we were bored. I just ordered LL this weekend. It looks great. I'm anxious to get started. Prima Latina is pretty much the same thing every day. LL seems much more varied. Roman history is also included and even some art history/appreciation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbalgirl Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Can someone also give a run down of what pronounciation each program uses? My mind is swimming as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbie Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 From what I know : Prima Latina & Latina Christiana are ecclesiastical Lively Latin and Latin for Children offer both classical and ecclisiastical I'm sure someone here can tell you about other programs. Good luck! I was just struggling with this same decision a few days ago. I was torn between LfC and LL. They both look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatMomof3 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Latin for Children has a sample of their DVD. I've watched it several time and I like how the kids help along with the chants. I just listened to this and my 1 year old was dancing to it. It was a "little" fast.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.W Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Can someone also give a run down of what pronounciation each program uses? My mind is swimming as well! Here is a helpful chart: http://www.homeschoolchristian.com/curricula/reviews/latincomparison.php BTW, I'm a big fan of LFC. You can read about our experience here: http://bluehouseacademy.blogspot.com/2008/09/latin-for-children.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbalgirl Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Thank you, Kellie! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjarnold Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I am torn.... so I am asking... Which Latin program do you prefer for elementary. This will be for 4th grade. I am looking at the following... Prima Latina/Latina Christiana Latin for Children Lively Latin If you have used any of these, I would love to hear your experience. Were your ds thrilled, bored, etc. Were the lessons looooooooong, too short, just right? Why should I pick one over the other... are there any major differences? Thanks hive ladies! (and gents)! :bigear: We've used Prima Latina, Latina Christiana, and Latin for Children. Prima Latina was fine because the pace was slow and my kids were fairly young (1st or 2nd grade if I remember correctly). My son found Latina Christiana boring -- especially the DVDs. Latin for Children has been great. The DVDs are very engaging to my kids -- they love the slapstick humor. Sorry, I have to run. My husband just called from Alaska. Let me know if you have other questions. Tiffany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I used Prima Latina, Latina Christiana I and II. We will go into Henle in the fall. I did not know that it was boring. I don't do the DVDs. I just teach it with the CD. Both my sons enjoy it. In fact, my younger son says that Latin is his favorite subject thanks to Prima Latina. It is much more simple than Latina Christiana. They get more difficult, but we do it slowly and in pieces. My sons truly like Latin. I wanted to drop it to start them on Spanish, but they desire to continue. We agreed to only 2 days of Latin and 3 days of Spanish. I will do Henle with my older son and Latina Christiana I with my younger one in the fall. I guess I am missing something.:confused: I have gone through Prima Latina and now Latina Christiana, what makes them boring?:bored: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbie Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 OK, I've gotten more familiar with LL. I have found some glitches, trouble with downloads, mpg files, etc.. I have printed out 80 fo the 400 pages. I plan on keeping that color set and copying just the exercises for the girls. Then, I can use it again for my younger set and use less color ink. I still like LL better than Prima Latina. There is no DVD, but one of my kids really doesn't like the dvd thing. Also, it looked to me that LfC was more advanced or at least started out that way. My 3rd grader just turned 8 and is barely ready for 3rd grade stuff. I wanted latin to be fun and easy. I want my 8 and 10 yr old to be able to study together and quiz eachother with flashcards. LL can do that. I also appreciated the art appreciation and the history. We have already studied Roman history through SOTW, but they have forgotten alot and LL goes into much more depth. I think LfC would have been my choice if my kids were 3rd - 5th and I didn't have others. I have quite a range and 2 more coming up that way. I figured a PDF was a great way to go fo me, financially. If I didn't have to worry about that, I would probably go with LfC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjarnold Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I guess I am missing something.:confused: I have gone through Prima Latina and now Latina Christiana, what makes them boring?:bored: That is great that your family has done so well with Prima Latina and Latina Christiana! I think it was mostly the DVDs that my son found dull, and then when we tried LFC, there was so much more variety in the activities ... I don't think you're missing anything. :) If you've found something that works for you, that's fantastic. My son really loves Latin too. Isn't it rewarding to see a child love to learn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterfly113 Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 WOW! Thanks Ladies for the great information! This has put a few things into perspective for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 The Latin programs we have tried to learn Latin with... Prima Latina: Used when my youngest ds was in 3rd. Liked it, but it kept being pushed to the back burner. Sold it. Latin Christiana: Middle ds used this. He found it boring and it did not inspire a desire to learn Latin. He only completed LCI and decided Latin was not his thing. Latin Road to English Grammar: Disliked by my two older boys and myself. I could go into more detail, but I have on other occasions, so if you want more info do a search. ;) Latin for Children: Used this past year with youngest ds. It started out well, he enjoyed his lessons, learned his chants, and then he got stuck around chapter 6/7. He wanted more info, more of the whys to help him understand. LfC didn't offer more whys, and I surely didn't know the answers as I know next to nothing about Latin. So we dropped it for a bit to try a book I found on Amazon. He used that for a bit and we then jumped back into LfC. My personal opinion is that LfC moves waaaaaaay too fast, and yes, we had all the extras to go with it. After several starts and stops last year with LfC we bought Lively Latin to finish out the year. Lively Latin: It's fun, colorful, and doesn't seem to move as quickly as LfC. My ds enjoyed it for the brief period of time he used it. I did experience problems with the online vocab (MP3s) some days they would load fine, other days only half the list would load. It was rather frustrating. Personally, I would purchase the book and CD instead of the online version. The only reason I did not do so was because I didn't have the money and wasn't sure it's what we wanted anyhow. And it wasn't. This coming year we will be using The Great Latin Adventure I & II. It's is written for 4th and up and is more of a Latin grammar program than a chant program. This is what my ds wants and needs. He needs to know the whys and this program seems to give those. ;) I am hoping for the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtolgd Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 .This coming year we will be using The Great Latin Adventure I & II. It's is written for 4th and up and is more of a Latin grammar program than a chant program. This is what my ds wants and needs. He needs to know the whys and this program seems to give those. ;) I am hoping for the best! This is what my upcoming 4th grader will be using this year also (along with my 2nd grader doing vocab from it). It looks great, but we have not started it yet so I can't give a review of it. It's worth taking a look at. My other top choice was Lively Latin, but I opted for GLA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.