Help! Need advice on Latin curriculum

[tvaleri]

In a nutshell, I have a dd, almost 15, rising sophomore who needs a foreign language. With her input, we've decided on Latin. Wow! Who knew there were that many Latin programs out there?

 

She's had no foreign language. We're going to begin Tapestry of Grace, Year 3, rhetoric level. Any suggestions, please?

 

One more thought...I have no Latin experience. Also have a rising 7th grade boy and 5th grade boy with whom I hope to begin Latin as well.

 

Thank you in advance,

Teresa in NC

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

Artes Latinnae on CD is great. I've used it with my two oldest. I know several other homeschool families that have done great with AL. SWB recommended it in the first edition of WTM before it was computerized. I "think" the main reason she dropped it was because the old format was a bit "clunky" for parents to assign. But, now that it is on CDs, it is basically self-teaching.

[Quiver0f10]

You could do Henle with everyone. The 5th grader might need some more time/review but I am hoping it's doable because that's my plan this year too! :D Except with ages 15, 13 and 11.

[LizzyBee]

I really like Latin Book One, an older OOP text. You can access the lessons, answer keys, and voice files here for free:

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Latinbk1/

[Okie]

Wheelock is very complete. For a beginning Latin credit you would only need to do the first half of the book (as stated in the book's intro), which gives you approx. 2 weeks per lesson). The youngers could do this as well, with less written work maybe. There is tons of online help for Wheelock.

 

Incidentally, we are using Wheelock this year as Latin 2 and will be doing the entire book, as well as finishing Cambridge unit 2 (at least that is my plan:tongue_smilie:). Dd15 has also had 2 easy years of middle school Latin using Latina Christiana 1, Cambridge Latin 1 and 2, and Latin Alive! 1.

[Hoggirl]

Wheelock is very complete. For a beginning Latin credit you would only need to do the first half of the book (as stated in the book's intro), which gives you approx. 2 weeks per lesson). The youngers could do this as well, with less written work maybe. There is tons of online help for Wheelock.

 

Incidentally, we are using Wheelock this year as Latin 2 and will be doing the entire book, as well as finishing Cambridge unit 2 (at least that is my plan:tongue_smilie:). Dd15 has also had 2 easy years of middle school Latin using Latina Christiana 1, Cambridge Latin 1 and 2, and Latin Alive! 1.

 

How much time do you plan to spend per day to get through the entire Wheelock's book? We are switching over this year having done PL, LCI, LCII, LitCT Volume I, and half of LitCT Volume II. It seems like we should be able to speed through the beginning, though it does seem to be presented in a different enough way to keep ds interested. I would love to be doing Latin only, but ds insists on throwing in some Spanish. I think we are only going to have three hours per week for Latin.

[Okie]

How much time do you plan to spend per day to get through the entire Wheelock's book? We are switching over this year having done PL, LCI, LCII, LitCT Volume I, and half of LitCT Volume II. It seems like we should be able to speed through the beginning, though it does seem to be presented in a different enough way to keep ds interested. I would love to be doing Latin only, but ds insists on throwing in some Spanish. I think we are only going to have three hours per week for Latin.

I'm planning an hour a day. At first we will go through as whatever pace she can handle (since there will be a lot of previously learned material), then when we reach new material, slow down. That is lecture time, oral review time, and independent workbook time.

 

We don't mix languages, just too mind boggling for the teacher:001_huh:. We did Elementary Greek 1 this summer (just finishing up). She will do Spanish at the local cc for her 11th and 12th grade years.

[latinteach]

In a nutshell, I have a dd, almost 15, rising sophomore who needs a foreign language. With her input, we've decided on Latin. Wow! Who knew there were that many Latin programs out there?

 

She's had no foreign language. We're going to begin Tapestry of Grace, Year 3, rhetoric level. Any suggestions, please?

 

One more thought...I have no Latin experience. Also have a rising 7th grade boy and 5th grade boy with whom I hope to begin Latin as well.

 

 

You do have lots of choices. Latin is having a real renaissance. You might consider Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata or Latin for the New Millennium. Cambridge, Ecce, and Oxford are also good programs. Wheelock's is great, definitely geared toward college, but lots of people use it at the middle and high school level. Lively Latin Books 1 and 2 would cover a full year of high school Latin, but I think that the second volume is still in production.

 

I like Lingua Latina because it teaches both reading skills and grammar very well, but you'll probably want the College Companion to accompany it. The publisher recently added an online component (audio and exercises) that is inexpensive: about $15/year.

 

Latin for the New Millennium is chronological and students see the place of Latin in the history of the Western world over the past 2000 years. It covers grammar well and it also has very interesting readings. it has great online support.

[Alphabetika]

My dd loves Wheelock's, but she takes the class online, so it's easy for me for say that! :tongue_smilie: Seriously, though, she is heading into her 2nd year, whcih will encompass the 2nd half of the book, and she is thrilled with Wheelock's format. As for time she spends, last year, during which she did the first half of the book, she spent 8-10 hours a week on Latin, including her one-hour class each week. Some weeks more, some less, depending on how much material was covered.