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Latin for me


Dinsfamily
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because it wasn't all in one book - The First Year Latin Book and the Latin Grammar - the books are small which I like but the pages don't stay open, flat which was a bother. I didn't care for the audio of Henle and that I had to make my own flash cards. I sold my 2 sets of Henle, MP & MODG syllabuses. If I were to do it again, I would try First Form because I thought LCI & II were very well done. I liked everything about LC except for the dvd instruction - too slow- but it was targeted for younger dc.

Edited by MIch elle
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I feel like I'm crazy for considering the same, but wouldn't it be fun if a few of us on the boards did so? My older children are about to move on with a tutor for their living language. So, my thought was if I start studying Latin now I could move my younger chlidren forward with Latin (maybe begin next year w/them). I like the idea of using First Form (over Henle) because I would then have it on hand for my children. If we choose this direction, it sounds like we will be the guinea pigs for the program as it is quite new.

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I feel like I'm crazy for considering the same, but wouldn't it be fun if a few of us on the boards did so? My older children are about to move on with a tutor for their living language. So, my thought was if I start studying Latin now I could move my younger chlidren forward with Latin (maybe begin next year w/them). I like the idea of using First Form (over Henle) because I would then have it on hand for my children. If we choose this direction, it sounds like we will be the guinea pigs for the program as it is quite new.

 

That is what's holding me back too. I wonder how many revisions it will go through before I start using it in 4-5 years. However, Cheryl Lowe has written a few Latin curricula, so I imagine she's got the process down. It would be fun to have a group going through it at the same time, huh? Would it be weird to ask for it as a Christmas present?

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I churned and churned about what to use for myself. (I think I bought MIch elle's Henle set?! :) I bought Latin Book I. I have Minimus, Song School Latin, Latin Primer, and others I can't remember. )

 

I finally decided to "rip the bandaids off" as abbeyej would say :) and just get it done. I signed up for VP's Latin in a Week course, bought the Wheelock's text & pre-printed flashcards, and DID it! I got through about 13 chapters of Wheelock's on my own before the class started, which helped. (Amazing what I can do with a deadline ahead!) The class went through the entire book. It's obviously too fast a pace to learn the vocab, but it's perfect for getting an overview of Latin grammar. Now, I'm going back through it slowly, redoing the exercises, trying to get all that vocab down, etc.

 

If I hadn't bitten the bullet, paid the money, and just done the LiaW class, I am sure I'd still be sitting here "thinking about" it and investigating all the different curriculum options. Thinking and investigating was much easier than actually doing it, but in the end, doing it was much, much more satisfying !

 

So there's my advice: Don't overthink it. You'll never find the ONE PERFECT curriculum because there isn't one. Start _anywhere_ and just do it. If you need accountability like I did, sign up for an online class.

 

yvonne

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I churned and churned about what to use for myself. (I think I bought MIch elle's Henle set?! :) I bought Latin Book I. I have Minimus, Song School Latin, Latin Primer, and others I can't remember. )

 

I finally decided to "rip the bandaids off" as abbeyej would say :) and just get it done. I signed up for VP's Latin in a Week course, bought the Wheelock's text & pre-printed flashcards, and DID it! I got through about 13 chapters of Wheelock's on my own before the class started, which helped. (Amazing what I can do with a deadline ahead!) The class went through the entire book. It's obviously too fast a pace to learn the vocab, but it's perfect for getting an overview of Latin grammar. Now, I'm going back through it slowly, redoing the exercises, trying to get all that vocab down, etc.

 

If I hadn't bitten the bullet, paid the money, and just done the LiaW class, I am sure I'd still be sitting here "thinking about" it and investigating all the different curriculum options. Thinking and investigating was much easier than actually doing it, but in the end, doing it was much, much more satisfying !

 

So there's my advice: Don't overthink it. You'll never find the ONE PERFECT curriculum because there isn't one. Start _anywhere_ and just do it. If you need accountability like I did, sign up for an online class.

 

yvonne

 

Thanks for the great advice!! I know that I'll do it once I have the curriculum in hand, but I definitely overthink things. I think I'll just search for Henle used and if it doesn't work, I'll buy First Form.

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Thanks for the great advice!! I know that I'll do it once I have the curriculum in hand, but I definitely overthink things. I think I'll just search for Henle used and if it doesn't work, I'll buy First Form.

 

I went ahead and purchased First Form. Let me know if you decide to do the same. :)

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because it wasn't all in one book - The First Year Latin Book and the Latin Grammar - the books are small which I like but the pages don't stay open, flat which was a bother. I didn't care for the audio of Henle and that I had to make my own flash cards. I sold my 2 sets of Henle, MP & MODG syllabuses. If I were to do it again, I would try First Form because I thought LCI & II were very well done. I liked everything about LC except for the dvd instruction - too slow- but it was targeted for younger dc.

 

:iagree:This is exactly how I have felt using Henle I to teach myself Latin. :smash: It works, in a way, but it is a bit cumbersome. I know that some HSers use it with 5th graders, but I don't think the format is the best for any level, especially beginners. The new vocabulary is scattered all over the chapter, the length of the lessons is not consistent, his explanations are not always clear enough for me (unless you already know grammar), and there are too many abbreviations for a beginner.

 

The books do NOT stay open. You do have to flip from the textbook to the grammar to the answer key -- and the answer key does NOT have all the answers! Yes, I know they are technically in the grammar, but this part drives me nuts. I'm used to it more, now, though, but for the sake of a self-teaching beginner's confidence, I think an answer key should actually be one. You also have to WRITE OUT all the exercises, unless you want to have only the answers in your notebook! Since there is no student workbook, I have typed all the exercises (so far) into Word documents, left spaces for the answers, and printed them out. That's a lot of work to do before I even get to the learning of Latin.

 

My other little pet peeve with Henle is that "The Romans conquered the Gauls" and "The Romans conquered the Gauls" and "The Romans conquered the Gauls" gets a bit, um, redundant after a while. ;) In the good brother's defense, though, he did put himself and his teaching into the book. I often think that there's not much to the lesson before he dumps on the copious exercises, but that's the way Henle does Latin! Tough, but effective, I suppose..... Although I'm not sure how grounded I really am. It's hard to say, since I'm the student and the teacher.

 

If I could afford to get FFL 1, I would do it, though. From what I've read, Cheryl Lowe has lived, eaten, and breathed Latin for decades now. She's taught it -- and studied the teaching of it -- to the point of knowing what we really need to do to master it. I think she still understands and cares about the struggles of the beginning student, including parents. I have used her guide to "get through" the first parts of Henle, and I've read everything I can find that she has written about learning Latin. [Thank you, Cheryl Lowe, for all that work!] If I could afford it this year, I'd get FFL1, even though it might be some review -- I'd love to see what she's put into it, KWIM? Because even as I'm teaching myself Latin, I'm thinking about how to (eventually) teach it to my daughters.... Hmmm..... HTH.

Edited by Sahamamama
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Henle was originally written in the mid-20th century for use in a highly selective, competitive Jesuit high school environment. The teachers in this environment would have known Latin very well. The separate grammar reference means that students would have the same grammar book throughout the course, as there are four volumes in the series. The last two volumes primarily contain readings and so having the separate grammar reference meant that students using this course would still have a book to look up forms and syntax in. For those of you who like sentence diagrams, the grammar reference has great examples.

 

Many Latin textbooks have chapters that are longer than others, because some grammatical concepts need more time and more practice.

 

The older hardcover editions stay open.

 

The redundancy of the exercises is characteristic of many grammar-based textbooks. Authors of reading-based textbooks generally tend to work toward making the exercises less dull and repetitive. (Ecce Romani's Language Activity Books are a good example of well-written exercises. Traupman's Lingua Latina also has excellent exercises, contained in the textbook itself. Latin Prep is a grammar-based book, but does a excellent job of including lots of exercises that relate to the readings.)

Edited by latinteach
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