Year 3 Latin

[Adrianne]

Next year we will be ready for Latin Primer 3 by Martha Wilson. We have completed level1 and are now in level 2. We are happy with this program and ds9 has had great success with it.

 

Has anyone gone on to level 3? Can you offer any advice or share your experiences?

I plan on purchasing the DVDs (as I have the first 2 years).

 

Also, if you have switched from Primer 2 to another program what did you use instead?

 

TIA!

[Adrianne]

Anyone?

[Suzannah]

We used Latin Primer 1 and 2 (with DVDs) for 3rd and 4th grade and were really happy with it. By the end of 2 I was beginning to feel as though DS was moving beyond me. As it happens we have a friend who teaches Latin in public schools and she offered to tutor 5th grade DS along with her 7th grade daughter in exchange for piano lessons for her daughter by me. So who am I to argue with essentially free Latin instruction by a well-qualified teacher? She had initially said she would use Ecce Romani which is her preferred text for middle grades, but then decided to use Cambridge, her preferred high school text since it's what the school she teaches at was using. Cambridge has a story line and I thought that would be appealing to DS after the bare bones approach of LP. DS claims he liked the plain black and white, no pictures, no frills of LP. He says Cambridge is more difficult. It is a higher level but I listen in on most lessons and most of the vocabulary and endings were covered last year. There are, of course, other reasons that he might say that.

 

1. He only meets with the teacher once a week. During the rest of the week he usually has an assignment and I've been trying to review the chants that he had down so well last year. But it just isn't quite frequent enough for good retention.

 

 

2. He is 10 and has lately become a little disagreeable about most things, math, chores, etc. Sometimes I think he doesn't have a very clear understanding of what is expected of most kids and thinks that I'm giving him too much.

 

 

3. He may be uncomfortable being in a class of two. He's used to one-on-one instruction. And he's done co-op classes with several kids, as well as Bible classes and Cub Scouts. But with two, there's the pressure of one-on-one but also the pressure of not wanting to look stupid in front of the other student.

 

Anyway, I'm currently trying to decide whether to do Latin Primer 3 next year, ask my friend to continue tutoring or try a different program. :confused:

[Adrianne]

He is 10 and has lately become a little disagreeable about most things, math, chores, etc. Sometimes I think he doesn't have a very clear understanding of what is expected of most kids and thinks that I'm giving him too much.

 

It sounds like our sons are similar! My ds9 feels the same way about those things too! Fortunately, he likes Latin and hardly complains about it. Now math is another story.......

 

Your post has helped me. My son also likes the approach of LP and the way Ms. Julie instructs. (we use the DVDs). My thoughts are if I use the DVD for 3, I can learn along with him and help him figure it out. If we switch, it might become confusing or he may dislike it.

 

I guess like the old adage goes, if it isn't broken, don't fix it!

 

Thanks again!

[DawnUK]

We are using Latin Primer III this year, and feel very successful with it. It's much the same as the other levels, except there is more translations and we are learning the uses for the other cases. I guess that if you are already using it don't have too much advice, except over-learn the vocabulary. It makes it so much easier. We still regularly go back and drill the flashcards from the previous two years. I plan to move on to Latin Grammar next year along side a latin text to actively work on translating.

 

--Dawn

[DawnUK]

One more thing. The DVD's are definitely more valuable this year. She explains things that I don't seem to be able to find in the TM. I wouldn't enjoy the program nearly as much if I didn't have the DVD's. We don't use them for every lesson, but I feel more confident knowing that they are on my shelf!

 

--Dawn