Is there such a thing as a *fun* Latin program?

[Annie Laurie]

I've been leaning toward Latin for Children because I could really use the hand holding. But I watched a video sample and the instructor seemed rather boring. I can't see my son paying attention to that at all.

[Ravin]

If he's in 1st or 2nd grade, Song School Latin is an option. It's lots of fun. We plan on using Lively Latin next; it looks reasonably fun, and is written for homeschoolers, no expectation of the parent-teacher knowing the language.

[Annie Laurie]

He's in 3rd but he's the kind of kid who would rather be playing with Snap Circuits or designing something with K'nex. Sitting in front of a boring video will probably lead to him tuning it out.

 

It seems like a lot of people like Lively Latin. I just wish it had a dvd.

[Rosie_0801]

It seems like a lot of people like Lively Latin. I just wish it had a dvd.

 

Not being snarky, heck my kids aren't even kinder aged yet, but why would you want a dvd of a spoken/written language? I mean, how is a dvd going to present that? Filming the instructor writing on a whiteboard? Can you tell I've never studied another spoken language? :001_huh: I've used plenty of videos when studying Auslan, but that's a whole other ball game.

 

Minimus has a set of picture books that can be bought to accompany the workbook and cd. Would that help? It's aimed at grade 1/2 kids, but I'm sure it would be fine for a grade 3 beginner. (I have seen it, but not used it myself. I plan to use it with my munchkins so bought it while Dh was on his Latin kick.)

 

Rosie

[Annie Laurie]

Not being snarky, heck my kids aren't even kinder aged yet, but why would you want a dvd of a spoken/written language? I mean, how is a dvd going to present that? Filming the instructor writing on a whiteboard? Can you tell I've never studied another spoken language? :001_huh: I've used plenty of videos when studying Auslan, but that's a whole other ball game.

 

Minimus has a set of picture books that can be bought to accompany the workbook and cd. Would that help? It's aimed at grade 1/2 kids, but I'm sure it would be fine for a grade 3 beginner. (I have seen it, but not used it myself. I plan to use it with my munchkins so bought it while Dh was on his Latin kick.)

 

Rosie

 

I want a dvd because I am terrible at languages, so basically, someone else would be teaching it. You hit the nail on the head though- Latin for Children does show an instructor writing on a white board. :lol: So maybe the question is- yes, it's boring, but what else do you expect from a Latin dvd?

 

For things like Spanish, I really, really need to hear proper pronunciation. Since Latin is a dead language, I suppose that comes less into play.

 

Minimus is a thought, I think I was afraid it would lack hand holding as well.

 

ETA: I had to go hush a loudly meowing cat but wanted to come back to comment that I do know a dvd can't really be the teacher and that it would require my involvement no matter what. I want to learn it myself, so that's fine with me, I just want the reassurance of someone else leading us through, then I will follow up with drill/review, worksheets that we need to do, etc.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Annie Laurie

[Rosie_0801]

Why are you terrible at languages? Answer that, and you'll probably solve your problem. In my case, I am a parts to whole learner when it comes to languages, and most courses seem to teach whole to parts. I also know close to nothing about English grammar so telling me to stick a y on the end to change it from dative to genitive case means a big fat nothing to me. Auslan I learned with little difficulty, because it was taught parts to whole and English grammar has little in common. No tenses, no genders to worry about, flexible word order and a bunch of visual grammatical strategies that are pretty easy to understand when you are looking right at them, even if you don't remember to use them ;)

 

Perhaps you are similar? If you can work out how you would learn best, you can set about teaching yourself. My plan is to work through Analytical Grammar before tackling Latin. Of course my kiddies are tots so I have time for that :) I would learn a spoken language best by being given the word order and root words, then worrying about appropriate suffixes later. But that's me...

 

So maybe the question is- yes, it's boring, but what else do you expect from a Latin dvd?

 

A cartoon? I'd love Minimus cartoons! Usually cartoons annoy the daylights out of me, but if it was in Latin, it'd be cute!

 

Rosie

Edited November 19, 2009 by Rosie_0801

[elegantlion]

We chose Latin for Children after reading nearly every post about Latin on this board. It was described as fun more often than the others. My son would also rather play but he enjoys LFC, we are primer B.

 

I also needed the DVD. I had no desire to butcher the pronunciation of classical Latin. I learn a language best if I can hear it spoken. I was learning along side him when we started so I needed the help too. I also wanted my son to learn how to pay attention to someone else as a teacher, even if it was just a DVD.

 

I'm not sure what skits on are the Primer A video, but primer B has a running skit called "Supra Vir" and it's goofy and hilarious. My ds will watch ahead just to watch the skit.

 

We also only use the DVD on Monday. He takes us through the vocabulary, the grammar and it was nice to have a video version of those concepts for my own benefit. Most of the time it is less than 15 minutes of DVD time. On the other days we work through the audio CD (some weeks we don't use it, if I feel I've gotten the pronunciation down) and we've inserted a lot of fun into our Latin.

 

Last year we marched around the house, ala military style, while we did our chants. DS even grabbed his favorite toy guns for us to use.

 

There are pros and cons to many Latin programs and it was our most difficult decision last year. I glad we chose LfC, it really works for us.

[angela in ohio]

Make your own.

 

Here is what would prepare a child really, really well for higher levels of Latin:

 

 

 

• 5 noun declensions
  
• 4 verb conjugations
  
• list of nouns (most programs use the same words: boy, girl, sailor, field, woman, horse, farmer, etc.)
  
• list of verbs (ditto)
  
• list of commonly used adverbs and prepositions (the words for to, after, in, etc.)
  

 

 

You can buy yourself a Latin grammar or find one online. Or you could get Latin for Dummies, which is helpful for parents learning Latin. :001_smile: Read about Latin until you understand how to decline a noun (and what that even means,) how to conjugate a verb, and some basics of how to put sentences together.

 

Then find fun ways to drill the above list. You could play games every day for Latin. The first step in learning anything is to learn the grammar of it (the facts,) and once you have those facts you can move on to deeper understanding. You could spend a year or two doing memory work, without having to spend any money, and end up with a child who is far ahead of dc who have been using a formal program.

 

I can give you more specific ideas if you are interested.

[Faithr]

Latin for Children is fun! Even the boring presenter! He's like a dad gently explaining something to his kids. He actually makes little gentle quips now and then and he is sandwiched between the kids chanting the vocabulary and usually a funny puppet show or video of kids doing something. My 10 and 8 yo's love the dvds.

 

I've been through many a Latin program (though not Lively Latin or Latin Prep) and I haven't found anything funner (tongue in cheek!). Also I haven't found any other program that holds your hand so tightly. You just pop in the dvd and open the workbook. That's all the planning you need do. You can learn right alongside your child.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Faithr
misspelling

[EKS]

We're doing well with Lively Latin.

[Susie in CA]

Angela,

 

I would be interested in more infor in your latin studies. Could you pm me. Thank you so much in advance.

 

Susie

[mrsrevmeg]

My kids love LfC. The instructor is a little on the nerdy side, but so are we in our house. :biggrinjester: My first grader watches the videos with his brothers. I was not planning on him doing LfC until third grade, but we might go ahead and do it next year, since he already knows alot of it. They have goofy little segments of outtakes and a continuing story called How the West Was Unus that keep them paying attention.

[Haiku]

We have not started Latin yet, so take my words with the proverbial grain, but I have looked extensively (far too extensively, into the "driving myself nuts" arena) into Latin curricula for young kids. Next year, my then-third grader will start Latin for Children. I showed my dd samples, asked around, watched sample videos, listened to chant cds and files, and concluded that LfC would be the best combination of rigorous AND fun. Oh, and my dd is definitely nerdy, so she should like the LfC instructor just fine!

 

Tara

[Verity]

We chose Latin for Children after reading nearly every post about Latin on this board. It was described as fun more often than the others. My son would also rather play but he enjoys LFC, we are primer B.

 

I also needed the DVD. I had no desire to butcher the pronunciation of classical Latin. I learn a language best if I can hear it spoken. I was learning along side him when we started so I needed the help too. I also wanted my son to learn how to pay attention to someone else as a teacher, even if it was just a DVD.

 

I'm not sure what skits on are the Primer A video, but primer B has a running skit called "Supra Vir" and it's goofy and hilarious. My ds will watch ahead just to watch the skit.

 

We also only use the DVD on Monday. He takes us through the vocabulary, the grammar and it was nice to have a video version of those concepts for my own benefit. Most of the time it is less than 15 minutes of DVD time. On the other days we work through the audio CD (some weeks we don't use it, if I feel I've gotten the pronunciation down) and we've inserted a lot of fun into our Latin.

 

Last year we marched around the house, ala military style, while we did our chants. DS even grabbed his favorite toy guns for us to use.

 

There are pros and cons to many Latin programs and it was our most difficult decision last year. I glad we chose LfC, it really works for us.

 

:iagree: We have had much the same experience. This is our first year on Latin and we are on Primer A. We watch the DVD together on Monday, Primer A has an ongoing skit called "How the West was Unus" and my 11 year old thinks it's funny and really looks forward to it. Some of the chants with the real students aren't perfect but, heck, they look and act like real kids so at least you can relate to them. The teacher does write on a white board but I think he is pleasant and engaging and best of all the lessons are really quite short. I couldn't watch him talk for half an hour but usually it's less than 10 minutes and the white board at least gives a visual and he explains cases. I'm not a grammar or language pro so I'm grateful to have someone else explain it.

[Verity]

We have not started Latin yet, so take my words with the proverbial grain, but I have looked extensively (far too extensively, into the "driving myself nuts" arena) into Latin curricula for young kids. Next year, my then-third grader will start Latin for Children. I showed my dd samples, asked around, watched sample videos, listened to chant cds and files, and concluded that LfC would be the best combination of rigorous AND fun. Oh, and my dd is definitely nerdy, so she should like the LfC instructor just fine!

 

Tara

 

We are nerdy too, I actually think he's cute! :lol:

[Annie Laurie]

Why are you terrible at languages? Answer that, and you'll probably solve your problem. In my case, I am a parts to whole learner when it comes to languages, and most courses seem to teach whole to parts. I also know close to nothing about English grammar so telling me to stick a y on the end to change it from dative to genitive case means a big fat nothing to me. Auslan I learned with little difficulty, because it was taught parts to whole and English grammar has little in common. No tenses, no genders to worry about, flexible word order and a bunch of visual grammatical strategies that are pretty easy to understand when you are looking right at them, even if you don't remember to use them ;)

 

Perhaps you are similar? If you can work out how you would learn best, you can set about teaching yourself. My plan is to work through Analytical Grammar before tackling Latin. Of course my kiddies are tots so I have time for that :) I would learn a spoken language best by being given the word order and root words, then worrying about appropriate suffixes later. But that's me...

 

 

A cartoon? I'd love Minimus cartoons! Usually cartoons annoy the daylights out of me, but if it was in Latin, it'd be cute!

 

Rosie

 

Those are great questions Rosie, thank you. I'm going to think on that some more but lack of grammar knowledge is probably part of the problem.

[Annie Laurie]

I'm not sure what skits on are the Primer A video, but primer B has a running skit called "Supra Vir" and it's goofy and hilarious. My ds will watch ahead just to watch the skit.

 

We also only use the DVD on Monday. He takes us through the vocabulary, the grammar and it was nice to have a video version of those concepts for my own benefit. Most of the time it is less than 15 minutes of DVD time. On the other days we work through the audio CD (some weeks we don't use it, if I feel I've gotten the pronunciation down) and we've inserted a lot of fun into our Latin.

 

Last year we marched around the house, ala military style, while we did our chants. DS even grabbed his favorite toy guns for us to use.

 

 

 

The DVD is just the guy standing in front of a white board talking. I didn't know how that was going to work out, but my son actually begs to watch in all the time. The guy does a pretty good job explaining various points. Also the lessons start out with kids chanting vocabulary or declensions/conjugations/endings/etc. Even my 4 year old sits and watches the video!

 

 

 

Latin for Children is fun! Even the boring presenter! He's like a dad gently explaining something to his kids. He actually makes little gentle quips now and then and he is sandwiched between the kids chanting the vocabulary and usually a funny puppet show or video of kids doing something. My 10 and 8 yo's love the dvds.

 

I've been through many a Latin program (though not Lively Latin or Latin Prep) and I haven't found anything funner (tongue in cheek!). Also I haven't found any other program that holds your hand so tightly. You just pop in the dvd and open the workbook. That's all the planning you need do. You can learn right alongside your child.

 

My kids love LfC. The instructor is a little on the nerdy side, but so are we in our house. :biggrinjester: My first grader watches the videos with his brothers. I was not planning on him doing LfC until third grade, but we might go ahead and do it next year, since he already knows alot of it. They have goofy little segments of outtakes and a continuing story called How the West Was Unus that keep them paying attention.

 

Next year, my then-third grader will start Latin for Children. I showed my dd samples, asked around, watched sample videos, listened to chant cds and files, and concluded that LfC would be the best combination of rigorous AND fun. Oh, and my dd is definitely nerdy, so she should like the LfC instructor just fine!

 

Tara

 

:iagree: We have had much the same experience. This is our first year on Latin and we are on Primer A. We watch the DVD together on Monday, Primer A has an ongoing skit called "How the West was Unus" and my 11 year old thinks it's funny and really looks forward to it. Some of the chants with the real students aren't perfect but, heck, they look and act like real kids so at least you can relate to them. The teacher does write on a white board but I think he is pleasant and engaging and best of all the lessons are really quite short. I couldn't watch him talk for half an hour but usually it's less than 10 minutes and the white board at least gives a visual and he explains cases. I'm not a grammar or language pro so I'm grateful to have someone else explain it.

 

Wow! You're all making LfC sound like a blast and I'm rethinking my original impression. We're nerds too, so we don't need anything hip and glitzy, but I'm glad to know he doesn't drone on and it's not even a long video segment.

[Annie Laurie]

Make your own.

 

Here is what would prepare a child really, really well for higher levels of Latin:

 

 

 

• 5 noun declensions

• 4 verb conjugations

• list of nouns (most programs use the same words: boy, girl, sailor, field, woman, horse, farmer, etc.)

• list of verbs (ditto)

• list of commonly used adverbs and prepositions (the words for to, after, in, etc.)

 

You can buy yourself a Latin grammar or find one online. Or you could get Latin for Dummies, which is helpful for parents learning Latin. :001_smile: Read about Latin until you understand how to decline a noun (and what that even means,) how to conjugate a verb, and some basics of how to put sentences together.

 

Then find fun ways to drill the above list. You could play games every day for Latin. The first step in learning anything is to learn the grammar of it (the facts,) and once you have those facts you can move on to deeper understanding. You could spend a year or two doing memory work, without having to spend any money, and end up with a child who is far ahead of dc who have been using a formal program.

 

I can give you more specific ideas if you are interested.

 

Latin for Dummies sounds like a very good idea for me. I was originally going to buy myself a Latin program to learn with but they all feel so overwhelming to me.

 

This makes a lot of sense and I'd love to know more when you have time.

[Annie Laurie]

We're doing well with Lively Latin.

 

Here is the thing. LL is pretty much scripted. I read the lesson explanations straight from the book as written. They are very conversational and natural. They also explain things really well! You will be fine with LL.

 

For some reason, I had the impression when I looked at LL before that it would be something ds would like. But he also learns so quickly from anything visual, including videos. We are watching Elizabeth B's phonics videos for a review of rules and he remembers the rules after seeing them on the video once, and then he teaches them to me on the whiteboard later.

 

I'll have to look at everything again and ponder Angela's suggestion too. The most important thing for me, is keeping my younger kids together if I can, since we already struggle to fit everything in. They are 5, 7, and 9 right now and I'll probably wait until late summer to start when they are 6, 8, and nearly 10.

[Haiku]

Latin for Dummies sounds like a very good idea for me.

 

I give Latin for Dummies a big thumbs down. It doesn't take a classical approach at all, and I found that it was rather scattershot in how it presented things.

 

Tara

[Mommy22alyns]

IMinimus is a thought, I think I was afraid it would lack hand holding as well.

 

 

 

Minimus really lacks hand holding. I need way more than Minimus gives. I'm trying to "just" read the stories, but if I can't point to exactly what Becca's learning from it, I'm hard pressed to give it my time. :glare: I'm just treading water right now and hoping to go to LfC next year.

[ElizabethB]

For some reason, I had the impression when I looked at LL before that it would be something ds would like. But he also learns so quickly from anything visual, including videos. We are watching Elizabeth B's phonics videos for a review of rules and he remembers the rules after seeing them on the video once, and then he teaches them to me on the whiteboard later.

 

 

Wow! I don't remember a few of them after saying them 20 times!! Of course, I'm now in my 40's and I tell people only half jokingly that I lost 1/2 of my brain with each child and not all of it came back.

 

I memorize things with my daughter and she always gets them before me. She also memorizes both her own and her brother's bible verses, we were reviewing them in the car and she could remember his but I couldn't.

Edited November 20, 2009 by ElizabethB

[ElizabethB]

There are some good links on Don Potter's Latin page.

 

This book seems like a fun start, although we haven't added it in yet, we're doing Prima Latina with the help of the CD for me, that's working well so far. (Latin starts on page 94 of the linked book.)

 

First steps in Latin was one of the helpful books I read when I was self-educating in Latin before attempting to teach it, also a few books I got at the library and one I purchased after looking at all the Latin books at the largest nearby bookstore, "The Everything Learning Latin Book" by Richard E. Prior.

Edited November 20, 2009 by ElizabethB

[Heather in WI]

I wish they had used a better video clip on the LfC website. It really isn't boring. We are on our third year of the program and my ds has thrived with it.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I wish they had used a better video clip on the LfC website. It really isn't boring. We are on our third year of the program and my ds has thrived with it.

 

Do the worksheets offer enough practice and is there enough explanation of the english grammar for a student who may not have learned that much grammar in LFC?

[Heather in WI]

I'll take these separately.

 

Do the worksheets offer enough practice

 

We use only the Primer and it is enough for my son. We did use the Reader and Activity book the first year (A), but decided we didn't want to spend *that* much time every day on Latin. As it is now, we spend about 30 min each day reviewing vocabulary & completing the day's lesson. We test on Fridays.

 

and is there enough explanation of the english grammar for a student who may not have learned that much grammar in LFC?

 

I don't understand the question. My son hasn't had any trouble with the grammar. We've studied English grammar every year since first grade though.

 

 

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I'll take these separately.

 

To clarify, my ds is learning grammar as well but he is in 2nd grade, but is an advanced and quick learner. Consequently, I am wondering if the explanations are enough for a student who has not encountered every topic in grammar yet.

[stripe]

Couldn't you couple whatever program with reading Latin translations like "Winnie Ille Pu" and those Dr Seuss books in Latin, and even the Harry Potter volumes, if someone is really industrious. I just think "Green Eggs and Ham" in Latin just sounds more exciting than droning "Agricola,...." a la "Dead Poets Society."

[Heather in WI]

To clarify, my ds is learning grammar as well but he is in 2nd grade, but is an advanced and quick learner. Consequently, I am wondering if the explanations are enough for a student who has not encountered every topic in grammar yet.

 

Yes, they explain as they go along. I don't know if it would be enough for a child with *zero* English grammar, but if he's on grade level for grammar, he should be fine. :-)

[Jami]

I agree with this basic approach, and that's why we use Latina Christiana. I wanted a limited vocabulary but a strong focus on learning the Latin grammar. It's probably not a *fun* program to most people. But my kids enjoy it and we change up how we do the drill to keep it fun.

 

 

 

Make your own.

 

Here is what would prepare a child really, really well for higher levels of Latin:

 

 

• 5 noun declensions
  
• 4 verb conjugations
  
• list of nouns (most programs use the same words: boy, girl, sailor, field, woman, horse, farmer, etc.)
  
• list of verbs (ditto)
  
• list of commonly used adverbs and prepositions (the words for to, after, in, etc.)
  

 

You can buy yourself a Latin grammar or find one online. Or you could get Latin for Dummies, which is helpful for parents learning Latin. :001_smile: Read about Latin until you understand how to decline a noun (and what that even means,) how to conjugate a verb, and some basics of how to put sentences together.

 

Then find fun ways to drill the above list. You could play games every day for Latin. The first step in learning anything is to learn the grammar of it (the facts,) and once you have those facts you can move on to deeper understanding. You could spend a year or two doing memory work, without having to spend any money, and end up with a child who is far ahead of dc who have been using a formal program.

 

I can give you more specific ideas if you are interested.

[Annie Laurie]

I have actually used both programs. We did LfC one year and while there were things I loved about it, we ended up starting over with LL.

 

The extra activity book with LL is great as long as your child likes cross-word puzzles. Mine didn't. Even with the extra pages I didn't feel like there was enough review and in the worksheets were always the same thing so ds got really good at filling in the blanks w/o understanding.

 

I love the way LfC does chants and all of the little songs to help you remember things. My dd loves these too because she loves music and little rhymes - totally an audio learner. We still chant the LfC way because I prefer it so strongly.

 

My son does not sing. period. Cute little songs were only annoying to him.

 

You need to understand English Grammar before getting into LfC, imo. I am self educating in English grammar because my education was seriously lacking. I could not do the grammar in LfC because I didn't really understand the concepts.

 

LL has been easy for me for two reasons: 1. I am further along in my grammar study. 2. LL explains all nessesary grammar in English before moving on to those concepts in Latin. It is enough English grammar that I would be tempted to skip English grammar for a third grader using this program.

 

I'm going to go look at both LFC and LL again, it's definitely between these two.

 

I lacked grammar instruction in school as well, though I think I've gotten better since doing R&S 6 and AG with my teen.

[Annie Laurie]

I give Latin for Dummies a big thumbs down. It doesn't take a classical approach at all, and I found that it was rather scattershot in how it presented things.

 

Tara

 

Did you find another resource that you would recommend?

[Annie Laurie]

Minimus really lacks hand holding. I need way more than Minimus gives. I'm trying to "just" read the stories, but if I can't point to exactly what Becca's learning from it, I'm hard pressed to give it my time. :glare: I'm just treading water right now and hoping to go to LfC next year.

 

Thanks for sharing that, it definitely sounds like a no go for me.

[Annie Laurie]

Wow! I don't remember a few of them after saying them 20 times!! Of course, I'm now in my 40's and I tell people only half jokingly that I lost 1/2 of my brain with each child and not all of it came back.

 

I memorize things with my daughter and she always gets them before me. She also memorizes both her own and her brother's bible verses, we were reviewing them in the car and she could remember his but I couldn't.

 

He has an amazing "photographic" memory, he sees something once and he remembers, if it interests him. There is something about rules and order that he really likes. He loves to be the teacher and repeat it all back to me.

 

I'm sure youth does have something to do with it, kids are so much fun that way!

[Annie Laurie]

There are some good links on Don Potter's Latin page.

 

This book seems like a fun start, although we haven't added it in yet, we're doing Prima Latina with the help of the CD for me, that's working well so far. (Latin starts on page 94 of the linked book.)

 

First steps in Latin was one of the helpful books I read when I was self-educating in Latin before attempting to teach it, also a few books I got at the library and one I purchased after looking at all the Latin books at the largest nearby bookstore, "The Everything Learning Latin Book" by Richard E. Prior.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Annie Laurie]

I wish they had used a better video clip on the LfC website. It really isn't boring. We are on our third year of the program and my ds has thrived with it.

 

I'm leaning toward trying it, from all the positive reviews.

 

No, I don't think so. Someone is sure to disagree but that was one of our primary problems with LfC (see my above post). I think it is wonderful, but the grammar quickly got beyond my knowledge of the concepts in English.

 

This is my one hang-up. My kids did FLL 1/2 but we haven't been doing grammar this year except casually through games and identifying it in their writing. I don't want LfC to be confusing for them, but is it possible to teach and reinforce grammar within the Latin lessons?

[Haiku]

Did you find another resource that you would recommend?

 

Nope, still looking.

 

Tara

[freerange]

We've just switched to Latin Prep alongside Mimimus, since Minimus was fun, but we didn't feel we were actually learning much.

 

Has anyone tried the Minimus minibooks? They look fun, but do they rely on the teacher's manual for translations?

[mrsrevmeg]

We are nerdy too, I actually think he's cute! :lol:

 

I do, too! :smilielol5:

[plimsoll]

What do you mean by fun? Learning a language requires repetition and drills, which my son does not consider "fun", but it is effective.

 

We recently started over (again) with Latina Christiana. Before that we had used LfC and then Lively Latin. Very happy with Latina Christiana.

 

If you use the flashcards, look up the derivatives in the dictionary, and do the word games in Ludere Latina, I think you'll find this fun, in a geeky sort of way.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

What do you mean by fun? Learning a language requires repetition and drills, which my son does not consider "fun", but it is effective.

 

We recently started over (again) with Latina Christiana. Before that we had used LfC and then Lively Latin. Very happy with Latina Christiana.

 

If you use the flashcards, look up the derivatives in the dictionary, and do the word games in Ludere Latina, I think you'll find this fun, in a geeky sort of way.

 

I am interested in hearing a comparison of all 3 programs:) Why do you think Latina Christiana is better than LFC or LL? I am considering these 3 programs and I am having a difficult time deciding;)

 

For me, fun would mean holding the interest of a soon to be 8 year old boy who is an advanced learner:)

[Jami]

I am interested in hearing a comparison of all 3 programs:) Why do you think Latina Christiana is better than LFC or LL? I am considering these 3 programs and I am having a difficult time deciding;)

 

For me, fun would mean holding the interest of a soon to be 8 year old boy who is an advanced learner:)

 

 

I've never used LFC or LL, but this is why I plan to stick with the Memoria Press materials (as far as I can currently see)

 

http://memoriapress.com/articles/Four-Principles-of-Latin-Study.html

[plimsoll]

I've never used LFC or LL, but this is why I plan to stick with the Memoria Press materials (as far as I can currently see)

http://memoriapress.com/articles/Four-Principles-of-Latin-Study.html

 

I also find myself returning more and more to Memoria Press materials.

 

Bear in mind that my experience is very subjective - all three programs are very good. When we used LfC, we found it a little dry. I switched to Lively Latin because it looked more fun - puzzles, derivatives, vocabulary, grammar, history - all mixed together. Plus it was pretty easy to let my son work on it independently. He definitely learned a lot from it. However, he didn't memorize the grammar and vocabulary, perhaps because he didn't really do latin every day - some days it was history, some days grammar, derivatives, etc.

 

So we've come back to MP. With LC, each lesson is just latin and some derivatives. It's a small enough chunk to digest, and not diluted with other subjects. We separately use Ludere Latina for latin word games and derivatives reinforcement. We also use The Book of Roots, which correlates to LC - vocabulary/derivatives based on what we're learning in latin. We don't call that latin - we call it vocabulary, and it goes in its own time slot. For Roman history, we use MP's Famous Men of Rome (with the student guide/workbook). We don't call this latin either - we call it history; it too goes in its own time slot, separate from latin. We study English grammar separately, so I do not need a program that teaches English grammar alongside latin grammar.

 

With LC and the accompanying MP materials, the individual subjects are modular. I can separately control the pace and scheduling of latin, latin word games, Roman history, vocabulary/derivatives, etc. We have distinct time slots during the day for LC, Ludere Latina, Book of Roots, and history. History is not done every day, nor is Book of Roots.

 

Another reason I like LC is because MP offers a clear progression from LCI/II to Henle, and if we want to someday take any of MP's online classes, we will be using the same material. MP also offers latin reading and translation materials that can be used alongside both LC and Henle.

 

I think you can certainly learn latin from any of the three curricula you are considering. This is what works for us - others will have different experiences.

Edited November 20, 2009 by plimsoll

[latinteach]

Minimus really lacks hand holding. I need way more than Minimus gives. I'm trying to "just" read the stories, but if I can't point to exactly what Becca's learning from it, I'm hard pressed to give it my time. :glare: I'm just treading water right now and hoping to go to LfC next year.

 

Minimus really isn't intended to be a full Latin course. The stated goal of the course (per the teacher's manual) is to teach basic English language concepts (especially the parts of speech) while providing an introduction to the Latin language. What you should be concentrating on as you teach Minimus are the parts of speech and ensuring that your child understands what they are in both English and in Latin: nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, and adverbs. Your child should also have a beginning Latin vocabulary as well as a basic understanding of some cultural ideas of the Romans. Upon completion of Minimus, you should be able to move into any full Latin course.

[latinteach]

Couldn't you couple whatever program with reading Latin translations like "Winnie Ille Pu" and those Dr Seuss books in Latin, and even the Harry Potter volumes, if someone is really industrious. I just think "Green Eggs and Ham" in Latin just sounds more exciting than droning "Agricola,...." a la "Dead Poets Society."

 

Actually, many of these children's Latin books can be quite difficult to read, because some of them use some advanced grammar concepts.

While Latin translations of children's books are fun, they aren't necessarily easy at all.

 

Some good, simple books to start with include the "I Am Reading Latin" and "I Am Reading Latin Stories" books by Marie Bolchazy and Rose Williams or the Minimus Mini-books by Barbara Bell, as these are written in Latin specifically for beginning readers.

 

"Winnie Ille Pu" and the Harry Potter Latin translations are interesting and readable, but would really require a few years Latin study before being accessible. They are written at an intermediate to advanced Latin level. A student reading unadapted Caesar could probably handle these two books. A student who has completed a full Latin course should be able to read these books, but they aren't really intended for beginning readers at all.

 

At any rate, there's a great deal more to Latin literature than Caesar and the armies in Gaul and Britannia, and much of it very interesting to read.

Edited November 20, 2009 by latinteach

[Mommy22alyns]

Minimus really isn't intended to be a full Latin course. The stated goal of the course (per the teacher's manual) is to teach basic English language concepts (especially the parts of speech) while providing an introduction to the Latin language. What you should be concentrating on as you teach Minimus are the parts of speech and ensuring that your child understands what they are in both English and in Latin: nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, and adverbs. Your child should also have a beginning Latin vocabulary as well as a basic understanding of some cultural ideas of the Romans. Upon completion of Minimus, you should be able to move into any full Latin course.

 

 

So I really should be having fun with it and not stressing about what she's learning? :001_huh: She is getting basic grammar concepts with FLL and she has a beginning Latin vocabulary from SSL.

[latinteach]

So I really should be having fun with it and not stressing about what she's learning? :001_huh:

 

No, that's not it. Do you have the teacher's manual? Each chapter has a grammatical focus. The first chapter focuses on nouns and the exercises gently introduce the concept of gender, which is elaborated in later chapters. You should focus on nouns and gender in this chapter. Also worked into this chapter is the "to be" verb "sum." The second chapter focuses more intensely on adjectives, so you continue with the concept of gender and how adjectives take the gender of the nouns they modify. Chapter 3 focuses on verbs and how the verb endings match the subject. (The student needs to understand the concept of noun in Latin first, which is why they wait until a subsequent chapter to go more in depth on the verbs.) Each chapter scaffolds on what is learned in previous chapters.

 

The point is to build a solid foundation of what the parts of speech are before moving into a more intense Latin course, while also building up a beginning vocabulary and learning something about the culture of the Romans. There is definitely solid grammatical information in this course and you should be paying attention to the goals of each chapter as you work through it.

[Mommy22alyns]

Do you have the teacher's manual?

 

No, I don't. I keep going back and forth over purchasing it because it's rather expensive and I can't tell from the samples exactly how helpful it will be. I see a lot of creative writing prompts, but the samples don't show any of the worksheets. Then I also heard that the TM is more geared towards classroom learning than a homeschool setting.

[angela in ohio]

Angela,

 

I would be interested in more infor in your latin studies. Could you pm me. Thank you so much in advance.

 

Susie

 

I have started a new thread with my thoughts.