Ok, talk me into Latin study!!

[Mothersweets]

I recently read through the Latin sections of WTM and am convinced of the importance of it. I also happened across 2 different articles that really impressed me with the usefulness of learning Latin and that sparked an interest in it for me.

 

I have 11 kids but am only h'schooling the youngest 7 (the olders have graduated) ages 15 on down.

 

What programs would work for me? I know I would use at least 2 different programs because of the age differences, but which ones? I think I could reasonably fit in another 3 hours per week for this - would that be enough?

 

Am I biting off more than I can chew? Are there any parents of a large family here who are teaching Latin to their kids and loving it? I really don't want to get started with this and then discover that I just can't follow through with it.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give me. :)

[siloam]

I recently read through the Latin sections of WTM and am convinced of the importance of it. I also happened across 2 different articles that really impressed me with the usefulness of learning Latin and that sparked an interest in it for me.

 

I have 11 kids but am only h'schooling the youngest 7 (the olders have graduated) ages 15 on down.

 

What programs would work for me? I know I would use at least 2 different programs because of the age differences, but which ones? I think I could reasonably fit in another 3 hours per week for this - would that be enough?

 

Am I biting off more than I can chew? Are there any parents of a large family here who are teaching Latin to their kids and loving it? I really don't want to get started with this and then discover that I just can't follow through with it.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give me. :)

 

Around here I wait to do Latin. My oldest is the only one doing it, and she is doing it independently, and yes she does love it. I do work ahead of her so I can help with any questions she might have. My plan is to start my 10yo next year and again have her work independently.

 

It isn't ideal, but it still covers Latin without loosing one's sanity. :D

 

Heather

[Mothersweets]

Thanks, Heather!

 

I was planning on starting Latin with the older ones - 15yo to the 11yo. I see you are using Lively Latin - what do you like about it?

[siloam]

Thanks, Heather!

 

I was planning on starting Latin with the older ones - 15yo to the 11yo. I see you are using Lively Latin - what do you like about it?

 

With those ages I think you will do fine, with limited involvement.

 

I took several years of Spanish, and when I looked at the LL samples I understand what was going on. I am not sure if that is because the LL samples were of the beginning of the program and other samples were of something else, or if it really is that much easier to understand. I find overall that it is easy to use and enjoyable to do.

 

The only downside I have found is some of the vocab cards (just little paper squares) and answer keys have errors on them. This hasn't been that big a deal. DD just brings it back to me and shows me the right answer and I correct it in my answer key for next time.

 

Heather

[Sahamamama]

:lurk5:

[Jennefer@SSA]

Sahamamama, I love that you put "Be reasonable. Be pleasant. Be consistent." in your signature! Is it from that one wonderful post from OhElizabeth?

 

I have started really looking into Latin as well. We will start in 5th grade when ds will be 10. Right now I have more questions than answers. Declensions? Whole to parts? Parts to whole? Classical? Ecclesiastical? I don't have 11 kiddos but I'll be watching to see what I can glean from this thread. :)

[christine in al]

Declensions?

I don't know yet. moving on..

 

Whole to parts?

When you look at or listen to a story or sentence , the WHOLE thing... Try to figure it out and comprehend as you go. Just picking up what you can at teh beginning. Then learn to break it into it's parts of grammar. I think this is also called immersion. as in jumping into the deep end and immersing yourself in the language. Some folks love this as it gives them the global view and a feel for the language. This is how we learn our native languages and how many folks thing we should learn MFL ( Modern Foreign Languages)

This works beautifully for many folks, others it drives insane. The insane ones are the ones screaming " WHAT does that MEAN?!?!?!" "What are they saying?!?!?!"

 

 

Parts to whole?

You learn the parts, ie: vocab, grammar etc, the PARTS, then build it toward the WHOLE. Right.... see above,.... reverse it. This method can go a bit slowly for some folks, For others it seems great as they understand everything that's happening.

 

Classical?

The form of pronounciation that one hears in Classics Departments at Universities. The letter " c" is always pronounced as "k" and "G" is always "G". and V is "W" Some people say it is easier to go from Classical to Ecclesiastical than vice versa.

 

Ecclesiastical?

Church Latin. What one hears during the Latin Mass in the Catholic Church. some folks think it sounds softer. The c and g follow the same rules of softening they do in English.

 

So, that's what I THINK is happening in Latin.

Can't wait to learn about Declensions and Stems and Cases. etc. ( that's Latin)

~Christine in AL

[siloam]

Sahamamama, I love that you put "Be reasonable. Be pleasant. Be consistent." in your signature! Is it from that one wonderful post from OhElizabeth?

 

I have started really looking into Latin as well. We will start in 5th grade when ds will be 10. Right now I have more questions than answers. Declensions? Whole to parts? Parts to whole? Classical? Ecclesiastical? I don't have 11 kiddos but I'll be watching to see what I can glean from this thread. :)

 

Have you had any foreign languages? Even in Spanish and French you have different endings to the verbs based on who is speaking. With Latin it is a little more complicated because you also have different endings to nouns, and a few other things I haven't learned yet but can see coming, but it the comparison will give most people an idea of what is going on.

 

Generally part to whole programs have more of a grammar focus, where whole to part programs focus on translating and reading. Both have weaknesses as well, and if you search Latin Teach's posts she recently detailed them. I plan to do both. LL is a part to whole, and when we finish we will do Minimus which is whole to parts, then LL2, then the next level of Minimus, then she will probably move to So You Want to Learn Latin (Parts to whole) and alternate years with Cambridge Latin (Whole to parts). I do plan on covering Latin through all 4 years of High School and am not trying to squeeze this all in a couple of years. :D

 

 

Classical and Ecclesiastical pronunciations are not that different, actually Latin only has about 10 different phonetic pronunciations from English phonics (talking basic alphabet sounds), if I remember right. Of that there were only a few sounds that were different between Classical and Ecclesiastical. I chose Classical because we don't use it in our church, and I could see the kiddo's going into science fields. Also remember Latin isn't a living language anymore. With English, Spanish, ect...people continue to change the language and meaning over time. Latin isn't changing like that.

 

Heather

 

[PeterPan]

Laura, I suggest you look at First Form from Memoria Press. I used LC, which was the forerunner program, and FF appears to have addressed a lot of the issues LC had. FF in particular is nice for your situation because of its clear tm and emphasis on memorizing the basics. All ages can memorize, and that tm will make it easy for you to keep them together. A workbook like in LL might be more ideal for some ages than others, limit the ones who can write less, etc. Nope, for keeping a horde together, I'd go First Form. Our co-op used LC, and they were able to keep a variety of ages together and even drill the different levels (PL, 1, and 2) together. So even if your kids break up, with the olders going faster, you'd STILL have the continuity of *one* program, *one* drill/recitation time for all. That would be worth a LOT! After all, it's the drill and recitation, the practice, that really cements things. If you just do a program and don't drill, things get crunchy. You really want that drill time, and it's extra sweet if you can drill them all together in one big group. Then they can break up and be in two different places in the book if you want. Or put your youngest dc, say 2nd or 3rd grade on down, into Prima Latina and put your olders into First Form. They'll STILL be able to do their drill/recitation time together, play games to practice vocab, etc. You'll just find sneaky ways like having the cards you call out to the olders be for their FF words and the youngers be their PL words. But the approach will be the same, the directions parallel. I just think that would work especially well.

 

If on the other hand you want to section off the olders or anyone ready to do a workbook independently, then by all means look at LfC or LL or what have you.

[SonshineLearner]

Hi There,

 

So... did you decide to do Latin, yet? :-)

[Mothersweets]

Thank you, everyone, for your replies. Yes, Carrie, I have been successfully talked into this! :)

 

I appreciate your suggestions, they give me a good idea of what to look for. Good point, OhElizabeth, I wasn't considering the drill that they would need.

 

I wish it was convention time already so I could really look at all the different programs!

[Sahamamama]

Sahamamama, I love that you put "Be reasonable. Be pleasant. Be consistent." in your signature! Is it from that one wonderful post from OhElizabeth?

 

 

Yes!