Latin Prep after Latin for Children Primer C?

[Heather in WI]

My 9 (10 in two weeks) year old is just finishing up Latin for Children Primer C. We both are ready, I think, for a different publisher for next year (5th grade).

 

I am leaning toward Latin Prep. When people recommend Latin Prep, is this what they're recommending?

http://www.galorepark.co.uk/product/parents/127/latin-prep-book-1.html

 

I'm confused because the title, "So You Really Want to Learn Latin Prep," seems to combine what I thought were two different programs.

 

What exactly should I order? Latin Prep Book 1, Answer Book, and Audio CD, I would think are necessary, but what about the workbooks, flashcards, puzzle book, etc?

 

Also, any other words of advice to add? Is there a reason you would not go from LfC to Latin Prep?

[abbeyej]

Yes, that's the book you want. It's usually cheaper to buy from BookDepository.co.uk (be careful -- their .com website has different stock and different prices -- both offer free shipping)...

 

If you're comfortable with the pronunciation you've been learning with LfC, I don't think you need the audio CD. You need the main book and the answer key (though, honestly, if you've been doing LfC with him all along, you likely won't need to refer to the answer key much in book 1). The workbooks are a *fabulous* addition -- but not strictly necessary. Since much of book 1 will be reinforcement, it might be too much anyway. Okay, much as I love the workbooks, I think I've talked myself out of them for you. ;)

 

I think it's worthwhile to have kids make their *own* flashcards for each chapter. So I'd skip the flashcards. Spend the money on a copy of 501 Latin Verbs (any old bookstore) so that he can look up the principal parts and include them on his cards (and later he'll use it to look up various forms).

 

The Puzzle book doesn't really match with Latin Prep. Skip it.

 

I love LP. :)

[Heather in WI]

Thank you! That helps a lot. :)

[Laura Corin]

Hello. Abbeyej has some good advice. They basic package is Latin Prep 1 and Latin Prep 1 answer book. If you want to give more practice you can add the two workbooks and their answer book. We also have the flashcards, but you can make your own too. The first book gives pronunciation hints at the beginning, so you might not find the CD to be necessary.

 

I didn't use the workbooks with Calvin (they weren't available then) but I'm enjoying having them for Hobbes.

 

Laura

[Dee in MI]

Heather, we're finishing LFC C, too. I've been frustrated with it, and can't wait to get to Latin Prep next year. If I had it to do again, I'd go to Latin Prep after LFC B. I wonder if you'd agree?

[Heather in WI]

Thanks, Laura.

 

I'm not sure, Dee. I am not Latin- savvy enough to know if a student would be ready to go from LfC B to Latin Prep. I am curious to know what Laura and Abbey would say.

 

I'm starting the whole LfC cycle (A, B, C) over again with my rising third grader next year. Honestly, I'm not that excited about it, but I don't know what else to do and we already have all of the basic materials. I can't tell if it's just this time of year, though, or because I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant and feeling uninspired or what. Ds is looking forward to it, though, so at least one of us is excited. ;)

 

Laura and Abbey, would you share how you use Latin Prep in a typical week? As in, Monday we ...., Tuesday we ....., and so on?

[kckamy]

LFC and Latin Prep work nicely together.

 

After completing LFC A and half of B we decided to take a break from LFC and focus on grammar/translating for awhile. We have now completed Latin Prep 1 chapters 3-5 (we skipped ch. 1-2). We were able to focus on the translating with Latin Prep since we knew almost all of the vocabulary from using LFC. We have now picked LFC B back up and once we finish we will go back and finish Latin Prep 1.

 

My long term plans are to go on to LFC C (because I believe it is the best program for learning vocabulary and chants) and Latin Prep 2 and 3.

 

My daughter is 4th grade this year and I am very pleased with our progress with Latin using LFC and LP.

 

I recommend purchasing Latin Prep 1, answer book, workbooks, and workbook answers. I didn't purchase the CD; you shouldn't need it since you have completed LFC.

Edited April 6, 2010 by kckamy

[Laura Corin]

I'm not sure, Dee. I am not Latin- savvy enough to know if a student would be ready to go from LfC B to Latin Prep. I am curious to know what Laura and Abbey would say.

 

I'm starting the whole LfC cycle (A, B, C) over again with my rising third grader next year. Honestly, I'm not that excited about it, but I don't know what else to do and we already have all of the basic materials. I can't tell if it's just this time of year, though, or because I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant and feeling uninspired or what. Ds is looking forward to it, though, so at least one of us is excited. ;)

 

Laura and Abbey, would you share how you use Latin Prep in a typical week? As in, Monday we ...., Tuesday we ....., and so on?

 

One idea for your rising third grader is.... don't do Latin. You can start from scratch quite adequately with Latin Prep at age 9 or 10 without having done anything before. You could do Latin Prep 1 at age 9-10, LP2 at 10-11, LP3 at 11-12, SY Latin 3 (for review and extension) at 12-13 and still be ready for reading classical texts before high school. Calvin previously did a bit of Minimus (and retained nothing) and Hobbes did no Latin at all. Personally I think that you could profitably spend a couple of years digging into a living language before adding in Latin, but given that you are about to have a baby, I'd just give yourself a break and leave Latin for later.

 

How do we do Latin? Well, I just decide how many times a week to do Latin and then do it for as long as feels comfortable! Not much help, I realise. With Hobbes that usually adds up to about three times a week for half an hour a time (that might be going over memorisation, working on a new piece of grammar, doing an exercise.....). Calvin has some memorisation to do every day (he has a system of rotating memorisation, so everything comes round periodically) and we do a couple of exercises a week. They both started the course fairly early, so we take the it slowly, spending between one and two years on each book, depending on what seems comfortable: if we go too slowly we lose track; if we go too fast we get confused.

 

Laura