Lively Latin 2 users...

[siloam]

How are things going?

 

Heather

[redsquirrel]

:bigear:

[SophiaH]

:bigear:

 

I'm in the middle of deciding if we're going on to BB2 or doing something else. Cailín has only about three weeks left before we're done. I'd always figured we'd just go on to BB2 but last week, I swore I was finding something else after we found another error. :glare:

[Jen in PA]

:lurk5: Still undecided about where we will go after BB1. We like it, but I have moments where I am eager for something else.

[Saille]

Sorry, I'm one of the people who bought BB2, but b/c we are doing Latin two days, Greek two days, it is taking us for-freaking-ever to get done with BB1. I have part of BB2 printed and ready to go, but we are still slogging through the last chapter of BB1.

[SophiaH]

Yeah, I was planning on starting Greek Code Cracker sometime this semester with a view of starting Greek full-time in the fall. But I think we'll do one more year of focused Latin (and English grammar) before adding Greek to our plate. I'm anxious to start the Greek, but I'm hoping to go through on online class with Athanaze next year myself and then maybe by 5th dd will be able to jump into GP's Classical Greek for Beginners instead of EG. IDK, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

 

All that to say, Bump. :D

[Malenki]

This is perhaps a month late (!) but we've been using it and are in lesson 8. I don't like it nearly as well as BB1. The pace is much, much faster. We do great with the full page reading practice lessons (there have been a handful of tehse) but the content in general just seems to be moving so quickly.

 

I'm actually on here this morning to look for a replacement. DS loves Latin. We've been studying it for four years now so it's not a new thing for him.

 

I was very, very torn about buying BB2 and now I wish I hadn't. I have NO idea what to change to, though. And, of course, there's always the money issue! Perhaps after we've done a year or two of a different program we can come back to BB2 and it will make more sense.

 

(We don't do the history portion, btw, at all. We didn't in BB1 either.)

[kwg]

Oh no! We started lively latin this year and love it! I hate hearing book 2 is not as good.

[SophiaH]

This is perhaps a month late (!) but we've been using it and are in lesson 8. I don't like it nearly as well as BB1. The pace is much, much faster. We do great with the full page reading practice lessons (there have been a handful of tehse) but the content in general just seems to be moving so quickly.

 

I'm actually on here this morning to look for a replacement. DS loves Latin. We've been studying it for four years now so it's not a new thing for him.

 

I was very, very torn about buying BB2 and now I wish I hadn't. I have NO idea what to change to, though. And, of course, there's always the money issue! Perhaps after we've done a year or two of a different program we can come back to BB2 and it will make more sense.

 

(We don't do the history portion, btw, at all. We didn't in BB1 either.)

 

Eek! I've just made the decision to go on to BB2! :eek:

We finished BB1 a couple of weeks ago and we'll spend the rest of the semester reviewing the grammar and vocab, using the new video lessons and doing only the exercises, and continuing with our daily flashcards and chants.

 

Then we'll jump into BB2. We'll be doing the history portion, and supplementing with Ecce Romani readings, so hopefully that will slow it down some! *fingers crossed*

 

What was your pace with BB1 (how many pages a day?/how many days a week?/how long did it take total?) And did you sustain that pace with BB2 or slow it down? We started BB1 last January and have worked consistently doing 2 pages a day (very light in the summer). I guess I could also go down to one page a day for a while or if we get bogged down.

 

Thanks for the info!

[siloam]

This is perhaps a month late (!) but we've been using it and are in lesson 8. I don't like it nearly as well as BB1. The pace is much, much faster. We do great with the full page reading practice lessons (there have been a handful of tehse) but the content in general just seems to be moving so quickly.

 

I'm actually on here this morning to look for a replacement. DS loves Latin. We've been studying it for four years now so it's not a new thing for him.

 

I was very, very torn about buying BB2 and now I wish I hadn't. I have NO idea what to change to, though. And, of course, there's always the money issue! Perhaps after we've done a year or two of a different program we can come back to BB2 and it will make more sense.

 

(We don't do the history portion, btw, at all. We didn't in BB1 either.)

 

Well that makes me feel better! I decided to go with First Form Latin, because of its reputation for clear instructions. We will just have to do without the pronunciation CD because my dd prefers the classical.

 

Heather

[Malenki]

We never slowed him down in BB1 since it went so very well. He did one page a day, five days a week. We finished it late last spring, took 2.5 months off for a move and the summer, and picked up with BB2.

 

He *loved* the first book. Loved the translations, the art, etc. And the pace was just perfect. The amount of content was doable; we learned the vocab at the beginning of each chapter as we went along so by the end of the chapter when you start using it he'd have it down.

 

He did not want to change at all which is the main reason we stuck with doing Lively Latin 2. I was thinking to change but in the end he's the main student and he dug in his heels. LOL

 

What is different is the pace and the teaching. The first few lessons seemed to be going double fast. We were keeping up, understanding, and learning the vocab. Annoyed that the pace had changed as we liked BB1, but we adjusted! (He has no trouble learning the vocab which is faster now, with a set for each lesson. My old brain is slower but we were keeping up with actual words. It's the random chants with no "hooks" for what they are that is bogging us down.)

 

Then it just seemed to triple or quadruple in depth but without the good explanations we'd relied on. We've continued at 4-5 pages a week. He loves the translation stories; just loves them. But all of a sudden all those chants are coming into play and we're sinking fast. Mostly because it's not clear to us what the newer chants were for or how they are being used so they were never cemented as well as the other words were. (We have all the chants in BB1 down cold. But then, you use them a ton too.)

 

Before we had good practice and explanations with the chants but now it seems like a lot of that is missing. And it feels like we're squeezing two or three years worth of material into one year now. The content, I'm sure, would be understandable to us if it were presented a bit slower, with a bit more practice, like in BB1.

 

At this point I'm not sure we can continue with BB2 without better explanations. I think he'd do great with a reading intensive program with a lighter touch on the grammar. We almost stopped at the beginning of lesson 3 but I took a deep breath and plunged on. (Mostly since I have zero budget to replace it right now!)

 

And really, he loves his Latin and has done great. It's all these pronouns and I-stem endings that are bogging us down. Just reading a story (even with the pronouns) presents no problem to him; but filling in charts of pronouns makes his eyes glaze over.

 

So maybe that helps? I had read beforehand that it sped up but wasn't sure what that would mean for *us*. Would we do it less often? Spend more time on it each day? Find it was no problem since we'd found BB1 a great, understandable program? We are spending more time each day and are doing it just as often, but in the end we are finding the program a problem. I know she has the explanations in her brain and probably teaches them in the classroom, but somehow it feels they are missing from this program.

 

And knowing that, if you don't do BB2, what will y'all move to? That's my question... we did Prima Latina years ago and liked it fine, but he loved Lively Latin (and Minimus) so much more. I'm hesitant to return to Memoria Press after all this time.

 

My younger son won't be doing BB1, I think... it's too hard to change horses mid-stream!

[siloam]

Would he mind review? He is a bit on the young side and you are short on money. I would honest look at doing the first Latin Prep book. Everyone loves the first book, and if they fall apart it is in the 2nd book. Latin Prep is also described as being heavy on translation work for a grammar program. I think you can get the whole think for around $30, but I am not sure you even need all of it. There seems to be a lot of add on books that are busy work.

 

Long term if he likes translation Ecce Romani would be a nice choice. It is considered a translation approach like Minimus/Cambridge, but is also known for having the best grammar explanations. My long term plan is to alternate First Form and Ecce Romani, then add in just the translation work of Cambridge. I bought the first level of Cambridge and about hyperventilated. It is written to teachers who already know this stuff. I don't. :D But after doing the other two she should be able to do the translation for fun, with no pressure to learn new material.

 

Ecce Romani is really geared to Middle/High School, and is not cheap, so waiting till next year sometime would help you out tremendously.

 

Heather

[Malenki]

Something inexpensive to fill in for the rest of the year (and perhaps next year) wouldn't hurt! And he is full young to be as far along as we are... reading LCC when he was 5 was probably a mistake. LOL I'm doing things a wee bit (honestly, a LOT) differently with #2!

[Bloggermom]

Since my daughter is currently doing Lively Latin Big Book 1, I wanted to know what other thoughts people had about BB2.

[Alicia64]

Since my daughter is currently doing Lively Latin Big Book 1, I wanted to know what other thoughts people had about BB2.

 

Bloggermom -- I posted recently about being disappointed in Lively Latin. We're only to Chapter 3 and both of my 8-year-olds are complaining. And so are their friends who are 10, 11 and a 12-year-old.

 

Then I read accounts like yours and I wonder, "what am I doing wrong??"

 

Can I ask how you made LL a success for your dd? I assume it's your 8-year-old who is doing LL?

 

Thanks -- any tips are really appreciated.

 

Alley

[redsquirrel]

Since my daughter is currently doing Lively Latin Big Book 1, I wanted to know what other thoughts people had about BB2.

 

My son is liking it very much. He is almost entirely self directed at this point. I just make corrections.

 

Bloggermom -- I posted recently about being disappointed in Lively Latin. We're only to Chapter 3 and both of my 8-year-olds are complaining. And so are their friends who are 10, 11 and a 12-year-old.

 

Then I read accounts like yours and I wonder, "what am I doing wrong??"

 

Can I ask how you made LL a success for your dd? I assume it's your 8-year-old who is doing LL?

 

Thanks -- any tips are really appreciated.

 

Alley

 

What exactly are they complaining about? It will be easier to make suggestions if we know what what they don't like.

 

I never had to do anything to 'make' my son enjoy LL1. He just did. He says Latin is one of his favorite subjects.

[Alicia64]

My son is liking it very much. He is almost entirely self directed at this point. I just make corrections.

 

 

 

What exactly are they complaining about? It will be easier to make suggestions if we know what what they don't like.

 

Well, keep in mind that they're 8-yr-olds. They complain about too much memorizing. First the first declension, then the cases (noting which is singular and which is plural), then conjugating verbs. And more memorizing.

 

Now, they can do what they're doing right now. . . but what we're all concerned about is that the climb is going to get steeper and steeper.

 

That's what I could use some feedback on: is this as hard as it gets or does it get more difficult?

 

There just seems to be a lot of memorizing and not much time to "digest" the knowledge so to speak.

 

Oh, I wish you all were at my kitchen table and could help me in person!!!

 

Alley

[redsquirrel]

Well, we went through LL slowly. I think he did the entire book in third and fourth grade. In fifth grade he went back to the beginning and did it again without the history. BTW, that was his idea, not mine. He wanted to make sure everything was understood.

 

I didn't care how long it took him to get through book 1 (or book 2 for that matter) as long as he understood it.

 

And there is a lot of memorizing and chanting. He did one exercise two times a week and did vocabulary cards on the days he didn't do an exercise.

 

That said, memorization work etc isn't new to him. We have always had memorization in piano, grammar, history, and science, so adding in Latin wasn't a big deal.

 

I do stuff like have him jump up and down while chanting or hopping from one foot to the other, yelling them as loud as he can, singing them opera style etc. Then again, I have only boys so we do that most of the time anyway.

[siloam]

Alley,

 

I don't start LL till 5th or 6th grade, and then I have them do one page per day and they do it totally independently. They don't love the memorization, but they don't complain a lot either. I just have them go through one list per day with the audio files. Monday I rotate in an old vocab list and Tuesday through Thursday I have them work on the newest list.

 

My oldest adored it. My 2nd dd doesn't mind it but doesn't love it like my oldest.

 

BB2 wasn't completely finished when we moved on, so I don't own it. I was too worried that we would catch up to her writing it. :D Given I invested a lot into the next program I doubt I will be able to pick it up either. It is hard to justify the cost when you already have something in house that will work.

 

Heather

[Snickerdoodle]

My 10yo is on Chapter 11 of LL2. The vocabulary is starting to get overwhelming for him and we have slowed down a lot.

 

I am having a love/hate relationship with LL2. I am thinking I should jump to either Henle or Latin Prep to review and give him time to really own what he has learned thus far.

[SophiaH]

I don't have anything to say about BB2 because we decided not to use it, but I thought I'd update on our situation since I commented earlier in the thread.

After we did our review of BB1, dd started doing Visual Latin over the summer slowly. I had looked ahead and saw the first 10 lessons were mostly review of what she already knew. The focus on the bigger picture was a wonderful change of pace.

When we started back to our full school schedule in August, dd started First Form without the DVDs or CDs since we used Classical pronunciation with Lively Latin, although she mostly understands the differences between the two pronunciations and we switch between them depending on what we're saying (Latin prayers, grammar recitation, etc.).

Now, dd is doing First Form and Visual Latin weekly. They are a wonderful combination and complement each other beautifully--the strict grammar-translation method of FF and the long translations/inductive-type learning of VL. Dd is really enjoying both. I'm very happy with the decision we made to move on from LL although it might have worked fine if dd had been a little bit older when we were ready to move into it.