Looking back over when your children started Latin, would you do it again?

[Kimber]

I started Latin in 3rd grade with dd9 because TWTM said to do so. I never gave it a second thought.

 

One year later, I'm looking at how well she's doing and I think she could be reading original works in about 4 years. She'd be 14 and, technically, in 8th grade. But what would this do for us?

 

I've read about your kids taking the Latin AP exams. If a child is reading original works in 8th grade but doesn't graduate for a 4-6 more years, what do they do with all of that Latin knowledge? Do they continue to study it? Do they take the AP exams early or right before graduation?

 

I know Latin is beneficial; however, I really rather my kids learn Spanish, read a ton, and get in as much math as possible. (Edit here--I do value them learning Latin. I just don't know where to stick in the schedule.)

 

Back to my question--now that your high school kids are finishing up, in which grade would you start Latin?

 

Thanks for the information,

 

Kimberly

[Nan in Mass]

Once the child is reading in Latin, you don't have to do Latin full time; all you have to do is occasionally read something in Latin. I kept my school French alive while my children were small just by reading one book every year. I began with TinTin comics, so you can see that it wasn't exactly arduous LOL. I actually improved over time, to where I can now read Agatha Christie mysteries. I'm no whiz at languages, either. Getting your child reading Latin early is a GREAT idea. Then in high school, they can be learning something else and just read somthing orginal from time to time in its original language as part of their literature course. You can count it as part of great books, or you can glom the books together at the end and give a credit of Latin. Meanwhile, they can be learning another language, and it will go much more easily because they will know how a language, any language works. Spanish should be especially easy.

HTH

-Nan

[Kimberly in Sedona]

My daughters all studied Latin prior to high school. Once we got to high school they spent more time with other languages (French, Spanish and Italian). They would review some Latin from time to time, but we did not spend much time on it. They ended up studying Italian in college. They are thankful for their Latin foundation.

 

If we had to do it over again, we'd do it the same way. For us, there was so much else to study in high school.

[Gwen in VA]

I'm jealous! You have a child that just does Latin and then moves on? WOW!

 

My kids do and redo and redo Latin 1. Each of my kids has spent at least FOUR years at the Latin 1-or-under stage. Maybe this has to do with poor choice of textbooks. Maybe this has to do with poor teaching. Maybe this has to do with deficient brain growth in whatever area of the brain Latin skills reside. But they each seem to need years to digest the concept of Latin. (We're an engineering family -- maybe that has something to do with it.)

 

So we have NO experience with what to do with a child who is actually reading Latin by 8th grade. I would say to enjoy it -- and then start a tutoring service for those of us who can't seem to get beyond Latin 1!

 

Our stories --

 

Dd1 really did get a 5 on the AP Latin Vergil exam, so she got somewhere with Latin. She did do 2 years of online Latin 1, as well as several years at home prior to that.

 

Ds1 quit eventually and is finishing up Greek 3. (He said three years of Latin 1 was enough!)

 

Ds2 is on his third year of online LATIN 1 classes. (This is getting expensive! But it looks like he will actually move on to Latin 2 next year! Hurray!)

 

Dd2 is finishing up her second year of Henle and will take Latin 1 online next year. We are PRAYING that she will move to Latin 2 the following year! If she doesn't, I will be absolutely convinced that we suffer from a Latin deficiency disease.)

 

Sometimes things in homeschooling just don't work out the way you thought they would -- and for us Latin is our big hiccup.

 

Do you have any advice on how to get beyond Latin 1? :001_smile:

 

The one positive about all these Latin disasters -- they make for GREAT family stories!

[Robin in Tx]

Okay, can someone define Latin 1 for me?

 

I would think that Henle *is* at least Latin 1, right? Or is Latin 1 what you do after Henle?

 

We just did the first year of Latin in the Christian Trivium. Is that Latin 1? I think my dd is ready to move onto volume 2, but I really don't understand where we will be on the continuum... Latin 1 yet? Latin 1 still? Latin 2?

[Moira in MA]

I'll take the definition of Latin I on, at least in a small way:

 

Basically, Latin I is roughly half of the grammar you need to know plus some vocabulary. Grammar acquisition is typically a 2 year course at the high school level, 1 year at college and, I'd say, 4 years at the middle school level.

 

The problem is that each vendor has its own idea of the order of grammar acquisition and the vocabulary needed to support the same -- I'm really talking parts to whole programs here such as Henle and Wheelock's.

 

The problems arise when you switch programs *before* completion of basic grammar -- Henle first & second year; Wheelock's chapters 1-40. Since the order of grammar presentation is different, you end up starting over if you switch programs before completion of grammar.

 

After grammar is essentially completed, you can switch programs more easily. There will likely be a difference in vocabulary but a diligent student should be able to handle that.

 

There is absolutely no reason to follow Henle with Wheelock's despite its being a college text. You should be starting to read real Latin which is why we study Latin in the first place.

 

HTH

[Jenn in CA]

Wonderful! This is what I'm hoping to do w/dd's 3 and 4... ds's 1 & 2 were guinea pigs and will finish Latin in high school.

[Michelle in MO]

completed Henle I in two years. It took us three years, but that was mostly because we used Memoria Press's guide the first year. Not that the guide was bad, mind you; it's just that their study guide proceeds very slowly through the first two units of Henle. That was our first year of Latin. Then, we spent the next two years rushing through things.

 

If I could do it over, we'd finish it in two years and do all the tests and quizzes. Then, I would do what Moira in MA suggests---switch to a reading-based program like Lingua Latina or Cambridge Latin. I would agree wholeheartedly that you shouldn't switch before the grammar is covered.

 

One thing I'd like to do is study Latin further myself. I wish I could have been a better Latin teacher for my kids. It's funny, because I majored in German and also studied French, but I found that memorizing Latin was so extremely difficult! Perhaps it's simply due to my age, but I found the five declensions relatively easy, but had great difficulty remembering all the verb forms and tenses.

 

One other thing I'd do over is have them do an online course, if possible---a very good one, if one is out there, that gives a daily Latin class.

[HS mom]

We're using Artes Latinae, and will just finish along wih HS, so not in that boat, but I do think it'd be a good boat to be in. :)

 

However, the publisher of Artes Latinae, Bolchazy, has a great site with so many Latin resources, that I'm sure you'd find much to keep your Latin studies current. Just google the name.

[LND1218]

we are on the same track as you. Come 9th grade or so maybe before, we will do another language. Probably Spanish maybe something else.

 

Latin at a young age has been beneficial for my daughter. I am starting the next 2 even younger thanks to Song School Latin.

[Beth in SW WA]

I am starting the next 2 even younger thanks to Song School Latin.

 

Me too. It's my next homeschool purchase. My little girls will learn Latin at the classical school they will attend. They do LFC there combined w/ lots of Latin songs.

 

I'm so glad we got Latin going here when my older 2 kiddos were 10 & 12. Younger would have been better, though, imho.

[Beth in SW WA]

One other thing I'd do over is have them do an online course, if possible---a very good one, if one is out there, that gives a daily Latin class.

 

Well now you're just being silly, Michelle :)

Yes, that would be ideal. Maybe we can talk Drew into going hi-tech and sharing his skills w/ the world through online classes. I can't seem to talk him into it. I tell him he'd make a fortune!

[Beth in SW WA]

Okay, can someone define Latin 1 for me?

 

I would think that Henle *is* at least Latin 1, right? Or is Latin 1 what you do after Henle?

 

We just did the first year of Latin in the Christian Trivium. Is that Latin 1? I think my dd is ready to move onto volume 2, but I really don't understand where we will be on the continuum... Latin 1 yet? Latin 1 still? Latin 2?

 

Great questions. Every method/publisher defines it differently. I'm done worrying about it, though. I just want my kids to enjoy it -- and I'll worry about how to classify it on transcripts later.

 

A local tutor I interviewed was pushing for Henle because its "classical" and mixing programs would screw up the "levels." I took that as a red flag -- I don't care about levels. I want my kids to enjoy Latin, regardless if its "classical" or not. But that's a completely different discussion. :)

 

Kimber, Are you getting the answers you are looking for? What are your plans? I understand your angst about Spanish. Its everywhere!

[Kimber]

Hi Beth and thanks to everyone,

 

I've read all of the messages. I hadn't responded earlier because Saturday is my grocery shopping and cooking day.

 

I've read the posts and I can understand and appreciate the desire to conquer Latin before Highschool. I spoke with my dh last night and his opinion was pretty simple--just keep going.

 

So I think, based largely on y'all's :001_smile: feed back, that I will start both of my kids on Latin Prep 1. But I won't start them until of January of next year when my son will be 9 and my dd 10 1/2. We'll be finished with LC1 by then, and I'll be able to keep them together without rushing him too much.

 

With an age 10 start date, she should finish the Latin prep schedule in 4 years.

 

Latin Prep 1, 5th grade

Latin Prep 2, 6th grade

Latin Prep 3, 7th grade

So You Really Want to Learn Latin, 8th grade

 

In 9th she will be free to focus more on another language or her highschool requirements. But for my younger son, if he can't keep up with her, I'll slow him down and he can go his own pace while also finishing before HS.

 

Thank you guys very much for the help. I was ready to do away with Latin for now :glare:, but you guys talked me out of it.

 

Thanks a bunch,

 

Kimberly

 

For Spanish, we'll probably continue our homegrown work for 5th and 6th grade and work towards independent reading. For 7th and 8th, I'd like them to do SOS, maybe. Then 9-12, Platiquemos to work on being fluid. My dh speaks Spanish accent less, so maybe in a couple of years he'll help out. :)

[Nan in Mass]

For a long time, my youngest just did the excersizes by what "sounded right" to him. While I'm relieved that he now understands the grammar, something that has happened just this last year (13yo), because he's getting a lot more of the excersizes right now, I think that in the long run, that early start and blind eye to the grammar will be better for him than if we had started later and the grammar "took" right away. Our goal is to be able to read Latin.

 

Our elementary school principal once told me that the difference between those children who started a language early in elementary school and those who started in high school seemed to be that those who started early were able to actually use the language at the end of high school, whereas the later ones usually weren't. He said that the amount of the language they knew was about the same.

 

I also am grateful for a few other things about starting Latin early. It has taught my children to write (the physical act) more easily because they had to write more for Latin than for any of their other classes, since we avoided busywork. It has been almost their only grammar. It has helped with spelling and vocab. It has helped them to learn to learn out of a textbook, since it was about the only subject that they studied formally out of a textbook. It taught them how to memorize something, and how to study. But all of that was pure accident GRIN.

 

So, yes, I am happy we started early.

 

-Nan