Alicia64 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I have a friend who raves about Prima Latina, but I wanted to come to the Hive for input. My kids are seven and I've had no training in Latin. I hear that Prima Latina is a gentle way to begin which sounds awesome to me. Have you used it? What do you think? Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I can and will recommend it, but I don't think I have much objectivity. We are on lesson 19, so we haven't completed it yet. I have never studied Latin, although I did study Spanish for about 8 yrs, which helps. I also have never used another program, so I have nothing to compare it to. But it is easy to use, reinforces English grammar concepts, and works. We enjoy the prayers and songs and the few little extra assignments it gives (like writing our own poems to help memorize the vowel sounds and verb endings, drawing a picture of your house for nouns, etc.) The lessons are short and simple, and even my 6 yr old is learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 We didn't like Prima Latina. We found it very dry and boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dina in Oklahoma Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 My DD completed Prima and really enjoyed the DVD instructor and learned a great deal. I feel it provided an excellent foundation. She choose to use Latina Christiana this year. HTH!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I did not use DVDs with it. I used it straight. It was so simple to teach. We did do the CDs. We listen to those in the mornings. It was fine. I would recommend it. I must tell you that the reason I love it is I like the children learning their prayers in Latin. I think that it cute. There are no bells and whistles. It does not have comics or pretty pictures. It is straight forward. What I like also is that Prima Latina starts off with vocabulary as any language program should. I don't like programs that start with grammar. I love that it teaches the child what words mean. This is how everyone learns a language. You talked to your baby when they were little. You never started him off with conjugating verbs. So, Prima Latina teaches a child words first and grammar later. It is mild. I would recommend it!! Remember, I love it because my children can say their prayers on Latin. Blessings in your homeschooling journey! Sincerely, Karen http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 We aren't completely done yet, either, but I like what my kids have learned so far with PL. It can be dry. The kids don't "love" doing latin. (We're planning Minimus for a good after-PL/before Latina Christina "fun.") However, they have learned a LOT so far. IMO, any latin that gets done is a good latin curriculum. We use the DVD and I am glad for it because I have no Latin background & the teacher teaches better than I could. (The CD alone wouldn't do it for us.) I wouldn't "rave" over it. It is gentle, IMO. I know of some people who thought it was dry & hated it. It helps that we are Catholic & the prayers fit right into our worship life. I don't know what non-Catholic Christians think of the different prayers it teaches. It isn't a secular program in any sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 (edited) I bought it to use with a 4-year old, but didn't like the approach. I like a program with many translation exercises and minimum English grammar lessons and ended up happily with Getting Started with Latin, which is also gentle, efficient, and comes with a free pronunciation download from the author's website. Also, I need a strong grammar program in order to teach Latin, and I only had the student book, so my experience with Prima Latina was probably somewhat limited. DD liked declining and conjugating while jumping around. If I thought there was frustration with a grammar-focused program, I would have switched back to Prima Latina and skipped the English lessons. Edited January 11, 2011 by crazyforlatin Remembered something else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinswife Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 My dd8 used it in 3rd and loved it! Even dd6 would settle in to listen. She is now doing LC1 and still LOVES it! DD6 still loves to listen in when we're drilling with the flashcards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehog Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 We tried it but didn't care for it - we found it very dry. We're using Song School Latin/Latin for Children instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meet me in paris Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 We didn't like Prima Latina. We found it very dry and boring. :iagree:I tried it with 2 kids, and neither of them liked it. <yawn> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 We're on Lesson 15 of Prima Latina. So far, we give it a :thumbup1:. It is very, very easy. It didn't damper our schedule or take up so much time we had to cut out stuff. My kids like the prayers (especially) and we're getting ready to learn the constellations (so you know what that means, Unit Study Time!! :hurray:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloggermom Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 My kids are doing great with Prima Latina. There is no fluff so they can get a lot out of it in a short amount of time. My kids are retaining it very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I looked at LFC and was tempted because of all the cool games and books that accompany that program, but in the end I purchased Prima Latina because it makes so much more sense to me. I agree that learning some vocab and derivatives first makes much more sense to me than confusing everyone by learning conjugations on the first day. The grammar in PL aligns itself so well with what we are learning in Grammar Island (MCT). It is probably not their favorite curriculum, but they have never complained and the retention is really good for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I much prefer Song School Latin for K-2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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