Would Prima Latina be alright for a 10 yr old ?

[TracyR]

I thought I would ask this . I am planning on starting to teach my daughter's Latin and feel it would be much easier if I used the same program with them both . Would PL be alright for a 10yr old ?

[katilac]

Prima Latina would be mighty easy for a ten year old. I would probably go for Latina Christiana 1 instead - - the younger one is eight, right? My seven year old does fine with it. She moans a bit about the writing, so I usually let her do derivatives orally, and she does even better than her big sis on vocabulary.

[Sue G in PA]

I asked this question on the old board and the general concensus was that it would be too easy and boring. It was recommended to go with Latina Christiana 1 instead. Now, I have not used either yet, but plan to use Latina Christiana for dd11, ds9 and ds8. After that, dd11 will use Latin Prep. That's the plan. I had PL on my shelf for a whole year and never used it! It did look rather basic (mostly vocab) and "easy" for an older child. Sure hope somebody w/ experiences chimes in!

[Old Dominion Heather]

I'd say PL is too easy for those ages. My ds 8 is doing LC1 and my ds6 does the vocab along with him.

[PeterPan]

You know, in GENERAL I would say PL is quite easy for a 10 yo, but think about your goals. Do you really have time to teach a serious latin program this coming year? Do you want all that work or do you just want a pleasant introduction, something your girls can do together that won't create a ton of stress for you? It's going to be very light, but she'll be able to drill her younger sis and the 4 yo will tag along too! I would do it, just admit that it's light for her and move on. You're focusing on writing this coming year, right? She's going to be doing WT2? That has some seriously long models that take a lot of time. I just wouldn't stress over it. It will be right on for your 8 yo, fun for the 4 yo, and a light introduction for the 10 yo that she can do enjoyably with her sibs. If you have heavier goals and WANT a full, proper, daily, intensive latin course for her, something that's going to require time daily, then by all means do something else with her. I think even LL would be young in format for her, my guess just from looking at it. You'd be looking at something like LfC instead I think, maybe with dvd's. So at that point you're talking two latin programs (one for the olders, one for the youngers) PL is enjoyable, do-able, and gives you another year before you get into the heavy stuff. And what is the worst that happens? If she gets into PL and ADORES it, you let her move faster and go on into a harder program. It's not gonna go to waste. I say go for it. It seems perfectly reasonable in your situation.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I would (and I did). We went through PL first, and thoroughly enjoyed it. About a third of the Latina Christiana I vocabulary comes from Prima Latina, so doing PL first gives a head start on LCI. Also, most of the prayers you learn in PL aren't repeated in LCI. We love reciting the prayers together, and impressing family and friends by doing the table blessing in Latin! :) PL was a great introduction for us, especially since I had never done Latin before. I'm learning along with the kids, and we're not doing the DVDs. I think I'm the one who needed the gentle introduction PL provided! :)

 

If you're not proficient at Latin, I'd start with PL. It will help you get into a routine of dialog, chant, recitation, etc. You can work through it quickly, and move seamlessly into LCI.

[Aunty Social]

I'm using PL this year with my 8 and 13 yr old. It is really easy for my 13 yr old, but she enjoys having a "fluff" subject that she can excel at, and I just didn't have time to teach two Latin classes on top of everything else! I figure that she's still getting exposure to a foreign language, she can help the 8 yr old study, and any kind of learning is better than none (which is what we had when I was trying to do two foreign language programs:tongue_smilie:)

[TracyR]

Thanks ladies . I really don't have time to do two foreing language programs right now . Soo we'll just stick with PL for now :>) Its the same with WT1 . My oldest works through it faster then her younger sister. But I needed to find where I lost her at . So we'll just start simply and if she goes through PL then we'll just go to LC1 after wards .

Does LC1 not include prayers like PL then ?

[Suzanne in ABQ]

LCI only has the Table Blessing and the Lord's Prayer. And, they're not broken down line-by-line in each lesson as they are in Prima Latina. PL has those two, plus the Holy, Holy, Holy and the Doxology.