jewel7123 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 At what age did you start a Latin program? I have Song School Latin.....I will either start it next year for 1st or wait until 2nd grade, not sure yet. Also, I am unsure about where to go AFTER Song School Latin? I want something fun and engaging, as well as easy for a teacher to use who has NO Latin experience. Another question......I know it's been said that studying Latin will help children with their grammar and vocabulary. So is it best to wait until a child is firmly established in ENGLISH grammar and vocabulary before adding a Latin program in the mix? Would adding Latin at a young age (1st-3rd?) be helpful while a child is learning beginning english grammar or would it just confuse them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Take my advice for what it's worth, as we have not started Latin yet. I agree that it is best to wait until children have an understanding of English grammar before starting Latin. That is why I have gradually pushed back the age of beginning Latin with my dd. We will start next year, in fourth grade. Sheldon's Primary Language Lessons (free from Google books) and FLL3 have given her a nice beginning in grammar, and I am comfortable with starting Latin even if we encounter grammar items in Latin that she has not yet learned in English. She knows enough that I will be able to explain them to her or use FLL4 to introduce them concurrently. We will be starting with Getting Started with Latin. We are using Getting Started with Spanish by the same author, and the kids enjoy it a lot. They are excited to start GSWL. I also purchased Salvete!, the old Cambridge introductory Latin course for kids, for a reasonable price (much more reasonable than Minimus!!) and we will work with that, as well, for reading practice. I'm not sure yet where we will go after GSWL. I own Latin for Children A but can't love it no matter how much I try. I'm interested in Latin Book 1, which is available in entirety (with answers) from the Latin Book 1 Yahoo group. I am also interested in Latin Prep. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I'm using SSL with my first grade dd and two tag-along preschoolers. It is lots of fun and doesn't really get into grammar. DD is reading very well and loves languages. We haven't really done any English grammar yet, other than Madlibs and fun grammar books from the library. We'll be doing Prima Latina and Minimus next year, so a little more serious but still pretty fun and basic. The plan is to move on to LFC after that. It's not necessary at this age, but it's fun and if your dc are wanting more then Latin would be a fun subject to add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 We are starting Prima Latina once we're done with phonics (21 lessons to go...or so...yay!) We're also working through R&S 2. I want my dc to be reading somewhat confidently, be able to spell some basic words, and understand a bit of English sentence structure before beginning any other language. I don't think age matters as much as having a good English foundation in place before adding Latin into the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 So although Latin is helpful with English grammar and vocabulary, it's not particularly so until a child has the basics of english grammar down, is that the general consensus? For those who are further along the Latin road, how DOES Latin help with English grammar/vocab? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 So although Latin is helpful with English grammar and vocabulary, it's not particularly so until a child has the basics of english grammar down, is that the general consensus? I think there are those who would say Latin is the best way of helping a child learn English grammar. I just happen not to agree. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 If you know Latin, you can literally start at any age, as you will be able to tweak things to your kids' cognitive level. If you don't know Latin, it's optimal to wait till upper elementary / lower middle school for your kids to mature and become more independent. It's not that children younger than that cannot learn Latin, it's that in some cases it's "not worth it" because you spend a lot of time doing essentially nothing and kids' natural way of learning at those ages is more suitable to learn modern foreign languages anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Thanks for the replies so far. Anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxMama Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hi, friend! SSL is just for fun. I considered it a gentle intro for Latin. My 8yo will sing the songs while shooting hoops and he has the general impression that Latin is something that is cool and fun. I waited until 3rd grade and used SSL as a prep before LfC which we will start sometime next year. My K'r learned the songs right along with him and enjoyed it just as much if not more. The 8yo is mature enough to make the connection between Latin and English. He can see a base word in English (or Spanish for that matter) and make a decent guess at the meaning with this limited introduction to Latin. The K'r doesn't have the maturity to make these little connections. I don't think that Latin is the highest priority for the younger years but a younger child can tag-a-long an older child's studies. My plan next year is to have the oldest doing LfC as a full program ( He'll be 9yo and 4th grade) and letting the younger one (6yo) tag-a-long as much or as little as she wants. I will probably keep the SSL disc in the car to review the songs over the next few years. I had limited success with Latin with the oldest 2 kids. There were fewer options back in the old days! My limited experience is that it is easier to teach to a more mature and motivated student. Have you considered getting a resource and learning a little Latin for yourself? It's easier to see how Latin can help English grammar/vocabulary as you study it. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endorphins Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 We started Latin this year (GSWL + my own supplementation) and my two seven year olds are eating it up. EATING IT UP. They love it. FWIW, their reading level is about 5th grade, though we're only halfway through our first grammar (FLL) book as we started late. FWIW, the Google Translate tool has made Latin easier and far more interesting for the boys (and myself!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudreyTN Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I don't like to start Latin until they are fairly fluent in reading English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolomonSolomon Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Hi There, I think a great way to start is with just the roots. It is great for vocabulary as well asbuilding an understanding of how language works... Anyway, we used the flashcards from Avenues of the Mind to just teach the roots. My girls loved them and they really learned alot. Then we moved on to Wheelocks which was a full fledged curriculum. It took a lot of time but I think it was well worth it. I don't think you can start to young! Good Luck. ~Sol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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