mommymilkies Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Am I the only one that just doesn't "get it"? I am getting increasingly frustrated trying to use this program. We love some parts of it, but there just isn't enough explanation, IMO, and even with my previous exposure to Latin and Romantic language studies, I just keep finding myself confused trying to figure out how my kids are supposed to know what to do with such little direct teaching of it. We already do some GSWL supplementation and they totally get it. But they want "more". I have Wheelock but I'm not sure about using it at a 4th-6th grade level. If anyone can point out a good secular Latin program my kids will not cry over, then I'm about thisclose to switching! Or is there something I'm missing here. Anyone? Edited February 22, 2012 by mommymilkies NAK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I got pretty bogged down after a few lessons in BBOLL1. I had to spend some time making my own study sheet--just to help get my brain organized. We just kept on going and finally everything clicked. Since that time she has uploaded videos for all the lessons in BBOLL1. Have you watched the videos? After my initial frustration we did go on to complete BBOLL1 and now we're in BBOLL2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Thanks. I always forget about the videos! I don't even know if I have my login info! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 The Magistra is really nice. I dialed the contact number one day and got to talk to her personally on the phone. She talked me through a technical download issue. :001_smile: If you have a specific question about BBOLL1, I might be able to answer. I was so confused at one point, I would not have even known what question to ask. I think what go me down was that I didn't understand why we were chanting things that were not explained. Eventually, eventually, I caught the rhythm that I was to learn the chant and then a few lessons later it would begin to be explained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I am sorry you are not having a good experience with LL. I have to say that we have enjoyed it very much. However, my son had a lot of grammar instruction prior to LL and often her grammar seemed a bit 'light' in comparison. Not impossible or incorrect, just not as in depth. We never used the videos. Is there a specific part that is giving you grief? We found it very much 'do the next thing' so I am not sure I can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I totally understand. I'm not a big fan of memorizing material without the context. I need to see a big picture to understand why it's important to memorize. That said, we had a good year with LL1 and I don't regret it. Just be prepared to be introduced to 'chants' without knowing why you're doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I agree, being asked to memorize the chants, etc. without understanding what they are has been tough for me, too. DD has enjoyed the program, and we've both learned a lot, but I confess I am looking at doing something else after we finish, because I've read here that LL2 ramps up very quickly, and I'm not sure if I could deal with the memorization/lack of context at a faster pace or with more complex material. I'm on the fence, it would be interesting to hear from people who have perservered with LL1 and gone on to LL2 . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We're only in lesson 3 but we like it. Where are you having problems? Maybe I can avoid it if I know to look for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Lesson 5. We've had a little confusion so far, but now we're truly having our heads spin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I see that lesson 5 is finding the subject of a sentence, subject verb agreement, and simple diagramming. Have you covered this in your grammar program? If not, it might be a good time to see how it is presented. If you have covered it in your grammar program, it might be a good time for a review. Without knowing exactly what is making your head spin, it is hard to know how to help. We found the memorizing chants to be a tremendous time saver. By spending some time memorizing we were able to move much more quickly when it came time to apply the information. It was ready to go. It is the same theory put forward by SWB in TWTM and her lectures. By having young children memorize definitions, rules of grammar, science information etc before they know the context, it allows the information to be available to them when they need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I see that lesson 5 is finding the subject of a sentence, subject verb agreement, and simple diagramming. Have you covered this in your grammar program? If not, it might be a good time to see how it is presented. If you have covered it in your grammar program, it might be a good time for a review. Without knowing exactly what is making your head spin, it is hard to know how to help. We found the memorizing chants to be a tremendous time saver. By spending some time memorizing we were able to move much more quickly when it came time to apply the information. It was ready to go. It is the same theory put forward by SWB in TWTM and her lectures. By having young children memorize definitions, rules of grammar, science information etc before they know the context, it allows the information to be available to them when they need it. :iagree: We understand the grammar because we've covered it already. As for the chants and vocab, we just memorize. I'm better at learning the nouns and verbs while my ds is better at the chants. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy2BaMom Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We are using LL1 now (Lesson 6). Originally, I found it confusing as well, especially with the history and mythology and "stuff" thrown in. What was/is key for me is to be fully organized the week before we do the lesson. So - I sit down, go through the lesson(s) and worksheets, make sure I understand them (sometimes this means I'm looking ahead a few weeks), and then I plan out how to approach it with ds, 9, for the upcoming week. This doesn't take as long as it sounds - 1/2 hour or so once a week. Then, when we do LL, I take out the "Cheat Sheet", "Definitions to Know", and the Vocabulary Sheet (I keep all in clear page protectors), and we go over the definitions, then we go over the declensions and verb endings (I don't always cover all of them in the same sitting), and then we look at the lesson for the day, and I try to relate it to the definitions / declensions / conjugations. I point out how the chants relate to these things, particularly the endings. Most of LL1 (from what I can tell) is just learning the first 2 declensions and starting to get a handle on the verb conjugations, so it is pretty straightforward, but you do have to know how to connect the dots for the student (and yourself). HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 We have done FLL through 4. We know subject/verb and diagramming. It's not that. it's the endings on words to indicate they/we/etc. I will have to pull out my kids' books when they're done to let you know exactly what. But this isn't my first frustration. It just seems like something isn't clicking with how it's presented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We found the memorizing chants to be a tremendous time saver. By spending some time memorizing we were able to move much more quickly when it came time to apply the information. It was ready to go. It was also just kind of fun to see the look of amazement on my daughter's face when she figured it out. The first time they showed a noun declension, she was obediently underlining the stem and circling the endings, and suddenly shouted, "HEY! It's our CHANT!" It was like they had done something magic. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We have done FLL through 4. We know subject/verb and diagramming. It's not that. it's the endings on words to indicate they/we/etc. I will have to pull out my kids' books when they're done to let you know exactly what. But this isn't my first frustration. It just seems like something isn't clicking with how it's presented. Well, that wasn't what I was expecting. I saw in your OP that you have a background in Romantic languages so I figured that you would know all the tricks. Ok, that means I got nothin'. FWIW, I did do a fair amount of discussing this with him before we got to that part of the lessons. I remember the first (?) lesson was on inflective and non-inflective languages and that we discussed that quite a lot. In LL 1 I did quite a lot of teaching and reading the lesson pages out loud and sitting while the exercises were being done. With LL2, I just correct and that is it. Honestly, he has surpassed what I could teach him at this point. But, (I Hope) you will be very happy that you have done all of FLL before Latin. That made Latin grammar easy as pie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We have done FLL through 4. We know subject/verb and diagramming. It's not that. it's the endings on words to indicate they/we/etc. I will have to pull out my kids' books when they're done to let you know exactly what. But this isn't my first frustration. It just seems like something isn't clicking with how it's presented. You described our issue as well. We just kept pushing through and it did click. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 You described our issue as well. We just kept pushing through and it did click. :iagree:I don't remember having issues with the same lesson, but there have certainly been times we've had to just keep pushing through until it clicked. Sometimes we need more review, sometimes we need to slow down, and sometimes we need to email the author for help. ;) She has always responded. We are using Big Book 2 now and I have some additional materials I occasionally use. Sometimes just seeing something presented a different way helps. I agree that it can be confusing to memorize before understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I found LL to be one of the better Latin programs. We ditched the history stuff early on as well as the vocabulary as these were two places where the issues of how my son was supposed to know stuff kept coming up. Other secular programs I've used: Latin Prep: It's good for the age you're talking about but the organization is a bit odd. Also it doesn't have assessments included, which is why we moved away from it. That, and we got to adjectives. Cambridge: The grammar part isn't nonexistent, but it might as well be. On the positive side, the stories are entertaining and there are excellent teacher guides that are easy to get (Rainbow Resource carries it). Latin for the New Millennium: I haven't actually used this one, but it looks great. Very complete with lots of teacher material. But I have to say, that GSWL was the best program we ever used. If he were to expand it to cover a whole four years (high school years), I would buy it in a heartbeat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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