Latin you love?

[1dawn]

We have been working on roots, but now I need to decide on a program, and there are so many choices out there. My girls are 9 and 11. Can you recommend curriculum you love and why? Also, if one didn't work for you, please share why it didn't. I didn't have Latin in school, and this is just overwhelming to me. I'm not sure how to evaluate what "looks good" and it's driving me crazy! Thanks!

[iafrmgrl77]

I need this info, too!

[momsuz123]

Me too! I have a dd starting third grade and need to start Latin - completely clueless.

[PIE!]

:bigear:

[boscopup]

We're using Getting Started With Latin for 3rd grade. My son has done a few lessons and liked it. I did even more lessons (didn't have Latin in school), and I liked it too. It makes sense to me, and it generally gets good reviews as a good starter program. :)

 

I bought the Kindle book off Amazon. It's half the price of the paperback.

[julzar]

For teachers with no Latin background, the Latin offerings of Memoria Press are very accessible. They have beginning programs for different ages as follows: Prima Latina(K-3), Latina Christiana 1 (3-6), and First Form Latin(5+). They are very loically laid out and drill they grammar which is very necessary for an inflected(lots of endings) language like Latin. Hope this helps!

[wapiti]

GSWL (an inexpensive, short, fabulous introduction to precede a more substantial grammar and translation program; the trickier question is what to use afterwards)

 

My dd used Henle after GSWL. Depending on the age of the student, there are a few others I'd also consider for after GSWL, such as LNM.

[PollyOR]

I had never taken Latin before I started trying to teach my girls. For me, Lively Latin was better than Prima Latina/Latina Christiana. I love Memoria Press, but I found Lively Latin's explanations to be better for me. Now that I understand some of the terminology a little better, I think I would feel more confident using MP's programs.

 

I don't have experience with any other programs.

[WishboneDawn]

We're using Getting Started With Latin for 3rd grade. My son has done a few lessons and liked it. I did even more lessons (didn't have Latin in school), and I liked it too. It makes sense to me, and it generally gets good reviews as a good starter program. :)

 

I bought the Kindle book off Amazon. It's half the price of the paperback.

 

I agree with this. It's gentle and fun and my daughter came out of it with a real feel for how Latin works. She's now moved on to Lingua Latina which suits her style to a tee. She thinks it's awesome. :) I was going to go to Henle and a more traditional approach but I don't think it would work for her - or at least she wouldn't be the Latin nut she is now if we'd used Henle.

[WishboneDawn]

GSWL (an inexpensive, short, fabulous introduction to precede a more substantial grammar and translation program; the trickier question is what to use afterwards)

 

My dd used Henle after GSWL. Depending on the age of the student, there are a few others I'd also consider for after GSWL, such as LNM.

 

I said this in my other post but Lingua Latina was just the ticket for my daughter after GSWL.

[1dawn]

Thank you all! I really appreciate all the advice, and I'm not so confused now. Thanks for putting me on the right track!

[Rivka]

I adore Lively Latin. It's a grammar based approach with very clear explanations. The activities are varied and fun. (For example: "Draw pictures of these Latin sentences." "Describe this famous painting in Latin." "Find the noun that is declined correctly.") My daughter loves the included history and art study.

[pbb119]

Prima Latina did not work for us at all. I have Song School Latin for this year and am hoping for the best. I am open to changing mid-year if it doesn't work out, or add to it if need be. I will be :bigear: on this and other Latin related threads!

[happypamama]

I love Getting Started With Latin like nothing else, and my DD loved it too. We are moving to Latin's Not So Tough next, Level 3; I think it will be easy for her, grammar-wise, but it has some vocabulary that was not taught in GSWL, and I thought easy review would be better for her than being confused. (I also know no Latin, so I wanted something that wouldn't be overwhelming for me as well. I have heard that it can be hard to jump into LNST at the higher levels if you don't have a Latin background.)

 

If I had one homeschooling wish (aside from vouchers, LOL), I would wish that the GSWL would expand to have more languages than just Latin and Spanish, because we like its approach that much. :)

[redsquirrel]

We are also Lively Latin fans here. We started with something else (can't remember) and then moved on to LL. My elder son is now using LL2 in a self directed fashion. He loves Latin.

 

I am starting my 7 year old in Song School Latin next year, then we will start with Lively Latin.

[materursa]

I adore Lively Latin. It's a grammar based approach with very clear explanations. The activities are varied and fun. (For example: "Draw pictures of these Latin sentences." "Describe this famous painting in Latin." "Find the noun that is declined correctly.") My daughter loves the included history and art study.

 

:iagree: Latin is my dd favorite subject. :001_smile:

[Cassy]

DS11 started out doing Minimus when he was 9 yo, then Minimus Secundus, he really didn't love either, although I thought they were fun and a very good introduction. This past year he's been doing Galore Park Latin Prep, which he loves. I've also really enjoyed it, but have found it sufficiently challenging, as I never did Latin at school either, although I did do French and Spanish up to degree level, which has helped.

 

Cassy

[AimeeM]

I Speak Latin was wonderful; perfect for combining ages. Our *only* issue for it is that it definitely caters to an auditory learner and my daughter is dyslexic with auditory processing problems. It was fun and interactive; even my then 2 year old could be involved... but we didn't get past the first few lessons before I realized my visual learner was retaining nothing. Review is implemented though, so I recommend this very much for other children. I will probably buy it again to use with my son (now 3) when he is a bit older.

[melissel]

We use Latin for Children. I personally don't love it (it has a few flaws that took me a little while to figure out), but my DD9 really does. I would say it's her favorite subject as well. She asked me a few days ago if we can do Spanish for Children when we start Spanish.

[iafrmgrl77]

Prima Latina did not work for us at all. I have Song School Latin for this year and am hoping for the best. I am open to changing mid-year if it doesn't work out, or add to it if need be. I will be :bigear: on this and other Latin related threads!

 

I have both of these on my shelf! I am just not sold on either one yet, so here I am, still shopping! :lol:

[JudoMom]

Getting Started with Latin is a great introduction.

 

I also love Visual Latin (it is my boys' favorite). Visual Latin recommends combining it with another text--Lingua Latina is their first choice, but they also recently came out with a schedule for Henle as well.

[crazyforlatin]

We have been working on roots, but now I need to decide on a program, and there are so many choices out there. My girls are 9 and 11. Can you recommend curriculum you love and why? Also, if one didn't work for you, please share why it didn't. I didn't have Latin in school, and this is just overwhelming to me. I'm not sure how to evaluate what "looks good" and it's driving me crazy! Thanks!

 

Since your kids are 9 and 11, I wouldn't waste money on PL or SSL. I would go with GSWL first and then figure out which book afterwards. Once you see GSWL, you will feel encouraged and motivated - definitely not overwhelmed. You may even declare that Latin is sure easy to learn! You won't have to be deal with a workbook, textbook, flashcards, CD, video, etc.

 

The author of GSWL has a free audio pronunciation on his website, and is quite responsive to emails.

Edited May 30, 2012 by crazyforlatin

[Hedgehog]

We use Latin for Children. I personally don't love it (it has a few flaws that took me a little while to figure out), but my DD9 really does. I would say it's her favorite subject as well.

 

:iagree: Same goes here, for Moominmamma. The Snork Maiden, who is 10, has finished Song School Latin and has just started LfC A. She totally loved SSL - even the loopy songs on the CD!

 

When we started Latin, Moominmamma tried Prima Latina and I'm afraid she was bored nearly to tears. We had a look at GSWL and that didn't look much better to her, either. I think I probably found out about Latin for Children from a recommendation on here.

 

We'd probably do Spanish for Children if it weren't for the fact that we wanted Continental Spanish, not Latin American. (We're in the UK.)

 

And as a final positive point, I can say that Classical Academic Press have excellent customer service - they were very accommodating of my requests when I wanted just CDs and not DVDs.

[1dawn]

Thanks again! I think I will start with GSWL as I could use the extra hand-holding. Lively Latin sounds perfect, especially for my youngest. Would LL work after GSWL?

 

From there, I'll have to go through the other recommendations. I love this board. Thank you all!

[pineapplehorse]

Thanks again! I think I will start with GSWL as I could use the extra hand-holding. Lively Latin sounds perfect, especially for my youngest. Would LL work after GSWL?

 

From there, I'll have to go through the other recommendations. I love this board. Thank you all!

 

We took 2 years to do GSWL. Example of how we did it,

Day 101 - Do Lesson 100 independently, Do Lesson 101 listening to the lesson mp3.

Day 102 - Do Lesson 101 independently, Do Lesson 102 listening to the lesson mp3

 

We are moving on to GSWS and Lively Latin next year.

[1dawn]

Thank you! What a great schedule! :001_smile:

[Mama2Many4]

Skip Prima Latina and go right into Latina Christiana. Getting started with Latin didn't really work well for us. There were no explanations just words to learn. We didn't really like that. You can't go wrong with Memoria Press

[Stellalarella]

Lively Latin is a hit at our house for a mom that previously had studied NO Latin. We began when DD was a 4th grader and DS was a 6th grader.

I echo previous poster's enjoyment props of the curriculum's use of drawing and picture study. I've offered to let my kids off the hook on the history study, but they insist...they like studying Roman history the Lively Latin way!

I did struggle sorting out semantics and I was fairly bogged down by the 4th lesson. All it took was a small amount of study and I got it, but I think it could be better taught in those first few lessons. I've heard others on the board echo the same experience. As a whole, the curriculum is strong and it didn't hurt me to exercise my brain muscle a little extra there in the beginning. I've got it now and I feel excited about that considering that I started with no knowledge.

Also, LIvely Latin also now has video teaching. I like her teachings and the video quality is good. (Better than something like MUS...if you know what I mean.)

 

Lively Latin is "parts to whole" instruction. If that matters to you, as the teacher, it is what SWB recommends in WTM.

[Stellalarella]

I forgot to say that my dc really like Lively Latin. :001_smile:

[JadeOrchidSong]

Thanks again! I think I will start with GSWL as I could use the extra hand-holding. Lively Latin sounds perfect, especially for my youngest. Would LL work after GSWL?

 

From there, I'll have to go through the other recommendations. I love this board. Thank you all!

 

We did SSL, GSWL, and now we are doing LL 1. We finished SSL in less than half a year, finished GSWL in one year and bought LL 1 in February. We don"t do the history part and it has been easy for us, so we progress very fast. We have 3 lessons left. We have decided to buy LL 2 since it is working so well. I have Latin Prep, but it is too fast paced for my dc.

So to answer your question, yes, you can do GSWL followed by Lively Latin. My plan is to go to Latin Prep 2 after LL 2. There is only one verb form in Latin prep 2 that is not taught in LL 2. Since my kids are still young when they finish LL 2, we will use Latin Prep 2 in a quicker pace for review to solidify what they have learned in LL. Also the reason we went with LL after GSWL was that my younger just turned 7 and I didn't want Latin to be too hard on him. He loves both GSWL and LL.

We are doing GSwSpanish now. We enjoy it a lot. I wish there were LL style Spanish to follow with, though.

Hope this helps your decision.

[Violet Crown]

My usual lonely vote for Artes Latinae, which I think no one in the world but me uses. But my kids have loved it, its cost actually isn't unreasonable, and most important, Great Girl is now quite competent in Latin.

[Aurelia]

What ages do you use Artes Latinae with?

[Parker Martin]

GSWL is working very well for us. My son said today that Latin is his favorite subject. Don't know what I'll use after though.

[Violet Crown]

What ages do you use Artes Latinae with?

 

I use it starting around 8 or 9. Now I go very slowly, I'm next to the child as she works, and we stop after each unit and work, again slowly, through the Reader for that unit before going on.

[Dolphin]

DS11 started out doing Minimus when he was 9 yo, then Minimus Secundus, he really didn't love either, although I thought they were fun and a very good introduction. This past year he's been doing Galore Park Latin Prep, which he loves. I've also really enjoyed it, but have found it sufficiently challenging, as I never did Latin at school either, although I did do French and Spanish up to degree level, which has helped.

 

Cassy

 

We are Lain Prep fans here. We order ours through Horrible Ray. We tried Latina Christiana, I really liked it. DS LOVES Latin Prep. Now that I am understanding it, I really like it. It is presented in a fun way, but it is a very thorough Latin program.

[Laura Corin]

My plan is to go to Latin Prep 2 after LL 2. There is only one verb form in Latin prep 2 that is not taught in LL 2. Since my kids are still young when they finish LL 2, we will use Latin Prep 2 in a quicker pace for review to solidify what they have learned in LL.

 

Is where you will find yourself after that. Calvin (very bright kid, language-focused, shortly beginning IB Latin at school) found that Latin Prep 3 was a significant step up from LP2. He was twelve/thirteen when he was doing it. Personally, I wouldn't try to rush LP2, even if there's a lot of review, so that you don't find yourself at sea in LP3.

 

Since C has been at school, we have seen the benefit of his extremely solid basis in Latin. It took us four years to do Latin Prep and we didn't finish the last book. In fact, we did the first half of the last book twice, just to make sure that we were getting it. This foundation is invaluable to him.

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

We are Latin Prep fans here. We order ours through Horrible Ray. We tried Latina Christiana, I really liked it. DS LOVES Latin Prep. Now that I am understanding it, I really like it. It is presented in a fun way, but it is a very thorough Latin program.

 

However, the OP's children are on the young side for it. Age ten and up is a better starting point. Perhaps she could lead in with one of the other programs recommended on this thread, then come to LP when they are a little older.

 

Regards

 

Laura

[kalanamak]

However, the OP's children are on the young side for it. Age ten and up is a better starting point. Perhaps she could lead in with one of the other programs recommended on this thread, then come to LP when they are a little older.

 

We read Minimus for fun when kiddo was little, just to let him know about endings and gender and order, and are now chewing our way through GTWL and I Speak Latin! together. I've gathered all the books to start Galore Park just as soon as I think he's ready.

 

I don't know if other people have other goals for Latin, but I don't expect my child to grow up to read it for fun or be fluent. We use it for vocab/roots, a new challenge different from his other subjects, and a different view into grammar. I intend to transition to a modern language when we have gotten that from Latin.

 

HTH.

[Wee Pip]

just wanted to say this thread has been helpful to me! We plan to use GSWL on Kindle, and I've thrown in the Minimus pupil book just for fun. After that, we might use Lively Latin.

[JadeOrchidSong]

Is where you will find yourself after that. Calvin (very bright kid, language-focused, shortly beginning IB Latin at school) found that Latin Prep 3 was a significant step up from LP2. He was twelve/thirteen when he was doing it. Personally, I wouldn't try to rush LP2, even if there's a lot of review, so that you don't find yourself at sea in LP3.

 

Since C has been at school, we have seen the benefit of his extremely solid basis in Latin. It took us four years to do Latin Prep and we didn't finish the last book. In fact, we did the first half of the last book twice, just to make sure that we were getting it. This foundation is invaluable to him.

 

Laura

Laura,

You have made a good point. Thank you! We will take time to do Latin Prep 2 when we get there. I really love the look of LP; however, my boys are young for it, so we will do Lively Latin for a year before we start LP 2. Meanwhile we will keep LP1 in case we want to do it.