Literary Mom Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 My 7.5 year-old daughter has always been a grade ahead, but I am not sure whether to advance her in Latin. She did SSL in 1st grade and PL in 2nd grade this past year, but I'm not totally comfortable with her moving into LC 1 since my older daughter did that last year (for 4th grade) and it was a lot of grammar (my oldest is better at that kind of my memorization). My original plan was just to repeat PL, but my young 3rd grader is precocious, so now I'm contemplating using LFC A, since I met the author at a homeschool convention and really liked his workshops (as a result, we are starting Spanish for Children with my older daughter, as well as FFL). Would that be gentler than LC 1? Or should I just repeat PL like I originally planned or...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 My son is a little older than yours (8 soon turning 9) but we also just finished PL. Our plan is to head next into Lively Latin 1 (big brother just finished it). However we will first take a little diversion, and do Minimus together. Minimus looks like a lot of fun, and will give him a chance to review his vocabulary, learn a little more, and practice that first declension & conjugation that he learned at the end of PL. The little supplementary books that come with it are cute! I like the idea of doing something that's pretty fun and gives him a chance to internalize what he's learned so far before diving forward (though I suspect he will learn more from Minimus, too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Literary Mom Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Jen, I like that idea - my one concern with Minimus is that if it's very interactive, I will struggle with juggling my other two children, as my son (also on the younger side) is coming up into first grade and my oldest will be entering the logic stage. I bought TOG so that I could have a more structured way to manage multiple ages, but it's only for a few subjects, so I'm still navigating how to balance independent work, one-on-one time, and having us all together. Latin has always been about half and half for us - me teaching the lesson, then them doing the work independently, but all separately since they are at different levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 My daughter did LCI in 3rd... (and my older girls were 6th and 9th) She was fine :) She did LCI and then LCII and then Henle in 5th... and did it in 6th and 7th, too because of what we switched to.... If she had continued and been interested, she could have been into Henle II in 7th... Regretfully no one around her... but my parents and me... encouraged her. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Literary Mom Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 If she were third grade age, I would feel more comfortable doing that, but because she's younger and more creative/artistic than fact/memorization oriented, I'm hesitant. We definitely plan to keep going with Latin for as long as we're homeschooling, which I hope will be through high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Jen, I like that idea - my one concern with Minimus is that if it's very interactive, I will struggle with juggling my other two children, as my son (also on the younger side) is coming up into first grade and my oldest will be entering the logic stage. I bought TOG so that I could have a more structured way to manage multiple ages, but it's only for a few subjects, so I'm still navigating how to balance independent work, one-on-one time, and having us all together. Latin has always been about half and half for us - me teaching the lesson, then them doing the work independently, but all separately since they are at different levels. I'm going to include older brother (11, second year of logic stage) in the Minimus unit as well. Since it has some dialogues to read, I figured it would be kind of fun for all three of us. The story is apparently based upon actual artifacts recovered from a dig site in England, so the story is not entirely fabricated, which adds some interest for the older one. I don't have a younger one, but I can't imagine where listening in would do any harm. I don't think this is a year-long program; you could work through it then get back to the other direction you wanted to go. Just a thought . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleeplessnights Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I would probably keep her moving in Latin, just to keep things fresh. I would move into LC1 (or LFC) and move at her pace. Stay on a lesson until she has it down pat. It might take longer, but there will be less frustration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Ds(newly)8 is going into 3rd this year. He finished PL last year and will start LfC A this year. I won't expect him to finish the whole thing. He is NOT precocious, but I expect him to do well with it as far as we get. I think we'll do about 2/3's this year and then just keep going at that rate until he finishes LfC C and starts Wheelock's. My oldest (now 9) started LfC A at a newly turned 7. She was fine, but we only did 2/3 of the book the first year with her, also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in Mint Hill Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 ....now I'm contemplating using LFC A, since I met the author at a homeschool convention and really liked his workshops... Would that be gentler than LC 1? Or should I just repeat PL like I originally planned or...? LFC is more like a middle school level Latin. It is much more detailed in its teaching of the grammar than LC I. I love LFC but its a mystery to me why they "bill" it as an elementary text for 3rd grade--and the title also makes it seem very elementary? this is slightly misleading. It is great for 5th-8th grade. Or for parents who wish to learn it along with their little ones. So it is definitely not "gentler" than LC. It would be the other way around! :tongue_smilie: FWIW... From a Latin teacher who has been teaching from these books (and many others) for years, along with teaching Wheelock's to 9th and 10th graders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Literary Mom Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 LFC is more like a middle school level Latin. It is much more detailed in its teaching of the grammar than LC I. I love LFC but its a mystery to me why they "bill" it as an elementary text for 3rd grade--and the title also makes it seem very elementary? this is slightly misleading. It is great for 5th-8th grade. Or for parents who wish to learn it along with their little ones. So it is definitely not "gentler" than LC. It would be the other way around! :tongue_smilie: FWIW... From a Latin teacher who has been teaching from these books (and many others) for years, along with teaching Wheelock's to 9th and 10th graders. This is very helpful! :) Based on the feedback (thank you all), I think we will try LCI, going at a slower pace, and maybe incorporate Minimus as well. Beth, looking ahead, next year would she finish with LCI and move into LCII or just start FFL? What is your preference between FFL and LFC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in Mint Hill Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 This is very helpful! :) ....Beth, looking ahead, next year would she finish with LCI and move into LCII or just start FFL? What is your preference between FFL and LFC? I love the well organized drill that Memoria produces in their Latin books, but I've not seen FFL (except for glancing at the sample they have up) --- Latin for Children is a great one for developing an understanding of the syntax and enabling the student to really progress in understanding and translating Latin. I suspect that both are excellent in their own ways. LFC is more creatively supplemented with pictures and decorations, while Memoria's is very well-organized and laid out--clean looking. So I would go with the one that appeals to your style most, that way you will enjoy learning with it. Both of them cover the grammar well. I don't agree with Memoria's philosophy of simply devoting so many years to memorizing forms and vocab without reading passages and doing more "natural use" of the language. Their author talks a lot about how the inductive method is ineffective at teaching a language, and the people on the other side talk about how memorizing forms and vocab is "drill and kill." My common sense has always reacted with-- "why can't we have a balance of both!?" When I teach I believe in drilling the forms and vocab, but also quickly have the students USE phrases they are learning in simple little "conversation games." Ones that will encourage them to use the words they have learned to communicate with each other. (But I keep it very simple at first, and do it in such a way that they don't try to dream up something to say in English first and then look up unusual words) I.e. I list a few verbs like ambulare, demonstrare, movere, sedere.... and then give the students a turn to state what I'm doing --using the proper verb ending. The next step of the "game" is to add a direct object. i.e. liber, stilus, vallum (explain that this was really a wall around a fort, but we will use it to mean the wall in the classroom), fenestra, mensa, etc. Then they must say "You are moving the book/pencil/etc." Anyway, this kind of thing helps them assimilate a true understanding of the personal endings, and the accusative/nominative endings. So please don't ever think that the best educational philosophy is going to be one or the other: Deductive Vs Inductive. It is an artistic balance of the two. But as homeschoolers (with little understanding of the language) you need the deductive textbook. Then add "natural use" of the little things you are learning, as much as you possibly can. Bonum studium! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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