Latin for Children

[abrightmom]

My oldest is in 5th grade and he is going to be 12 this fall. As usual, I procrastinated in choosing Latin for this school year though I did my homework in preparation to take the plunge. It was always my plan to begin in 5th grade. How time has passed us by. The good news is that he's still in 5th grade!! :) 

 

Anyhow, with the 20% coupon at CAP I am eager to place an order. Earlier in the school year I was leaning toward Visual Latin or Memoria Press but ….. after spending a lot of time with a First Form Latin set I find that it intimidates me. I think I need to enroll him in a class because I won't be able to give the time necessary to assist and I don't want to put it off any longer. Latin for Children has been on my radar for years because of how fun and visually appealing it is. Headventureland has a lot of appeal.

 

Is it silly to start LFC A with a rising 6th grader? I'm considering enrolling him in a Schole course through CAP and would love it if that could be his Latin for the next 3 or so years. However, I'm sensing that being an 8th grader in LFC C would be embarrassing. Would it be better to do LFC A "at home" now (and possibly B if he works at a comfy clip in A) and plan to enroll in Latin Alive in 7th grade with Schole? 

 

Any counsel would be appreciated. In all honesty, I'd like Latin to be a tad "easier" rather than harder for our first time through to help ME get through the learning curve. I'm certain HE will be fine regardless of the path chosen. 

 

One other reason I am looking at CAP is that there are plenty of options for ME to learn Latin via a summer intensive or other "teacher training". 

[SilverMoon]

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Edited October 18, 2023 by SilverMoon

[Paula in MS]

I would watch the dvd samples for LFC and Latin Alive and make a decision from there.  I will say, though, that LFC is not really easy.  There will be plenty of Latin to learn.  If you go that route, just think of it as an intro to Latin and switch to something else in 7th.  

[ElizabethB]

I like Latin Alive much better than LfC. My daughter did not learn the vocab easily in LfC, it was lighter on grammar than Latin Alive and heavier in vocab but the vocab did not have cognates. I noticed that the only vocab that she consistently remembered was those that I thought of cognates for on my own. I switched to Latin Alive when she was in 4th grade. Watch both and look at samples for both and then decide, while also thinking about the vocab thing. With Latin Alive, the cognates are right there in the book.

With the DVDs, Latin Alive is easy to do on your own, I started my daughter on a slow pace and it was easier for her than the supposedly "easier" LfC.

[abrightmom]

Elizabeth,

 

I don't know what cognates are.  :o  It's time to find out.

 

I'll take a peek at the DVDs and samples more closely. I didn't look at Latin Alive's samples at all as I was thinking it's too advanced. Latin intimidates me and I need it to be VERY open and go and straightforward. 

[ElizabethB]

Elizabeth,

I don't know what cognates are. :o It's time to find out.

I'll take a peek at the DVDs and samples more closely. I didn't look at Latin Alive's samples at all as I was thinking it's too advanced. Latin intimidates me and I need it to be VERY open and go and straightforward.

I actually thought Latin Alive was more straightforward when you use the DVDs!

They call cognates derivatives in the Latin Alive book. For example, for the Latin verb "navigo," which means to sail, the English derivatives they list are navigate and navigation. This makes the word so much easier to remember! And, most of the vocab they introduce in Latin Alive does have at least one derivative listed, although some do not.

[SilverMoon]

There is a derivative page for every lesson in LFC, with nearly all the vocab words included. It isn't touched on in the video very much at all, but it is in the main primer book.

LFC:
-DVD only needed once a week, but you can easily pull up just the chants for practice
-has silly extra videos, Chris Perrin's geekiness endeared him to my kids
-LOTS of vocab practice included through activity book, chants, and Headventureland
-TM is just an answer key
-an independent kid can run this on their own if you establish a weekly rhythm

LA:
-DVD used nearly daily, student goes back and forth from the DVD to the student text
-more interesting, but doesn't attempt to be entertaining
-make your own vocab review method, no sing-songy chants, Headventureland has some
-an independent kid can run this on their own
-TM has more extra notes and helps
-Karen Moore is much more serious, and my kids think the faces she makes when the DVD is paused are hilarious (classically educated kids at their best right there...)

My 5th grade DS has ran LFC himself this year, with a follow-up discussion with me. He just does the DVD, activities, and workbook pages in the same order every week. However he's my *third* kid to use this book. When it was my oldest DC I was much more involved and learned the vocab and grammar right alongside him.

[Paula in MS]

I was lucky enough to watch the Latin teacher videos by Karen Moore when CAP had then available for free.  I thought she was amazing.  I understood so much more about Latin after that video.  That was enough to sell me on Latin Alive.  I ordered it yesterday for my rising 7th grader.

[ElizabethB]

There is a derivative page for every lesson in LFC, with nearly all the vocab words included. It isn't touched on in the video very much at all, but it is in the main primer book.
.

I must have missed this! Are they in the teacher's manual or the back of the book or where? I still own LFC, I was going to wait and start Latin with my son in 5th, but I could start in 4th like his sister if there are derivatives in LFC. His grammar skills will probably not be up to starting Latin Alive until 5th or 6th.

[SilverMoon]

I must have missed this! Are they in the teacher's manual or the back of the book or where? I still own LFC, I was going to wait and start Latin with my son in 5th, but I could start in 4th like his sister if there are derivatives in LFC. His grammar skills will probably not be up to starting Latin Alive until 5th or 6th.

It's right in the lesson in the main student workbook, which they call the primer. Each lesson first has a memory page, then a grammar section that was taught in the video, a worksheet covering new vocab and grammar, a derivative page, the final quiz, and often an extra page with fun history facts. Perhaps you had an older version? There are two editions of primer A.

Once in awhile derivatives show up in the activity book too. My 3rd grader had one last week with a stack of Latin words and a stack of derivatives to match up.

[ElizabethB]

It's right in the lesson in the main student workbook, which they call the primer. Each lesson first has a memory page, then a grammar section that was taught in the video, a worksheet covering new vocab and grammar, a derivative page, the final quiz, and often an extra page with fun history facts. Perhaps you had an older version? There are two editions of primer A.

Once in awhile derivatives show up in the activity book too. My 3rd grader had one last week with a stack of Latin words and a stack of derivatives to match up.

 

 

I don't remember derivatives being *every* lesson in LFC A...by LFC C (where we are now), they are sort of en masse in the review lessons, which do occur more frequently than with LFC A. But there may be more derivatives in the activity guide - which we don't use because we are trying to do a chapter a week and we run out of time.

 

I was curious...I got out my book, there are a few derivatives, but usually just one per word, I like how they have more in Latin Alive.  The words and their derivatives also seemed easier to remember in Latin Alive, or maybe the pace of the vocab was better, and the vocab/grammar mix was a better fit.  

[Aloha2U]

I was lucky enough to watch the Latin teacher videos by Karen Moore when CAP had then available for free.  I thought she was amazing.  I understood so much more about Latin after that video.  That was enough to sell me on Latin Alive.  I ordered it yesterday for my rising 7th grader.

 

Really? FREE?!! Wow, that would be nice! I'd just recently decided that I'm going to buy the Latin for Teachers DVD course, but free instead of the $275 price tag would be much better. When did they offer free viewing of the videos? Does anyone have a set they want to sell?

[ElizabethB]

Really? FREE?!! Wow, that would be nice! I'd just recently decided that I'm going to buy the Latin for Teachers DVD course, but free instead of the $275 price tag would be much better. When did they offer free viewing of the videos? Does anyone have a set they want to sell?

I thought about getting the teachers DVDs, but I bought Latin Alive ahead and that has worked fine here, and then you have it for your children to watch if they want to. My daughter prefers me to the DVD. Cheaper and reusable!

[abrightmom]

Ladies,

 

Thanks for discussing LFC and LA here. It's been a big help. Honestly, I'm a baby and starting with LFC isn't intimidating to me. I'm going to go for it.

 

CMama, I agree about the teacher DVDs. I watched the sample and decided that it would be WELL worth the investment if I am serious about my kiddos studying Latin (and I am). It's quite a chunk but when you consider what you'd spend to take a summer course it's quite reasonable. Too bad we aren't neighbors. It would be a ton of fun to work on it together and split the cost …. ;)