Guest AndreaA Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Is or has anyone else taught Latin to a toddler? Our son is three. We began using Latin words around the house and spelling them with alphabet magnets. For example, we will ask him the Latin word for horse, which is equus. We are also using words from the first book recommended by TWTM, Vocabulary from Latin Roots (Book 4). I know this is a very young age for this, however it seems to come easily as a child this age is already learning vocabulary rapidly. Curious to if anyone else has tried this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah0000 Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 I am doing that but with German. May I ask why you are doing so with Latin? The only benefit I can see of starting Latin so young is a head start on memorization, but then you'd have to keep reviewing for many years before you'd get to the main benefits of Latin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AndreaA Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 We are teaching Latin early at home because we've already been able to relate it to other words in his vocabulary. We are also teaching this because developmentally he's at the age where he enjoys this and is picking it up so easily thinking it's fun. We hope these words if commonly used will be ingrained into his vocabulary and thinking. For example, my husband was in the military... Captain derives from the Latin word caput ("head"). Colonel is derived from columna ("column"). He plays with a gladius ("sword"). The Latin word spectare ("to look") points to over 240 English words. It's a foundation to decipher more difficult words. CC group begins Latin Bible verses at age four. My sister's children are in a private classical school and begin learning in kindergarten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 We do some with Latin vocabulary, and my dd (newly 5) has learned quite a bit since we started when she was much younger. It is very informal here:) Take a look at the Dino Lingo DVD sets for Latin, especially with a toddler! We have them in 3 languages just because they are cute and fun... http://dinolingo.com/languages/latin-for-kids-learning-products.html#link-dvd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 While I'm certainly not anti-Latin, I'd much rather see a kid this age learn a living language, and one that he can learn to use with other *people*. While Latin will give him cool tools to see word roots and such, there's a whole other level of learning that comes from the realization that language allows you to reach people you wouldn't otherwise and also from learning a foreign grammar, which seems like it'd be easier to do with a living language (through read alouds, audio books, movies with foreign language sound tracks, etc. even if you're not comfortable with speaking a foreign language). I agree that kids are sponges, and anything will benefit them - I think it's just a matter of what you see in his/your future and what would benefit him most. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AndreaA Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Yes, he's also learning other languages as well :thumbup1: I spent more of my childhood outside of the U.S. than within. As a child, I attended Korean school. I also learned Tagalog in elementary school after we moved. When I was sixteen, I worked in Switzerland as a teenager. The place I worked in had no English speakers. Yes, you're right foreign languages are important. I think if a child is learning English, Latin is a plus and will definitely benefit later on... Wondering about others who have started early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 John Stuart Mill had rather mixed results with this kind of upbringing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 John Stuart Mill had rather mixed results with this kind of upbringing... What kind of upbringing, if you don't mind me asking for specifics? I'm not sure if you mean Latin, multi-lingual, or something else altogether? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AndreaA Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 John Stuart Mill had a nervous breakdown and mental health issues. Sounds like the condition of many in South Korea's education system! I am Korean :ohmy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 While I'm certainly not anti-Latin, I'd much rather see a kid this age learn a living language, and one that he can learn to use with other *people*. While Latin will give him cool tools to see word roots and such, there's a whole other level of learning that comes from the realization that language allows you to reach people you wouldn't otherwise and also from learning a foreign grammar, which seems like it'd be easier to do with a living language (through read alouds, audio books, movies with foreign language sound tracks, etc. even if you're not comfortable with speaking a foreign language). I agree that kids are sponges, and anything will benefit them - I think it's just a matter of what you see in his/your future and what would benefit him most. :) For what it is worth, this has been our experience with introducing Latin to Alex at a young age...she is fascinated by word roots and common themes among words, both within English and across languages. But I would also say we have not actively tried to 'learn' Latin. Just playing with Song School Latin and earlier the Dino Lingo Latin DVDs. Lots of fun, but preference is definitely on pursuing living languages that she can see/hear spoken and work with:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renai Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 John Stuart Mill had a nervous breakdown and mental health issues. Sounds like the condition of many in South Korea's education system! I am Korean :ohmy: I don't know much about John, just a quick wiki reading, but I didn't get the impression you were giving your tot that rigorous of Latin training, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renai Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 For what it is worth, this has been our experience with introducing Latin to Alex at a young age...she is fascinated by word roots and common themes among words, both within English and across languages. But I would also say we have not actively tried to 'learn' Latin. Just playing with Song School Latin and earlier the Dino Lingo Latin DVDs. Lots of fun, but preference is definitely on pursuing living languages that she can see/hear spoken and work with:) Ooh, thanks for bringing up Dino Lingo, I'd not heard of it. We are a bilingual family (English/Spanish), but I also teach some Japanese and German. This looks great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 If you want to teach Latin to your toddler, go for it! You are right, they are a great age for soaking up language, and it's completely fine to do Latin before (or alongside) a modern foreign language. My kids have learned Mandarin since they were toddlers and we added formal Latin studies in first or second grade. My current toddler is picking up Latin much earlier since we do so much of it orally all together. I think its great exposure for him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I'd concentrate on teaching living languages at that age - the soaking up is much more valuable in that case. Latin can be learned completely efficiently starting from age ten or so. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 We just started SSL at my house and my 3yp loves it! My 1yo even listens in with the DVD. I do not intend to do formal Latin training with them so young, but if they gain something while participating with their siblings, then so be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squawky Acres Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I have a 3yo listening in on SSL 1, which I am doing with his older siblings. He loves the DVD and CD, and has done some of the activities with us (e.g., stick puppets for frater, soror). That could be a fun program to work through at a relaxed pace. Vocabulary can be learned so easily and enjoyably at that age. There is a big difference between 2 and 3. At 3, he understands that we are learning words in a different language. It doesn't bother him, and he finds it fun. Last year, he sat in on a french class with his older siblings. It was such a disaster. He was just learning the English alphabet, colors, and animals, and was just bewildered to hear them called different names. He developed a deep dislike of the instructor, and would indignantly shout out: "That's not jaune, that's YELLOW!" I had to sit out in the halls with him after that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kletterin Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I haven't started on Latin yet, but have been teaching my 4-year-old and 2-year-old French and German. I'm fluent in German (and Spanish, so the romance languages are somewhat famliar, too) and have some rudimentary French. We have a German playgroup and it's been really fun having them learn nursery rhymes, counting, greetings, Caillou in French, etc, in the languages. It's been sort of organic - I started them on these things before finding TWTM or homeschooling in any form. They really enjoy it and we'll move on to more formal learning later. I remember learning so much from watching German television and listening to the news. One of my students in college was Lebanese and spoke English without an accent: said he'd learned English from watching American TV. And most of my Swedish friends had massive exposure to English from American and British media. I love that YouTube makes these things so easy. And for the grown-ups, Duo-Lingo was a fun app for me. I'd been trained in the Berlitz method (taught that for several years) and wasn't too sure how to bring fluency without the advantage of a native speaker/teacher. I love the routine you have, starting with the pledge and doing the lessons in order. That would be a great set-up for our family, too, I think. We do a lesson from the OPG to teaching Reading about once a week. My 4-year-old is in preschool - we just discovered homeschooling a couple of months ago - and I'm matching it up with the letters she studies there each week. They love that lesson program. You've inspired me to add Latin to the mix. I don't think it's too much. They tend to order info very well. And there's a good history for multiple languages started early - Elizabeth I, with her childhood school group, learned many languages simulaneously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 My 3 yr old listens to my older kids Latin and I'll tell him voc. in other languages. He loves learning what others are. We have listened to Song School Latin which he has memorized alot from. I also have some books in Latin on tape he listens too and he has memorized poems as well. He is also enjoying Muzzy for German. We are not doing anything formal as of yet though. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
learntosoar Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 If you want to teach Latin to your toddler, go for it! You are right, they are a great age for soaking up language, and it's completely fine to do Latin before (or alongside) a modern foreign language. My kids have learned Mandarin since they were toddlers and we added formal Latin studies in first or second grade. My current toddler is picking up Latin much earlier since we do so much of it orally all together. I think its great exposure for him! I have been trying to introduce my DD almost 3 to Mandarin. I wish I had started sooner. I would appreciate any advice you can provide. I unfortunately do not speak Mandarin. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.