mo2 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 We're almost finished with Lively Latin. The problem is, my 7th grader isn't retaining much, and I don't know what program to use next year. The materials must be secular, and apparently we need something that will review pretty much everything we covered in Lively Latin. Sigh. Any suggestions? Is 8th grade too old for Latin For Children? First Form Latin? Something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 We are very happy with Cambridge Latin here. You can buy the materials on Amazon. I have no experience with Lively Latin, so I can't compare the programs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 LFC isn't babyish in the slightest. An older kid could easily start there or at Latin Alive. LA is more interesting for an older kid, in our experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 What is he not retaining, vocabulary or grammar, or both? If he is not retaining vocabulary, I suggest you try a time-memory recall program like Anki to create on-line flash cards. Anki is amazing. My daughter is studying 3 languages and with Anki she very efficiently (and quickly) reviews vocabulary every day. It has made a huge difference in the amount of vocabulary she retains. Here is a link: http://ankisrs.net . Most versions of the program are free, but the iPad version costs $25. I have also been very happy with Familia Romana by Hans Orberg. See here for a full listing of the key books; https://www.logos.com/product/36369/lingua-latina-familia-romana-collection#003 Just start over with lesson 1, and move along at an appropriate pace to review. Apparently 9 chapters is typical for first year high school Latin using this text. It will be a very different approach than what he has been using, so he may find it more interesting. If you use this series, you will probably want more than the basic text. Many are available on Amazon, so check around for pricing. I would definitely buy the books with additional exercises. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Is your child using BBOLL1 or 2? We've used both Big Book 1 and 2 with no prior Latin experience. I'm in Wheelock's now, but I've started over with Big Book 1 for my younger dc, so I am on the second go-around. The workpages in BBOLL1 and 2 will not provide enough drill practice to learn and retain the vocabulary. It will require time spent each day with vocabulary flashcards, and creating written and oral tests for chants and vocabulary. I did not spend enough time with flashcards, etc when we began. By the time we got into BBOLL2, I realized we would have make drill a part of our instruction. Wheelock's gives us chapter practice, additional chapter practice at the end of the book, and pages of extra practice in the accompanying workbook. And still, we must do drill exercises and written/oral checkups. All that to say, drill and checkups are quite valuable for retention, and I think would be completely necessary to include with any curriculum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I haven't read the other posts, but my first question to you is what do you and your ds want to get out of Latin? I recently had a reality check of my own on this subject. This is our second year of Latin. DD does great with the vocabulary and translation. The problem is remembering all the declensions and conjugations. She gets those mixed up and interprets tenses incorrectly. I really started to stress about it until I got to thinking....what is the purpose of her learning this in the first place? What is the end goal? My realization was that the primary goal for us was to improve her vocabulary (which is quite good to begin with due to all her reading) and help her "get" grammar, which wasn't happening prior to Latin. Well, we are accomplishing those goals. She told me last year that she really was "getting" English grammar since beginning Latin, and she can now take even more advanced words apart and figure out their meaning from Latin roots and prefixes. Yay! In fact, she is acing almost all of the SAT English questions on their question of the Day site I have her do each morning. So, with this in mind, I really don't care if she becomes fluent in Latin, and we're not concerned about taking any Latin tests. Fluency and proficiency are not our personal Latin goals. Therefore, we're taking it very slowly and just having fun with it. There's no pressure for DD. I would encourage you to think about why you are pursuing Latin and how you want your ds to be able to use it. Then I would proceed from there on which program you think would be best based upon the program's approach. Just my 2 cents.... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I have found that when Ds doesn't seem to retain something it is normally due to the information being presented in a learning style that doesn't work for him. He likes highly grammar based instruction in languages. He likes audio/visual stuff for history. When I present him with other styles, he will do it, but it doesn't really resonate. Perhaps you might want to find a way like Cambridge which is a different approach? First Form is a great work text which is also a different feel. Many of these you can find at the library or through InterLibrary Loan, so that you can see them before you buy. Google Books can also be helpful so you do not purchase resources which won't work very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 LFC isn't babyish in the slightest. An older kid could easily start there or at Latin Alive. LA is more interesting for an older kid, in our experience. I'm thinking of going with Latin Alive, but I'm worried it will move too quickly. What is he not retaining, vocabulary or grammar, or both? If he is not retaining vocabulary, I suggest you try a time-memory recall program like Anki to create on-line flash cards. Anki is amazing. My daughter is studying 3 languages and with Anki she very efficiently (and quickly) reviews vocabulary every day. It has made a huge difference in the amount of vocabulary she retains. Here is a link: http://ankisrs.net . Most versions of the program are free, but the iPad version costs $25. Thank you for the link to Anki. We definitely need more review, so maybe this will make it easier to get it done. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 We use Memoria Press's program and we do recitations for vocab, conjugations and declensions as well as Latin Grammar rules every day. And I think my kids have fairly good retention. But we also have charts all over the room. Latin is hard, but from my experience, it's just repetition, repetition and more repetition. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 My seventh grader is using First Form Latin and I am learning along with her. The retention is excellent, because it's extremely repetitive and requires a lot of student time and input compared to other programs I've seen. I highly recommend it, and we are moving onto Second Form Latin next Year. I don't think first form is too young for eighth grade; we plan to use the form series of through 10th grade because it has been a really effective program for us. We're almost finished with Lively Latin. The problem is, my 7th grader isn't retaining much, and I don't know what program to use next year. The materials must be secular, and apparently we need something that will review pretty much everything we covered in Lively Latin. Sigh. Any suggestions? Is 8th grade too old for Latin For Children? First Form Latin? Something else? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I'm thinking of going with Latin Alive, but I'm worried it will move too quickly. Thank you for the link to Anki. We definitely need more review, so maybe this will make it easier to get it done. :) Have you seen Headventureland.com? There are basic drill games aligned to the lessons. DD/9th makes her own flashcards too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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