pocjets Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I'm thinking of starting my 5th grader in Cambridge Latin. She has no prior Latin experience. Is this a good place to start? What would I need to buy and where do I buy it? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Cambridge Latin starts from the beginning and was originally designed to begin at age 11 to 13. How does your child (and how do you) like to learn? Do you prefer whole to parts learning (discovering meaning through experience, then having the details explained later) or parts to whole (starting from the structure and then applying it)? Cambridge is whole to parts - it works well for some, but others find it confusing. If you think that parts to whole would be a better fit, I can give advice on a programme for that. I don't know what elements of Cambridge to recommend - I'm only familiar with the UK version and I assume you are in N. America. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 If you don't mind being an edition back, the textbooks are cheap. I've chosen to go with the UK version because of the online supplement, which is very inexpensive (about $10-$15 USD/year depending on exchange rates and how my bank handles fees). My DD, who is a whole-part learner, has enjoyed CLC, and seems to do quite well at reading Latin. She started the series at 7, and there were a few things then that went over her head that now, at age 10, she's starting to get a little more. The Latin teacher friend of mine who recommended CLC said that it's designed to make middle school boys want to learn Latin, and that's definitely visible. I will say that CLC does NOT prepare well for the US Latin exams in my experience, so after a frustrating experience with the NLVE this year, DD has decided to do CLC for fun and something else for real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pocjets Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Cambridge Latin starts from the beginning and was originally designed to begin at age 11 to 13. How does your child (and how do you) like to learn? Do you prefer whole to parts learning (discovering meaning through experience, then having the details explained later) or parts to whole (starting from the structure and then applying it)? Cambridge is whole to parts - it works well for some, but others find it confusing. If you think that parts to whole would be a better fit, I can give advice on a programme for that. I don't know what elements of Cambridge to recommend - I'm only familiar with the UK version and I assume you are in N. America. Yes- I'll gladly take advice on another program. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pocjets Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 If you don't mind being an edition back, the textbooks are cheap. I've chosen to go with the UK version because of the online supplement, which is very inexpensive (about $10-$15 USD/year depending on exchange rates and how my bank handles fees). My DD, who is a whole-part learner, has enjoyed CLC, and seems to do quite well at reading Latin. She started the series at 7, and there were a few things then that went over her head that now, at age 10, she's starting to get a little more. The Latin teacher friend of mine who recommended CLC said that it's designed to make middle school boys want to learn Latin, and that's definitely visible. I will say that CLC does NOT prepare well for the US Latin exams in my experience, so after a frustrating experience with the NLVE this year, DD has decided to do CLC for fun and something else for real. Thank you for this review. Good to know. What will your daughter be using "for real"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 We have used Cambridge Latin. I am assuming you are in the US. This website http://www.cambridgescp.com/Upage.php?p=clc^oa_unit1^stage1 http://www.cambridgescp.com/Upage.php?p=clc^oa_unit1^stage2 Will give you a sample of what the curriculum is like. The books can be purchased through amazon and I think the website. The online program is free in the US for the first two lessons then subscription. Not sure how much the fee is. The online portion and books are identical in the UK and US. The only difference is the material is presented over 4 books in the US and 5 in the UK. The content is identical. In the UK our online portion is free. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Yes- I'll gladly take advice on another program. Thank you! I used Latin Prep, which is parts-to-whole. It suited my sons and me: we prefer to learn stuff first, rather than deriving stuff and then having it confirmed. That's just the way our brains work. Latin Prep is not dry - you are immediately using the grammar that you learn to read and translate - but you get a really firm foundation. It's a British programme, but you can get it in the US from horriblebooks.com or with free shipping from the UK from bookdepository.co.uk. There are samples on this page. Both my boys transitioned to Cambridge later, when they went to school, but they had a really good foundation from LP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 We're looking at either Latin Prep or Latin is Fun as a part-whole more textbooky thing, while continuing to read in Cambridge. She reads Latin well, and can translate quite well, but she didn't do well on the NLVE this year because she didn't necessarily know the labels, so we want something that will give her that information to go along with her reading skills. I expect to use Wheelock's in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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