Time friendly Latin and Logic for those can never squeeze it in their schedule??

[Natalija]

We have tried to do Latin several times but never have the time for it or stick to it. We started LC1 but it took too long and we were annoyed with the constant "um's" in the video. :tongue_smilie:

 

We don't seem to have time for everything (that is another post..I need help scheduling a better schedule!) but I would really like dds to get some Latin in. Older dd is in 8th but wants to learn Russian in HS so she may only have this year to learn Latin, unless we can squeeze that in.

 

I am looking for a Latin and a Logic curriculum that could be done in a short amount of time. We'd prefer the church Latin version.

 

Also, I am planning on dds doing Vocab from Classical Roots this year. Will they get out of that some of what they would miss if we don't do Latin?

 

Thanks!

Natalija

 

 

 

Any suggestions?

[MIch elle]

w/o the dvd's. That what we do. Listen to the audio & do flash cards daily, do 1 part in the workbook/day, & do the chants - that's it -dvd's are NOT needed.

[oakmom]

Getting Started with Latin

[Carol in Cal.]

My theory is that if DD waits long enough to start, she can self-study LC1 using the DVD's. That way she doesn't have to use MY time, just hers.

 

But for logic, we are doing Fallacy Detective now. I read her the example and read her the problems as part of our bedtime routine, about 3 nights per week. DH is actually kind of intrigued by it as well. I think that there are only 36 lessons, though, so this will not take us far into the school year. When it's done, I'm going to look at Thinking Toolbox or maybe something else.

[TrixieB]

w/o the dvd's. That what we do. Listen to the audio & do flash cards daily, do 1 part in the workbook/day, & do the chants - that's it -dvd's are NOT needed.

LC 1 can be done very time-efficiently.

 

We watch the DVD on Monday (the first lesson is looooong; after that the lessons are about 20-30 minutes. And she does say "um" a lot!). I agree that it can be done without the DVDs but my dc like the novelty of someone other than Mom teaching. I watch the video with the dc, but if you're time crunched you could have your dc do this independently, or skip the DVDs. Then I spend 5 minutes drilling the vocabulary with flashcards.

 

Tues, Wed, Thur: my older dd does the drill sheets (from the TM), one or two workbook exercises, and one puzzle (from the puzzle book) on her own each day. She spends about 10 minutes doing this.

 

Also on Tues, Wed, Thurs: right after breakfast or lunch, we listen to and recite the prayer, song, and lesson from the audio CD. I put the prayer, song, and the week's lesson on a playlist on my iPod, and hook it up to speakers in the dining room. Makes it super easy for the listening/recitation period, which lasts 5 minutes. Then we drill flashcards for about 5 minutes.

 

Friday is quiz day. Dd does the quiz on her own; it takes about 5 minutes.

[Lori D.]

Up through 5th/6th grade, we just did 1-2 pages from a variety of logic puzzle and critical thinking puzzle books 2-3x/week -- takes about 5 minutes, and we just included it as part of our "together time" at the start of the day.

 

Once they hit middle school, we did Fallacy Detective and another year Thinking Toolbox aloud together with dad -- once a week, about 35-45 minutes per week. If you can't squeeze that in during the school day, how about doing it one evening a week (or spread it out over several evenings) after dinner as fun family time?

 

Not to discourage you, BUT -- I totally understand that crunch of "can't fit it all in" -- and it just gets worse in high school! The best advice I got last year was from Mary Schofield in a homeschooling convention session on plannning for high school -- she said you CAN'T get it all in, so don't try; DO sit down and pray/plan what are your PRIORITIES for each child (life goals, making sure they know how to live as an adult, helping them develop skills/interests they may use as part of a career, spiritual values, etc.), and work on accomplishing THOSE for high school -- and the credits will take care of themselves. Or drop away, as you discover they were not a priority afterall.

 

That wisdom has really helped make this year with a 9th and a 10th grader much smoother, more focused and more joyful for us all! BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[frogpond1]

I had to make my schedule fit around Latin. Once I did that I realized that Latin really isn't hard and doesn't take a long time, etc. It is more a matter of mentally reworking priorities- or at least it was for me. If you are looking for a quick and easy squeeze then just go with a vocabulary roots program. That would be pretty easy to squeeze in and wouldn't have trouble on weeks that were to busy to do vocabulary.

[Natalija]

:-)

[mcconnellboys]

I'm not sure what you want to do for logic, formal or informal? There are a few informal programs that you can work on for short bits of time. The Mind Benders books might work for you. They can work something like 1-4 puzzles per day, taking less than 20 minutes to do that and can mostly do them on their own. Thinking Toolbox or Fallacy Detective might be a couple of other programs that could be covered in small increments of 20 minutes or less. You wouldn't even need to do it daily - do it twice a week.

 

For Latin, I'm still using the Latin Primer series and even though I don't think it's laid out, i.e., organized well, one can overcome that by adding tabs to the books to mark the sections for ease of use. It could certainly be done in 20 minutes or less per day for the lower levels of the course, and in about 30 minutes for the upper levels. It starts out with vocab and chants without providing you the reasons for those, but as you move forward, all will begin to unfold for you.

 

I did Vocab from Classical Roots with my older son. I didn't love it. Some folks on the high school boards have suggested other vocab programs they think are better. I'm probably going to look at those before I make a choice the second time around. I don't really think it was a substitute for Latin study. You might ask about good vocab programs on the high school board....

[Ida]

My dh, a history and education professor who has some background in formal logic, looked through it and says it appears solid as an introduction to the ideas in formal logic. We are only about 5 lessons in, but it only takes us about 15-20 minutes. Ds and I sit together on the couch, read through the section, which is usually less than a page, then we talk through the exercises and discussion questions. Short and sweet and cozy. I don't plan on having him do any writing with it for now. My goal is just to get him familiar with the ideas and build up the tools to apply to his writing later on. This is our relaxing subject. Couch subjects get harder to come by as they get older.