MP Latin - boring?

[lgliser]

I liked Prima Latina well enough last year, but as I'm looking through Latina Christiana for this year, it just seems so boring!  And I am NOT one who thinks things need to be all colorful or cartoony by any means...  But this is almost making me think, "Do we really HAVE to do Lain?"  

 

We have already purchased LC for this year and I am sure we will do it, but I wonder if there might be a different curriculum that might be a little bit more appealing for kids?  And if so, which one would be a good transition from 2 years of MP?

Edited August 2, 2016 by lgliser

[2_girls_mommy]

I have never found MP to be boring.  I teach the lesson aloud to a class at co-op. Kids do the workbook pages on their own at home (or don't. I have them make flashcards to practice with in class and home. I don't make the class have workbooks until First Form.Some families get them. Others don't at that level) They enjoy looking at the vocabulary on the board and trying to think of derivatives as a group. I make them recite aloud daily, standing up, in unison everything in the recitation lists. I make up sing songy chants for them or use the songs they give as an example. And then I have always taught Roman history alongside which is exciting. LC has readings from Famous Men of Rome scheduled into the lesson plans. All kids seem to love this. And we memorize and recite dates on a timeline as we go, lists of the 7 hills of Rome, list of the 7 kings, etc. as we go. I print pictures with Latin phrases to color from various websites. My favorites to fall back on originally came from another curriculum that had a coloring book to download free on their website years ago. I don't know if it is still available. But I find things in other places and copy them too. I sometimes check out books in latin from the library's very small collection (like How the Grinch Stole Christmas in Latin every December) for fun.

[lgliser]

Good!  It was only my first thought while looking through.  

 

I like making up  sing songy chants too, but I don't feel like I'm good at it so I'm always looking on YouTube.

 

I was thinking the Famous Men of Rome looked cool.  I know it's "optional" but you say it is scheduled in?  I hope so because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to just fit it in where I wanted or what.  Does it suggest memorizing the 7 hills or Rome, 7 kings, etc?

 

What was the other curriculum that had free coloring downloads?

 

 

[KrissiK]

I don't find it boring because it does an excellent job teachng Latin. And I like learning Latin. It is not an entertaining curriculum, although I do enjoy the First and Second Form videos.

[ALB]

I was in that exact same spot after Prima Latina.  Eventually I questioned whether Latin was worth the time and hard work that it would obviously require with MP.  I read Climbing Parnassus, and that really influenced my decision to commit to learning Latin.

 

I'm doing LC with my ds and Second Form with my dd, and yes, it's "boring" most days as in that it is repetitive and somewhat mind-numbing (all those recitations, grammar questions, flashcards).  But it is also thorough, challenging, and very very effective.  My dc don't particularly like it, but they also feel that way about math and I'm not about to drop math to please them.  What they do like, though, is how many times they understand a Latin reference that they hear, or how impressed family members are with their vocabulary and ability to memorize.  I'm convinced that they will one day be very thankful that they learned Latin, and IMO MP's materials are the best there is.

 

FWIW, my dc absolutely balk at watching the videos and would rather I teach the material myself.  Personally, I like the Form videos, but my kids don't at all.

[serendipitous journey]

We think MP Latin is often boring, sometimes fascinating, and always worth doing.  :)    

 

Others have been happy working with the Galore Park Latin materials, doing the Minimus books with younger children, though the case order for nouns is different to the US books.  I need something open-and-go with explicit assignments & work for each day, especially with my older child who is a handful to teach, so MP Latin is great for us. 

 

ETA: I think the above suggestion to do Famous Men of Rome with LC is great! 

 

ETA#2: I mean, if you want to use FMoR.  I much prefer Guerber's books (Story of the Romans, for instance) but it can be very nice to have the supporting materials for FMoR that MP publishes, such as student guides, teacher guides, and flashcards/memory work. 

Edited August 3, 2016 by serendipitous journey

[momee]

We did First Form and Second Form online.  My kids learned a ton - they were the giants of the group.  Meaning they were 9th and 10th graders, taking the class with smart little 9 and 10 year olds.  Was humbling but very! worthwhile for them.

 

Online class was expensive, but well done.

[2_girls_mommy]

Good!  It was only my first thought while looking through.  

 

I like making up  sing songy chants too, but I don't feel like I'm good at it so I'm always looking on YouTube.

 

I was thinking the Famous Men of Rome looked cool.  I know it's "optional" but you say it is scheduled in?  I hope so because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to just fit it in where I wanted or what.  Does it suggest memorizing the 7 hills or Rome, 7 kings, etc?

 

What was the other curriculum that had free coloring downloads?

Yes, what chapters to read of FMOR are scheduled into the LC lessons and the material is actually on the tests if you do the tests.  One thing to keep in mind is that only half of FMOR is in LCI because the other half is scheduled into LCII.

 

I will see if I can figure out where I got the coloring book and get back on here. One idea I do is to use the materials from the Exploratory Latin Exams for extra studying. There is a history/culture subject on the test every year for 5th and 6th graders. It is an addemdum to the regular syllabus. Since it changes every year the material to study in depth changes every year too.

 

**** I just checked.  The coloring book is a Song School Latin one.  It matches to their chapters, but I pull ones that match the vocab in whatever Latin we are doing.  It used to be on their website.  No idea if it still is.  It was years ago that I downloaded it.

Edited August 4, 2016 by 2_girls_mommy

[lgliser]

Thanks SO much, guys!  I am glad and feel reassured that we are doing the right thing by sticking with it :)

[EmseB]

LCI has been recently updated to transition directly to FF, I dont think LCII is offered anymore. In other words, LCI is just LC now. Also, the videos have been updated too. We loved Leigh Lowe, but many of the LC lesson videos were just too long and they've fixed that. You can get LC lesson plans to finish it in one year or two.