Song school latin

[Ausmumof3]

We had never planned to do Latin as part of homeschool. However between WTM, me having a bit of a fascination with words, languages and word roots and Dds animal and nature study fascination we are interested in starting some very basic Latin and seeing where it takes us. Is Song School the best place to start? She's 7, will be grade 3 next year. I have no background so I want to keep it easy.

 

Do we want the whole program or can you make it work from just the DVDs? I don't want to add a tonne of extra writing or paperwork at this stage.

 

Where did you buy it? Is it available from WTM press? I can't find it on book depository and only bits on Amazon. We're in Australia so shipping is a factor unfortunately.

[SoCal_Bear]

Song School Latin is published by Classical Academic Press. You can see a fairly good sized sample of the workbooks on CAP's website. SSL1 is pretty light for the workbook. You can make it work with just the workbook and song CD. I do personally like the DVD as it helped me with pronunciation. SSL2 is a step up in skill and workload from SSL1 which would be fine as it is targeted to 3rd grade. I am grateful for the DVD as I need to watch it more than once to really get it in my own head. The workbook for SSL2 is 3 times as thick as SSL1 and delves into grammar and verb tenses. My son really likes the program because it keeps it fun and enjoyable.

I believe that other Australians mention Rainbow Resource as available to ship to Australia. It is cheapest from there.  

[Bluegoat]

It depends a bit on what you want it to do, but it might be young for grade 3.

 

Song School Latin is, IMO, really just a fun thing for lower elementary kids.  The format is fun, they learn a little vocabulary and it might create some interest in Latin culture.  There is very little grammar.  The songs, to me, have almost a pre-school feel.

 

The Latin programs that are designed more for later elementary students go a little faster and have more vocabulary and introduce more substantial grammar.

 

I would tend to think a grade 3 student is probably too old for SSL, but some might not be quite ready for another program yet.

 

My own opinion is that unless the student is yearning for Latin, younger kids are better off doing a modern language, and starting Latin when it can really support or even replace English grammar.  So later elementary or even middle school.  Kids that start before middle school don't necessarily seem to become competent any sooner, if that is a goal for the language.

[Miss Tick]

Next year I'll work through Getting Started with Latin with my third grader. We'll do a lot of it orally and I'll add in extra English to Latin translation for the last two thirds of the book using the answers from previous lessons. We will use Anki for flashcard practice. From there she will move into Lively Latin. This is the path I've used with her siblings.

 

I'm using SSL this year to teach an introductory Latin class at co-op. After using those other programs I'm not happy with how SSL progresses. Many people like it, and perhaps if I continued on with other CAP products i would get to a happy place?

[LMD]

We're doing SSL with my son, age 9, and it's a bit fluffy and cheesy. I already had the books so we're continuing. He loves the dvd but I really think the workbook is necessary. I hardly ever bother with the songs.

 

I really enjoyed getting started with Latin a lot more. It's cheap to download the kindle version.

Edited November 14, 2016 by LMD

[ScoutTN]

Depends on the kid.

 

I think SSL can be fine for a third grader. My Ds, who is a get'r done type kid for schoolwork, enjoys SSL 1and asks to do it. Anything heavier would be too much for him. We use the books and the song cd.

 

In third, my Dd did SSL 2 in a bit more than a semester and went on to GSWL. This Dd is in Latin Alive 1 now and doing well.

 

I like the CAP series so far. I have had Latin and am comfortable teaching the early levels.

Edited November 14, 2016 by ScoutTN

[Ausmumof3]

It depends a bit on what you want it to do, but it might be young for grade 3.

 

Song School Latin is, IMO, really just a fun thing for lower elementary kids. The format is fun, they learn a little vocabulary and it might create some interest in Latin culture. There is very little grammar. The songs, to me, have almost a pre-school feel.

 

The Latin programs that are designed more for later elementary students go a little faster and have more vocabulary and introduce more substantial grammar.

 

I would tend to think a grade 3 student is probably too old for SSL, but some might not be quite ready for another program yet.

 

My own opinion is that unless the student is yearning for Latin, younger kids are better off doing a modern language, and starting Latin when it can really support or even replace English grammar. So later elementary or even middle school. Kids that start before middle school don't necessarily seem to become competent any sooner, if that is a goal for the language.

We do Italian already but she has a specific interest in Latin because she's fascinated by animals and wants to know more about reading Latin names etc. I don't care if it's a short term fascination.

 

She is a very young grade 3 as she just meets the cut off by 1 week. She won't be 8 till month 5 of the school year.

[Georgiana Daniels]

I think SSL is fine as an intro for a 3rd grader, as long as they go at a good clip. It's a fun way to start learning Latin but will likely be too easy to linger over for long.

[Steven]

Well, I know that I am a minority opinion on these boards, but I found SSL a complete waste of time, and we used it at a much younger age that 3rd grade. I suggest instead I Speak Latin by Andrew Campbell (http://ispeaklatin.com) . Its completely scripted for the parent that knows little or no Latin, is fun and engaging, and focuses on speaking Latin (so there isn't a bunch of writing and translation). Best of all by the end of the 50 some lessons, your child will have learned key features of Latin grammar: genders for nouns, different cases, endings for present tense verbs, adjective endings, etc. Even if you do not continue with Latin, these grammatical concepts will help pave the way in other European languages that you might study. The book suggests making flash cards by drawing pictures and writing the Latin word on the back. I suggest taking pictures instead. You can print hard copies cheaply at Costco, or import them into a computerized flashcard system like Anki. This book would be more fun if you have more than one student. I only have one daughter, so we dressed up her stuffed animals in old t-shirts (tunics) and gave them all Latin names. That way we had more people to interact with and give directions to. 

 

In contrast all you get with SSL is some random vocabulary.