Is Prima Latina worth the price?

[ExcitedMama]

I can't make up my mind about starting Prima Latina. Is it worth the price? I've read through threads recommending the DVDs but they are so expensive, are they really worth it? Is there really an added benefit to speaking Latin aloud? Since it's so foreign to me I guess I'm just used to it being a dead language so it seems more like something to read. It's also hard that there are no samples of it. We aren't Catholic so I'm not sure I understand the benefit of learning a Latin prayer every week. Can you tell me why you like it? Or if you didn't like it?

 

Obviously I'm completely ignorant of Latin but I like what I've read about the benefits of studying it. I definitely need something easy to teach since I have no idea how to do it. The other program I'm considering is Song School Latin. We are in a virtual charter school so I can get SSL for free but I have to buy anything from a non-secular company like MP myself. Anyone used both? Is MP that much better than SSL? If you recommend MP is SSL a worthwhile supplement to it? Thanks so much!

[Jkacz]

No charter here, so I've had to pay for each of these programs so no bias on cost. My boys tried Prima Latina (with videos) about 3 or 4 years ago and they hated it. They would whine and complain and it just wasn't going done. I put it down to being a little advanced for a 1st grader and kindergartener and we switched over to Song School Latin 1 followed by SSL2 (both with videos) which they did without complaint, even looking forward to the videos to see what would happen to Simon the monkey next. Once we completed those, we tried Prima Latina again since they were a little older (3rd and 4th grade) and I had the program on hand. They STILL hated it. We've now moved on to Latin for Children A without the videos because I found the LFC video samples annoying.

 

To be honest, I think the 2 programs are relatively comparable in content. We went the Song School route because it got done and the kids didn't complain about doing it. If I could get one program free and not the other, that would be enough reason to use it.

[2_girls_mommy]

I think PL is totally worth the cost, but I never bought nor used the DVDs with it. We were able to speak it while using just the CDs and the books. I do see the point in learning the prayers and songs each week. It gives the child a feeling of learning a new language, and they LOVE that. All kids starting a new language want to be able to converse in it. 

[Random]

We've  used SSL and PL.

 

SSL is very simple.  The lessons are super short and the material is all set to song.  There isn't a lot of grammar instruction, just vocabulary and phrases.  It's fun and gentle.  I'd say it's okay for K or 1st, maybe 2nd if you have youngers to group with. The workbook was a lot of matching, coloring, etc.

 

There is a SSL 2 that is more difficult, and that might be what you should try?  That program has some grammar, more vocabulary, more phrases, and more thinking exercises than SSL, but it is all set to song and isn't as much material as Prima Latina.

 

Prima Latina is quite different.  I didn't have any Latin education whatsoever.  I thought the production quality was somewhere between substandard and poor HOWEVER, the material contained therein was essential for us to learn the material.  PL gives a solid understanding of grammar and about 10 new vocabulary words per week, plus prayers and songs to recite.  Ms. Lowe explained everything and went though the exercises for the chapter with the student, and left the student to do the review work independently.  The DVDs were not much more material than what was contained in the TM, but frankly, I didn't want to have to learn Latin to teach it.  It was helpful to hear the instructor repeat the prayers and songs.  We still say some of the prayers from PL at meals times, mimicking Ms. Lowe.  If you are serious about setting up a strong foundation for Latin, I would choose Prima Latina over SSL for any child over grade 3.

[KrissiK]

We us MP's Latin curriculum and I wouldn't have been able to teach it without the DVDs. I knew nothing about Latin and the DVDs are not particularly about pronounciation. They teach the lesson. I would watch the DVDs right along with the kids.

[jaredluvsjoanie]

My children really like Prima Latina and ask to do Latin!

[Loesje22000]

Does Latina Christiana stil exist?

Dat seems to me a better place to start.

Or wait until your children are old enough for First Form Latin.

[mom2att]

I have taught Latin at co-op, as well as to my own children. I like Prima Latina as a very gentle introduction in elementary. With my younger children and at our co-op, I followed it up with a year of Latina Christiana before moving into the MP Forms series, which IME is best started in middle school. I did not use the dvds for Prima or LC, but we did listen to the pronunciation CD and practice the recitations a lot.

 

I should add that my goals with Latin were exposure to another language, reinforcement of grammar, and preparation for modern language study in high school. The farthest I made it in Latin study was Second Form Latin, and it was never my intention to have them taking it through high school and translating Cicero. My oldest did take 2 years of high school Latin with a virtual program, but her true interest was in Spanish.

 

If you are starting elementary students at the very beginning with no Latin background as a teacher, Prima is a great place to start. The thing with Latin is you have to keep doing it in order for it to stick. Starting in elementary means a lot of years of Latin if your goal is study through high school. My kids were done with it after a few years, but I was using it as a means to an end instead of an end in itself, so that was okay.

[katilac]

I can't make up my mind about starting Prima Latina. Is it worth the price? I've read through threads recommending the DVDs but they are so expensive, are they really worth it? Is there really an added benefit to speaking Latin aloud? Since it's so foreign to me I guess I'm just used to it being a dead language so it seems more like something to read. It's also hard that there are no samples of it. We aren't Catholic so I'm not sure I understand the benefit of learning a Latin prayer every week. Can you tell me why you like it? Or if you didn't like it?

 

Obviously I'm completely ignorant of Latin but I like what I've read about the benefits of studying it. I definitely need something easy to teach since I have no idea how to do it. The other program I'm considering is Song School Latin. We are in a virtual charter school so I can get SSL for free but I have to buy anything from a non-secular company like MP myself. Anyone used both? Is MP that much better than SSL? If you recommend MP is SSL a worthwhile supplement to it? Thanks so much!

 

I think the Prima Latina books are worth the price. And the pronunciation CD, although you could also probably find this online. It's a gentle introduction, so I don't find the DVDs necessary - there's not that much to explain. 

 

You can see table of contents, lessons samples, and teacher guide samples here: 

https://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/latin/prima-latina/

 

I would say that students should be comfortable enough with writing to fill out short worksheets in order to get the most out of Prima.

 

We started with Prima and went through Fourth Form (along with other books), so obviously we liked it. However, if I could get a different program for free, that is certainly what I would try first!  Sample here:

http://www.classicalsubjects.com/samples/SSLTE_sample.pdf

 

SSL could really use some more action verbs in vocabulary, but that might be a quibble. It looks like they have practice games on their site, which is a nice plus. 

 

More general comments: It's helpful to speak Latin because you learn and remember it better, and kids usually enjoy it. Looks like SSL has lots of memory songs. Prayers and sayings are helpful because it puts Latin in context, long before you get to the grammar/vocabulary included in the prayers. SSL won't have prayers for sure; if they don't have any Latin sayings, I'd consider adding some in.