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Latin - MP or CAP


Bay Lake Mom
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I need Latin advice for 5th grade. My dd’s only Latin experience is watching half of the DVD’s from Song School Latin 1.  I had purchased CAP Latin for Children A last year (right before they released the new edition).  ? We never fit it into our plans last year. I want to make Latin a priority this year. My debate is...  I’m really drawn to the MP Latin series, and quite honestly - I’m frustrated with CAP.  I have a younger dd that I will need to re-use resources with. If we use CAP LFC A, I will have to purchase a full new Latin curriculum for my younger dd because apparently you can’t use the LFC A resources with the new consumables. 

So, what would you do?  Should I sell the complete LFC A set since it’s all new and has everything needed and then buy the MP Latina Christiana?  I’m afraid I won’t be able to sell any of LFC if we use it.  If I choose MP, would I start with Latina Christiana 1?

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I let my kid decide.  He was very against LFC A after seeing the samples/video, and went for FFL instead.  But he did a year with Getting Started With Latin first as an introduction. 
If it were up to me I'd put him in Cambridge Latin Unit 1 because I like the immediate immersion (same reason I like these Little Latin Readers) but he will be using it so he gets the deciding vote. 

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32 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

I let my kid decide.  He was very against LFC A after seeing the samples/video, and went for FFL instead.  But he did a year with Getting Started With Latin first as an introduction. 
If it were up to me I'd put him in Cambridge Latin Unit 1 because I like the immediate immersion (same reason I like these Little Latin Readers) but he will be using it so he gets the deciding vote. 

I love Cambridge Latin and Minimus and Secondus. It is all just so expensive. I have some of the textbooks, but none of the other resources that go with it.

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I am switching to MP this school year (from CAP). 

CAP was very busy (the activity guide especially) and with the new editions I would have to repurchase everything for my next child. Frustrating. 

I showed my daughter MP and we both liked the clean layout and straightforward approach. I’m hoping it helps us stay more consistent with Latin this year. It also seems to have better review and seems to build on itself in a logical way. We’ll see....

Knowing that CAP was doing a second edition was what really helped me decide to switch. I have many little ones and I would have to rebuy each level of CAP. And I felt my daughter did not retain as much from this past school year as I would have liked. 

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Thank you all for the advice. I have looked at so many Latin books online this week!  I believe I am going to go with MP. I have a Prima Latina set. I’m debating doing that with my youngest dd instead of Song School. From the reviews I’ve read, I think I’m going to go with MP First Form (instead of Latina Christiana). I like that the MP books aren’t cluttered. My little girl is visually impaired, and the more white space on a page, the better. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/30/2018 at 6:33 AM, lexi said:

I am switching to MP this school year (from CAP). 

CAP was very busy (the activity guide especially) and with the new editions I would have to repurchase everything for my next child. Frustrating. 

I showed my daughter MP and we both liked the clean layout and straightforward approach. I’m hoping it helps us stay more consistent with Latin this year. It also seems to have better review and seems to build on itself in a logical way. We’ll see....

Knowing that CAP was doing a second edition was what really helped me decide to switch. I have many little ones and I would have to rebuy each level of CAP. And I felt my daughter did not retain as much from this past school year as I would have liked. 

 

So, Lexi, are you going to start with First Form or 2nd, having already done LFC A? We are in this same situation!

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1 hour ago, socody said:

 

So, Lexi, are you going to start with First Form or 2nd, having already done LFC A? We are in this same situation!

We will start with First Form. I wasn’t super diligent about working on LfC with my dd. She could use the review and extra practice. And it does look like First Form covers some different things than LfC. I thought it better to have a low stress Latin year with lots of review to build a better foundation and to help my dd feel more confident. 

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FWIW, I sold my LFC A first edition and purchased the second edition because we did their online class. My son really loved doing their program, and we will be continuing with their 2nd edition of LFC B. I think that it just depends on what appeals to you. I believe that there are generous samples online for the 2nd edition. The videos were all redone, and the workbooks were redone to be visually appealing and in color. He likes the Headventureland online practice and the running storyline through the workbook.

I think there's no one size fits all. It's what works best for your student.

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CAP has worked well for us. Dd is finishing LA1, after having done LfC A and B. Dd and I both find MP materials to be dreadfully dull.

Choose what works for you as a teacher and for your dd. The  best choice is the one that actually gets done!!

I think your long-term goals matter in that kind of choice. Are you headed for mastery, AP and the ability to read Latin? Will you do the NLE? Or are you just doing some Latin for the grammar and vocab enrichment and general exposure? Do you plan to use online classes at all? 

CAP is better prep for the NLE. MP is heavy on Caesar and , if I understand the scope and sequence correctly, doesn't have anything past Latin 2. FFL is just Henle yr 1 broken down into parts. Then there is Henle 2.

 

eta: corrections! 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

 

CAP is better prep for the NLE. MP is heavy on Caesar and, if I understand the scope and sequence correctly, doesn't have anything past Latin 2. FFL is just Henle yr 1 broken down into parts. Then there is Henle 2.

 

 

 

 

Their website has Mueller's Caeser and NLE reviews as well.  They even have Henle III and IV for sale.

https://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/latin/

I ran across this a few days ago.  I have no idea how reliable this website is, however.  http://teachdiligently.com/articles/which-latin-curriculum

 

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3 hours ago, Whippoorwill said:

Their website has Mueller's Caeser and NLE reviews as well.  They even have Henle III and IV for sale.

https://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/latin/

I ran across this a few days ago.  I have no idea how reliable this website is, however.  http://teachdiligently.com/articles/which-latin-curriculum

 

Thanks for the MP information, Whippoorwill. I didn't know there were third and fourth level of Henle. 

There are an abundance of "expert" opinions on Latin curricula. Even here (gasp! :ohmy: :tongue:) on the WTM boards, there are Latin teachers, people with classics degrees and decades of experience, who disagree about the best books and materials.  I have read enough threads on Latin over ten years here to see that many curricula are good choices. One size does not fit all! How excellent that we live in a time and a place in which there are a multitude of excellent, affordable options! And that we have the freedom to choose! I am by no means an expert. I just noticed that the thread was MP heavy, so thought I'd chime in on the CAP side because my students have done well with their materials. I expect that, consistenly taught with NT students, almost any of the Latin curricula WTM boardies like would be fine.

 

The CAP products do indeed have a number of typos. There are errata sheets on their website, but it is irritating to have to use them. 

The NLE content is included in the CAP program, so if the content is learned well the first time, little extra studying and no extra materials are needed. My kids enjoy the culture and history content. 

For us the CAP materials are more interesting and therefore help keep my students motivated for the challenging work that learning Latin is. I have one student who will do a few years for exposure and one who will progress to a much higher level. 

 

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