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Need advice on Latin—advice going forward?


ExcitedMama
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Last school year DS surprised me by loving SSL. It became his favorite subject. He always knew the words and completed his workbook pages and remembered the words in the review pages so I never bothered with the flash cards. But somehow by the end of the workbook with the review he had forgotten a ton. I’ve spent the summer going over the cards with him but his retention is way less than when he was watching the DVD. Is SSL2 basically the same, just new vocabulary? I’m wondering if I should just start it and keep up working with him on the cards. 

I also bought MP PL that I’d planned to start over the summer. Should I just go ahead and begin that?

Going forward I have no idea where we are going with Latin. If we move on to MP CL is that a different series of vocab than SSL? Should I keep up the SSL flash cards if we are going onto MP?

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I have no experience with SSL, but we've used MP Latin for years.  It is a methodical, disciplined approach to Latin and it is a beautiful fit for my kiddos.  I usually don't start Prima Latina until 3rd grade with my children, but my 2nd grader will start after Christmas because "I just can't wait!"

For whatever the reason, daily Latin recitation never seems to be a chore and my kiddos thrive with MP's approach.

Just wanted to give you our perspective as you make a decision. I'm sorry I can't address your questions about vocabulary.

If I were in your shoes, the first thing I would do is read up on Latin and its benefits and see if that is something you want to make a priority in your homeschool.  MP has many wonderful online articles that could help you make a decision: https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/  The work in PL and CL is "fun" and different, however, it does certainly get more challenging as you enter the Forms series.  A long(er) range view might be helpful in deciding where you want to go for the coming year.

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I started with SSL1 and transitioned to PL, then LC, we are now using MP First Form Latin.

Song School takes a child-centric approach to vocab. They give lots of words that are related to others and can be used in the child's life. We learned about desks, books, pencils, animals, Christmas, nature, and so on. It was enough fun that I am letting my next son play with Latin using SSL, but I am not trying to get the vocab solid because we will master vocab in LC and FFL.

Memoria Press takes grammar-centric approach to their Latin system. So nouns are chosen based on their declension, verbs are chosen based on their conjugation. Prima is great for a child who is still young enough to need extra time to grapple with basic grammar ideas like what kinds of words are nouns, verbs, or adjectives. Latina Christiana moves a little bit faster, but allows plenty of time for thinking about bigger ideas like why the 'to be' verb is so important, or how the verb tenses are used in English and in Latin. By the end of LC both my son and I were confident to tackle the faster pace of First Form Latin. First Form assumes that you are comfortable with the basics of English grammar, but moves very quickly through pronunciation and the first tenses. Enough of First Form is review that the transition has been very gentle so far (we are 7 weeks into First Form).

Hopefully that helps you decide whether you prefer to tackle MP or CAP.

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We used GSWL as an introduction (my kid hates the Song School method), but after it I took a few minutes to think about what we really wanted from Latin - how many years of study, what the point was..but it helped me decide what our possible options were:

Option A: do another series as an intermediate, and then for high school jump into Henle or Wheelock's.
Option B: do a series that leads into one of these, or another stand alone series like Latin's Not So Tough.

I ultimately left it up to my kid and pulled samples of several for him to sort through, because once I knew what the basic plan was I could tailor the rest of it.  If we were only going for a 2-3 year study there were many more options available.

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My dd14 did Prima Latina in 3rd/4th grade and she still remembers everything even though we didn't do Latin in 5th-8th grade!  We did the DVD teacher and the CD with songs/prayers.  She is now doing Latina Christiana I & II for 9th grade for a high school credit with the DVD teacher, its going well.  Then, we will move on to Henle Latin.

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I don't know if I agree with your assessment of SSL2. It introduces new vocabulary, some grammar and verb forms.  It was much more robust than SSL1.

I know nothing about the MP products--we have only ever used CAP, but I would encourage you to look through the SSL2 book before you toss it. 

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SSL2 is 3 times as thick as SSL1. It is definitely a step up from the previous level. The way they lay of SSL2 leads right into CAP's LFC A which got revamped last year. My son really enjoyed it because it was colorful and had a running storyline through the book. The teaching videos for that were all redone as well.

 

Edited by calbear
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I’m definitely doing SSL2 since we have it. Since I know nothing about Latin I’m just confused about what to do since the retention ended up being way less than I had expected. Like I said I also have MP PL so I’m just trying to figure out what I should do going forward. Maybe I’ll add in SSL2 with the vocab review from SSL1 and then add in PL too once we get going. 

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9 hours ago, ExcitedMama said:

I’m definitely doing SSL2 since we have it. Since I know nothing about Latin I’m just confused about what to do since the retention ended up being way less than I had expected. Like I said I also have MP PL so I’m just trying to figure out what I should do going forward. Maybe I’ll add in SSL2 with the vocab review from SSL1 and then add in PL too once we get going. 

I honestly think part of it is age. I’m in favor of waiting until 4th or 5th to start any Latin (although middle dd did SSL1 in 2nd, but in hindsight it was a mistake).  If it was a living, spoken, applied language starting earlier probably is fine.  As a language of science, history, logical reasoning, and serious grammar starting later means you get more retention ergo fewer years to learn the same amount as someone who started early.

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We did SSL 1 & 2 and the retention was really really low. We are now working through GSWL and 3 years of flashcards for vocab and hes just starting to remember all the words. We still listen to the CD's fairly regularly. However, my 4yo knows most the latin words in SSL 1&2 now as well so there is always that benefit of intense repetition.

Even with the low retention, SSL made latin a "fun" subject so I don't regret doing it at all. I do wish we skipped the workbook and just did the DVD/ CDs/ flashcards.

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