Help! Do I switch Latin and Grammar or tough it out?

[elah]

I decided to try using only Memoria Press this year for my 2nd grader. This is a first for me and I am wondering if I made a mistake. I went to their conference the last two years and felt confident in my decision that this would help make my life be a little easier. However, we are just finishing week 2 and I am panicking.  I am thinking about stopping their Latin and switching to English from the Roots Up which I used with my older kids and really liked. I am also considering dropping their English Grammar Practice book and going back to FLL 2 and WWE 1. So I would basically be taking the Latin & Grammar row out of the curriculum manual and replacing it with those three items.  I feel like the Latin is way to hard for my DD and the grammar is not strong enough. I am thinking that she would get a lot more out of the EFRU, FLL2, and WWE1. Thoughts?

I hate switching but I feel like I would regret not switching. Help!!!! 

[monalisa]

I recently bought a whole grade 3 core of MP (for about the same reasons as you stated),  and have the same thoughts about Latin and Grammar.  I think their philosophy is that the Latin is where much of the grammar teaching will come from.  I think Latina Christiana is too difficult for my very average 3rd grader, even at half speed and I'm going to move her back to Prima Latina.  And I think English Grammar Recitation is too basic -- she knows everything they teach in 3rd grade.  I just ordered Well Ordered Language to look at, and if I don't like that well enough I'm going back to FLL3, which I used with my older dd.

I think you should use what you want to use and ignore the Curriculum Manual. Curriculum is your tool, you're  not its slave! 🙂  I'm preaching to myself here, too, because I've been wrestling with making myself use the whole Grade 3 core, even though in my heart I know its not all a great fit for my dd.  But that pretty, organized weekly grid calls to me!!!!

By the way, in The Well Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer recommends starting Latin in 3rd or 4th with Prima Latina, and says Latina Christiana is best for students who are working on a 4th grade grammar level.  

[HomeAgain]

I think you should use what you are confident teaching and what will fit your daughter's level.  The guide doesn't matter.  Your kid doesn't fit a box.  It's fine to replace and do you. 

[8filltheheart]

Switch without looking back if that is what you want to do.  FWIW, I am not a proponent of Latin for young kids.  There is no reason.  I have had kids who love languages (my current college jr is majoring in Russian and French and graduated from high school with 15 foreign language credits, 4 of which were Latin.....she made it through Latin poetry.)  5th or 6th grade is the earliest I would start.  For a lot of kids, I wouldn't start before 7th or 8th.  THey can learn the material faster and easier when they are older and have a better grasp of how language works in general.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

My eldest didn't start Latin until seventh grade, or Greek until 9th. He did very well with both languages, and minored in Greek, in college. My youngest child started with MP's Prima Latina at 8yo, and loved it. It was very important to him, because he had a knack for languages and grammar, and because a classical focus (to part of his day) helped him see a reason for homeschooling instead of ps. He could also identify with his much older siblings, who read Latin every day. So just within our family, Latin has been a big deal, and the early/late argument was addressed child by child. (One of my children only studied Latin through the first year of Henle. It wasn't really his thing. He studied modern foreign languages in high school.)

Latin aside, I see no reason to continue teaching a homeschooled second grader with materials that are not in accordance with your style and philosophy! You are an experienced home educator. You know what works for your teaching style, and you know why you'd rather use those materials. You aren't guessing. They are high quality materials. It's a very rational choice. Just do it! 😄 MP prepares a curriculum for a school. A homeschool has more flexibility, which is probably one of the best things about homeschooling.

[elah]

Thank you so much ladies! You are so right. I know my child and am very familiar with the curriculum I that I think would be a much better fit for her. In fact, I already own all of it so I can just pull it off the shelf and go. I am always so thankful to this community during these moments. 

[Sarah0000]

16 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

Switch without looking back if that is what you want to do.  FWIW, I am not a proponent of Latin for young kids.  There is no reason.  I have had kids who love languages (my current college jr is majoring in Russian and French and graduated from high school with 15 foreign language credits, 4 of which were Latin.....she made it through Latin poetry.)  5th or 6th grade is the earliest I would start.  For a lot of kids, I wouldn't start before 7th or 8th.  THey can learn the material faster and easier when they are older and have a better grasp of how language works in general.

I've found my 7yo seems to understand certain parts of grammar better in a foreign language, either Latin or Spanish. It comes too naturally in English that it's harder to discern the rule, I guess? Anyway, he asked for Latin. I had no intention to do it early but there are fun programs out there for youngers. However, we don't do it "right" and aren't aiming for memorization any time soon.

[LauraClark]

It must have been a bad day for MP Latin-I posted something similar on the WTM Facebook page yesterday :).  I ended up purchasing Latin' s Not So Tough last night (we're using her Greek books and enjoy them, so I think this will be a good fit for us).  I also hate to switch curriculums and usually just try to tough it out, but my 3rd grader is not retaining any of the vocab-it's just too much for him to memorize.  But, I feel 100% less stressed about Latin knowing we've made this switch.  Funny how sometimes we just need someone to give us permission to change something that works for many but clearly isn't working for us!!  No advice from me-just letting you know you're not alone.

[Janeway]

I would just change. You want to switch to what you used before. So go for it.