Jenny in Florida Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 There. I did it. I admitted it. Right out loud. Here's the thing: My son really liked Latin when we did Minimus. And he loved Learning Latin Through Mythology. But we've done those, and there doesn't seem to be a good next step in that reading style. Everything I've looked at is just too big a jump for him. We really like the Galore Park English series, so we thought we'd try that for Latin. It started well, but my son quickly bogged down. I can, of course, "make him" do the work, but it became clear that he wasn't really absorbing it. We had somewhat the same experience with Latin for Children earlier in this process. At some point over the final six weeks before the holiday break, we just stopped doing Latin at all. He got very busy with dance and choir committments, and then my daughter was home from college and we just went into crisis mode, doing only the basics and keeping up with the online classes each week. So, I had already decided to slow Latin down to half pace and do just the first half of the GP book this year. Then I had some in-depth conversations with my son about how school was going (not great) and what we could do in planning for next year to make things more interesting for him. What we ultimately decided was to streamline the number of subjects and let him tackle more challenge in each one. (Up until this year, his preference has always been to do a lot of easier things.) And Latin is a casualty of that decision. He started Greek this year and really loves that. And he will continue Spanish. But he voiced a very strong preference for dropping Latin. Once I absorbed that, I decided it was just plain silly to try and pick up this late in the year, "catching up" and doing only half of a book we knew full well wasn't going to get finished next year. So, there it is. We're Latin drop-outs. Whew. I feel better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawn of ns Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 We haven't done Latin yet and frankly I don't think we will. French is a priority (opens lots of doors up here in Canuckistan) and Greek is my daughter's choice and there is NO way I'm piling on another language no matter how special it is. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Shh - I can't seem to get Latin started. I'm not even a drop out yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I've never done Latin or any foreign language. I tried to do Spanish early on but my daughter was not even remotely interested. I ended up deciding to save foreign language for high school when it would count in their transcripts. We just don't have the interest... Well, that's not entirely true. My 7 year old wants to learn Korean. He's been bugging me about it for almost a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I am so psyched about starting Latin that I spent 3 hours last night reading about Latin curricula ... and we don't even plan to star for a year and a half! I think my daughter will love it. I think my son will hate it. I am planning Latin for his 3rd and 4th grade years, and after that, if he doesn't like it, we will drop it and pursue a modern language. If your son can articulate why Latin is not working for him, I think it's appropriate to drop it. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 We dropped Latin after 4 years of study in favor of online writing and public speaking and art (at least theoretically - online writing starts tomorrow). IMHO, if your ds is doing 2 :eek: other languages, a 3rd is too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Confession...we never started. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3babiesmommy Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I, like some others, am really thinking about starting..... So you are ahead of me:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I encourage anyone to consider Lingua Latina if you are planning to drop Latin. It's a unique approach to Latin. Just a thought.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LND1218 Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 You are doing Greek - that's great. I don't intend for my kids to do Latin when they are doing Greek (aside from some review and stuff to keep the skills sharp.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle T Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 and I don't plan on it. If DS does a foreign language, it will be Spanish, much more useful here in CA. Michelle T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 IMHO, if your ds is doing 2 :eek: other languages, a 3rd is too much. Is there such a thing as too many languages? Calvin is doing one ancient and two modern (Latin, Mandarin and French); Hobbes started on Greek (I originally wrote 'freek', which may betray more than I would wish about his tenacious desire to learn it) having badgered me about it for a year, he is continuing Mandarin, we just started French and he will be beginning Latin in the autumn. Part of this is just because we are a language-y family; partly I am thinking about the schools that they will attend in a few years, which start French at age five and Latin at age ten. Jenny - if it's not working, I see no problem with dropping Latin. Best wishes Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Shh - I can't seem to get Latin started. I'm not even a drop out yet. Um...yeah, what she said. I am going to set our English From the Roots Up! flash cards out on a table and see if the children take a casual interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandra in va Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 There. I did it. I admitted it. Right out loud. :) Good for you. I don't know why it's so hard to stop things we think we "should" be doing. There are some things we each decide are the "unbreakable basics", but beyond that there is liberty. I hope you and your son enjoy your step into freedom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna T. Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 We only lasted a few months! I think I started it too early though. I hope we'll eventually get there, but it may be high school. We are very interested in Greek and are actually making progress there. Even my first grader is loving singing the Greek alphabet and doing the "sound off". Everyday they ask me when the additional Greek products from Classical Academic Press will be ready. So, we've got some momentum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna T. Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Jenny, now I see that you are using The Greek Alphabet Code Cracker. Don't you just love it? Both of my sons are hooked on it and it's now the first thing we do each day. This is a great product. We're getting Song School Greek as soon as it's available... in about six weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary in GA Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 That's great he's got Latin and Greek. I personally love Latin. It seems like too much work to me to try something new, but it might be good for me. Your ds is still young. I allowed my ds to drop Latin after 9th grade. I explained to him that the decision meant he still had to take 2 years of FL because the college entrance/high school graduation requirements stipulated 2 years in one language. Half way through his first year of Spanish he wanted to know why I let him drop Latin???!??:lol: Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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