anewday Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Last year I had dd (then grade 4) do Latin Primer with the DVDs. I stopped midway and decided to do Latina Christiana I for various reasons. We started that. I cannot find it in me to keep up with it on a daily basis. We are working on other subjects - Latin is just not the priority. Maybe it should be, I don't know. I confess that because I lack motivation (we're talking ZERO) to sit with her through the DVD's....drill her on the words....prepare the lesson plans...assign the work....check the work....etc....I don't. And consequently she isn't moving forward in her Latin. I recognize it is something that needs to be done regularly or not at all. It's not like Science or History or Art where you can drop it for a week or two and pick it back up w/o ramifications. I am aiming for consistency in so many other subjects. I know the "why's" of Latin study and I think they are fantastic reasons. I just don't know how to fit it in consistently with the other things we're doing....and keep up! Anyone else want to help ease my guilt by confessing to their Latin failings too? :tongue_smilie: Would English from the Roots Up be a good alternative? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in the NH Woods Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Hello, Latin is a subject I outsource. We have used a tutor during the middle school years for my eldest, then moved to online courses for high school. My eldest also studies French online. I do practice a little Spanish with my younger ones, as I had taken several years of this in school. We'll see about Latin. If a good tutoring situation arises, I will be ON it. IMO, just getting it done is what's important, whether that means outsourcing or mom slogging along to learn it. Do what you need to do~ it's a marathon, not a sprint! Blessings, Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssexton Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Dawn, I am right there with you! Right now, we are really hitting math, spelling (with my oldest), and writing hard. And, I'm making myself be consistent with history and science. But, Latin is suffering. :) I just heard of a local Latin class, and I'm waiting on more info. Maybe the accountability to an outside teacher will help us. But, the class meets 30 minutes away at 11:15 in the morning--not the most convenient time. Decisions, decisions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabetika Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I also outsource Latin. After 1.5 years with LC1 and LC2, my dd liked Latin but confessed to boredom with these programs. By that time, she was in 8th grade. Fast forward to now - she's in 9th grade and has completed one semester of Latin with Lukeion.org, a live online class. Latin is easily her favorite subject and she spends more time on it than any of her other academic subjects. She's doing wonderfully in the class and plans to take all 3 years of Lation that Lukeion offers. Her teacher is one of the few people I've heard say that Latin is best begun when students are well in to the logic stage, which allows them to master the abstract nature of Latin. I think what's made the difference for my dd is that she really has the brain power and stamina now to work as hard at Latin as the language requires. I am in awe of what she is able to retain and translate now, versus just a year ago. There are many reasons for this, but I really do believe that much of it is timing. So, all of this to say, try not to feel guilty. You're right, Latin has to be consistent, but it's not a now-or-never proposition. Wait a bit, even a long while, and gain a different perspective. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 people who have a hard time getting a particular subject completed....should start with that subject each day! Maybe you could cut back some time on the other subjects.....remember....you can't learn everything, LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewday Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 I also outsource Latin. After 1.5 years with LC1 and LC2, my dd liked Latin but confessed to boredom with these programs. By that time, she was in 8th grade. Fast forward to now - she's in 9th grade and has completed one semester of Latin with Lukeion.org, a live online class. Latin is easily her favorite subject and she spends more time on it than any of her other academic subjects. She's doing wonderfully in the class and plans to take all 3 years of Lation that Lukeion offers. Her teacher is one of the few people I've heard say that Latin is best begun when students are well in to the logic stage, which allows them to master the abstract nature of Latin. I think what's made the difference for my dd is that she really has the brain power and stamina now to work as hard at Latin as the language requires. I am in awe of what she is able to retain and translate now, versus just a year ago. There are many reasons for this, but I really do believe that much of it is timing. So, all of this to say, try not to feel guilty. You're right, Latin has to be consistent, but it's not a now-or-never proposition. Wait a bit, even a long while, and gain a different perspective. HTH! This gives me hope!!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Don't be too hard on yourself. I took Latin from 7th-12th grade, and all I remember are the prefixes and words that are a part of the English language. If you are planning to teach your child many languages, then do everything possible to teach them Latin, but if your goal is to help them understand English better then look into something like 'Greek and Latin root words flipper' or 'English from the Roots Up'. We are working on Latin this year, but honestly I don't know that we are going to keep it up either. We are focusing on the roots that she needs to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LND1218 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 We outsource Latin too! It's been so worth it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewday Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Don't be too hard on yourself. I took Latin from 7th-12th grade, and all I remember are the prefixes and words that are a part of the English language. If you are planning to teach your child many languages, then do everything possible to teach them Latin, but if your goal is to help them understand English better then look into something like 'Greek and Latin root words flipper' or 'English from the Roots Up'. We are working on Latin this year, but honestly I don't know that we are going to keep it up either. We are focusing on the roots that she needs to know. I'm not planning on having her learn many languages. Spanish yes - and I'd really like to have her start on that instead. I am really starting to like the idea of English from the Roots Up. I have the book already and just need to get the flashcards. And how helpful to hear of so many who do outsource this! We may table it for another year or two and look into that option instead. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 This works for us. Spanish is out dreaded subject so we start with it. Get it over with! FWIW, we use Latin for Children and love it! The lessons are already planned out for you with an additional activity book. We spend 15 minutes a day or so. My ds is great with languages so he picks it up fast but even my little one is picking up latin. We have our reasons for sticking with it, mainly that my 8yo will probably go into a science field and latin will be benificial for him to know. Of course, it's perfectly fine to drop it all together or try it again in a couple years. You can't teach everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabetika Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Dawn, I'm glad my post gave you hope. There is always hope! To be honest, I never thought we'd learn Latin in our homeschooling. I am not a WTM'er, so I was not familiar with the philosophy of teaching Latin from young ages until I learned that some of my friends were doing so. At the time, my dd was younger than their children, and I confess I thought, "Oh, brother." Learning Latin seemed to me one of those things homeschoolers do because they want to be old-fashioned and eccentric, like French or German or Spanish wasn't good enough for them. "We must learn like Grandma and Grandpa learned! Let's go churn some butter and stitch a sampler!" Then, lo and behold, my dd when in 6th grade told me she was interested in Latin. This began our journey, and we've never stopped. If I hadn't been such a snob before, I would have done the research and learned about the benefits of studying Latin that have nothing to do with the benefits of studying "living" languages. The ironic part of this is that, besides being old-fashioned and eccentric myself, I am a passionate lover of language and words, and Latin has only fed that. Now my dd is far beyond where I was when I stopped working with her in LCII (we only got through the first few lessons) and I LOVE seeing her progress and her enthusiasm. The other day she was working on some extra translation paragraphs that her teacher posted for the students to do while they're on break (through the month of January), and she was amazed to find that in many cases, she can actually READ the Latin, without having to translate it word for word. I can't say enough about how a great teacher (Amy Barr from Lukeion.org, if I'm allowed to endorse on this board) and that extra maturity and commitment level can make the biggest difference. It has made Latin a true intellectual pursuit, rather than "I have to do this because (fill in the blank with any reason that doesn't truly excite you)." Keep in mind, too, that I mean no disrespect to the philosophy of teaching Latin early, and I don't mean to be critical of those who do. Many do and love it, as I did for awhile. The friend who originally recommended the Memoria Press materials to me starts Latin with her kids in 2 grade and they go through high school, and she teaches co-op classes to that effect. I just don't want people to despair if they can't or don't want to do that. I'm only one person with one student in Latin, so I'm just sharing my experience, FWIW. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I want to tell you that I am seriously considering going that route also. I told my son that after we complete LC2 and Henle 1, I am going to stop and just work on Latin roots with him. He would have done Latin from 3rd-8th grade by the time we are done. I think that is a good foundation. I need to move on. I am considering Spanish for him in the next couple of years. I realize that we don't have to do everything and at least we did something. Does that make sense? If you drop it, it is OK! Blessings in your homeschooling journey! Sincerely, Karen http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.