Blessed Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hi everyone. I'm Sharon. I've been lurking for a good year now and learning quite a bit from all the wonderful moms (and dads, too!) I am planning 9th grade for my dd and I'm wondering what suggestions can be made for beginning Latin with no prior background for myself or dd. I'm thinking Latina Christiana DVDs for I and II then maybe Henle. Or would going straight to Henle be too much? How long does one typically study Latin? Is all throughout school? If so we are so woefully behind we'll never catch up. And just out of curiosity, does anyone do Greek? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latinteach Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Most public and private school students start Latin in 9th grade, though some begin in middle school. You could start with Henle, though there are lots of textbook series to choose from: Wheelock, Cambridge, Oxford, Ecce Romani, Latin for the New Millennium, Oerberg's Latina Lingua, Galore Park, to name a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidzr1st Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 We tried a few different Latin programs, but finally found Lively Latin in 9th grade and it all makes sense now! We really love Latin now :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia in WA Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 It is never too late to learn Latin. Just ask us moms who learn as we teach our children!!! :D You might want to look at Paula's Archive; a website that lists Latin programs and reviews from actual users (many came from this board). I would keep in mind 2 things: What are your goals (reading original works in Latin, scoring higher on SATs, etc.) and with what method (whole vs. parts) does your child learn best? HTHs, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I prefer to learn by osmosis; so Latin hasn't worked very well for me. :001_huh: My kids started with Prima Latina (because it was easier for me) when they were 12 and 8, and they used LC1 the following year. We did not do Latin this year. My soon to be 9th grader will take Latin for high school. To get us back on track (and get me ON track), we'll be using Getting Started with Latin by William Linney. It was recommended to me by a friend who is our local Classical Conversations director, and since then, I've heard a smattering of praise about it. While we haven't used it yet, the reviews are terrific. Drew Campbell says, "If you're hesitating over Henle, give Getting Started with Latin a try." THere are 33 reviews at amazon; every single one is a 5 star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Buckin' Longhorn Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I prefer to learn by osmosis; so Latin hasn't worked very well for me. :001_huh: My kids started with Prima Latina (because it was easier for me) when they were 12 and 8, and they used LC1 the following year. We did not do Latin this year. My soon to be 9th grader will take Latin for high school. To get us back on track (and get me ON track), we'll be using Getting Started with Latin by William Linney. It was recommended to me by a friend who is our local Classical Conversations director, and since then, I've heard a smattering of praise about it. While we haven't used it yet, the reviews are terrific. Drew Campbell says, "If you're hesitating over Henle, give Getting Started with Latin a try." There are 33 reviews at amazon; every single one is a 5 star. I whole-heartedly second the recommendation for Getting Started with Latin. It's got wonderful bite-sized lessons that are easily doable and un-intimidating. The website has lots of free resources that make it a wonderfully well-rounded curriculum. You can't beat the price at under $20! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 to all of you who have given me a start on picking a resource. latinteach you mention titles I have heard of but I'll have to sift out what's best for someone with no prior exposure. I think Henle and Wheelock have to have a springboard from something else? kidzr1st, did the false starts with other programs actually prep your kids for Lively Latin, do you think? or do you think if you just started there it would have worked (I know, coulda, woulda, shoulda.....) Kristine and Tejasmamacita, Getting Started With Latin sounds good. Do you know offhand how many levels or total years of Latin GSWL provides? Do suggest any supplements or followups in particular? I will definitely look at their site and reviews. Thanks again for your leads :001_smile: Sharon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latinteach Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 (edited) to all of you who have given me a start on picking a resource. latinteach you mention titles I have heard of but I'll have to sift out what's best for someone with no prior exposure. I think Henle and Wheelock have to have a springboard from something else? Cambridge Latin has an independent study guide, published by the North American Cambridge Classics Project. There's also an excellent British site devoted to Cambridge with lots of additional activities and you can get a good sense of what the book is like from there. Latin for the New Millennium has comprehensive website support. Wheelock's Latin has significant online support, including online study groups and classes - it is a college level curriculum but used in middle and high school, simply working through it at a slower pace. Oerberg's Lingua Latina has an outstanding study guide by Jeanne Neumann, entitled "The College Companion to Lingua Latina." Ecce and Oxford are quite good, though the support for them is a bit more sparse. Galore Park Latin is quite popular and has an online discussion group that is well monitored by the author of their Latin series, with questions from families answered quickly and accurately. Lively Latin is very good, but it is also intended for 3rd-6th grade, so you would not want to spend an entire year on it with a ninth grader. There is a second volume of Lively Latin but it is still in production. I believe that both Lively Latin volumes together are intended as one year's credit in Latin. Checking the Getting Started with Latin FAQ, GSWL covers probably half of what is covered in a first year high school course. It covers first and second declension and only the first and second conjugations in the present tense only. A high school course generally covers the first three declensions (out of five) and should also include the imperfect and future tenses and likely the perfect tense as well. The syllabus of the National Latin Exam will give you a good idea of what is generally covered in a first year high school Latin course. Checking the syllabus for the Intro to Latin course (usually taken by middle school students, probably equivalent with 1/2 a year of high school Latin), GSWL seems to fit that one well (and would probably fit Lively Latin too.) The first year syllabus NLE adds third declension, as well as the imperfect, future and perfect tenses as well as a few other grammatical concepts. That being said, you might consider working through GSWL for a semester, then picking up with something else and working quickly through the beginning chapters. Most colleges and universities that require a language for entrance are looking for the equivalent of two year's worth of a foreign language. (You can get a basic idea of what second year Latin usually includes by checking the second year NLE exam syllabus.) Edited March 10, 2009 by latinteach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabetika Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Don't despair! It's never too late! My dd is in 9th grade and takes Latin online with The Lukeion Project. I've talked about her experiences a few times in Latin threads on this board, but the main reason I'm joining this discussion is to encourage you that your dd isn't too old to begin. In fact, my dd's teacher feels very strongly that this age is the perfect age to begin Latin, because of the higher level of logical and abstract thinking needed to really grasp Latin, as well as the time commitment needed to study and master it. My dd did have 1.5 years of Latina Christiana before she started, but she has told me that she feels she learned more in the first couple of lessons with her online class than she learned in 1.5 years with LC. I think this has much to do with having an excellent teacher and also her maturity having increased so she can devote the right amount of time to her studies (she spends about 8 hours a week, plus the one hour of class time and about another hour for entering homework and quiz online). Latin is her favorite subject and I can heartily recommend The Lukeion Project if you consider doing online work at some point. Oh, they use Wheelock's. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 latinteach your info is very helpful. I can know ahead of time where GSWL will get us without being disappointed or shocked. And I can get a better idea of where to go from there based on her experience with Latin using GSWL. Alphabetika, the Lukeion Project looks very good, though pricey. I may go this route after GSWL (or not???) It seems it's worth the extra $$$ so mom can let the reins go and outsource latin entirely. I do have 2 other children 11yods and 6.5yodd that I am homeschooling; I have to consider their time too especially since I only took 4 yrs Spanish in high school and no latin Thanks a bunch to you both. Sharon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 We really liked Getting Started With Latin. It's a no nonsense, straightforward, self teaching introduction to Latin. I wish he would write a whole series of high school level Latin books in the same way. 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.