Please tell me your experience with Latin in the Christian Trivium

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I just found Latin in the Christian Trivium at convention, and brought it home on approval. I would love to hear of your experiences with it.

 

I'm planning on having my 8th grade, self-motivated, studious daughter do it next year. I would like to have something self directed. We have done Prima Latina and half of Latina Christiana I. We stalled out because I'm dragging her younger brother with us. I'm tired of holding her back. I would love for her to be able to work ahead at her own pace.

 

I looked at Latin in the Christian Trivium, and I think she'll really like the story translation. That's something we didn't have in Latina Christiana.

 

I've read the archives, and discovered that the macrons aren't consistent throughout LCT. I would find that slightly irritating, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker.

 

Any other negatives I should know about, or good experiences?

 

Thanks.

[Melissa in CA]

:lurk5: Giving you a bump. ;)

[Martha in GA]

My ds and dd used LCT I last year, and my ds is using LCT II this year (we actually did LCT I and the first 5 chapters of LCT II as per the book's recommendations for high school). I let my dd drop out to do Spanish after a few chapters of LCT II, not because she couldn't do it, but because she didn't like it. Unfortunately, she has been having a few "maturity" issues these last couple of years! My ds was 9th and 10th grades. My dd was 6th grade when she did LCT I. I don't think it was too hard for my dd. In fact, she got a gold medal for the NLE Latin I last year (as did my ds). You have to stay on top of the vocabulary, but it is pretty straight forward as far as the Latin goes. There are discrepancies here and there between the student and teacher's books, but I think the books are effective and easy to use. All this to say, I think your 8th grader could do this program. HTH

 

Martha

[Hoggirl]

Ds did PL in grade 2, LCI in grade 3, and LCII in grade 4. We did LitCT volume I last year when my ds was in grade 5. He took the NLE Intro to Latin exam and scored a perfect paper! We have carried on with volume II this year, but at a slower pace b/c we are throwing in some Spanish. We were through Chapter 7 when my ds took the NLE Latin I exam this year. He earned a gold medal (38/40). We did fold in some additional mythological and culture studies. Because of the results he has had on these exams, I am very pleased with the program. I think it is a great mix of reading, vocab., paradigms, etc. It was a great follow up after LCII. I love the building of a notebook that covers grammar. I love the scripture translations and the ongoing story about the centurion and his family.

 

However, for me there are serious problems with the teacher manual and how the program is set up. Lots of flipping around is required to get to answer keys. She gives an "example" schedule, which really doesn't always jive with each particular lesson. The exercises are not necessarily done in the order presented. For example, the student will do the study sheet and drill sheet in the separate spiral book. Exercise A will come next, then bible reading, then Exercise B, then the reading lesson, then Exercise D, then exercise C. This isn't something that is insurmountable, but it would be so much easier if everything were arranged in a more logical order. Additionally, there are LOTS of words on a page. I am "used" to what I have to do to schedule out how we are are to complete what I want to complete in a certain number of days, so it doesn't bother me as much now, but I just wish it were all laid out better.

 

At this point, I do not think we could switch to another program. IMO, once you are into a Latin program it is hard to switch b/c many of them approach the grammar in different ways. I do LIKE how she approaches grammar b/c one can get into the readings much quicker - this would not be true, say, for Henle where one gets nouns ad nauseum before looking at much else. I wouldn't mind switching to Wheelock's, but I feel like we would have to do a lot of back-tracking which would irk ds.

 

LitCT is very solid and it certainly could be done independently. Just alert your daughter that there are some whacky things in the layout and some omission of exercises from the TM to the student book.

 

Hope this makes sense.

[G5052]

I agree with this post from Amy (Writing Tales author):

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=880043#post880043

 

There are other resources out there that are easier to use with fewer errors IMHO. It's important to me that a resource be accurate if I'm going to make the effort to learn a language. I was an "early adopter" with Latin for Children, there were tons of errors there in the first edition that even I picked up.

 

I've been plugged away on Henle for awhile myself and have been using Matin Latin with my children. There are other resources, but those are classics.

[profmom]

My experience with LitCT is that I took an online class (myself) through their site and using the first half of volume 1. I ended up choosing a different program to use with my dd because...

 

 

1.) I didn't like the way the exercises were at the ends of the chapters, instead of sprinkled in after each new concept was covered. Many concepts are covered in the chapter without pauses to practice each one before moving on. It was a lot to digest before getting to practice.

 

2.) I was glad to have the online teacher to be able to ask questions because some of the explanations in the book weren't clear to me.

 

3.) The goal of the program is to be able to read the Latin Vulgate, which would be translating a translation of the Bible. Since we are learning Greek too, this seemed unnecessary to me. Also, I've read that the Latin Vulgate is much easier to read than original Latin authors, so I wanted a program that prepared students to read the more difficult works.

 

4.) The LitCT authors feel strongly about avoiding mythology, and so they have purposely left it out of their program. The problem with this is that the NLE includes questions that require some knowledge of mythology, so LitCT students have to prepare separately for this part.

 

 

What I chose for my dd is Latin Alive from Classical Academic Press (which covers all the grammar of Wheelock's + lots of reading practice over 3 years). I think this one might be better for self-study because of the DVDs that are coming out soon. In addiiton, exercises appear within the chapter after each new concept, and the program includes lots of reading practice throughout, with more and more from original authors as students are able to handle them. Latin Alive also has a goal of preparing students for the NLE.

 

Recently Beth in Central Texas posted about concerns she has with errors in the teacher's manual. I'm disappointed about this, but I hope that they will post an errata soon because LA still seems like the best option to me.

 

HTH!

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Thank you all, for responding.

I bought LCT Vol. 1 at convention this week, and I've been looking it over. I see the problems with the lay-out -- jumping all over the chapters rather than going straight through. I can see that I'll have to do some heavy-duty planning to make it work. But, I'm going to give it a shot because I think my dd will really like it. She'll love translating the ongoing story. And, we're used to keeping notebooks. That will be an easy thing for her. I like how straightforward the authors are in explaining everything up front, rather than just giving little teasers like they do in Latina Christiana (ie. just presenting the cases, without explaining what they are, etc.)

 

Anyway, I think it can work for us. Time will tell.

Again, I appreciate all the insight.

[Mary in WA]

Email Latindr3@comcast.net for a list of corrections for LiCT.