Yet another Latin thread: Prima Latina vs Power Glide Junior

[Catwoman]

I just bought the Prima Latina DVD program at a used curriculum sale, and plan to use it with ds9 in the fall. I wanted to start very slowly with Latin, as we're already doing Rosetta Stone Spanish every day, and I don't want to overload him with foreign language stuff when there's still a full load of other subjects to tackle. (And let's just say that, as gifted as my ds is, he's not exactly Mr Happy when it comes to doing schoolwork.) I hope Prima Latina isn't too babyish, but I got it at a good price so I figured we'd take a shot at it,and I can never resist DVD classes, because I figure they'll make my life easier.

 

But... I can never keep things simple, so while I was at the same seller's table at the fair, I also bought Power Glide Junior Latin. Now, I know I should have bought one or the other, but the seller was so nice, and her prices were reasonable, so I couldn't resist.

 

I am weak and pathetic.

 

Any opinions on which one I should use? Should I try both? One first and the other second? One first and hide the other in the back of the closet, never to be seen again? Hide both of them and forget I ever thought about teaching Latin?

 

As usual, I am in a quandary.

 

Cat

[dhudson]

We tried Power Glide Spanish and Latin and were very disappointed. My kids enjoy the stories but they don't seem to learn a ton so I have them listen to the stories as fun and we got Rosetta Stone Spanish and are going to get Lively Latin this fall.

[Brindee]

You're so right, that's pathetic! I would've done the same thing!:tongue_smilie::001_smile::lol:

 

A few years ago we tried Power-Glide French (both Junior and regular programs). We weren't happy with it either. Now that says nothing about their Latin, I suppose, more about Power Glide in general. We've shied away from Power-Glide since then.

[Chris in VA]

Prima only does about 5 words a week. The first week is just the alphabet--so you can wiz thru it pretty quick in the first few weeks.

We used Power-Glide for a few weeks for hs French. Blech. Too confusing for ds. Don't know about their Latin, or about JR programs, but I'd use something grammar-based for Latin, not conversation-based, because my goals include the systematic study of a language in order to understand how language is built. Depending on your own goals, PG may or may not help you.

[4wildberrys]

I guess we are the odd ones---we really LIKED Powerglide elementary Spanish! My kids and I actually learned a lot and really enjoyed the program that year----they were in 3rd and 5th. :001_smile:You could start with Powerglide Latin (which we also have) and go through it pretty quickly---and then start on Prima Latina, which you will learn more from.

[Catwoman]

I guess we are the odd ones---we really LIKED Powerglide elementary Spanish! My kids and I actually learned a lot and really enjoyed the program that year----they were in 3rd and 5th. :001_smile:You could start with Powerglide Latin (which we also have) and go through it pretty quickly---and then start on Prima Latina, which you will learn more from.

 

Thanks, everyone, for all of the info and advice!

 

Since we already have both programs, I think we'll get our feet wet with Powerglide, and then move on to Prima Latina. I took some Latin when I was in school, but I don't remember a thing, so I want a nice, gentle beginning for both ds and me.

 

Thanks again!

 

Cat

[debbielong]

We've used both. Like any curriculum, what works for one family may or may not work for another:)...

 

I did not like PG Latin Junior, and neither did my children. The learning is almost all auditory and my children are visual. The story was interesting, but by lesson 10 or so, the kids remembered nothing of the vocabulary. What little visual work there is is matching up pictures of things with the auditory word for them. I understand the full-immersion language theory, but it didn't work for us. I think it would be really good with a backup workbook to really practice what is learned.

 

We did Prima Latina this year with my 1st and 4th graders. I knew Latina Christiana would not be a good match for the fourth grader, yet. PL was not too baby-ish for her, but it does go pretty slowly. So, it might be a good match to supplement your existing language studies.

[Michelle in MO]

We tried Power-Glide for French years ago, when we first started homeschooling. It attempts to teach French inductively, through conversation, but there's almost no grammar. I would be surprised if their Latin was any different. Overall, I was disappointed in the program.

 

Prima Latina is very easy, and should be fine if you want to start out slow. It is grammar based, although LC1 and LC2 definitely contain more grammar.

[Catwoman]

Thanks, Debbie and Michelle!

 

Like Debbie, I'll probably be bored to tears with PG Junior, and the consensus seems to be that no one learns too much from it, but I think we'll still give it a try to get an easy, low-stress introduction to Latin, and then we'll move on to Prima Latina. (I probably wouldn't be attempting Latin at all this year if not for the PL DVDs. I really feel that we need a "teacher" for Latin, as it has been too many years since I took it, and while I remember some vocabulary, I never learned much Latin grammar, and I'm sure my pronunciation is abysmal!)

 

Thanks for the info, Michelle, about LC having more grammar than PL. That's pretty much what I was hoping for, as ds9 is not at all excited about learning Latin, and I don't want to overwhelm him with it. (He's not thrilled with Rosetta Stone Spanish, either, even though he gets at least a 96% on the end of lesson tests every single day -- and my feeling is that RS Spanish is probably more fun than Latin...)

 

Well, even if Latin is a complete bust for us, at least I didn't pay full price for either of the programs I bought, so it won't be the end of the world. I've heard the PL DVD teacher is quite engaging, so maybe ds will surprise me and end up liking Latin better than Rosetta Stone, which is very impersonal.

 

Cat

[Brindee]

 

Well, even if Latin is a complete bust for us, at least I didn't pay full price for either of the programs I bought, so it won't be the end of the world. I've heard the PL DVD teacher is quite engaging, so maybe ds will surprise me and end up liking Latin better than Rosetta Stone, which is very impersonal.

Each one of these things works for SOMEone, or they wouldn't be still selling them! :tongue_smilie: So, I think they'd definitely be resellable for what you paid for them, should you choose to go that route!