Hi all - My ds will be in 3rd grade in the fall and I would like to start him on Latin. Any recommendations?
I should also add that though we are christians, I would prefer a secular program so our charter will pay for it.
Song School Latin was really quite fun. It's done by Classical Academic Press. http://classicalacademicpress.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=12 The only Christian element I recall in it was that they had 'Christmas' words around the time you'd use the curriculum in December. They were words like 'angel,' 'lamb,' 'shepherd,' etc. Otherwise, the words were generally pretty standard beginner Latin fare: words about animals, words about the sea, family words, household furniture words, etc.
Prima Latina (or Latina Christiana, which is a little more advanced). But that may be too much of Church Latin for you, so check it out first!
We really like Latin's Not So Tough by Greek N Stuff. It's not religious at all that I've noticed. It's also very simple to teach and spends time easing the student into Latin.
I have no suggestions because I'm pretty new to this but have a question... This might be a dumb question, but why do so many homeschoolers do Latin as the foreign language? All our local co-ops do Latin and I've noticed several people saying they do the same. It's just not one I would have thought of, but so many do I wondered if I'm missing something. Sorry if that's dumb and I'm missing some obvious reason, but I am curious.
We used Song School Latin a couple of years ago and loved it, but he was 4 at the time. I wouldn't recommend it for a 3rd grader. It's meant for younger kids. It's advertised as K-3rd, but it's too cheesy for an 8 year old, and it assumes a 5 year old can already read and write, which some can't. I personally recommend it for 1-2 grades only. We're using the next in the series, Latin for Children, right now. It's not "Christian" per se, but you'll have a hard time convincing someone of that since the first chant they learn is from John 1:1. :lol: Seriously, though... it's not what I'd call "Christian", and yes, we LOVE it. They learn all sorts of ancient quotes from a variety of famous authors in that time period. Why people do Latin isn't a stupid question at all! We'll also be doing Greek, with the same publisher and format, for the same reason. Greek is pretty popular among homeschoolers, too. The reason that Latin, especially, is so popular is that it's the root of almost all Western languages. Learning Latin vocabulary will help you understand English vocab better, and will help you figure out words you don't know (i.e. SAT test, industry-specific terms, college study habits, etc.). Learning Latin grammar will help you understand English grammar, too, because it doesn't break rules as much as English does. When you learn Latin vocab and grammar together, you can read (figure out) pretty much any of the other Western languages, and it makes it easier to pick up new languages. Learning any foreign language is MUCH easier for children than adults, because the connections are still forming in their brains. They're like little sponges. Even my 3 year old has picked up a ton of Latin from his older brother. (Think about all the kids who live in bilingual homes who never have to be taught another language... it's just as easy to learn red and rojo at the same time as it is to learn red.) ... besides, it's fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdjYBDD8b2I&feature=related
Actually, it's a very good question. My huband decided that *he* wanted to teach the kids Latin. Well, that lasted for about a month :roll:. And I was busy trying to teach the basics, so they never learned Latin. I do emphasize the Latin and Greek roots; I feel those are important. HOWEVER, I do believe Latin forms a basis for understanding grammar, as well as helps to inrease the vocabulary. To me, it's similar to learning music. I'm a firm believer that if you want a good foundation in music, you should learn piano, that the piano is best equipped with teaching the fundamentals of music theory...you need to be able to read music, must understand chord structures, etc. Yes, you can learn guitar or something else and do very well, but I still think knowing the piano will greatly help. Latin, in my mind, does the same thing for language. And no, I don't know Latin at all! ETA: 2littleboys posted at the same time I did! And she said it MUCH better!!! Lol!
Thanks for answering me. I kind of figured that was why, which makes perfect sense, but wanted to be sure. I have deaf siblings, so we are working on sign language right now, but I'll start looking into Greek and Latin as well.
Oh... and if you just want to learn the roots without learning all the grammar and stuff, look at "English from the Roots Up" or "Vocabulary Vine". Both are excellent!
I started with English from the Roots Up way back when. Really liked it, but somehow we never got through it like I wanted. This year, I'm doing Words on the Vine with Faythe and Phillip. It's a workbook format, and is doing VERY well for us. Oh, and Words on the Vine has one that is specific for one of the Apologia Science book...chemestry, maybe...? I think it's called Science Vine or something like that...?
Vocabulary Vine has one that's specific to apologia biology... can't remember the name (I'm replying from my phone but can look when I get back home... we have it). It's a 2 year word study that's supposed to be done the year before and the year of biology. (Edit) I googled it... it's called Science Roots.
Yes, that's it!!! Rachael used it, but it was down in the basement, and I was too lazy to check it out. It really is helpful with the class!
We used Song School Latin for 2nd grade and now this year we are using Latin For Children Primer A. I really like the program. It is helping dd not only with her vocabulary but also her grammar. It moves at a pretty nice pace and the dvd is easy to follow. I would say the activity book is a little difficult so I only have dd do the ones I think she can do.
I agree about the activity book being difficult. It also has very small spaces to write. Younger students write too large for the activity book. We buy it because it's cheaper to buy the set when it goes on sale (usually around March... 20-30%) than to buy each piece separately. It'll be a nice review book later when we're done with the LfC series. (He can do the LfC activities on his own time while we're doing GfC as a course.)
You can always make copies enlarged. That's what I did a lot with Considering God's Creation when Phillip was really little and there was a lot of tedious cutting.
I'm too lazy for that!! :lol: ... besides, LfC uses a lot of ink on their pages. (The more practical answer.)
Hey Jackie! Not to hijack the thread, but are you planning to use your Science Roots again? My son will be in Apologia biology in the fall. I looked this up online earlier, but can't tell if the book is a teacher's guide or a student consumable? I just thought I would ask! I bought Prima Latina from Deena a couple of years ago, but honestly haven't incorporated it into our lessons. It looks like a good program, and has an audio pronunciation CD and flashcards. That might work with a 3rd grader. MT3
Yes, I'm planning on using it again. The book is more of a list than anything. There are questions and instructions at the beginning, then the words are listed, organized into "chapters" that corresponds with the chapters in Apologia Biology. For example, all the words listed under Chapter Four will be words that occur in the book in chapter four. You can make your own cards, or buy some. We bought them. They come five to a page, and you need to cut them. Each card has the root, whether it is Greek or Latin, and a reference number (which you can pretty much ignore), and then the list of words from that root. The student needs to write the meaning of the root, and then the meaning of the words.
