Hello, I was looking at including Latin for my LA instead of a vocab program. I am lost as to what to look for in the program. I have no experience, and not a ton of time to make it work. I have a 3rd, and 1st/2nd grader. I am a little overwhelmed with all the choices. I really want my kids to be able to use it, I think they will most likely read it rather then sing it. Right? But I don't want to waste our time learning something they won't use as they grow older. Here are my first glance ideas I like Prima Latina, it seems like a lot of people like it. It has the DVD's if I feel like I need them. It is also fairly cheap, the workbook is consumable but cheap to replace. I was liking Vocabulary vine, but read a few really negative reviews on it not being complete. Latin Prep Book 1 - I like how it uses humor which would be a major hit for my silly family. but I really don't know much else about it. Latin for Children is seems to be like, have a sense of humor as well. But it is confusing I am not sure what all I would need to buy and how much of it is consumable.
For those ages I would sugest starting with Song School Latin. It uses song to teach the kids Latin Vocabulary, it is geared for k-3. Dd used that this past year (2nd/3rd grade) and absolutely loved it. She was introduced to the idea of declensions and latin endings also in the program. She loved it so much she tried to teach all of her friends the latin too. Next year we are going to start with Latin For Children. We are using the DVDs with it. you really just need the Primer and the answer key to use it. A freind of mine who uses this program makes up flash cards for her kids each week but there are flash cards you can print off from the website and there is a website http://headventureland.com/ where the kids can do vocabulary reinforcement.
We are doing Latin using Latin's Not So Tough and my boys really LOVE it! We teach each word and then I go through and show them how the words help to make English words. The boys really love the lessons, and they're very simple. We Started with level 1 which just covers the alphabet and blends, and how to pronounce them. Then level two does a quick review and starts with words. It's great.
I have an 8 year old. We use Prima Latina and love it! We do use the DVDs. My son is not into learning with songs, so this works well for us.
If you want them using the same thing, start with Song School Latin. (... there will be a book 2 coming out soon, so you could plan on that for the younger one, too). If you don't mind them being in separate programs, use SSL for the younger and Latin for Children for the older. SSL is advertised as being for K thru 3rd. Personally, I'd call it 1st-2nd. It assumes you can already read and write a little (some K'ers can't do that), but it's easy enough that you don't have to use it every day. It's also kinda silly, so some 3rd graders might be put off by that. LfC is for appx 3rd thru 6th. It assumes you already know how to read and write well, are ready to work on study habits, are ready to do Latin daily, and already have a pretty good grasp of English grammar (what's a noun, verb, direct object, verb tenses, etc.). If you don't already have a good grasp of grammar, it's ok. They do a good job of getting you up to speed. It's just a little easier if you do. I love both and would recommend both. You'll have to look at the needs and levels of your own kids to decide which one(s) to get. OH! And to answer what you need... SSL - you only need the student book and CD. The teacher book is completely useless in the homeschool setting (nice for private school use, though). SSL is incredibly easy, so you'll be learning right along with them. No reason for an answer key. The teacher book is an exact copy of the student book, except there are answers (not necessary) and notes for adapting the lesson for classroom use (also not necessary). LfC - You absolutely have to have the primer (student book, consumable) and DVD/CD combo (reusable). The answer key is optional (highly recommended, reusable). Also optional are the history reader (whether it's consumable or not is up to you) and activity book (consumable). We'll be using all three history readers (levels A, B, C) all at once next summer when we do a unit study on ancient Rome. We're not using them as part of our Latin curriculum. We chose not to use the activity book because (1) he doesn't need the extra practice when www.headventureland.com is free and (2) the blanks are way too small for my son's handwriting (it has crossword puzzles and such). If your kids are the type who learn better with hands-on games (created from the workbook) or repetition through puzzles, by all means, get the activity book. It's cool. It just wasn't something we needed.
Thank you so much for such a detailed answer. I love it! I will have to look into all of them again and make my decision. It is nice to hear others advice and experience with them.
The first level we went through in about 4 months. It was really simple for them, but I wanted an easy introduction. Level two we are still working on, we've been at it for 3 months and we aren't even half done. We are taking it a little slower, since I'm working a little vocab into it. The Latin "kit" comes with a sm, answer key, flashcards on a ring, quiz and test book, and if you order it a pronunciation key (not necessary IMO). I use the words they are learning and pull English words that have the latin root and we talk about it that way. Like for Voco (I call) we talked about vocal, voice, vocabulary
We use Prima Latina with the dvd and pronunciation cd. My son loves it, and it has greatly improved his reading, spelling, and writing in English as well. I plan on repeating this course in 6th grade and start Latina Christiana I and II for 7th and 8th. By the time he's in HS, he should be ready for Henle Latin, and I am hoping to use Lingua Angelica as a supplement to prep him for college exams!
We use Latin for Children (http://www.classicalacademicpress.com/). It comes with video lessons. It's a bit pricey, but one level took us two years to complete. It was thorough and easy to do.
