I've mainly used the charolette mason style for homeschooling, but as i'm browsing curriculum, I'm finding that classical makes sense and thinking of incorporating it as well. So, why latin? Why is that stressed as the language to learn?
It is largely vocabulary and history. When we did it, most of the Latin words ended up being parts of English words. It also taught a lot of grammar.
It has to do with vocabulary and grammar. With Alexis, we are doing English from the Roots up. By knowing the meaning of the roots - she can find out the meaning of the rest of the word. Within 24 "cards" that you make with the program (1 card per day) - I have already seen an improvement in her understanding or being able to decipher words. You should have heard her come screaming all excited into the bathroom one day (yeah I know - there is no such thing as privacy some days)..."Mom!!!! Spongebob is speaking GREEK!! 'photo-synthesis' " and this was accompanied by her opening and closing her arms and legs to show the movement.... Jacob will be starting Henle I soon (just need to get my act together) which is a more rigorous program but it should help with grammar and vocabulary. Oh and here is a brief Why Latin? article - written from a Catholic view but still gets the idea across http://www.classicalliberalarts.com/library/whylatin.htm
I can't answer why Latin is stressed in the CM method, but I can tell you why I choose to teach my kids Latin. I have 3 main reasons for having my kids learn it: 1) Much of the English language is based on Latin & Greek words. So, learning Latin will help with grammar & vocabulary. It will make it easier for them to figure out the meanings of words, because they'll know the Latin root. 2) All the romance languages are based on Latin. I want my kids to learn Spanish & my dd also wants to learn French. Learning both of those languages will be easier with an understaning of Latin. 3) Both of my kids are very interested (and very good) in Science. It's quite possible that they'll both go into Scientific fields. Latin is the language used for Scientific names, so knowing Latin may also be an asset there.
As a college professor, I recommend everyone study Latin - it expands the vocabulary in a way that nothing else really can. In fact, we used Vocab from the Classical roots this year (not only did my son have to do the workbook, he also has to get on the computer, and type in the words and their definitions for each chapter for added reinforcement) and we began studying Latin in January (a cool book called Minimus available through Rainbow is great - especially for little kids!). We just had testing a month ago, and when he came out of the class, I asked how it went. He said the language arts was too easy. I asked what he had to do and he said, "It was all stuff like, 'what does hydro mean?' 'what does in mean in the word incomplete?' Too easy." While I like to think that he would have known those answers anyway I know that it was easy for him because he understand the word entirely, not just the definition of the work. I advocate it for everyone. IMHO
Looks like you got some awesome answers and the same I would have given...although I have not taught Latin yet. I found a latin/Greek vocab card game that my kids love and learned a lot from. I'd give you the exact name but my kids got it out to play with and now I cannot locate it. I will find it though. lol
Roughly 40% of the English language is derived from Latin with the other 40% from Greek and remaining 20% from other languages, many of which are Latin languages. In addition to vocabulary, though, you'll find many Latin programs emphasize grammar; in fact, if you're not strong in English grammar, that can make learning Lating more challenging. Latin, as compared to many languages, is very ordered and very rule-based; it has few rule exceptions. This makes is a fairly easy language to learn once you have the grammar and rules down. I also like Latin because you often learn classical history with it as well as logic/rhetoric. When I took Latin in school, we translated works by classical authors of works including histories and mythologies. We're starting Song School Latin this year with my 6 & 7 year old. We're planning on doing Greek in a few years as well.
