starting Latin in 7th grade ... (what to pick?)

[SS in MD]

We haven't done Latin yet and I was thinking of having my oldest (12 yo)
dd start next year in 7th grade. I have ZERO latin background, so I'd like something independent where I can look over her shoulder and learn a little too. Any suggestions???

Also, how many years of latin are good to have "under your belt"? Two, Three? She's very eager to start a modern language, but I don't want to overwhelm her and I thought of starting Latin in 7th thru ? and start modern language in 9th -12th? This isn't set in stone, just my beginning thoughts... so any suggestions would be welcome!!! Thanks so much for responding!

[Laura Corin]

It's rigorous but fun, and the explanations are logical and clear. Learning alongside is entirely possible; I wouldn't leave her entirely alone - you'll probably need to work through some things together. You can find samples here:

http://www.galorepark.co.uk/product/home_schoolers/127/latin-prep-book-1.html

The books are available in the US from www.horriblebooks.com (Ray may have some on hand - otherwise he orders periodically in batches) or direct from the UK with free shipping from www.bookdepository.co.uk. I've used BD several times; service has always been excellent and very swift.

As for how many years - it really depends on your goals. If you did Latin Prep four times a week for around 45 minutes a time, in about two years you would be reading original texts. If you did it twice a week, in two years you would have an interesting background for English grammar and vocabulary, as well as other Latinate languages.

FWIW I studied French from age 11 to 18 (then at university), Latin from 12 to 16, then Spanish from 16 to 18. My plans for Calvin are Mandarin from 7 to 18, Latin from 7 to at least 16, French from about 12 to at least 16 and Spanish from 16 to 18 if he wants. There are lots of options - it depends what you want.

Best wishes

Laura

[attachedto4]

It's rigorous but fun, and the explanations are logical and clear. Learning alongside is entirely possible; I wouldn't leave her entirely alone - you'll probably need to work through some things together. You can find samples here:

http://www.galorepark.co.uk/product/home_schoolers/127/latin-prep-book-1.html

The books are available in the US from www.horriblebooks.com (http://www.horriblebooks.com) (Ray may have some on hand - otherwise he orders periodically in batches) or direct from the UK with free shipping from www.bookdepository.co.uk (http://www.bookdepository.co.uk). I've used BD several times; service has always been excellent and very swift.

As for how many years - it really depends on your goals. If you did Latin Prep four times a week for around 45 minutes a time, in about two years you would be reading original texts. If you did it twice a week, in two years you would have an interesting background for English grammar and vocabulary, as well as other Latinate languages.

FWIW I studied French from age 11 to 18 (then at university), Latin from 12 to 16, then Spanish from 16 to 18. My plans for Calvin are Mandarin from 7 to 18, Latin from 7 to at least 16, French from about 12 to at least 16 and Spanish from 16 to 18 if he wants. There are lots of options - it depends what you want.

Best wishes

Laura


Hi Laura,

What book should an older kid start with? From the description, I'm gathering you start with book I no matter the age, but wanted to make sure. I have a 9th grader who will just be beginning Latin.


TIA!

[Laura Corin]

Yes, start with book 1 of Latin Prep, whatever the age. With older students, you'll just be able to move faster. There is also a high school course from the same company (So You Really Want to Learn Latin) but I think Latin Prep is more accessible for teachers who are not Latin specialists.

The publisher recommends the following sequence:

Latin Prep 1, 2, 3, then So You Really Want to Learn Latin 3.

After that, you'll be ready to read ancient texts.

Best wishes

Laura

[SS in MD]

I've heard Latin Prep's pronunciation's (correct me if I'm wrong) are not in US order? Is that correct. If so, how do I use the US order (not knowledgeable myself!)

Also, having not taken Latin myself, would a program (like Latina Christiana) with an audio CD be more helpful and therefore better to use since I have no Latin background (can you tell I'm nervous about this? LOL)

Thanks so much for your post!

P.s Also, Would you suggest using LP1,LP2,LP3 and then Latin's Not so Tough?

Do all LP books have workbooks? I thought they didn't ... (might be thinking of something else though!)

[Laura Corin]

They are called 'cases'. They are the same in the US and the UK, but when they are chanted in the two countries it is in a different order. So you are learning exactly the same thing, just in a different way. What some American learners have done is just to stick the US order over the UK order in the books. Ask on these boards and I'm sure someone will give you the US order - I can't get into my own notes at present.

There are two workbooks that go with Latin Prep 1, but they are purely optional, giving extra practice. I've never used them but they may give you more security. There are lots of exercises in the text book anyway, and you can just write down your answers on paper.

I don't have any experience of Latin's Not so Tough, but looking at SWB's review (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/A00review.html), I think it would be an enormous step back to finish LP then go to Latin's Not so Tough. By the end for book three of LP you will be translating quite complex Latin.

LP has a pronunciation guide in the first chapter of the first book. A CD is being recorded next week, but I don't know when it will be available. To be honest, I wouldn't worry too much about Latin pronunciation - it's one of the advantages of a dead language that no native speaker is ever going to laugh at your pronunciation.

Best wishes - I hope others will chime in with different options.

Laura

[SS in MD]

Laura-

Thanks for your advice. You made me chuckle at the last sentence of no one laughing at my pronunciation! How right your are! - Sometimes I over analyze too much!

Yes, I wll post on the board for the US order! Thanks for the suggestion. Just wondering will using the US order make any confusion in understand the UK text? (Again sorry if this is a silly question)

Thanks again!!!

[Laura Corin]

Yes, I wll post on the board for the US order! Thanks for the suggestion. Just wondering will using the US order make any confusion in understand the UK text? (Again sorry if this is a silly question)

Thanks again!!!

Then you are all set.

Laura

[EKS]

I'm using Getting Started With Latin with my 6th grader this year. Neither of us has had any Latin until now. I love GSWL. It is extremely easy to teach. The lessons are incremental (only one new word or concept per lesson) and there is continual review (10 exercises per lesson usually). I also liked it because it was much more inexpensive than some of the other programs out there. The author says it is equivalent to about a semester of high school Latin.

[Grace]

I'm using Getting Started With Latin with my 6th grader this year. Neither of us has had any Latin until now. I love GSWL. It is extremely easy to teach. The lessons are incremental (only one new word or concept per lesson) and there is continual review (10 exercises per lesson usually). I also liked it because it was much more inexpensive than some of the other programs out there. The author says it is equivalent to about a semester of high school Latin.

Do you use the lessons on his website or do you just do the next page? Did you do latin daily, and how long did each lesson take?

Also, What do you plan on doing next year?

Thanks!

[JennW in SoCal]

My 7th grade son and I are learning Latin together through Latin Prep, and we're having a lot of fun with it. We love the dry humor and the silly sentences thrown into the exercizes. The translation passages included in each chapter are interesting and just challenging enough. Like Laura, we don't use the workbooks.

I ordered my books from Horrible Books http://www.horriblebooks.com/

[SS in MD]

I've never heard of this book. Can you tell me who is the publisher? and do they have a website where I can see samples? Like the other poster asked, do you do this daily and what do you plan to use next?

Thanks!!

[Catherine]

It takes about 15 minutes. I don't know about the website, but I think you can see sample pages on Amazon.com, which is where I ordered it. I emailed the author with a question and he responded immediately and was very helpful. The author offers downloads of MP3s of pronunciation in either classical or ecclesiastical, free.

[EKS]

He didn't have the lessons on the website when we started. We just do a lesson in the book each day. The lessons take anywhere from 10-20 minutes. It usually takes about 15 minutes to do the exercises.

Here is the website: http://www.gettingstartedwithlatin.com/

We will be doing Ecce Romani next year. I think. Or maybe Latin for Americans. I'm hoping to actually decide sometime before next year rolls around!

[SS in MD]

Catherine, do you & your dc like the curriculum as well? What do you like about it? I'm a little nervous about teaching latin myself! (no background!). So, just wondering what you both like about it. I'll check it out on Amazon. You said author offers MP3 downloads. So, I guess there is a website somewhere to do this? Sorry for all the questions! I just would like something easy & straightforward to teach!

Thanks so much!:)

[SS in MD]

I realized you provided the website!!

Sorry!:rolleyes:

[attachedto4]

Yes, start with book 1 of Latin Prep, whatever the age. With older students, you'll just be able to move faster. There is also a high school course from the same company (So You Really Want to Learn Latin) but I think Latin Prep is more accessible for teachers who are not Latin specialists.

The publisher recommends the following sequence:

Latin Prep 1, 2, 3, then So You Really Want to Learn Latin 3.

After that, you'll be ready to read ancient texts.

Best wishes

Laura


Thanks for the help!