My 7th grader is not excited about starting latin next year...

[rwalizer]

but I think it is important for vocabulary development and discerning the meanings of unfamiliar words, etc. I am thinking of starting him out with Lively Latin. Am I going to easy on him? Should I just make him start high school latin I? I have found that his reluctance to learn anything has given me a tendency to want to scale things down for him but I know that I'm not doing him any favors by doing that. He needs to be able to buckle down and do difficult things that he doesn't like. I want him to develop a love of learning and I am constantly torn by not wanting him to put up a wall while at the same time preparing for high school and college. Thanks for all the help you other parents give to me!

[st_claire]

I say if he isn't excited, make it exciting! Do lots of extra activities. I have a Latin crosswords book that is great. Let him play dress up as a Roman Soldier. Read Dr. Seuss in Latin. Play UNO in Latin. There are tons of ways to make it fun. Heck, throw a toga party! lol. Everyone learns so much faster when they are enjoying it. I think if you try and push a harder, duller program on him, he won't retain much and it will be a struggle every day. Better
to make it fun, then he will be asking for more Latin! :)

[Beth in Central TX]

I don't know much about Lively Latin, but I've seen it mentioned many times on this board for much younger children than 7th grade. At this age, Henle is usually the place to start.

You stated that your Latin goal is "for vocabulary development and discerning the meanings of unfamiliar words." To meet the goal you have, a Latin word roots program, such as Vocabulary Vine (http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/latin.htm), would work just as well; there are many other programs out there, this is just the first one that came to mind.

[Plaid Dad]

I agree with Beth; I would not use Lively Latin with a 7th grader. It is written for much younger children and would probably seem babyish (not in the material, but in the presentation).

I also agree that if your goal is to increase English vocabulary, a roots program would fit the bill, probably with less stress for you and your ds.

[5wolfcubs]

I have found that his reluctance to learn anything has given me a tendency to want to scale things down for him but I know that I'm not doing him any favors by doing that. He needs to be able to buckle down and do difficult things that he doesn't like. I want him to develop a love of learning and I am constantly torn by not wanting him to put up a wall while at the same time preparing for high school and college.

I am in a similar position with my oldest who is in 7th grade this year. I'm using Lively Latin with her, my 5th & 2nd graders. She dislikes Latin as a whole, having gotten off to a rotten start with our two attempts at Latin for Children. However, the LL presentation has been very good for her -- the expectations are very clear, the examples understandable, the required work not tedious. It is not her least favorite subject anymore. :)

All that said, I am undecided about having her continue into Lively Latin 2. My dd who will be in 6th grade definitely will. I have read on this forum about Latin Prep by Galore Park (http://www.galorepark.co.uk/home-schoolers.html) being good for the reluctant Latin-learner, but I don't want to start a new program just for her. I might have her do just Critical Thinking Press's roots program. There are other things, for her, that I think are more important skills to buckle down in (math, writing) next year. Either way, I'm glad she had this year of LL.

Anyway, I can relate to your situation... :)

[LisaNY]

I agree with Plaid Dad and Beth. Studying Latin takes a lot of time, dedication, and hard work. If vocabulary building is a main goal, then you and your ds would be much better served by a roots-based program. Critical Thinking has an excellent computer-based program called "Word Roots". It is challenging, fun, and fits the bill for those wishing to build vocabulary through word root study.

[Sue G in PA]

and since I feel the same way you do...that learning Latin is very helpful we are doing Vocab. from Classical Roots so she can learn the Latin/Greek roots of many of our English words. My dh didn't take Latin until hs and was just fine. I didn't take ANY Latin :001_huh: and wish I had at least done a roots program. My dd is much more interested in Spanish and so it gets done and she LOVES it! Couldn't ask for more there :D So...as Latin is also helpful to Spanish and vice versa...she'll be good to start Latin in hs if she wishes.

[April in WA]

Just last week I became aware of Lively Latin and am quite interested. I have three children, currently 6th, 4th and 2nd grades. My older two started with Prima, moved through LCI last year and are almost halfway through LCII. My youngest went through Prima last year and primarily working through the LCI vocabulary this year in preparation for going through all of LCI next year. From this information I think you would be saying we're doing fine, but we're not. My boys, the older two, are so bored with the program they are not paying attention and I'm having to force them to accomplish their Latin work. Because of this, I don't feel they are retaining the grammar or vocabulary as well as they should. I really don't want it to be that way. My daughter has caught their bad attitude and is not very cooperative with LCI. I realize obedience and attitude of the heart are part of the problem here. My husband and I are addressing that but I think there is more here.

From looking at the LL samples, I think it might be just what my kids need to put some spice back into their Latin study. I do want my children to continue on with the complete study of Latin, although it has been a struggle time wise this year. I expect next year will be similar because we need to focus on a couple of other areas for my oldest.

I am thinking of starting all three of my children at the beginning of LL next year to solidify the previously learned skills for my boys and continue my daughter in something more fun. I read the previous posts saying that LL would be too bablyish for a 7th grader, but I'm thinking it might be a good fit for my oldest to get him back in the saddle so to speak since it should be mostly review. WIth that information, what do you think?

I also have some other questions about LL in general as follows:

1)I read on the website her audio files are in the classical pronunciation but somewhere I read she had them in eccleciastical as well. Can anyone verify one way or the other?

2)Can you use LL without working through the history parts?

3)I see the author currently follows LL with an upper level course using Henle. Should I consider LL to equate to LCI/LCII?

4)I've seen mention of the author coming out with LL2. Do we know when that will be? Would it take the place of Henle Year 1 or something else?

Thank you for taking the time to consider my situation and give me advice.

Blessings,
April in WA

[April in WA]

I'm bumping this up in hopes someone will respond.

[frogpond1]

just because it seems like a normal middle school hurdle to leap through in 7th grade. I wouldn't actually pick to do a subject or not at this age just because of his thoughts about it. How many 7th graders really know what they are going to enjoy or not? My oldest is 7th grade and I have 6 other 7th and 8th graders in my 2 day co-op. Not all of them have been thrilled about Latin, but the deeper we get and the more they can read- it gets self-motivating. The tough thing is teaching an 8th grader without having learned it yourself. You could wait until 9th and go straight into a high school curriculum. The attitudes may even out by then too. That would give you a year to start learning it yourself.

[SS in MD]

Sorry don't have any answers, but I'm hoping for some replies as well. I too would like my 12 yo 7th grader (next year) to start Latin. She wants to start a modern language. But, I think first starting Latin and doing it for a two years then starting a modern lang. would benefit her. But, I'm not quite sure where to start. She's never taken latin (nor I). I am also considering having her younger sister (5th grade next year) to start Latin as well... but not sure about this, I may just to have oldest dd start with Latin Prep (I also considered LL but though it was geared for younger dc, but I may be wrong) and have 2nd dd start in a couple of years. Many like Getting Starting With Latin www.gettingstartedwithLatin.com (http://www.gettingstartedwithLatin.com) , but I'm not sure what book/curriculum you can jump into after that. The author does offer a free online latin class as a follow-up. But, no mention of what to use afterwards if you don't want to use the online class.

Anway, sorry to ramble, But I hope others will respond with their opinions!

[nmoira]

1)I read on the website her audio files are in the classical pronunciation but somewhere I read she had them in eccleciastical as well. Can anyone verify one way or the other?

Yes, there are two sets of audio files.

2)Can you use LL without working through the history parts?Yes, but a small handful of the exercises might not make much sense.

3)I see the author currently follows LL with an upper level course using Henle. Should I consider LL to equate to LCI/LCII?I don't know anything about these programs. My best guess is that a child will have a vocabulary of between 500 and 600 words after LL2. I haven't yet seen a scope and sequence for LL2.

4)I've seen mention of the author coming out with LL2. Do we know when that will be? Would it take the place of Henle Year 1 or something else?The author is just finishing up with Lesson 1 of LL2. The new course will be up very soon. Her plan is to finish a lesson every 2 weeks until all 16 are completed. It wouldn't take the place of Henle Year 1. LL1 and LL2 would lead up to Henle 1. LL is very gently paced.

[nestof3]

I just had to say that my husband was looking over my shoulder and saw the title of your thread.

He read it aloud and asked, "Who would be excited?" :lol:

[Sahamamama]

Are typical 7th graders "excited" about ANYTHING when it comes to hard work and learning? If it involves a book and/or an adult, it's boring. School subjects get harder and require more commitment, your son might as well get used to it, or you will both be frustrated.

A few questions: What is your son's attitude towards hard work? Does he realize how much work is ahead of him in life? Are you beginning to point ahead to the near future, when he grows into a young man and assumes more responsibility for his life and learning? Does he see that the great opportunities he has now to study by the hour may never come again?

Your son might benefit from working through one or both of these great books with his father:

"Boyhood and Beyond: Practical Wisdom for Becoming a Man"
"Created for Work: Practical Insights for Young Men"Both books are written by Bob Schultz, published by Great Expectations Book Company. I purchased my copies through CBD.

Hope this helps!

[Carmen_and_Company]

There's a Yahoog group that offers downloadble & printable copies of an OP Latin text, Latin: Book One, with answers too. I think there are answers to 1/2 of the lessons. Last year, my then 11th grader worked quickly through the lessons & moved on to Latin via Ovid. My younger two (3rd & 4th grade at the time) went between LBO and the Minimus series, and this year are using latin Prep or Lively Latin I.

Here's the Yahoo group adde: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Latin_1/