Looking for opinions on Minimus

[momtolgd]

I like the looks of Lively Latin, but am considering doing something lighter first. What age range is Minimus written for? How is it set up? Could I use it with both my older kids this year (they will turn 8 in August and 6 in October)? Why do you like/dislike it?

If you don't like Minimus, can you recommend something else for us to use as a beginning to Latin next year?

Thanks.

[mcconnellboys]

I think their ages are just right for Minimus. I think it is a good intro. I do think that you need the TM in order to really use the programming. It is set up with a short cartoon, or two, in each chapter. Each is followed by vocab lists and info relative to grammar. Each chapter has listed at the beginning all the worksheets from the TM that go along with that chapter, and there are usually several. It is not a workbook format, but there are exercises in the worksheets that include writing. There are also now additional resources at the Minimus website.

I am following Minimus Secundus this year with (probably) Lively Latin next year. I think it includes a lot more writing than Minimus has.

Regena

[Pster]

We just started Minimus. My oldest dragged her feet & fussed when I said we were going to start it and now she loves it! I play the cd a lot to just hear it and become familiar with the pronunciation. I never had Latin before and would not be a good model for that!

We are working on ch 1 and doing the activities as we go along. I am not pushing it but we do it when we can....hopefully 2x a wk at least. The younger dd's are listening to it and are repeating the words too so that's good, right?

We like it so far!

[ArwenA]

Didn't like Minimus here. It seemed to jumpy and I found it hard to teach with no Latin background.
We switched to LFC (Latin for Children) and love it.:) There are DVDs to help with pronunciation, history readers that are very enjoyable, fun activities and more! Hmmm, sounds like I'm trying to market this.:eek: I'm not.
It is easy for me to teach and I'm learning lots. The series is geared toward 3rd -5th grade.

[Mogster]

We love Minimus! My 7yr old ds and my 9yr old dd have really enjoyed this program. I find it very easy to teach (with no Latin background) and the cd makes pronounciation a breeze. I made up some of my own vocab and verb review sheets for extra practice.

[Nikita]

My 9yo daughter really likes it, although we're taking a break from it right now because she wanted to focus on French instead. I think it's a really nice, fun introduction to Latin. My son started with Prima Latina and enjoyed that too, but he's jealous that his little sister has gotten to use Minimus. She loves the characters, the cartoon illustrations, and the activity sheets. He was drawn to the history and the illustrations - if he'd used it, I know he wouldn't have liked the activity sheets and would have rejected them as busywork. He did well with the rote learning of PL.

I agree with the others that you really need the TM to get much out of Minimus, and I wouldn't worry about doing it on a rigid schedule - stop and review or do additional practice when you need to, because it isn't grammar intensive and that makes it a bit harder for the kids to retain what they've learned, in my experience. There are many activities that keep it fun for the kids, so I do think it holds their interest more easily at that age than other programs.

[Cindyg]

but it's not simple.

I don't think your 6YO will get much out of it. Should be about right for the 8YOs.

There's little help for the teacher. It is hard to pick up any Latin grammar from the program (unless the teacher already knows Latin grammar--and that is what the author assumes).

But you do develop both an eye and an ear for the language. It's very painless and interesting. Don't treat it like a comic book. There's much more to it than that. (And the stories are not comics like Sunday morning comics. They're not funny. It's an ongoing story, and it covers a wide range of deep topics including death, marriage, war, childbirth, and slavery.)

Do get the listening CD. Listen while you read. And read/listen over and over. Get the TM if you can. It has the translations in it. We would have been lost w/o the translations.

But it's a great program. We finished it and went on to Secundus, which we will finish in about a month. We got a lot out of it.

There are a number of posts on the new board about Minimus. Search on the word "Minimus," and you'll see a lot.