Latin

Basic Set includes Student Book, Teacher's Manual and an audio tape or CD
Teacher's Manual, 138 pages, softcover

This text is intended to introduce grade-schoolers to the Latin language. It is useful in preparing for future Latin studies in high school (particularly helpful for studying Henle Latin), but also teaches children some basics of grammar and vocabulary that sharpen thinking skills and assist in understanding the English Language more thoroughly.

This first volume teaches verbs from the First and Second Conjugation as well as two irregular verbs (sum and possum) and nouns of the First and Second Declensions. Students memorize present and imperfect endings of the First and Second Declension Nouns. They also study adjectives of the First and Second Declension and some personal pronouns. Exercises include finding appropriate endings for nouns and adjectives (which have to match in number, gender and case). A number of simple Latin sayings and prayers are studied as well.

The Teacher's Manual is very easy to use, providing all of the supplemental material for each lesson on the same page as the student material. The complete student book is reproduced in a smaller size on each page (with correct answers in a nice blue typeface) surrounded by lesson instructions, oral recitation lists, information about the Latin Saying for each lesson, Grammar instructions, Word Study and an extensive derivative list. It also includes reproducible blank maps for the students to identify locations, "History Key and Notes", and a complete set of reproducible Quizzes and Tests with Answer Keys.

The text is intended to work with Famous Men of Rome (and includes optional history questions along the way), although we've substituted The Story of the Romans by H.A. Guerber without any difficulty. The back of the text includes two very nice full-page maps, a list of history questions, the Pater Noster (Our Father) and Table Blessing, 15 basic conversational Latin phrases and the music and words for Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful), Dona Nobis Pacem and Christus Vincit.

The third edition offers substantial improvements from the first and second editions. Changes include the Latin word identified for each derivative in the student lessons and the teacher's manual being integrated with reproductions of the student text (much easier to use than the old version!).

We've been using the Latina Christiana series in our local Latin homeschool co-op for a number of years. My teenage students, most of whom did not start out with Latina Christiana, have lamented that they didn't have a chance to memorize the forms and vocabulary given in these books before they started Henle. My 6th grade daughter has almost finished Latina Christiana II (supplemented with Basic Language Principles with Latin Background by Ruth Wilson - which is excellent!). She and her four fellow classmates have become very enthusiastic about their Latin studies and are well-prepared to start Henle as a class next year. My 3rd grade son studied the vocabulary from Prima Latina last year and has completed the first half of Latina Christiana I with his class this year. This has been such a wonderful experience for this school-resistant boy. He's really developing an interest in languages and learning that are spreading to other areas of study. The grammar, vocabulary and spelling that he's picking up in Latin have been invaluable - and I think more meaningful than a typical grammar book would have been for him.

To be quite honest, all of my students complain about the audio CD. Maybe it's just their midwestern up bringing, but the accent and audio quality is a real distraction to them. Personally, I think it's a fairly minor point, especially since, as author Cheryl Lowe points out, the purpose here isn't to develop great Latin speakers, but to develop thinking skills and related cultural benefits.

Program consists of an audio tape, a reader and an activity book (approximately 30 pages each)
This home produced conversational Latin program is designed for young children. Your pre-Latin students from Kindergarten up may enjoy getting a taste of the language, especially if their older siblings are studying Latin. The program consists of two softcover books (the binding leaves something to be desired) and an audio tape.

The reader contains the full text of the audio tape so that the child may read along with the tape (and probably absorb the lesson more fully in this manner). Grandma Maria (who is helping out Grandpa Carmelus in the American version) takes us back to Ancient Rome with the help of "Sprig", the magic kangaroo. Each lesson introduces some basic Latin words and gives some practice using them in a sentence or other conversational context (such as counting). Children will learn how to say Hello and Goodbye, count various items from one to ten in Latin, and some simple sentences involving places, animals and everyday activities.

The activity book includes some fun Latin practice involving matching words, unscrambling and finding missing letters. Both books include lots of clip-art type illustrations which can be colored in by your young student.

Catholic content is found throughout the program - particularly in the Saint stories and the use of Catholic names (such as Jacinta - my 6 year old of that name was particularly delighted!)

For more information including how to order this program, click here.
Note: The price for the program, noted on the website, is $16 plus $9 shipping - Australian Dollars. According to the Universal Currency Converter, this is equivalent to $10.18 plus $5.73 shipping - American Dollars. So the total cost, including shipping from Australia is $15.90

Fr. Henle's Latin course is now well recognized as a superior choice among Catholic homeschoolers. Many curricula have adopted it and recommend it, and also publish syllabi and course plans of their own to aid families in breaking it down the lessons day by day. For instance, Mother of Divine Grace School and Kolbe Academy both have their own plans available beginning at the High School freshman level.

Memoria Press, publisher of Latina Christiana and other Latin texts, has introduced a syllabi with a different formula: a slower pace lesson plan/study guide for use after elementary Latin studies, beginning in 5th to 8th grade (but is not limited to students with previous Latin studies).

The lesson plans are well organized daily, and every page is a five day week. Each day lists the suggested activities and students can check the box by each of them. On the first pages the layout is simple and crisp, but as the course progresses and more text is necessary each day, it becomes a bit confusing, especially since the days are numbered outside of a margin. On this “side bar”, as I will call it, there are occasional extra daily lesson notes, helpful and simply put. Unfortunately once in a while these notes are a little longer and get trampled with the day numbering. Hopefully Memoria Press will fix these two problems simply, by removing the days' numbers from this side bar and placing them right by the beginning of each day’s activities where they belong.

Our children’s Latin tutor looked at this and was very pleased with this text's format—it is a plus to have the five days on a weekly page and a system of boxes that can be checked as the work is done. It looks like it would be very helpful especially for students tackling Latin on their own. Latin, as the author comments, has a way of “piling up quickly”. Memoria Press’s Guide to Henle Latin I may be a very helpful tool for homeschool Latin students. Included in the course plans are many resources such as a cumulative grammar tests and a section on how to make vocabulary and grammar cards.

You can access information on these products, and see sample pages at Memoria Press' website.

After several challenging years of teaching beginning Latin to my elementary-grade children, I have finally found exactly the book that I wish I had had available from the beginning. Not only is this book classical in orientation and Christian in content, but it is also very well-organized and easy to use. This program can be begun as early as third grade by a motivated student with excellent reading fluency and some grammar knowledge, but it will be beneficial for a beginning Latin student of any age.

Schola Latina offers some unique features that make it stand apart from other Latin programs that are available. First, the vocabulary is immediately useful and relevant to the student. In the Preface, the author states, "When a present-day American child learns French (or English, for that matter), she begins by learning the names of the objects around her in the house. But when she starts Latin, she begins by learning military terms she's expected to come across in Caesar four years down the line. ... It was my goal that every word in the vocabulary list could be used in simple, natural sentences as the students learned the rudiments of grammar." Another very motivating feature is the variety of puzzles designed to drill the reading, writing, and spelling of the vocabulary words. This unique, painless spelling emphasis has an immediate benefit in the spelling of English derivatives as well. A third feature is the conversational practice in each lesson. Not only will the student practice the infamous Latin mottoes and lovely biblical phrases, he will also learn to say "Merry Christmas!", and "My head aches!"

Each of the twenty-four lessons includes five teaching sections and five clearly-marked daily assignments. The teaching sections follow this pattern: a famous Latin saying, a practice conversation, new vocabulary words with a few questions that require critical thinking, Latin grammar with English grammar review and comparison, and a history summary keyed to Famous Men of Rome. The Famous Men book is not required to use this course, but it will be a very useful addition to extend the history lesson. The daily assignments vary from day to day and week to week, but they all are very easy to use and work to reinforce the new material while reviewing previous lessons. Activities include oral recitations, written work on derivatives and history, and puzzles and translation practice; each lesson concludes with a reminder for the student's parent to check their work. The student's text also includes a pronunciation guide, a glossary (both English-to-Latin and Latin-to-English), a listing of Latin numbers, and several songs in Latin.

A Teacher's Manual is also available and highly recommended. It includes the full text of the student's pages, with the correct answers included, as well as specific teaching notes. The teaching notes describe potential difficult areas, suggest additional practices, and remind the teacher about the chants and forms to drill.

Further information and sample pages are available at the author's website noted below. I'm very excited about this Latin course, and I'm looking forward to using the second book in the series next year!