Foreign Language » The Curriculum Choice

Visual Latin

Foreign Language, Grammar, High School, Middle School, Technology 3 Responses »

Oct 122011

Visual Latin | A Quick Explanation from Compass Cinema on Vimeo.

Warning. The free lessons you may download and watch will have you hooked. Watch them with your children only if you want to hear…

Laughter. Soon followed by, “Can we watch another?” Then after the second introductory lesson, “Can we watch just one more?”

“…better to make students laugh than yawn.” ~ visuallatin.com

Why should you study Latin? Well, not only “because your parents told you to…” but pause here to watch the short video, above, by founder, Dwane Thomas, for a few reasons why plus an overview of the Visual Latin program. Mr. Thomas has 15 years of experience teaching Latin. He and his wife homeschool their five children.

What we have experienced:

The short lessons are one of the keys to successful learning with Visual Latin, most lasting four to six minutes. “This is what I want you to focus on…”
It is interest sparking: “That’s where we get the English word…but we’ll talk more about that in future lessons.” Mr. Thomas asks questions and says he expects interaction from your students.

The sentences, vocabulary and examples are right where your child can see them – on the chalkboard or highlighted on the screen. The lessons start slowly and begin to move a little faster as your child gains confidence.
You can pause the lesson if you miss something. You can rewind, repeat.

There are accompanying, downloadable, printable worksheets for each lesson. The questions will have your children laughing too (as you can see from this photo I caught of my son, above, reading a sentence from his worksheet). Following each lesson, the instruction appears on the screen, “Now do worksheet 1B…”

What age is Visual Latin for? ” 9 and up. Kids need to be able to read, but other than that, elementary kids love it, middle school kids love it, high school kids love it, college kids… you get the point.” We enjoy Visual Latin at Hodgepodge with 8^th, 7^th and 4^th graders. However, I’m not surprised when the youngest two show up when they hear the Latin teacher.

Visual Latin is good for high school credit! Students can count their studies as a half credit if only watching the lessons. But why not get a full credit by completing the accompanying worksheets? Full details here.

The program is tech savvy and portable:

Available in DVD format
Downloadable. This means you and your child can view lessons on any computer – PC and Mac as well as mobile devices - iPod, iPhone and iPad. Visual Latin as you wait at brother’s practice? Sure! Or you can stream your download via Apple TV and watch it in your family room together – like we do.

Affordable, one time purchase for the whole family. Available:

in single/family license
as a group/class license

You may purchase the program in sets. Downloads for lessons 1-10, then 11-30 as well as DVDs. Visit the Compass Store for more information.

Latin I – 30 lessons
Latin II – 30 lessons

Equaling about one lesson a week. The line up for Latin 1 – Scope and Sequence – is available here.

All the details on purchasing, downloading, scope and sequence and many more FAQs for your browsing pleasure in All the Specs in One Place on the Visual Latin site.

In summary: Having been a Latin student in both high school and college myself, I know personally the long-term benefits of Latin language study. We have tried two other Latin programs in our home but neither clicked. However, as you see from the quotes at top, Visual Latin is here to stay in our home. It is easy to build a habit of watching the lessons. I so appreciate this short, fun way of learning Latin. But I’m not the only one that is a Visual Latin fan.

I don’t have to remind. They ask, “When can we do our Visual Latin lesson?”

Don’t leave without watching that video at top! Then click over for your four (4) free introductory lessons plus two (2) regular lessons :

Lesson A – Why Study Latin?
Lesson B – Latin Then and Now
Lesson C – How to Learn a Language
Lesson D – Stuff You Should Know About Latin
Lesson 1 – Being Verb Basics – To Be and Not to Be
Lesson 2 – Being Verb Basics – Predicate Nominatives and Adjectives

But don’t say I didn’t warn you!

~Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos homeschooling five children. She contributes a blend of writing at parenting, frugal living and homeschool sites as well as her own daily Hodgepodge.

French is Fun

Foreign Language, High School, Middle School 1 Response »

Dec 082010

In grade 7, after years of low-key, informal French, our children start French is Fun 1. This inexpensive textbook from AMSCO works well for us, helping the children consolidate all their earlier knowledge and extending it dramatically.

French is Fun, Book 1: Lively Lessons for Beginners, Third Edition by Gail Stein and Heywood Wald brings beginners to a reasonable level of proficiency. Students learn listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through oral and written exercises, stories, and more. This course requires a teacher who knows some French.

The Student Text

French is Fun 1 is divided into six parts, each containing four lessons and a thorough review. Although it can be used as a work-text, we have been using it as a textbook with the children doing the written work in a scribbler.

Each of the 24 lessons teaches vocabulary using pictures and provides a formal list at the end of the lesson. Grammar concepts are usually taught by example, leaving the student to puzzle out the rules. However, each review chapter provides organized grammar rules for students who learn better that way. Several oral exercises are provided in each chapter, with scripted questions and prompts from the Teacher’s Manual and Key. There are also a good number of written exercises. Each chapter has a story of some kind, often humorous, that showcases concepts to be learned. A cartoon conversation lesson adds comic relief, and a cultural section teaches about life in France. The final section allows the student to practice recently learned skills on authentic French material and to build self-confidence.

Supplementary Materials

As mentioned, the Teacher’s Manual and Key includes oral exercises, answers to the written exercises, lesson quizzes, tests after every fourth lesson, and two exams. You need this manual to teach the course. We have not used the companion workbook or the expensive audio program.

How We Use It

We have tried many different ways of studying French is Fun 1. What seems to work best for our children is a daily 15 minute session with me, practicing vocabulary, reading stories, learning new material, doing oral exercises, and reviewing. After that, the child goes off to do the relevant exercises on his/her own. This method allows us to complete the course in about a year and a half without overloading the child.

When a child finishes French is Fun 1, we start him/her on French is Fun 2 by Gail Stein. There are no newer editions of Level 2 and it is not as user-friendly as the third edition Level 1 text. On the other hand, it does present a lot of important information. Since we usually only have half a year left to study Level 2 before starting our high school French program, we just make do.

After we’d used our second hand copy of French is Fun 1 for a while, the pages started to come out. We had it spiral bound, as you can see, and it is still serving us well many years later.

Our Opinions

French is Fun 1 is an affordable and pleasant introduction to formal French. It teaches the language clearly and engages the students on many levels by incorporating pictures, stories, real-life French examples, and cultural information. Parents who know some French will find it easy to use.

This is not a Christian book. We skip the occasional exercise, such as those about lotteries, and once or twice I had to black out a word in a story. Concepts such as dating and the importance of teen popularity are assumed. Since this is a book that requires a parent to teach it, we can discuss each issue as it arises, making it a mini-worldview course as well as a language course.

The fourth edition of French is Fun 1, with supplementary materials, is available from AMSCO, and earlier editions can be bought second hand. We own the third edition.

Disclosure: We have owned French is Fun 1 for many years. I receive no compensation for my reviews and the opinions expressed are my own.

-Written by Annie Kate, a Christian homeschooling mom of five, who reviews and blogs at Tea Time with Annie Kate. http://homeschoolblogger.com/reviewsandmore/.

Hooked on French Program from Hooked on Phonics

Elementary, Foreign Language, Preschool 5 Responses »

Sep 172010

Having taken French in high school and college, I couldn’t help but want to work on French with my children once we started homeschooling. Urged by many people to focus on Spanish instead, we spent a gross amount of money, bought Rosetta Stone, and started working on Spanish.

After six months, when my kids only seemed to be able to use about as much Spanish as they had learned on Dora (apparently the program just didn’t mesh well with us), I decided that we were going to start on French instead. I was thrilled to find a great price on Hooked on Phonics’ French program called Hooked on French.

What We Like About Hooked on French:

Cost – Hooked on French can currently (as of this writing) be purchased on the Hooked on Phonics website for under $15.
Variety of Materials – The kit includes workbooks, flash cards, interactive CD-Roms (with games and lessons), story books, and a progress chart.
Appeals to a Variety of Ages – Hooked on Phonics has this program listed as being for ages 4 – 6, but even my boys (ages 9 and 11) enjoy it and are learning from it.
Works on the Basics – One thing that didn’t work for us with Rosetta Stone was that I wanted a program that worked on the basics – numbers, colors, object names, etc. Hooked on French works on these, and my kids are having fun walking around counting objects in French.
Not Just French – Okay, so our program is just French. But I like that for just bit more money, we could also get Hooked on Spanish.
Independent Work – Kids can work through the interactive CD-Rom part independently. I have taken to sitting with them and brushing up on my French. However, when I got an important phone call while putting in the CD-Rom the other day, the kids were able to use it without me.

What I Would Change/Issues:

Not for Older than Elementary Age – It would be great to have an inexpensive, interactive program for older children, but since Hooked on Phonics is a company that makes products for younger children, this makes sense.
Story Books We’ve Used Are Not in French. I was surprised when we got to a story book that we were supposed to read and it was in English only. Apparently we were supposed to count items in French. However, I do like the workbook, as it gives us a chance to not only hear the words on the CD-Rom, but actually see words written out in the workbook.

Would I Recommend It to a Friend?

I would definitely recommend it to a friend whose children were not older than mine. (Mine range from kindergarten to 5th grade.) It is definitely for younger kids, but it is a fabulous price and really works on the basics. It is a fun introduction to a foreign language.

Angie can be found writing on her blog, Many Little Blessings, about faith, family, and household management. She is also the founder of The Homeschool Classroom and Catholic Mothers Online.

Hands-On Foreign Language for Kids

Elementary, Foreign Language, Hands On, Middle School, Preschool 1 Response »

Aug 132010

While there are many ‘foreign’ languages a homeschool family can study, the one I recommend for those with young children is American Sign Language. Our journey to ASL began out of necessity with a child who was non-verbal. However, as our family has grown and our need disappeared we discovered that sign language was a wonderful tool in our parenting arsenal. ASL is uniquely hands-on, giving children an active way to use their body while communicating from very early ages.

There are quite a few options available in the sign language arena and the one our family uses consistently is Signing Time. Today I will give you an overview of the DVD products we love from Signing Time, as well as some neat features on their website. Video previews from each title are on their website.

Baby Signing Time Series – This is for the youngest learners and signing is led by Rachel Coleman, with animated and real babies all age 2 and younger. The songs that fill these DVDs make it easy to practice the signs you are learning. There are 4 DVDs in this series, and we own the first two. My babies and toddlers enjoy this, and one neat thing is the option to watch one song at a time, keeping viewing time short for the littlest learners. By the end of this set your family will learn over 100 signs.

Signing Time Series One – The original series of 13 DVDs is recommended for ages 1-8, though I can say even adults will learn and enjoy this series. Each DVD has a theme for the signs and is a mix of live people, songs, and animation. We own all of these and love them! This set alone directly teaches more than 250 signs. There is some overlap in the signs between each series, but the presentations are aimed at different ages. Our favorite in this series is hard to choose. My animal lovers would say #7 Leah’s Farm or #9 The Zoo Train, but another child would choose #3 Everyday Signs and #12 Time to Eat for the fun food songs and signs.

Signing Time Series Two – This series includes several new learning modules that put children’s ASL vocabulary to work teaching some new signs and practicing many signs from Series One at a more challenging level. We own 10 of the 13 DVDs in this series, and they are some of my favorites. This series offers titles such as:

Happy Birthday to You
Move and Groove
Helping Out Around the House
Who Has the Frog (my all time favorite – focusing on all important question words like who, what, where, why)

Believe it or not, there are some more Signing Time DVDs outside those three series, including Practice Time for numbers or ABC’s, Sing and Sign, and Story Time. We own several of these as well and enjoy them. Signing Time even offers music cds, flash cards, books, and a classroom edition of DVDs with lesson plans, so explore their store. Also be sure to sign up for their newsletter for a discount coupon, and keep an eye on those newsletters for more sales and special discounts. I’ll share a secret – we’ve acquired 95% of our Signing Time collection through those sales. Last year they even had a sale around Black Friday.

The Signing Time website offers free resources your family may enjoy:

One last thing I wanted to mention is just a few of the benefits we’ve seen in our family as we have used ASL. First, we have been able to communicate with our children, and have them communicate back, from a very early age. This has cut down dramatically on frustrated tantrums when a 1 year old is trying to tell you something but does not have the words. We have found sign language to be a wonderful silent option in the middle of church services for correcting, warning, or simply reminding our children of what they need to be doing. The last reason we love signing as a family is that it helps build our family identity. It is just ‘something we do’ that makes us family. The kids can use it as a secret language, strengthening their bonds as brothers and sisters. Sometimes it is just the little things that bring the most memories.

-Written by Tristan, mom to 5 going on 6 children, homeschooling through unit studies with a side of lapbooks. You can visit her at her blog, Our Busy Homeschool.

English From the Roots Up

Foreign Language, Language Arts, Vocabulary 10 Responses »

Aug 022010

We’ve implemented a new foreign language/vocabulary plan this year that’s working quite well! Every school day after Bible reading we have some sort of skill drill – math flashcards, quick math or logic games, and Greek & Latin roots.

Twice a week, using English from the Roots Up by Joegil Lundquist, we are learning one new root word and reviewing all we have already learned. This is resulting in an amazing Greek/Latin connection to words we use everyday and boosting my children’s ability to break apart new vocabulary words for meaning. (Talk about a great way to boost spelling skills AND future ACT/SAT scores!)

Here’s how the program works in a nutshell…

Your children create a notecard that includes the daily root on one side and the definition and derivations on the back. Don’t worry, all the information is included in the guide for you – your children simply copy the information from the guide to their notecard. (This is the author’s preferred method. HOWEVER, I chose to cheat and purchase the prepared notecards. In our extremely busy life, preparing the notecards seemed like busy work. On the other hand, I see the author’s point that actually writing the information makes a bigger impression on the kiddos.)
Then you simply go over the information on the cards using the short and simple teaching notes provided in the guide. Make whatever connections you can with English and possibly any other languages like Spanish or French that you are studying.
Finally, use the previous cards as flashcards to review roots, meanings, and derivatives.

A pronunciation key and the Greek alphabet are included for your convenience at the beginning of the book.

In only about 5-10 minutes twice a week, my children are really adding onto their understanding of vocabulary, word parts and spelling! I’m using the curriculum with a 5th grader and an 8th grader, but the author has used it with children as early as 2nd grade.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with English from the Roots Up!

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of 3. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and view her nature study curriculum at Shining Dawn Books.

Latin for Children, Primer A

Classical, Foreign Language 3 Responses »

Mar 162010

When I first attempted to use this curriculum, I had only the Primer. Boy was I lost! In fact, I was ready to simply toss the book in the trash until I realized there are other parts that go along with the Primer – like an Answer Key, an Activity Book, a Latin Reader, and most importantly (to me anyway) the DVD Lessons and Chant CD’s.

Yes, I felt like quite a dingbat once I realized how much more there was to the curriculum. Quite honestly, though, I had taken an upper level Greek and Latin roots class in college, so it didn’t even cross my mind that I couldn’t handle teaching the curriculum by simply having the Primer. But, I couldn’t handle it.

Once I received the entire package of materials, I was no longer willing to toss the curriculum in the trash – now I LOVE it!

Latin For Children, Primer A is the first of three curricula that teach your children Latin – words, pronunciation, conjugation, memorization and eventually reading. It is Biblically based with Bible verses being some points of memorization. Using the same material, you can choose whether to learn Classical Latin, Ecclesiastical Latin or both. Primer A can be started as early as 3rd grade, but I didn’t start my children until 4th and 7th. Just in case you’re interested, this program works alongside Shurley Grammar. It is NOT necessary that you use that grammar curriculum to use this Latin program.

Here’s a look at each part of the curriculum and my assessment as to whether or not it’s necessary or supplemental:

Primer: Absolutely necessary! This is the main student book where your children will complete exercises, read explanations, see conjugation charts, read through chants, learn pronunciations and take tests. The book is very clean and easy to read. Assignments are not overwhelming and can be completed in a matter of minutes after the lesson has been taught.

Answer Key: This is not absolutely necessary, but a definite help. You will be able to quickly check your children’s work with the Answer Key. I’m actually doing the lessons with my children, so there’s no need for the Answer Key in order to check their work. It has come in handy on several occasions when we needed to check whether or not our translation or conjugations were correct.

DVD’s and Chant CD’s: In my opinion, these are necessary! (Again, this is coming from someone with a decent background in beginning Latin.) A Latin teacher explains and elaborates on each and every lesson. After hearing his explanations, the lessons in the book make so much more sense! Each lesson begins with a chant of new words and phrases led by a group of children. This was a HUGE help to me, along with the chant CD’s that you can listen to whenever you like for extra pronunciation practice.

Activity Book: This is not necessary, but provides additional practice that my children have found helpful. The activities are in puzzle and fun format so the extra work doesn’t seem like overload.

Reader: This is not necessary, but allows your children the chance to practice their Latin skills in a somewhat “real life” manner. It also happens to coincide with the Veritas Press History Cards from Ancient Greece to Rome, although it doesn’t matter whether you use these cards in your homeschool or not for the book to be useful.

To buy the entire curriculum is quite expensive at a bundle price of around $100. However, you get A LOT for this price. Essentially, you have a 32 week DVD-based program that allows you to either take the class along with your children or let your children complete it on their own. If Latin is a serious subject you want to teach, the money is well worth it.

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and Shining Dawn Books.

English From the Roots Up

Classical, Elementary, Foreign Language, High School, Junior High Language Arts, Language Arts, Science 6 Responses »

Jan 212010

Years ago when I was first introduced to the classical method of homeschooling, I was determined to have my boys attempt a Latin program as suggested in The Well-Trained Mind.

We tried two different programs to learn Latin. We got a little farther with a DVD based program, but we still were not able to stay motivated. I know I had a bit of a bad attitude about Latin and at some point I made the decision to set it aside and learn Spanish instead. I thought in our family that Spanish would be more applicable and practical. It was a great decision.

We have not totally ignored all Latin. We have used English From the Roots Up as the basis for our very simple Latin and Greek roots curricula. Why do we even bother learning these roots? I have found that my boys are able to easily decipher the meaning of an unfamiliar word by looking for roots within the word.

For instance they can remember what igneous means because they see the root ignis, meaning fire, within the word.

Another example would be the word hydrophobia with hydros meaning water and phobos meaning fear or a fear of water. Learning the Greek and Latin roots has been especially helpful in their study of high school level biology.

Some Quick Thoughts About English From the Roots Up:
We started off with the English From the Roots Up book and the flashcards but what has endured to the end are the cards. The box set comes with 100 pre-made cards with the root on the front and the meaning and some vocabulary words on the back.

Many roots are in both Greek and Latin

We took the roots very slowly, discussing and learning each root one at a time. When I say slowly, I mean it has taken us four years to cover the box of one hundred Latin and Greek roots. Taking the slow approach has allowed my boys to learn and retain every root in the box. I would not hesitate to start using these cards even with young children using this slow approach, keeping it light and fun.

We used the cards each week to drill the roots into our memory. We played simple games with the cards if we had some extra time during the week. We studied five minutes a day, four days a week. Of course I could have made up my own cards with markers and a good list of roots, but I know that I always am more motivated to stick with something if I don’t have to produce the foundation myself (some might call that lazy). It is much easier for me and well worth the money to purchase the box and have the roots all lined up for me with no preparation on my part.

Here are a few of the activities we used with the pre-made cards:

Quiz each other: I give the root and they give the meaning or I give the meaning and they give the root.
Speed: Use a stopwatch and see how fast we can get through the cards we know.
Made Up Words: Use the roots to make up new words, mixing together funny combinations.
Matching: Many of the roots are given in Greek and Latin. I give them the Latin and they tell me the Greek or vice versa.

Cost:

Book at Rainbow Resource- $22.95

Cards at Rainbow Resource- $13.95

I highly recommend this system for learning Greek and Latin roots the simple and easy way.

Please note: You can use the book without the cards. The book gives you instructions for making your own set of color-coded cards to study with each week. The book also has additional activities to reinforce the roots in your child’s mind.

Written by Barb-Harmony Art mom. She also blogs at http://harmonyartmom.blogspot.com and her business is found at http://www.harmonyfinearts.com. I would love for you to join us for the Outdoor Hour Challenges: http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com.

Latin in the Christian Trivium

Classical, Foreign Language, Highschool 1 Response »

Nov 072009

latin volume 1

Our oldest son is in his 6th year of Latin this year. He began with Prima Latina in 3rd grade, followed by Latina Christiana 1 and 2. These programs were great for a young Latin student, but it was hard to find a good option that would take him to the next level.

Enter Latin in the Christian Trivium. I can’t remember how we found this program, but I am so thankful that we did. It is systematic and thorough, rigorous but not overwhelming.

Strengths of this course:

The first three volumes are accredited by the University of California as three years’ High School Latin credit.

Volume IV is currently under review by the University of California.

Beginning in Volume 2, the student reads Bible passages in Latin. By Volume 3, the student is translating Bible passages. Volume IV contains a significant amount of Bible, including the entire book of James and the Ten Commandments. Most upper level Latin curriculum focuses on secular texts and vocabulary. It has been wonderful for our son to learn Christian vocabulary and he really enjoys the Bible translations in this course.

This series incorporates an interesting story line based on the centurion in the Bible who met Jesus. This story line continues throughout all 4 books.

Students are required to answer questions using Latin, generating grammatically correct answers using previously learned vocabulary. This is no mere fill-in-the-blank course. As the child progresses through the course he is required to think more and more in the language.

Over 1,000 vocabulary words are taught in the first three volumes, which is the standard for three years of high school Latin. The student will also learn a good deal of Latin grammar.

Latin history, culture and Italian geography are included in the course.
Latin 1 incorporates the use of a grammar notebook and index cards. Students are asked to classify vocabulary according to part of speech on color-coded notebook pages or index cards.

The third course, in particular, will help prepare students for the National Latin Exam. Our son did well on the exam even after completing just one year of the course.

To learn more about the distinctives of this course, go to the Latin in the Christian Trivium website and click the top link in the left sidebar, Our Latin Books. A list of all concepts taught in each book will appear. It is too extensive to list here!

I have read on the course website that a parent who does not know Latin could teach this course. They even provide a free 7 week preparatory class for teachers, which you can sign up for at any time during the year. I did not feel comfortable teaching my son at this level, however. So I was thrilled to find out that LITCT offers online courses for each volume! I have found the fee to be very reasonable for what you get:

Students in the online course only need to purchase a student manual. The teacher manual and test booklet are not necessary, so that is a savings on the curriculum.
Students receive weekly “classroom” instruction online (from 1 to 1 1/2 hours per week, depending on the level). Classes meet in a chat room such as Windows Live Messenger, and students and teacher communicate using text chat and microphones.
The teacher assigns and corrects all homework, quizzes and tests. Our son is getting an excellent, accredited, college preparatory course, taught by a skilled Latin teacher, from the comfort of our own home.

One caveat:

Although this course is for middle and high school students, some parents might find the course to be very challenging for their younger students. This is particularly true if you are doing the online classes and the child cannot work at his own pace. It is important to keep in mind that this course is accredited for high school language credit, and the workload is commensurate with that. We budget an hour per day for Latin homework, and some weeks even more.

My son was in 6th grade when he did Volume 1. He was able to handle this workload, but it was much more time consuming than his other classes. We had to plan his schedule to accommodate the time this course required. Now that he is in 8th grade, several of his other classes are almost as rigorous and we feel this course helped to prepare him for that.

Parents will need to consider whether their child is academically ready to handle the pace and rigor of a high school course. We have found over the past 3 years that a wide age range exists among the students, with some being the same age as our son and others are already in high school.

There is more information about the online classes on the LITCT website. This course has been a wonderful fit for our son. He is thriving in the online classroom environment, and I am thrilled with his progress over the past three years.

You can find Molly Evert blogging at Countercultural School and at her educational audio book site My Audio School.

Mango Languages: An online foreign language course

Foreign Language 6 Responses »

Nov 032009

At a glance…

Grade level: preschool thru adult

Use as: stand alone curriculum

Instruction time: none

Prep time: none

Cost: Free through many local libraries sold by 3, 6, or 12 month subscription

Mango language is an online foreign language program offering twelve languages. The lessons are designed to teach you conversational skills and promises that the first lesson will show results. The program is completely web based and self directed. Language is taught in small step by step chunks to increase understanding and proper pronunciation. Each lesson can be reviewed as many times as needed. You completely control the lesson from being able to repeat the words and review the phrases by a click of the mouse. There are lesson notes provided for the purpose of understanding grammar and cultural differences in the language. Please check your local library to see if this program is offered before purchasing a subscription.

Being a web based program offers flexibility that is hard to match by taking a class. The ease in clicking the mouse for review or moving forward as you are able is also hard to match by a dvd course. However, keep in mind that this program focuses primarily on conversational skills which is both good and bad. The good is that you will learn as they say, from the first lesson a phrase you can use. You will begin to speak quicker and with more confidence after several lessons. Yet, if you are interested in mastering grammar, writing or reading, you will need to supplement. This is not a deal breaker, as many students taking classes or using workbooks feel discouraged after learning only the alphabet, verb conjugation, and numbers in their chosen language but still cannot put together a sentence. With Mango, you will be speaking in sentences after several lessons. This is more in tune to how we learn our own language. After all, my toddler can say “I want a cookie.” But she cannot point out the verb, subject or noun.

When my daughter came to me saying she wanted to learn Japanese, I was both amazed at her ambition and discouraged with how I would pursue this avenue. Thankfully, I found Mango Languages through my local library. I honestly have to say that because it was free I worried it was going to be a flimsy program. I had never heard of Mango before. Well, I am happy to report my fears were put to rest. Mango is far from flimsy. My 6^th grade daughter, after only a few lessons, knows several phrases. She enjoys the program so much she does foreign language on days it isn’t assigned. Now, I did purchase a Japanese workbook to supplement a bit and to provide flashcards. Yet, for her purposes the workbook only provided the reinforcement from Mango and not the other way around. All in all, a solid foreign language program for kids and adults alike. I know have my son taking Greek, my other daughter and my mom learning Chinese. My 6^th grader now wants to add in Spanish to her routine.

If you are interested in learning more please visit their website www.mangolanguages.com. Again, check your local library to see if this program is offered before purchasing.

Written by Richele, classical and Charlotte Mason inspired, homeschooling mom, to four reflections of God’s love. She blogs at www.underthegoldenappletree.blogspot.com.

Latin for Children vs. Latina Christiana

Classical, Foreign Language 11 Responses »

Oct 082009

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bg/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

We began studying Latin four years ago when my oldest child was in the second grade. I read everything I could find on the different Latin curricula that were available and finally decided on Latin for Children for him. He completed the 3 books in 4 school years and this year he has started
Latin Alive, which is a Latin program for middle school students, also published by Classical Academic Press.

Since I was pleased with Latin for Children for my son, I had my daughter start with the program at the beginning of last school year. Later on in the year I received Latina Christiana I from Memoria Press to review. My daughter seemed the obvious choice to try out the program since she wasn’t too far along in Latin for Children. She also didn’t seem to be retaining the information very well, so I figured a little review would be beneficial. As she used Latina Christiana, I noticed that there were some things about the program that made it a better choice for her. So this year she is continuing to use Latina Christiana instead of Latin for Children.

I was reminded of a few things in this process. First, my children are all different and what may work best for one of them may not be the best choice for all of them. Second, I need to look at products with each of the children who will be using the product in mind, not just my oldest child, and not just what I like. Finally, I can’t spend a lot of money on a product and always justify it by saying I’ll use it with all 4 of my children. That may not work.

I think that BOTH Latin for Children and Latina Christiana are excellent Latin programs with many similarities. Both are designed to be used with students as young as about the third grade. They both teach Latin from a parts-to-whole method. Both include Latin grammar and vocabulary as well as derivative studies. Latin for Children does include more vocabulary and grammar, but that is reasonable since it has one more text than Latina Christiana. An optional video is available for either product as well as audio cd’s. However, there are some key differences which I have outlined below.

	Latin for Children	Latina Christiana
# texts in series	3 (A,B,C)	2 (I, II)
Pronunciation	Classical (but has an Ecclesiastical option)	Ecclesiastical
Student Text	Instruction is in the Student text	No instruction in the Student text
Teacher’s Guide	Answer Key	All Latin instruction is in Teacher’s Guide as well as teaching tips, quizzes, tests, and answers to all the exercises.
Video	Lessons include children and some humor. Some variety in filming locations. Lessons are fairly short.	Lessons include instructor only. They are thorough and include drill and practice within the lesson. Lessons are longer and are in front of a white board only.
Roman culture included?	Very little	Scheduled to use with Famous Men of Rome, however Famous Men of Rome is not included.
Variety	Pages are printed with Roman themed graphics. Variation in types of exercises from chapter to chapter.	Plain pages. Predictable format for exercises and quizzes.
Prayers included?	No	Yes

My daughter, who has always been somewhat of a no-nonsense kind of girl, really appreciates Latina Christiana. She needs more drill and practice, and the expectations are very clear. The instruction in the text in Latin for Children was confusing to her and didn’t help her to understand the material at all.

My son, on the other hand, would not have lasted a week in Latina Christiana. He needed the somewhat goofy humor in the Latin for Children videos as well as the variety in the text. He is much more able to read and understand a concept, so having the instruction in the text was great for him. And memorizing Latin prayers? There is no way that he would enjoy that.

If you are looking for an elementary Latin curriculum I recommend either Latin for Children or Latina Christiana I. They are both quality programs backed by companies that are continually revising and writing new curricula. Samples are available at both websites to help you compare further and decide which one is more suited to your child.

Written by Kristen, Classical mom of 4. Kristen’s homeschool blog is A Day in the Life.