Oh the weather outside is...delightful!

On sunny and warm fall days it is nearly impossible to get kids to sit. Thankfully it is also Columbus Day and since the public schools are out we cut off the day and I let them go. That is giving me a chance to finally sit and look through Latin For Children. It appears to be a delightful, home recorded series of lessons featuring a dad and his daughters!
Last year we used Prima Latina but since this uses classical pronunciation we will have to shift things a tiny bit. It is a series of 3 courses so we will be set for Big Mac until the end of 8th grade. I am expecting at that point to move her into HS level Latin or just go on to Spanish. Not sure how this will jive with The Latin Road to English Grammar that I would like Chickie to complete. Hmmmm....need to think on that.
I may just have to see how this goes for the rest of the year before deciding. I did purchase an old version of The Latin Road with cassettes that I need to buy the CD's for if they will coincide. Otherwise I will be hunting for a cassette player! This program is a grammar/spelling program that takes 4 years (1st-4th) to complete. Then you complete the Latin Road so that upon entering high school you have essentially completed Latin altogether. So far Phonics Road 2 looks great and the girls are learning tons about spelling rules. Heck, I am learning spelling rules!

Why Latin?

Really, why Latin? It is a dead language no longer spoken isn't it? This seems to sum it up.
Dorothy Sayers says it best:

I will say at once, quite firmly, that the best grounding for education is the Latin grammar. I say this not because Latin is traditional and medieval, but simply because even a rudimentary knowledge of Latin cuts down the labor and pains of learning almost any other subject by at least 50 percent.
-- From the National Review .

My girls currently do Song School Latin and Prima Latina. They are 2 different approaches that start with intro to vocabulary through songs, chants, and a bit of grammar mixed.


It is an admittedly light intro to Latin but that is where we are starting and it can't hurt, right? If only the schools would stop concentrating on comprehension, history, and science in the early years are REALLY build strong foundations the results would be remarkable. Beginning language in middle school is far after the prime age for learning that type of thing. Please PUBLIC ED, stop testing and start researching!