Home School Product Reviews

We used various media for languages, and had good results with all of them, but for Latin, we wanted to try a different approach.

The video format (in Visual Latin DVD) makes it easy for us to settle in and watch all the way through the lesson. No one has yet asked to be excused or leave the room for any reason because we are engaged by the teacher. His smooth presentation style, pacing, and bite-sized units work well. We are challenged, but do not feel overwhelmed with new material. The comical puns keep us smiling, but are not distracting from the material. Believe it or not, the lessons are fun.

The practice downloads reinforce the concepts without grinding you down – although printing and organizing three sets of worksheet was time consuming at the beginning. To keep everything straight, we have each set of worksheets in a three-ring binder with tabs for Grammar, Sentences, Reading, and Vocabulary Reference. After completing the exercises we read the answers aloud.

Word Fun

I never studied Latin or Greek, but what can be more fun than submarine means ‘under sea’? So, we have a lot of fun making a game of the cards. My daughter was 8 when we started. We put photos next to a lamp for ‘light’ and we put tele on a shelf far away for ‘far away’ and then put skopeo under reading glasses for ‘examine’ etc, etc, and then we say what the words mean and then make full words ‘telescope’, ‘telephotos’ and say what they mean. It is a lot of fun, but not enough cards. So I am ordering the second set. You need the book for looking up on what card a word is located (saves a lot of time, plus the author will inspire you for the reasons to study word roots). We also make some cards for Latin/Greek roots not in the set. My son is 5 and he is captivated by the fact that Tyrannosaurus Rex means ‘King of the Tyrant Lizards’.

Latin for Children

Knowing the difficult my child has with language (she has autism spectrum disorder) we needed a very straightforward Latin package. Despite knowing no Latin myself I have found Latin for Children easy, enjoyable and straightforward.  After six months we are doing simple translations together and very much looking forward to the next primer. I would solidly recommend this as a Latin basis for either elementary aged students or older students with a learning disability.