To increase your success in teaching ANY subject, using a curriculum intended for homeschoolers can help. Curriculum written for a school situation will assume that the teacher knows the subject already. But when you use a curriculum meant for homeschoolers, it usually assumes that both student and teacher don’t know the subject when they start. In this letter a mother was asking me about Latin, but the concept holds true for other subjects as well; use curriculum meant for homeschoolers when possible.
I was looking over the e-book on transcripts that I got from you, and I notice you taught Latin. I have tried to teach Latin, but didn’t get very far, because I didn’t understand it. I would like to try again. Which curriculum did you use?
Thanks, Diane
Hi Diane,
My children did three years of high school Latin, and one boy is still taking it in college – but I don’t understand Latin any more than you do, so I know you aren’t at a disadvantage just because you don’t understand it!
If you want to try Latin again, then using a curriculum made for homeschoolers will help. I used Latin Road to English Grammar, and it’s made just for homeschoolers. I worked about a chapter ahead of my boys the first year, and that helped. It’s pretty intensive, so it did take us about 30-40 minutes a day the first year. Here is a link to a blog post.
You don’t need to have Latin, though. In high school, you can use any foreign language. Sometimes homeschool moms give themselves pressure to teach Latin, but the truth is that another language may be easier for you. Don’t feel like Latin is a “must” – it’s just a trend right now in homeschooling, not a necessity. If you want the vocabulary development of Latin, then you can choose Rummy Roots. It teaches the vocabulary aspect without doing it in the context of learning a foreign language.
Here are a few of my favorite Latin products:
Rummy Roots Card Game
More Rummy Roots, Card Game
The Latin Road to English Grammar, Vol. 1 – Complete Set
Another feature of the Gold Care Club is where I answer your biggest questions about homeschooling high school. You will love your free month of Gold Care when you get my e-book!
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Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
Denise M says:
My daughter is using a tried and true curriculum for Latin. She is learning it via an online class with Memoria Press. She loves having the class.
Compare that to when she was trying to muddle through French last year. That was so hard!
October 16th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Kristine says:
Lee, you know I’ve really wanted my kids to learn Latin. They got a nice exposure in grammar/middle school, despite my failure to “get” it. Holly’s using Getting Started With Latin this year, and it’s her favorite subject. It is also written for hsers, although it’s probably just 1/3 or so of a credit. We’ll move into Henle or, oh I can’t remember what the GSWL author recommends, afterwards, so she’ll have a solid year/credit for 9th grade. I’m planning for a second credit next year.
October 16th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
J W says:
I have no background in French, so I can tell you a curriculum geared toward homeschoolers is a great place to start. However, I was absolutely stymied on some things when my children wanted to learn more, more, and more. I wound up taking a continuing education class (“Conversational French”) at the local community college. That gave me exactly the boost I needed.
October 16th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Cara says:
A couple years ago, my husband (who retired from military service in ’04 and has since been active in our homeschool efforts) decided that our oldest should take Latin. I thought he was crazy! We decided to order Latina Christiana I with the DVDs and started learning Latin: my husband, myself, our (then) 13-year old daughter, and our (then) 8-year old son. Even the (then) 4-year old picked up a little of it. After two years, we have NOT finished the series. But, we HAVE come to realize that, while we do not need to speak/read Latin, just knowing the vocabulary words is a HUGE benefit. I did very well in public high school and on the ACT. I can only imagine how much better off I would have been if I had known Latin vocabulary. My husband (who has a Masters of Law) also agrees that Latin vocabulary would have helped him tremendously throughout his schooling. Our daughter’s “real” foreign language will be Spanish (I took it in high school/college and will re-learn it with her), but we do not at all regret venturing into Latin. Next step, Greek vocabulary! I am considering English From the Roots Up. It covers Latin and Greek. Latin will be a good review and Greek will obviously be a new thing for us to learn.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Nancy says:
My kids have been using Cambridge Latin for 3 or 4 years now. Although it is not a homeschool course, the online site with games (AND TRANSLATIONS!!!) really helps plus I got the test booklet with the answer key. They have also found games on Quia.com that go along with the curriculum. Cambridge has e-courses and certificates that can be earned as well.
October 6th, 2010 at 2:57 pm