Your 2 Cents on Latina Christiana I

[blowe]

Every time we reprint a title, we try to make improvements based on feedback from parents and teachers. We are planning to re-print Latina Christiana I this winter and decided to create this forum so that everyone can easily post their suggestions.

If you have an idea that you would really like to see in Latina Christiana I or even a simple layout change, please post it below, and we will consider it for the next printing.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[classical4mom]

I'll be brave and leave the first post ;)

First, I do want to say, I am so very pleased with your excellent materials! Thank you for that.

One change I thought of would be in the review chapters, making it more "game-like" with a different format. What I do when we get to the reviews is make "BINGO" cards for all the words from those 5 lessons and that is how we review. Maybe something like that.

Also, maybe somehow incorporate the derivatives more into the lesson, like they are in Prima. My children have had trouble with using the companion Ludere book because some derivatives are not included. What I have had to do is look through all of Ludere at the derivative puzzles and write in my TM the derivatives that they need to know for the puzzle (that are not included on the TM list) so they know what to choose from.

My children suggested not repeating vocabulary words as new words from lessons they have already learned. For example, I think it was lesson 23 or 24 there were only 4 new words and 6 words from previous chapters. They were disappointed because they wanted new words to learn.

Other than that, we can't think of anything else. Keep making those excellent products! We appreciate you asking for our input. It makes us feel like our opinions are important and that you do really care about homeschooling families!
Nanci

[blowe]

Nanci,

--Derivatives--
Thanks for the first reply. It is a great idea to add the derivative to the student book. That is a popular feature in Prima Latina.

In the past we have tried to keep the entire lesson on two pages in Latina Christiana I. To add the derivatives and definitions, we will have to make each lesson 4 pages with the lesson on the first two pages and the exercises on the next two. This will require the students to flip back and forth when they are trying to complete their exercises. Are the extra pages a big concern for you?

--Games--
If we go to four pages per lesson, we might be able to use two of the review lesson pages for fun exercises. Thanks for the suggestion.

--Repeating Vocabulary--
In lesson 24 we repeat 3 vocabulary words and in lesson 25 we repeat 2 vocabulary words. These should be the only words repeated in the book. We actually repeated them on purpose because students often have difficulty with those words. Plus, it tends to lighten the load the last two weeks of school during spring fever and before finals. It is a great thing when your kids are disappointed because they wanted to learn more. If you will email me your address to blowe AT memoriapress.com, I will send you a free copy of the Book of Roots so your kids can study all summer long :)

Thanks for your comments, and we look forward to more suggestions from you and others.

[classical4mom]

No the extra pages are not a concern to me. In fact, we would welcome them. Since Latin is the spine of our homeschool, the more the better, I say!

Thanks for the Roots book! My children will love it.

Nanci

[Beth in Central TX]

In the back of the teacher's manual there is a dictionary which lists the Latin words, English definition, and derivatives. I would like to see a cross-reference to the lesson that introduces the word. Such as:

Latin--English--Derivative--Introduced in (Page Heading)
adoro--I adore--adoration--Lesson V

HTH!
Beth in Central TX

[crblomquist]

I am going to use LC1 next year, so I can't comment on the program, exactly. However, I did get a quick listen to the pronunciation CD. This is nothing personal to the pronunciator (is that a word?), but I agree with some other people I've heard who've said that the southern accent is distracting. I also think the recording quality seems a bit inferior to PL's CD, but maybe I didn't listen long enough. I liked the person on the PL CD. I suspected she really had an accent, too, but she did a good job hiding it. Her voice was clear and strong, and she made the words easy to understand without a southern accent affecting them. Please consider re-recording the LC1 CD with this person or else with another person who can speak with a more standard American accent. Thanks!

[Pam]

..........hahahaaha Now see, I'm in Georgia.........and I don't see that there is much of a southern accent on the cd's. :p I guess it's all in your perspective.

[WendyE]

We used LC I with my second grader. The material was awesome, but we could not use the exercises as they were laid out in the book. There was simply not enough room for my son to write the answers. I had to scan each exersise page, split it into two images, and stretch each image to fit a single landscape page, then print both pages. This solved the problem, but was time consuming and expensive. Since so many LC users are quite young, it would be better if the answer spaces were designed with ample room for young writers. (*note: my daughter, who started this is 7th grade, just came in and said that the lack of room and cramped writing space was a problem for her, as well).


I love the above idea of adding additional pages per lesson, and including derivatives (this lack has created a great deal of difficulty with the Ludere Latine book). I am less enthusiastic about the need for flipping back and forth to complete the lesson. Some solutions that come to mind are:

1. Perforate the exercise pages for easy removal, so that the book can be kept open to the lesson.

2. Print the exercise pages as a separate workbook, again so that the book can be kept open to the lesson.

3. Split the lessons, following each section with exercises. For example, print the translation exercises directly after the Latin sayings section, and so on.

Wendy

[Nicole]

We live in the Pacific Northwest and the accent is very obvious to us, on all the CDs. The (heavily accented) phrase, "remember, there are no Romans around to correct you," regularly seasons our conversations. We love it.

We're pretty cheap, so we're saving the workbook for the next kid. My older student did all his work on separate sheets of paper, so the lines were not an issue for us. But I do like Wendy's ideas for making the workbook more user-friendly for younger students. Perhaps you might also consider a set of worksheets with 3-ring holes that could be purchased separately for the younger ones? That might be more cost effective than a separate workbook.

I've wondered whether it would be possible, in just a few lines, to integrate the history component into the lessons, instead of having the history information in a separate section of the (teacher's) book. Perhaps it might be possible to have even one line referring to the subject or chapter of FMoR? (Though I supposed the lessons don't match up exactly....) We look at the lessons daily, but do the history component weekly. I would just like to have a visual reminder on the page I see daily, about where we are.

I would also like to have (if there were space) more examples in the teacher's edition for drill. Sometimes the text will say something generic like "drill the verb forms" and then I'm thumbing through the book, totally caught with my pants down because I didn't prepare thoroughly enough....

Oh, and I do prefer the spiral bound text, rather than the book bound LCII. A small thing. Not sure what the consensus is about that.

Thanks for all your good work.

[Kristin]

I am new to this site, but have loved your books and can't imagine a Latin program without them. I wanted to weigh in on this....

I have used LCI for the past few years with my 4th and 5th grader and have also found the lessons too abbreviated. I rely heavily on Latina Ludere because we need more exercises to fully understand the grammar and how to do all the declensions/conjugations. Additionally, I create derivative lists from the teachers manual and the kids spend a lesson looking up and writing the definitions and sentences using the words. Until I found Ludere I was overworked with creating extra worksheets, derivative and declension charts, and tests just to get my kids competent with the material (as a side note, I think the chapter end quizzes are way too easy).

Also, it seems to me that LCI starts at a good pace, but by Ch 20 I was really needing to go over the material more slowly, partly because the cumulative review takes longer and the grammar gets pretty complex. A chapter used to take us 3 or 4 lessons to do, now we need easily 5 or 6.

Thanks for the forum; great idea to get the users' input.

[blowe]

Pronunciation
Everyone tells us that the CD has an accent, but, for the life of us, we can't hear it. :) We will change the speaker next time we update the CD. (My mom will be heartbroken :) ). Many families like the southern accent because their kids love to repeat the words with a southern accent, so it keeps them interested. However, for those far above the Mason-Dixon line, it is sometimes a distraction. Thanks for the suggestions. (I am going to trim some of the additional comments on pronunciation just to keep this list short.)

Beth
We will definitely add a reference to the lesson in the vocabulary section. Good to hear from you again.

WendyE
Great ideas on formatting the extra pages! Perhaps a separate exercise book is best. I know that if we have 3rd or 4th graders with loose exercise sheets in our classrooms, it quickly becomes a mess. We could make the lesson book a smaller format, maybe 7" x 10" and the exercise book 8.5 x 11 so that they can both fit on a desk. Do you have any preference for perforated sheets or a separate book for the exercises?

Nicole
We haven't found a good way to fully integrate the history yet because so many people aren't even doing Roman history, or they are doing it at different paces. We will lay out a few pages and see how we can fit it in.

Maybe after we have a little more discussion, I will try to integrate everyone’s ideas into a layout of a sample chapter and post it on this forum. Then you can look at it and see if accomplishes everything you want.

Kristin
We are definitely going to expand the derivatives section in the student book and we should have some extra room for additional exercises.

Thanks again for all your great ideas. We really appreciate your comments. It helps to hear from teachers new to our course and those who have been using it for a long time.

[magistra6]

I love Latina Christiana. I've used it for several years in our homeschool co-op. It's set up so that it's really easy to teach and the students learn at a good pace. I don't think the quizzes are too easy. Many students don't know how to learn and the quizzes teach them to get in the habit of memorizing. They know what to expect and feel a sense of accomplishment.
I like the idea of more pages per lesson and more room for the answers. To solve the problem of having to turn pages, the lesson material might be printed in a small box on the 3rd or 4th page of the lesson. I found the empty lined pages in LCII useful in class. I'd have the students write out a declension, copy a scripture passage, make up sentences of their own, etc.
I ended up skipping the history component. There wasn't enough time in a 1 hour/week class. I had the students write the derivatives in their notebooks, but then when we started using Ludere, I had to spend time checking for extra derivatives not given in the text. They still had a hard time doing the derivative puzzle because no definitions are given.
I thought the prayers and music were an important component and added more songs: the simple chants for the Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Pater Noster, and O Filii et Filiae. The students also loved playing games: Simon Dicit, Pictionary, and vocabulary bees (I used a board with a racetrack and charioteer figures)
Thanks for a wonderful program!
Julia

[LoveToLearn]

First of all, I am so glad I found this program! Latin has become my 3rd grader's favorite subject, and she can't get enough of it!

This is our first year using LCI, and I would like to second the opinion of a few other posts, as well as add a couple ideas of my own.

We, also, were disappointed when we got to Lesson 24 and there was vocabulary that had been in previous lessons. Also, in the lesson on constellations, we would have preferred that the pronunciation that was given on the CD would have been in Latin. Although it is true that we commonly hear those words in English rather than Latin, we still tried to do a Latin pronunciation as best we could.

When we listen to the CD, we do find it hard, at times, to understand the female's pronunciation. We discovered that when the children recite, we can often pick up what hadn't been clear to us the first time around.

We did not do PL before jumping into LCI. For that reason, it would have been helpful to have the phonetic spelling (and the accent marks) for the vocabulary--at least in the first lessons until we got the "hang" of it. To solve that problem, as we listened to the CD, my daughter would write out the more difficult words phonetically in her workbook, and didn't hesitate to correct MY pronunciation when we would recite the lesson!

Finally, to cover all the bases, I think the "Protestant" ending for the Pater Noster should be added right in the books. We did copy it off of this forum, but it did not have the phonetic spelling. But, we plugged away.

Now, if you could just find a way for parents to learn as quickly as the children do! We are very much looking forward to LCII. Excelsior!

Lea Ann

[WendyT]

Hello, I would like to say that I have just started Latina Christiana II and it has been hard to get used to the changes. We were used to the copying of the vocabulary and although I don't think the kids miss it I was not clear on whether they should do something similar to that or not. I usually don't watch the DVD's with them so I'm not sure if the format is the same with that and the questions in the workbook seem to silimar in both. The one real suggestion I have is if the Latin phrase uses some Latin language rule that it is too early to teach properly to the kids at least explain it in the teacher's manual. We must have spent and hour pouring through the Latin books we had trying to figure out why there was and "a" on the end of oro in the same lesson that we had learned all the endings and "a" was not among them. It also happend a couple of other times, like Brute. Once we started Lingua Angelica we figured it out but it drove us nuts before that. We love Cheryl Lowe on the DVD's though. She does a good job of speaking right to the kids and keeping things light and interesting. Thanks!

[debrakb]

Hi,

Not sure I have much new to add, but my biggest issue with LCI has been the derivatives. This was my son's favorite part of Prima, and it's been frustrating now in LCI.

It would be nice if I could continue to use the teacher's book alongside the new student books (though I'm sure I'd purchase a new teacher book - it would just be nice to not HAVE to) for my future Latin students.

I also like the idea of incorporating the Roman history in some way into the lessons. I'm one who is not doing that component (we plan to work through FMOR next year instead), but if there were some reference to it within the lessons, we probably would have done it. I just found all of that very confusing, and opted not to do it simply because I couldn't figure out what to do when.

Debra

[Wally]

I would LOVE to have the history readings scheduled in the teacher's manual! It would also be nice to have the derivatives included in the student book or as a separate book. Currently, I type the list of derivatives for each lesson so she can write notes on it during the dvd lesson. She then uses the list for completing exercises/games.

[Nicole]

This is such a small thing, I hesitated to mention it. But, at the beginning of the year, I went through my text and my son's and at the top of every new lesson page penciled in all the CD track numbers for the corrosponding lesson. It just helped to remind me to start the CD.

Thanks,
Nicole

[WendyE]

WendyE
Great ideas on formatting the extra pages! Perhaps a separate exercise book is best. I know that if we have 3rd or 4th graders with loose exercise sheets in our classrooms, it quickly becomes a mess. We could make the lesson book a smaller format, maybe 7" x 10" and the exercise book 8.5 x 11 so that they can both fit on a desk. Do you have any preference for perforated sheets or a separate book for the exercises?


Thank you for asking! Personally, I prefer the perforated sheets. That way, all of the lesson pages are in one place, and the materials are easier for the child to manipulate. It seems like my son always has trouble when using two books at the same time; there is never enough room, and he loses his place switching back and forth. When he has just a page and a book, though, he can set the page on the book while he writes, which is less frustrating for him.

In addition, we keep binders for review, and like to keep all materials for each lesson together. With a separate exercise book, we would have to either use both the book and binder for every review, or else tear out the sheets, hole punch them, and put them in the binder.

Whatever you choose to do, I have no doubt that the materials will be just as excellent as all of your other products.

Wendy

[Gail in CNY]

Translation, infinitives (or what is in the dictionary) and vocabulary please!

Lesson VI Vocabulary lists the genitive ending but never tells you what it is. I realize this is an ecclesiastical text book but having some animal nouns would make it more interesting when we write sentences to translate. I could do without the derivatives, I realize that is not likely but having more actually sentences to translate and or diagram would be very nice. Lastly, compared to PL LCI is very light in memorization. Rather than having two and three word sayings I would like to see two or three line speeches from FMOR or early Church fathers.

I must agree with most of the other comments I have read too. Adding the chapter number after vocabulary words a la PL. I like the text and we are learning Latin however a text like Minimus or Ecce Romani have features which may be incorporated to great learning advantage.

Gail in CNY

[Sue in Maine]

Hello,

I'm new here, but have used LC for a number of years and Henle for two. I taught my first non-home school class in 2005-06. We covered Henle Units 1-3. One of the biggest issues (other than nailing down grammar with the students) was the use of macrons. LC doesn't use them, but moves onto a book that does. I've read in other sources that the use of macrons should be viewed as part of the spelling of the word. To me, they are not a big deal, especially if they kids learn to use them right away. The hardest transition is when the kids have not used them or seen them, and then whamo! they get them in Henle. They found them confusing at that point. I started introducing them to my son who was using LC II and he didn't blink an eye. I suggest that you incorporate the macrons into the LC program so that the kids learn them from the beginning. I have found them very helpful in pronunciation and also distinguishing between certain cases, verb tenses, and even definitions.

Sue in Maine

[MsTiggyWinkle]

Dear Blowse,
Switching to Latina 1 has been a little difficult for me because we are using classical pronunciation. We've already started in that direction, and I think I'd better stick with it. Anyway, I would like to see an appendix with all of the vocabulary and Latin sayings, and sentences listed per chapter with their classical markings.

I would also like at least 3 more workbook pages per lesson in the text. Even though we will spend a day on derivatives, and a day reviewing grammar, I still would like to assign those extra workbook pages as independent work. I own Ludere, but I want more review of what they are asked in the workbook.

I also think it would be nice to actually have the workbook structured so that there was a page for derivative study, following the guidelines in the TM. It's just so hard when you are homeschooling several grades with so many subjects. It's nice when the next step is prepared for you, and you just do the next activity in line. I know this would make the workbook much larger and more expensive, but I think it would be worth it, and such a relief!

Thanks for asking our input,
Leanne Reidlinger

[sylvia]

I've just started using LC1 with 3 of my kids this year, so I don't have lots of experience yet. But so far, so good, we are all enjoying it and my kids seem to consider it a 'secret' language and look forward to our Latin time. One suggestion I have would be more music. There is the weekly saying to learn, as well as the set prayers to repeat and learn, but only 3 songs. I have pretty extensive experience with singing with children, and I can tell you that through singing, children learn and internalize things in a way that cannot be replicated through speaking. I would really love a companion CD of additional songs, preferably children's songs that they might already know, translated into Latin. (I've used this method with Spanish and other foreign languages, and find it's quite effective when the kids already know the songs and already know what the song is about.) Some familiar children's books, translated into Latin, would also be most welcome as an enrichment activity.

[matermagistra]

We actually enjoy the southern accent. We think it makes listening to the lessons even more fun than it already is.

I don't use LCI yet-we are finishing up PL. We plan on moving ahead to LCI within a few months, so I look forward to hearing everyone's suggestions.

I will second the vote for spiral bound exercise books, though, or seperate worksheet pages.

Thanks!
Marita

[sfink]

My children really use that derivatives list to help them with the crossword in Ludere. Some of those derivatives are really quite difficult words that are hard for my children (just 8 and just 10) to grasp just from hearing them once on the DVD.

I personally don't use the history part, so that doesn't matter to me, but derivatives would really help.

Thanks,
Sherrill

[Caroline]

We are only on Lesson VI of LCI but we used PL last year. I have 4 kids and intend on using the work books for each one, and they write on a separate notebook. But it would be easier to be able to have the exercises open to the page they are working on with out having to hold down the other side!! So far we love the book as it is. The only think i can thank of would be to somehow divide up the lesson by grade level or difficulty. I am teaching a Kindergartner, 2nd grader and 4th grader. I know I will have to go back again for my 5 yr old and I have a 2 year old too. But it is nice to be able to have them do level of work on the same lesson.
thanks!!
Caroline

[djjarboe]

Brian,
I know this thread is old, but I'm new to the loop and would like to add my 2 cents.

I would really like to see page numbers on the student overlay pages in the TM (like they are in LCI). I'm often telling my class to "turn to page XX in your book". I'm penciling those in now.

Also, I like a spiral bound TM. It lays flat on my podium and I don't have to hold the pages down. It also makes copying the quizzes, tests, and call card forms much easier.

Thanks for asking for suggestions. I love your products!

[Vik]

Funny, I must be the only one who does not like spiral bound books. The dern pages always come out and I'm always fussing to get the thing back in the holes. Also, I like being able to read the spines so I can find which book I need on the bookshelf without having to pull out every book to look at the cover. I don't like perforations, either.

The Southern accent doesn't bother me in the least, though it's very noticeable. I use an Italian accent with my kids, anyhow. I do think consistency in pronunciation would be nice (we only use the DVDs, not the CDs). Technically each letter or diphthong has one sound, and pronouncing the letter "a" three different ways is a little distracting. But it's nothing that I can't live with!

[Terri S.]

I'm torn about the spiral vs spine copy. I like the spiral because it's easier to make copies of the quizzes/tests. I like the spine so that I can identify the book easier.

What about a supplemental CD ROM with quizzes, tests, worksheets, and maybe other supplemental worksheets to be printed out at home? It would accompany the "spine" bound TM very well and make printing a breeze.

On another note, as someone else mentioned, lessons seem to need quite a bit of supplemental work for my son (4th grade for LCI, now in 5th) to really get the hang of it all. Ludere seems to be a great companion (wish I'd noticed it earlier). A suggested schedule, incorporating it would be nice, especially one that slows the pace down a little bit, giving "slower" Latin students a chance to catch on. Just watching the DVD, drills, and exercises takes him a minimum 45 minutes per day, not including supplemental studies practice!

Also, somewhere, I got "linked" to a website with Latin games matching LCI/II lessons. I can't seem to find that link anywhere on the website, but it has been very helpful for my son.

[tullyfamily]

We really wish the derivatives were printed out in the student book!!!

[staylor]

I see that there is a web page describing which Latin book is appropriate for various levels of student, but just to be certain before I buy. . .

If I'm starting my eleven-year-old on Latin, I should begin with LC and not the Prima Latina, right?

thx
staylor

[Mungo]

Yes, definitely. PL is great, but it was written for much younger students. Enjoy your Latin studies!