Mastery of basics?

[Anonymous]

I am a homeschooling mother who is just starting LC II with my 11 yo son. He did well on the tests from the teacher's guide in LC I. After reading the last newsletter on "overlearning" the basics, I am concerned that he is not really ready to move on. I have been adding an extra week of short "drill" style exercise to cement his knowledge, but when faced with short translation exercises he makes errors. He knows his chants cold, but has a difficult time transferring the knowledge. His progress in math has been similar, what I would call "careless" errors. At what point do I decide to move on? Does anyone have any suggestions on when to move on? Thank You.

[Cheryl Lowe]

If he knows his chants cold, move on. Students always make mistakes when they use the knowledge they have mastered, whether it is spelling, math or Latin. Mastery of the grammar forms means mastery of reciting and spelling, not using. Using the grammar forms is a skill developed in the logic stage.