Well folks, it's a wrap. This is my final review for my 2009-10 cruise and it is one that leaves me to say-I wish I had this in the beginning of the year, because I honestly do not have the where with all to absorb this monster program. Granted, I have had a couple months to review this, but alas-these past several weeks have disappeared faster than a toddler with a handful of their sibling's candy. For us, as anyone with a child who has taken Driver's Ed can attest-that month long course sucked our days into some weird spiral of decline, booting most of our schooling time to the curb. So this review is one of those that I can only offer you a small ditty on what it provides the student, and a general take on what I think of it. Granted, I have taught some Latin to my two oldest children, but it was another program with a different way of teaching...so this was coming across as all "Greek" to me [now don't be confused by that term-it is a Latin program I received to review, I am simply borrowing that familiar saying to describe my experience here]. I am still a bit dazed and confused. So to be fair to the generous folks at Classical Legacy Press-I will come back [before the fall hits], to give you an update on our progress. We will be using this during our summer schooling, and since I will be taking our load down to 2 or 3 subjects-I can better focus my attention on it. By doing so, I should be able to decide if the Great Latin Adventure really is "great" or "not so great" for us.
Before I launch into the general goal for the program is, and what the levels address-I wanted to note a few important thoughts I believe will help you better understand this material. It is vital that you realize that the Great Latin Adventure Series does not come with fancy DVDs [as some offer] to teach the material, although it does come with a nice pronunciation CD to assist you. Meaning that this is all you baby! You need to be right in the trenches along side the children. So if that doesn't suit your needs, then well-this isn't for you. Furthermore, if you are like me, and have used another program that teaches the material using the ecclesiastical pronunciation of the words, then you may feel a bit like a fish out of water. But do not let that stop you from contemplating the G.L.A. Series, because you can "get" the material, usually without much difficulty. I am thinking it would best suit you [the instructor] to purchase this a few months out, to pour over the teacher notes, and to listen to the CD a few times, prior to expounding the material upon your precious students. And that is what I need to do as well. I need to be able to feel confident that I am teaching this material properly [meaning I need to do as I suggested above] because right now, I do not. But first, I need a few weeks of non-schooly brain recovery before I dive back in-hence the delay of an official opinion.
That said, this is what you can expect from the Great Latin Adventure Series:
*easy to teach program-grades 4th and up
*no Latin background required [but it definitely helps]
*clear, friendly and thorough-conversational in nature
*plenty of derivative worksheets
*Christian content [IE: family friendly]
*classical pronunciation [this is different than the ecclesiastic version]
*comes ready to put into a binder
*excellent teacher support
Two levels are available for you:
The Great Latin Adventure 1: starting grades 4-6
(but you can start earlier/later if need be)
Student Workbook and Teacher's Guide with Pronunciation CD
(you will need both)
Scope: Grammar focused-[not just a host of Latin phrases to learn]
**students will conjugate first conjugation verbs in present tense
**decline first declension nouns
**translate sentences with subjects/predicate nominatives, prepositional phrases,
adjectives and adverbs
**translate from English to Latin and vise versa
**additional activities to further their knowledge of introductory Latin
Great Latin Adventure II: continue after completing level I
Student Workbook and Teacher's Guide with Pronunciation CD
(you will need both)
Scope: builds on prior knowledge plus:
**student will translate complementary infinitives
**direct and indirect objects
**imperfect/future tense verbs
**prepositions that take the accusative case
**the ablative of means-advanced construction
**plus additional activities to further their knowledge of Latin
I liked that the teacher's notes do a good job of explaining the material and how to cover it, which is a valuable addition to the program. Once I let my brain digest it [took a while though], I was able to move on to the lessons. I was also quite encouraged to find that the author offers up several ways to plant this material into their heads: by listening to the CD/you, doing the fill-in-the blank worksheets, studying vocab cards (you make those), etc.-instead of just focusing on one style of learning. Keeping their interest and desire to continue with the program is vital, considering that many other languages are derived from Latin-so if your child moves on to another foreign language they will see the similarities, and hopefully-learn it more efficiently.
I found that I had to spend a lot of time pouring through the introductory unit, which explained what the program was all about in detail-but it was time consuming. And I soon found, that my brain and the author's are not cut from the same cloth. I don't think like she does, and so I found that I had to go back and re-read what she wrote to figure out what she was saying. That is not her problem, it is mine. I chalk it up to a difference of how I "get stuff" VS how she does.
We worked thru this a bit and found it just wasn't meshing with the way we learn this type of material. It is a very, very good program though and should fit many folks' needs-mostly those who are more math oriented, as I believe the material is written in a logical, math-minded way. Be sure to read what my mates had to say regarding this material. Don't let our experience cloud your judgement. I know this would have been perfect for my two older kids, as they tend to be more logical and methodical in their learning processes. My artsy girl just wasn't getting it. So I guess you truly need to know your student.
students should be able to work through the activities without your assistance
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Classical Legacy Press Homepage
Student worktext: $15.00 w/o binder, $22 w/binder (while supplies last-due to new laws, they can only sell their current binder inventory)
Teacher Guide: $30.00 w/o binder, $40 w/binder (while supplies last)
***Classical Legacy Press provided me with a free copy each of Great Latin Adventure Student Book and the Teacher's Guide-level one and two, so that I could use, expressly test our newly learned Latin skills, and speak some good old fashioned Latin with my family. I have provided my opinion on the product, and did not receive financial compensation for this review.
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