At the beginning of this year I debated whether or not I wanted to start learning Latin this year. Ultimately I decided that none of the programs I had looked at would work for my children this year. They really don't enjoy a lot of rote memorization or writing. I had never heard of Song School Latin, but if I had this would have been exactly what I was looking for.
Song School Latin is an introduction to Latin for your lower elementary age children. It combines, songs, vocabulary, word practice, games and coloring sheets to gently get your child excited about learning Latin.
Each Chapter starts off with a list of words you will be learning that week. It then gives you the songs to go with those words. The songs are my favorite part of this program. They are fun and catchy. My children ask to listen to them and I find myself even humming them throughout the day!
Next you have a short chapter lesson that you read aloud to your child followed by some exercises for your child to complete.
Some of the exercises include practice writing Latin words, matching Latin words to Latin based English words, filling in Latin words in a story, different fun activities and a short "Show what you know" Quiz at the end of each week. In addition to the chapter work at the end of the book there are additional fun activities that go with each chapter. They even have coloring sheets available online here that go with each lesson.
You can also get the monkey match cards which is a Latin matching game for extra reinforcement.
Our Experience:
I feel so blessed that we were chosen to review this program. My children have just absolutely loved everything about it and retained everything they have been taught. They always want to do their Latin work and make sure I never forget the extras either.
My 7 year old daughter even has all of her coloring pages saved so far so that she can make a book of all of her Latin words when we are finished.
The songs really make this program so much fun. They are so well done that I can't imagine anyone not liking them. They really commit to your memory making it nearly impossible to forget what you've learned. I will say my children and I are all very auditory learners so this was just right up our alley.
They also really enjoy the monkey match up cards. It's just a fun little challenge for them to see which words they remember.
Another thing I really like is that since the only thing you really need to complete this program is the Student workbook this is a very inexpensive program. The CD is included with the workbook and the teachers manual isn't really necessary.
It is nice to have the answers right there and it's nice to not have to look over your students shoulder since the pages are all in the teachers manual but if you're on a budget you can definitely do it with just the workbook alone. Honestly if I could only choose the student book and one other thing I would skip the manual and get the monkey match cards. They are great for reviewing words.
I will use this program with all of my kids without a doubt as they are old enough for it and I will buy the next level up when we are done with this one.
I foresee a long lasting relationship between our family and Classical Academic Press!
Song School Latin is available from Classical Academic Press Here.
The bundle which includes the Teachers Manual, Student Workbook w/ CD, and Monkey Match cards is $64.95
Student workbook is $22.95
Teachers manual is $22.95
Monkey Match Cards are $24.95
To see what my other crewmates thought visit the TOS blog here.
I received a free Song School Latin Bundle in exchange for my honest review of the program. No other compensation was received.
