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“Why are you teaching a dead language?!”
This is a question we get a lot. Forgive my lack of eloquence in explaining, but I will give it my best end-of-the-day-mom-brain stab at it.
“Latin: It allows you to adore words, take them apart, and find out where they came from.”- Dr. Seuss
Classical Education is Bringin’ it Back!
* Did you know Latin was in American public schools until 1962?
English
* 55% of all English words and 90% of two-syllable English words come from Latin. The better a child knows Latin, the more English he can understand and comprehend.
Science + Math
*Modern sciences began their development in the Renaissance, when all educated people knew Greek and Latin. A majority of scientific and mathematical words have Latin origin. When students have a Latin background, they are much more apt to understand new, more specific vocabularies.
Law, Logic, and Theology
*Latin is also the language of government, logic, and theology. Have you ever noticed how many legal terms are in Latin?
Training the Mind
*Children who study Latin are more likely to develop an interest in words, because they know where they come from, not just their phonics.
*Latin trains the mind. It is so precise and structured, that it helps a child quickly develop higher order thinking. Because of its concrete structure, it also teaches a child grammar in a way the abstract English language does not.
Foreign Languages
*80% of Romance Languages (French, Spanish, Italian) have their origin in Latin. Once a child learns Latin, they are much more likely to learn multiple Romance Languages with greater ease.
Did you know these people are proficient in Latin?
Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook Founder
C.S. Lewis – Author of Chronicles of Narnia
Thomas Jefferson – 3rd President
J.K. Rowling – Author of Harry Potter
J.R.R. Tolkien – Author of Lord of the Rings
Chris Martin – Coldplay Lead Singer
James Garfield – 20th President
Tom Hiddleston – Actor
Chuck Geschke – Founder of Adobe Systems
James Baker – Former Secretary of State
Anthony James Legget – Nobel Prize Winner for Physics
and many more…I will stop boring you 😉
Do I think everyone should teach and learn Latin?
No. Every child and every family needs something different. I don’t know how long we will keep it in our curriculum…more like for how long this amateur Latin teacher can pretend she knows what she’s doing, but we are loving all of the benefits of it so far and hope to continue it for as long as we can!
What curriculum do you use?
We are only 2 years in and are comprised of 6 and 4 year old students so our advice isn’t super backed up, but we have thoroughly enjoyed Song School Latin! It is recommended for K-3rd graders.
It’s primarily a video series that comes with a workbook and the sweet woman on the video does a wonderful job teaching children roughly five new Latin words a week, with a couple of verb conjugations eventually thrown in there as well. We highly recommend it!
If you want the CD Set, Workbook, Teacher Book, Flashcards and all, here is the Song School Latin 1 Bundle.
If you are looking to save money, I would opt for just the Song School Latin 1 DVD Set and skip the workbook (great extra practice, but not necessary).
Once you graduate, you can move on to the Song School Latin 2 DVD Set.
Do you know or teach Latin? What have you do found some of the greatest benefits to be? What curriculums do you recommend?
Let us know in the comments below!
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