Customer Reviews

Song School Latin (Classical Subjects Creatively Taught) (English and Latin Edition)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While many parents and teachers have become aware of the value in teaching Latin to elementary aged children, the tools to make this possible have not previously been available. Developing a curriculum that can be used by the school teacher or homeschool parent with no previous Latin experience while still catching the attention of the younger elementary aged student is no small feat.

Yet, this program manages to do both! Classical Academic Press quickly became a respected source for quality Latin programs with their Latin for Children series, and this introductory course reflects their solid reputation. The songs are catchy, easy to memorize and even enjoyable for the educator (a big plus!) and the material is fun, engaging and creates a genuine excitement for the material. Unlike some Latin programs we have tried, this one is not a dull, boring, "sit quietly at your desk" type program. My children cut, color, sing and chant their way into Latin. Best yet, the material actually sticks! We have been blown away at the vast amount of information they have retained with this program, especially when the kids thought they were just having fun! It is a gentle, but extremely thorough introduction to the subject, and one that is approachable by any educator, both at home and in the classroom. Quite honestly, it is the best we have seen thus far; I highly recommend it!

I ordered the student book as well as the Teacher's Edition and as far as I can tell the Teacher's Edition is not needed. The student book includes all of the instructions needed for the lessons and the Teacher's Edition is essentially only a key with a few minor "teacher's notes" or enrichment ideas. I was really expecting that the Teacher's Edition would have been instructional with lesson plans, but like I said these are all included in the student book. There are additional workbook pages in the back of the Teacher's Edition that are not included in the student book, otherwise I am sure I would have returned the teacher's book. The student book looks really good, and I am looking forward to starting the program with my daughter. I would definitely recommend only purchasing the student book.

I'm not sure if it is necessary to write another glowing review for this program, but as a homeschool mom who studied Spanish in school and not Latin, I can tell you that the other reviewers are right when they say this is great for a teacher trying to teach that which she does not know. I will also echo the reviewer with children ages 2-8, though I only have three in this range, that are all learning and loving Latin. My younger ones love (even request) the songs and have picked them up from hearing my second grader's lessons. However, just because a two year old appreciates the songs does not mean they are too young sounding for a seven year old. They are fun and catchy, and that makes it easy to learn and retain! As hokey as it sounds, the whole family loves learning Latin. We could not be more pleased.

Have you heard the Silly Silly Chant yet? If not, you're in for a treat!

Classical Academic Press is at it again...blending wacky humor with academically "lofty" lessons. The result? Primary students lay a foundation of Latin vocabulary upon which future linguistic mastery may be built.

Vocabulary is presented by subject, with a logical flow (greeting words, making friends, family members, people...). I counted 110 Latin words in the student workbook, presented in 30 lessons, with bright colors and playful illustrations sure to inspire your budding scholar. Whereas with Latin for Children (CAP's next level text) offers an activity book separate from the student text, Song School Latin incorporates appealing activities within its lessons.

The song and chant CD simplifies the teacher's job by providing catchy melodies and chants which make memory work nearly painless. Students will discover dramatic delights as they work through the audio tracks, including an assortment of improve-style accents woven through the Silly Silly Chant.

As I've come to expect with CAP, the books are well designed. (Hats-off to Rob Baddorf and David Gustafson for superb illustrations and layout.) Within the student text are chapter-by-chapter and alphabetical glossaries. CD track information is printed inside the cover, with an end-of-the-year crossword puzzle printed inside the back. Both Classical and Ecclesiastical pronunciations are represented (though watch for an errata page on CAP's website for minor corrections). As an added and age-appropriate feature, handwriting practice is also sprinkled throughout the lessons.

Overall, this program makes a pleasing presentation of Latin for our youngest scholars.

I just got this book and CD, so I'm still getting used to it. But I am a little disappointed in how hard it is to actually hear what they are saying/singing on the CD. The music is too loud for their soft voices. They need a professional vocalist who knows how to project their voice. I know if I am having a hard time hearing their actual words, my kids are as well.

My boys love Latin, thanks to Song School Latin. The 7yo especially looks forward to Latin lessons, and the 4yo tags along and is learning right alongside his brother. We plan to move on to Latin for Children after this.

One note -- I bought the teacher's manual along with this book and have found it to be unnecessary. I wouldn't buy it again.

Have you heard the Silly Silly Chant yet? If not, you're in for a treat!

Classical Academic Press is at it again...blending wacky humor with academically "lofty" lessons. The result? Primary students lay a foundation of Latin vocabulary upon which future linguistic mastery may be built.

Vocabulary is presented by subject, with a logical flow (greeting words, making friends, family members, people...). I counted 110 Latin words in the student workbook, presented in 30 lessons, with bright colors and playful illustrations sure to inspire your budding scholar. Whereas with Latin for Children (CAP's next level text) offers an activity book separate from the student text, Song School Latin incorporates appealing activities within its lessons.

The song and chant CD simplifies the teacher's job by providing catchy melodies and chants which make memory work nearly painless. Students will discover dramatic delights as they work through the audio tracks, including an assortment of improve-style accents woven through the Silly Silly Chant.

As I've come to expect with CAP, the books are well designed. (Hats-off to Rob Baddorf and David Gustafson for superb illustrations and layout.) Within the student text are chapter-by-chapter and alphabetical glossaries. CD track information is printed inside the cover, with an end-of-the-year crossword puzzle printed inside the back. Both Classical and Ecclesiastical pronunciations are represented (though watch for an errata page on CAP's website for minor corrections). As an added and age-appropriate feature, handwriting practice is also sprinkled throughout the lessons.

Overall, this program makes a pleasing presentation of Latin for our youngest scholars.

My kids love this book and I love this book! This is a great introduction to Latin. I'm using it right now with 6 of my kids. The youngest is 5 and the oldest 14. It is geared more for the younger ages, but the older ones are learning as well. Each chapter introduces approximately 5 new words and then uses them in a catchy song. I appreciate the fact that the music is appropriate--familiar tunes/children's songs/etc. So far, we haven't run into anything objectionable and we're almost done with the book. I would definitely recommend this book to those who are deciding whether or not to teach Latin to their children. It's not too deep, yet it does a bit of grammar. I love it!!!

I used this program last year in our homeschool when my kids were in Kindergarten and 4th grade. We covered one lesson a week on average. Each lesson provided enough instruction, activities and review for the kids to become familiar with Latin pronunciation, simple sayings and vocabulary. The song CD definitely helped the information to stick better. The only drawback was that the singers often went quite flat in their pitch and if your family has musical ears, it might be a tad annoying! We did our best to overlook that, however, and still enjoyed the intro to Latin.

My 4 children, ages 2 - 8, are loving this. The core of the program, in my opinion, is the song CD. All my kids are learning Latin. As a part of our homeschool, the kids listen to a chapters-worth of songs every day for a week. I also downloaded the spoken vocabulary words audio from the Classical Academic Press website. My oldest is doing the workbook too. He actually asks me if he can do the workbook. We will be following this up with the Latin For Children series grammar program.