My 12 year old daughter is struggling with Latin. She is using Latin Road to English Grammar. I worked with her the first 2 chapters, but life got in the way and she's been doing it on her own. She is finishing chapter 6 and frankly, she'd doing so poorly on the translations that I don't see the point in continuing. My husband and I have talked and are entering into a time of prayer about the situation.

It seems like there are 3 options:
1. Start over with me doing the Latin with her. (It means studying Latin into the summer and fitting it into my schedule.)
2. Try a different curriculum that she can do on her own.
3. Forget Latin and instead study root words and add a strong grammar workbook during junior high. Take Spanish in high school. (I taught Spanish and that will be easier for me to teach.)

We have had a year of one crisis after another and my daughter deals with depression. She does not want to learn Latin (or really any other foreign language). Part of this is a character issue for her. She's very smart but doesn't like to have too work hard. It makes me wonder if sticking it out is what is best for her.

I also have 3 younger children--10ds, 7ds, almost 4dd. The almost 4 year old thinks since she will soon be 4 that she should be doing big girl school work. Academically, she's ready, but the thought of adding one more into the school schedule overwhelms me!

Any advice?
Susan

Susan,

I would encourage you not to give up on Latin. That being said, the program you are using is very, very ambitious and can push a twelve year old to the point of exasperation. I would suggest using a program like Matin Latin for a year or two, then around 8th or 9th grade, coming back to that program. In order to use Latin Road, the child needs a STRONG foundation in grammar (even though it is believed to teach grammar, I think it is too much without that strong grammar foundation). We love Analytical Grammar.

I also have a child with very similar circumstances, deep family crises (multiple for a time) and depressive or melancholy tendencies. (The enemy really loves to lay it on our firstborn aroun 11)!!

I found I needed to just relax some that year, and to not exasperate him. We began a regimen of fish oil, no preservatives in his food, and lots of prayer. It is amazing what those few changes accomplished. He also needed a year of knowing exactly what to expect in his schooling and I had to let go of the more ambitious things in that year, more like we were in a holding pattern. He is now 14, continues his fish oil, but the melancholy is much less frequent now. He is doing incredibly well in school, and is right on target to take the National Latin Exam at the end of 10th grade, leaving two years for Spanish. We have also found Tapestry to be an amazing blessing this school year.

I hope you found this encouraging and not a burden.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you, in your coming in and your goings. Now and forever more.

We've been using Latin for Children and really like it. You use a DVD with a homeschool dad teaching his two daughters at home. It's pretty basic.

However, I also think your third option is acceptable.

Jewelx3,

Would you be willing to email me at kauffman6@embarqmail.com? I would love to "chat" with you about our similar situation and could really use some encouragement from a mom who has walked a similar path.

Blessings,
Susan

At the risk of attacking a sacred cow, I would say to consider not doing Latin at all right now, maybe never. Think about what your dd needs for her future. Latin study is terrific for logical thinking and understanding many languages, including our own, but those things can be accomplished for some children adequately other ways.

Decide what she needs right now - maybe backing off on academics and allowing her to explore some areas of her own interest would help her right now. I don't mean to let her off of work - she probably needs to learn the discipline of work - but it might be good for her if she had a mix of things she was very interested in, along with the "drugery" (per my dd ). My dd struggles with despair over her schoolwork and takes forever to do the work she hates, but you should see her when she is doing something she likes. I have seen her totally focused and doing lots of hard work to write a historical fiction novel, complete with illustrations. She has done other such things, and I use them to teach what she might have gotten with Latin, which I can't imagine ever teaching her (although I taught it to her two older brothers). The next child is a son who I will not teach Latin, either, but the next two, I probably will.

I don't know if that helps at all, but I just had to let you know that there are others struggling, too, and that there are other ways of handling things and still give your child a great education. Remember that your love and care will mean more to her growth than any subject or curriculum!

If after prayer and discussion with your husband and you still decide to go ahead with Latin, May I suggest Memoria Press' Latina Christiana? They are fairly easy and straightforward. One grammar rule a lesson, sometimes, one rule per 2 lessons. We've been using it in our co-op and we've ahd good results with them. Students who have finished both levels go on to Henle with a good foundation.

God Bless,
Anna

Hi Susan,

We also have a busy household full of dc, so I know what you mean about trying to find time to fit everything in. We tried launching into Latin for a few years but I couldn't keep up with it and my dd and ds had trouble staying on track without me.

We finally bit the bullet this year and had our 15yo enroll in Memoria Press' High School Henle Latin I course. Although I wish it were less costly, it has been a great experience for him so far. He has memorization and written assignments, and online quizzes each week, along with a class discussion time.

He has very much enjoyed the interaction with the teacher and students and the accountability has been good for him, too. For the most part, my input has been to check that he's getting his work done. It looks like he will finally complete a year of Latin!

Memoria has a middle school course for ages 11 and up that also uses Henle but at a slower pace. I am assuming it is the same format as the high school course. If you go to their site and click on the Spring 2008 Middle School Henle I course you can read the description.

HTH!
Sandy