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Basic Homeschooling Information |
Sample Course Description Introduction to Primary Latin – Pre-school to Early
Elementary Rational ·
Approximately 60% of English words are of Latin
origin, so the study of Latin is helpful in English etymology. ·
The study of inflected languages (Latin) helps in
understanding the grammar of uninflected languages (English). Objectives ·
The student will know Latin vocabulary of words
used in the child's daily life. ·
The student will be able to decode the general
meaning of an English word not in the child's vocabulary. Assessment At this
beginning level (3-7 years), students will correctly use basic vocabulary,
substituting Latin words for English words in English sentences (I'm going to
brush my "dens" now). Teaching
Notes This is not a
college-level foreign language course; it is a way to make language learning fun
and capitalize on young kids’ interest in words. Children learn to speak English long before
they can read; they can also begin to learn Latin vocabulary before they are
able to read. At whatever point
children begin to ask, "Why is it called that?" the parent can
introduce Latin roots. For example,
when our family attended the Olympic diving trials, my children asked why the
building was called an "aquatic" center. This was the perfect opportunity to say
that "aqua" is Latin for "water." This root is seen in other words, such as
aquarium. Kids will probably then ask
for more, so this is the perfect time to begin (informally) English from the
Roots Up, giving them more roots with which they are familiar. When they're
hooked, and start asking, "What's the Latin word for…" start
teaching vocabulary for everyday things.
Words can easily be introduced naturally during the course of the
day. For instance, after breakfast,
instead of children being instructed to wash their hands and face, they can
be told to wash their "manus" and "vultus." This makes the language learning a fun game
for the entire family. Words can be
introduced in any order, depending on the family's interests. Introduce three
or four words per day for approximately one week, then spend another week
becoming thoroughly familiar with those words and working them into your
everyday conversations. When the kids
are ready for more, spend another week learning 15-20 additional words. After the third set of words, take a break
and do not introduce any new words for a month or two. After this break, everyone will be
refreshed and ready to learn some additional vocabulary. Never
push, always keeping word introduction part of the normal, everyday
routine. Take all the time you want
and go at a relaxed pace for this stage.
Our order of vocabulary introduction (mainly nouns) is: Body Parts At the Table Animals Family Bedroom Outside Food At Home Apparel Paper and
Books Professions Around Town Sports &
Activities Time Interspersed,
as they ask, vocabulary for: Weather Numbers Colors Shapes Seasons Interjections Verbs Once children
have this basic vocabulary, and they are reading and writing well (around
third grade), begin introducing sentence structure and grammar using a good
Latin text. |