In addition to the general comments above, here are some particulars. The Teacher Manual starts with a grammar overview: noun cases and declensions, word order, verb conjugations. Students will be able to pronounce, spell, and translate around 200 Latin words in Year 1 and 200 more in Year 2. Sessions are to begin with a teacher greeting and student response, followed by the prayers Pater Noster (Our Father) and the traditional Roman Catholic table blessing prayer, all in Latin. This is followed by the recitation of grammar forms previously learned, or drill of Latin sayings, vocabulary, or songs. Student books have the lesson laid out in this order, followed by exercise page for written translation and grammar work. Thus, the program incorporates both oral and written work. Teacher Manual shows a reduced copy of the student pages with answers filled in, surrounded by a lesson plan and teaching ideas. A history guide with key provides information about ancient Rome. Also included here are 5 reproducible tests and answer keys and 25 reproducible quizzes. Prayers, songs, sayings, grammar structure, and vocabulary index are in both the teacher and student books.

The DVDs are a terrific supplement to the books, with additional “live” instruction from Latina Christiana author Leigh Lowe. Designed to be used as a follow-up to the book lessons, each lesson on DVD includes recitation, review, explanation of new concepts, and vocabulary practice. There are between 20-30 minutes of instruction for each lesson, so you are getting a good amount of review and explanation here – extremely helpful if Mom is learning Latin for the first time, too! Latina Christiana I DVDs include 18 total hours of instruction on five DVDs, while Latina Christiana II DVDs include 12 hours of instruction on four DVDs.

Both Set I and Set II come complete with the student book, teacher manual, and your choice of CDs or cassettes. Complete Sets are available for levels 1 and 2 and include the student book, teacher manual, audio CD, flashcards, and DVD set for that level. The flashcards, grammar charts, and DVD are also great “accessories” to the program, but are not required.

Customer Reviews

 
Beverly Y. from Westminster, MD wrote the following on 02/02/2007:
This DVD set is an extremly valueable tool for teaching the Latina Christiana I course. There is little to no teacher preparation and it can be used with various ages all at once. We have finished this course and I wouldn't have been able to do it without the DVD set. It's easy to understand and to follow along with the teacher. Buying the course set along with the DVD's is the best way to go. I love this course and it's on to Latina Christiana II we go.

 
Deborah M. from Virginia wrote the following on 02/27/2007:
When my daughter decided that Latin was the language she wanted to study, I was scared silly! How do you teach Latin? Don't you have to be proficient in the language to teach it? Are there any programs that allow a parent to learn while teaching? Is this going to cost a fortune? After finding Latina Christiana I can confidently say that teaching Latin has become my favorite part of our school day. My daughter has learned so much in just a short time and I have been able to study and learn right along with her. My younger children have become interested in Latin and are now learning as well, they just have to go a little slower. What I found to be most helpful was that Memoria Press offers more detailed information on their web site in case you have questions. For instance Declensions are a little tricky at first. But I went to their web site and found more help! So I feel very confident in my ability to effectively teach Latin with this program and am so excited to keep going I have ordered the second year program. The price is very affordable compared to other programs!

 
M S. from California wrote the following on 06/21/2007:
This curriculum was easy to teach, and my 3rd grader absolutely loved it. The lessons in the teacher's manual were clearly laid out and very organized so that it required little to no teacher preparation prior to the lesson. My daughter learned an impressive amount of Latin and cannot wait for us to get started on Latina Christiana II. We have tried other language curricula: Rosetta Stone, Switched on Schoolhouse, Power-Glide, and found that Latina Christiana is the most effective. It teaches Latin in a classical style, which we have found to be the best way to develop a firm foundation in this language.

 
Heather S. from Rhode Island wrote the following on 07/29/2008:
I have used Prima Latin and Latina Christiana I, and will go on to the second book. As a mom who knew no Latin, I found the series very easy to use (but you definitely need the DVDs). This series really helped me to understand Latin, and my kids are excelling at it. However, it is extremely repetitive and the DVDs are pretty boring. My son (who has a great memory), found this to be trying and fast-forwarded through the review until he got to the new part of the lesson. I used the Ludere Latine book as well. This also has a lot of repetition/review of the vocab and grammar. If you have a child with an exceptional memory, they might get bored. However, my daughter (and I) do not have this kind of memory, and welcome the repetition. There is no question that by the end of it, the Latin grammar and vocab that you have learned will be burned into your brain. Level 1 is mostly rote memorization - the full explanations of the declensions and conjugations come in the next levels.