This course is aimed towards young Latin scholars. Designed to precede Latina Christiana I, it introduces students to beginning Latin. 25 lessons cover seven parts of speech, two tenses, 125 vocabulary words, numbers 1 through 10, basic constellations, and introductions to conjugations, declensions and derivatives. The lessons are broken down into grammar skills, five vocabulary words, a practical Latin phrase, and a line of prayer that is completely learned by the end of the chapter. Also included are five review lessons, five tests, and an appendix and answer key. The CD includes an introduction, pronunciation guide, prayer instructions, the sanctus, the doxology, the table blessing, the pater noster, and pronunciation helps for the lessons. We offer the pieces separately, or in sets for convenience. The Text set includes only the books and CD while the Complete set also includes flashcards and DVDs.

Customer Reviews

 
Michael C. from Virginia wrote the following on 07/29/2008:
I agree that this is a well-organized, appealingly accessible Latin program. My only complaint is the pronunciation on the cd/DVD. The speaker has a twangy, American accent. The vowels slide around and the "r" is broad. If you can speak fair Spanish or Italian you'll pronounce Latin better than this speaker. This is not the difference between speaking ecclesiastical or classical Latin. It's the difference between having a speaker who can consistently handle foreign pronunciation and one who can't. Yes, you can argue that it's not a living language and it doesn't matter how it's pronounced, but if you're going to be singing church music or EVER quoting Latin (law school? medical school?), this accent will just sound silly. I can't imagine why Memoria didn't get a better speaker. For vocabulary and grammar alone, however, this is a good method.

 
Katya E. from United Kingdom wrote the following on 01/07/2007:
This course uses a lot of Christian material but as a non-Christian I think it is still the best Latin course for anyone teaching younger children. All other books I looked at 'drowned' the child in the first lesson. I have been using this book with my 8 year old for 2 months and we love it. It is wonderfully straightforward and we really like the fact that it proceeds in such small, manageable chunks. We work through the new bits together and then my daughter does the written bits over 2 days. We also play charades to learn new words which is very popular. I really wish I could find other language programmes written in the same way.

 
Mary Beth L. from South Carolina wrote the following on 06/05/2007:
I used this text with both my 4th grader & 6th grader. Neither child had any prior foreign language experience, therefore I chose it for its simplicity. My boys loved it & looked forward to Latin time. The biggest bonus was the reinforcement & explanation of English grammar while showing how Latin compares to it. I definitely appreciated the Pronunciation CD. I would also use the Teacher guide. It contains tests & tips that I used. Instead of buying premade flashcards, they made their own. Doing so enabled memory, copying, & dictation skills.

 
Dana S. from NJ wrote the following on 06/28/2008:
My son and I really love this gentle approach to learning Latin. We do about 15 minutes a day 4 days a week. The CD is very helpful, and we listen to it everyday for review. My son doesn't feel overwhelmed with too much info., and I don't feel overwhelmed with too much prep work. We will definitely be continuing with this program and using other Memoria Press products!

 
Cara B. from Suffolk, VA wrote the following on 07/19/2008:
WOW! Prima Latina has taken the Latin "Monster" out of my Classical Homeschooling closet! I was TERRIFIED to teach Latin and therefore, rejected the idea of a classical education for my children. Leigh Lowe has changed all that with this easy-to-use Latin curriculum! The DVD's provide concise instruction from a master teacher in an easy to watch and listen to format. The presentation of each lesson is around 10 minutes in length. The student book and pronunciation CD are great for daily reinforcement of each lesson and the teacher guide couldn't be better! I purchased the complete set (the best price was here at Rainbow Resource) after watching Lesson 1 at a friend's house with my son. He's just 6-years-old, grasping Latin like a champ, and I'm no longer afraid to teach classically!

 
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.

 
Teri A. from North Carolina wrote the following on 08/02/2009:
We used the Prima Latina Text Set (with student workbook, teacher book & CD) when my son was in 1st grade. This early primer mainly concentrates on learning vocabulary, but there are some grammar concepts introduced as well. I found grammar was presented simply, and that it reinforced the grammar we had been studying in First Language Lessons 1 & 2. The CD made this very easy to learn. My son had no trouble memorizing the vocabulary, even at the 1st grade level. You don't have to know Latin to use these materials, and there's no teacher prep involved. I'm learning Latin along with my son, and enjoying it very much. There are 25 lessons plus 5 review lessons. We did one a week, and easily finished within a single school year. I made flashcards on index cards of all the vocabulary from this set; however, I later learned you can buy flashcards which will be used for both Prima Latina and Christiana Latina 1-- I recommend just buying the flashcards, since they will be used for 2 years. I understand there is also a DVD now available for Prima Latina.