Latin for Littles, Volume I and Volume 2, can be used to introduce Latin to children in the primary grades. These books are best for children who can read. You can use them orally with non-readers, but they won’t be able to complete most of the exercises.
Both books are written at the same level and don’t need to be used in order. They teach pronunciation of classical Latin, beginning vocabulary, English derivatives, and the concept of declensions—at this level, only the different endings on nouns that indicate number and gender. Teaching about the derivatives is optional. The lessons focus on teaching the pronunciation of vowel sounds, and a chart of the vowel sounds is at the front of each book. The books do not explain the pronunciation of consonants, such as the letter v pronounced as /w/. However, the phonetic pronunciation of each word is included throughout the lessons, making it easy to pick up the correct pronunciation of both vowels and consonants.
Parents do not need to know Latin. Brief instruction at the front of each book helps with pronunciation, but lessons are self-explanatory and follow a consistent format. Answers are simple enough that parents don’t need answer keys.
These consumable workbooks are printed in black and white and feature very large fonts and hand-drawn illustrations that children are invited to color. Written exercises all require only matching items; children do not need to write words. The lessons are short and simple. Children learn one new word at a time, in both its singular and plural forms, with review lessons after every few words. The reviews are not cumulative until the end of each section.
Volume 1: Things Around Me has five sections: Number Words, Family Words, Around the House Words, Food Words, and Body Words. Volume 2: Animals and Their Habitats is also divided into five sections: Flying Animals (Anomalia Volantia), Water Animals (Animalia Aquatilia), Farm Animals (Animalia Rustica), Forest Animals (Animalia Silvestria), and Field and Cave Animals (Animalia Agrorum et Cavernarum).
Each book has 33 lessons plus section reviews. Lessons are designed for teaching three days per week, with the page for each day labeled as [Lesson #]: Day 1, Day 3, or Day 5. Parents can have students do more, even working through both books in only one year. Still, the goal is to provide a gentle introduction to Latin in preparation for more thorough lessons in the future.
Summary
Latin for Littles provides an easy way for parents to introduce Latin to young children.
