Homeschooling Today Magazine

HOMESCHOOLERS TODAY HAVE A PLETHORA OF choices when it comes to Latin curriculum.  Gone are the days when you would order something from a small private-school publisher only to find out there was no teacher’s manual because the teachers were Latin scholars who didn’t need a manual!  Today’s homeschooling parents can teach and learn right along with their students thanks to many homeschool and Christian school teachers who have developed the tools we need for the task.

Latin in the Christian Trivium (XL Group, 1989, www.latintrivium.com) was written by two experienced homeschool moms who learned Latin themselves in order to teach it to their own children.  After completing that task, they taught many other students as well, all the while perfecting their method of instruction.

Some would ask, “Why teach Latin?”  Simply put, it increases a child’s vocabulary, comprehension, and grammatical understanding.  In fact, studies have shown that learning Latin increases academic performance across the board.  It is a great launching pad for learning any of the Romance languages, and the transition to learning Greek or Hebrew is said to be easier after Latin has been mastered.

To teach your child Latin, you need a well-planned, well-organized, scholarly, comprehensive curriculum. If you are an average homeschool parent, Latin was not a part of your education, so you need to learn right along with your student.  That is exactly what you can do with confidence using Latin in the Christian Trivium..

There are three volumes currently available. Student texts, teacher’s guides, audio tapes, and activity books are all priced separately with some combinations for a discount. By the end of the third year in this program, your child will have completed the equivalent of three years of high school Latin. If you follow the recommendations of Mrs. Harrington and Mrs. Busby and start Latin in the fifth grade, you will still have four years of school left in which to pursue additional language courses or further Latin studies at the college level.

The method of teaching in this curriculum is based somewhat on the Principle Approach which teaches by “Research, Reason, Relate, and Record”. It is a “line upon line, precept upon precept” method. Each child and his teacher will develop a three-inch binder full of definitions, charts, exercises, poetry, maps, etc.  It will be a resource for a lifetime. Each child also creates his own set of flash cards for his vocabulary studies. All of the writing reinforces the information being taught, making mastery of the subject very thorough. Your child will also be gaining a deeper understanding of English grammar as translation of Latin text ensues.

Unlike most other Latin curricula, this one is based on Scripture. The translations are taken primarily from the Latin Vulgate.  Roman culture is explored through an ongoing story about the life of Christ that features a Roman family, as well as some readings from classical authors.

Another exceptional aspect to this curriculum is its biblical worldview. For instance, your children will learn the attributes of God, why God’s law still has relevance, and many other meaty truths. They will view the entire New Testament unfolding realistically and historically in the context of the Roman occupation of Israel—all this while learning declensions, conjugations, cases, and, by the end of the third book, a Latin vocabulary that exceeds a thousand words.

The method is sound, the content is deep, and the authors have managed to put some fun into the mastering of Latin. I do not think you will be disappointed in the results if you choose to use Latin in the Christian Trivium.