Visual Latin (TOS Review)

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The idea of teaching Latin in our homeschool wasn’t something that really appealed to me. I know there are benefits to learning Latin—such as vocabulary and grammar—that transfer to other languages, including English. But Spanish is the only language we have studied. I’ve never studied Latin and it just seemed too hard!

Then, I had the opportunity to try out Visual Latin through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. I was very pleasantly surprised! Each Visual lesson includes 3 parts: Grammar, Sentences, and Reading/Translation. Each part consists of a short (5-10 minute) video and one worksheet that reinforces the concept. Visual Latin doesn’t rely on memorization as most Latin curriculum* does. Instead, it emphasizes using the language.
* “Curriculum” is masculine singular. If I drop the “um” and  add “a,” I make “curricula,” which is plural. We just learned that in lesson 4!

I love that:

• the short videos that don’t require a long attention span (or time out of the day)
  
• the humor—Dwane Thomas, the teacher, is very entertaining—even laugh-out-loud funny at times
  
• Emily asks to do her Latin lesson and doesn’t want to skip a day!
  
• Dwane points out the connections between vocabulary in Latin and English as he goes along—resulting in learning in both languages!
  
• The grammar Emily is using reinforces her English grammar lessons.
  
• We were actually translating sentences in the first lesson—effortlessly.

I was a bit surprised to see a concept (plurals) in a worksheet from lesson 3 when it wasn’t taught until lesson 4. Since the directions were on the page, Emily was still able to do it (and it was familiar the next day when Dwane Thomas actually taught it.) I’m guessing this was a mistake, but it worked out OK.
Age: 9 and up
Cost:

• 4 introductory lessons plus 2 regular lessons FREE—Go try it out!
  
• 10 lessons-$25-$30, depending on format
  
• Complete Latin 1 (30 lessons) – $80 (DVD)

5 Stars for this program!

I received a free Visual Latin DVD (Lessons 1-10) for review purposes as a member of the TOS Crew. Please visit the Crew Blog to read more reviews!