Latin Alive! Book 1~ a Review

My oldest son loves languages. We have yet to settle on one language and work consistently through one program, but in the past he’s studied a bit of German, Spanish and Greek. He has a growing list of languages that he has expressed interest in and watching him learn, I’d have to say that I believe he is one of those people that is truly gifted when it comes to undertaking such a study.  He seems to have an ‘ear’ for languages.

Having given you a bit of background on this child, imagine his delight when we received a package from Classical Academic Press containing Latin Alive! Book 1, both student and teacher texts, and a DVD & CD set which present the lessons and offer pronunciation help. He didn’t waste much time getting started.

From a teacher’s or parent’s perspective, the teacher’s manual is very user friendly, laid out well and offers suggestions and guidance as your child works through the course.  I was pleased to find that the entire student text is included with additional tips and notes for the teacher in clear, easy to find boxes that offer additional guidance as needed.

The student text is written directly to the student and honestly, other than trying to read through my manual a step ahead of my son, I’ve offered very little assistance. He watches the DVD lesson and proceeds on his own with very little to no direction from me.

So, what did he think? He has really enjoyed stepping up to a formal Latin study. He has felt a little overwhelmed and commented that maybe the program begins a bit quickly for someone that has no previous background with the Latin language. However, this has not deterred him and he looks forward to the challenge of marching on and continuing with Latin Alive! Book 1 though our official review period has concluded with this review.  As a visual and auditory learner, he has enjoyed watching the lessons on DVD and appreciates that the video segments are clear, professional and presented by a knowledgeable teacher.

This program is certainly for the serious middle school to high school age student. You can purchase individual components of this program or purchaase the entire Latin Alive! Book 1 set for the bundled price of $139.95.  This set is broken down into 36 weekly lessons and is intended to be the first in a three year series.

If you have younger children, or don’t feel that your child is quite ready for Latin Alive! you may consider Song School Latin for children in Kindergarten to 3rd grade and three levels of Latin for Children geared for 3rd grade and up. 

You can read reviews of all three programs by visiting The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. 

You’ll find Classical Academic Press online or at the following address:                           3920 Market Street                                                                                                                             Camp Hill, PA 17011
Toll free: 866-730-0711 or 717-730-0711 - Fax: 717-730-0721

Just so you know, I received this product bundle free of charge to use with my child  in exchange for sharing my opinion about the program with you.