When Latin Becomes a Possibility | Learn at Home Resources

This article was written by Jessica Turpin. She will be tutoring Latin. She is passionate about using her God-given skills in Christian home education online. This includes helping families learn Latin as part of their home education journey.

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image of ancient building with Latin inscription and Text Overlay: Latin World Language Resources From AriseHomeEducation.com. Learn Latin in your home education

When Learning Latin Becomes a Possibility…

Home education is full of surprises. Most mothers start out intending to simply give their children an education. Then, somewhere along the way find themselves accidentally caught up in the sheer joy of the pursuit of knowledge to the glory of God.

Many years ago, when home education was new and shiny to me, I was reading everything I could lay my hands on about classical education. But, I would skip the chapters that emphasied learning Latin. I could probably give a fairly solid defence of why learning Latin was BAD IDEA in our home. It would run something like this: I have lots of young children, I am expecting another child, my husband is away with work, I am just about clawing my way through Maths, handwriting, swimming lessons, cooking, and trying to keep the house in a state of order. I do not know any Latin, and my life has been perfectly fine without Latin for thirty-plus years, thank you very much!

All I can say is that somewhere along the way, the Lord must have changed my heart. I cannot even really remember when I began investing in the Memoria Press Latin books. At some point, I settled down with my number one son and official guinea pig and announced that we were embracing a language that I did not know. He is well accustomed to a mother who starts and abandons countless projects by the wayside. He humoured me. We started learning Latin together, and I inadvertently began to love a language that I had previously deliberately ignored. There is a plethora of benefits to learning Latin, but I would like to propose three.

Latin Pops Up Across the Curriculum

Latin is the old friend that appears across the curriculum. My children groan when I excitedly point out yet another word in Maths, Grammar, Science, or History that ends in “a”, “um”, “i” or “us”. Undoubtedly, we have stumbled upon another little gem that tracking to the Latin root will more often than not help us to recall the vocabulary at a later date.

For example, did you know that the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere is called the “corona” which is the Latin word for “crown”? Isn’t that beautiful?! Incidentally, the corona virus was so-named since it looks like a crown under the microscope.

Have you considered the fact that “data” is the plural of “datum” which makes sense of the idea that we are sorting multiple pieces of information when we display it on a graph, histogram or pie-chart?

Did you know that several of the months of the year are based on Latin numbers? September, October, November and December are rooted in the Latin numbers (septem, octo, novem, decem” or “seven, eight, nine and ten”. You are correct; there appears to be a mismatch between the numbers and the month but this is because the original Roman calendar began in March before January and February were inserted by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome.

Latin is a Formative Subject.

The learning of Latin, like Maths, literally develops the power of the mind. The reason for this is that it is a mastery subject. Each of the Latin lessons builds on the previous and nothing may be forgotten. New vocabulary that we memorise must remain memorised. New Latin grammar needs to be mastered and accumulated into our Latin understanding. Whereas word order helps us to understand sentences in English, we understand the meaning of a Latin sentence by paying attention to word endings. Latin demands logic, accuracy and attention to detail and serves to build our mental muscle.

Latin Helps Us to Master English

There is a reason that Latin used to be “the next stop after phonics”. Over half of the words in the English language come from Latin and interestingly, it is the words with three to five syllables, namely the tricky half! Furthermore, Latin thoroughly teaches the English language. I am a linguist who studied French and Spanish at university. I thought I had a handle on English grammar. But I can honestly say that nothing has helped me understand the workings of the English language like Latin. Today I can talk about direct objects, prepositions, predicate nominatives and the passive voice with a confidence that was not mine five years ago.

Latin is A Gift I Would Like to Share

I realise that home-educating mothers are generally working at 110%. There is nothing to induce panic like insisting we add Latin to the workload! Some families are really not interested in pursuing classical or foreign languages. I praise God that we are all different. Some families have the time and resources to study Latin for themselves. However, I know there are some families who are tantalised by the idea of learning Latin and yet do not currently have the capacity to teach it at home. One of the reasons I am looking to tutor the Prima Latina curriculum is because I think my fascination with Latin is something I can offer to the home-educating community. For some families, the opportunity to learn Latin online might provide an opportunity to learn what might not otherwise be possible.

Ultimately, of course, there is a higher purpose in mind: learning Latin will aid our children in mastering the English language, and by mastering the English language, my prayer is that they will become more effective communicators of the glorious gospel of Christ! Soli Deo Gloria! (Glory to God alone!)

Learn Latin with Jessica at Arise Home Education

At Arise, we are delighted to use Memoria Press’s Latin curriculum. By starting with Latin A | Prima Latina, students of all ages can begin their Latin studies. Starting a Latin program early with grammar lessons and Latin vocabulary in a fun, interactive class appeals to middle school and high school students, but also engages younger children in exploring the Latin language using a student workbook that is easy to follow.

As students begin a study of Latin, a homeschool parent may want to include the whole family. Latin A | Prima Latinia is a great way to allow the tutor to help your family build a solid foundation in an ancient language. Following Latin A, students would continue with Latina Christiana and then on to the Latin Forms 1-4. After the Latin 4th Form, students would be ready to revise and study specifically for the Cambridge iGCSE Latin exam. This review would focus on specific Latin words and unique vocabulary words important to the set Latin text for this UK foreign language exam.

image of Latin A using Memoria Press's Prima Latina at Arise Home Education

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Add the fundamentals of Latin to your Home Education Journey

For many families, the best way to learn even a little Latin is to use activity books, songs, and a solid routine of memorising weekly vocabulary lists. Latin A | Prima Latina is a great option for a Latin course for home-educating families. Students of Latin will use student workbooks and lesson plans that include Latin prayers, all while learning the language of ancient Rome.

More About Latin with Arise Home Education

Jessica Turpin will be our Latin Tutor starting with Latin A Prima Latina. Additional courses will be added in the upcoming academic year. See all courses offered here.