Latin for Littles

Name: Latin for Littles
Brand: Laurelwood Bookshttps://laurelwoodbooks.com/

by Laurelwood Bookshttps://laurelwoodbooks.com/

Foreign_languageGrades 1–4

About This Curriculum

Latin for Littles introduces young children to Latin vocabulary through daily matching, continuous review, and phonetic pronunciation in 30 five-day lessons featuring familiar words like numbers 1-10, family words, and basic vocabulary.

What makes it unique: Designed for very young children who may not yet read, using simple phonetic pronunciation and matching exercises with original illustrations and optional coloring activities

Latin for Littles: Gentle Vocabulary Introduction for Primary Grades

Latin for Littles is a beginner-friendly foreign language curriculum that introduces young children (grades 1-4) to basic Latin vocabulary through matching exercises and phonetic pronunciation guides. The program focuses on familiar word categories like numbers, family, and animals across two workbook volumes designed for gentle, foundational exposure to Latin.

Best for

Homeschooling families with children in grades 1-4 who want a gentle introduction to Latin vocabulary without requiring parent expertise in the language

Evaluation Criteria

3 strengths · 3 neutral · 1 insufficient evidence

Teacher TrainingStrength

The curriculum is designed to be parent-friendly and requires no prior Latin knowledge, with simple enough materials that answer keys are unnecessary.

Parents do not need to know Latin, brief instruction at front of each book helps with pronunciation, lessons are self-explanatory, answers are simple enough that parents don't need answer keys

Direct InstructionStrength

The curriculum provides clear, systematic instruction with consistent lesson formats and phonetic guides that support explicit learning.

Lessons are self-explanatory and follow a consistent format, includes brief instruction for pronunciation, teaches one new word at a time with systematic review

Comprehensible InputStrength

The curriculum provides age-appropriate comprehensible input through familiar vocabulary categories and large fonts with illustrations that children can color.

Focuses on basic, relatable vocabulary like numbers 1-10, family words, house words, food words, body words, and animals, with hand-drawn illustrations and very large fonts designed for young learners

Explicit GrammarNeutral

The curriculum introduces basic grammatical concepts like declensions at an age-appropriate level, though grammar instruction is minimal.

Teaches 'the concept of declensions—at this level, only the different endings on nouns that indicate number and gender' and includes both singular and plural forms of words

Retrieval PracticeNeutral

The curriculum incorporates some review practices but lacks comprehensive spaced repetition and cumulative review systems.

Includes review lessons after every few words and section reviews, but 'reviews are not cumulative until the end of each section'

Speaking Listening BalanceNeutral

The curriculum heavily emphasizes pronunciation and can be used orally, but appears to lack comprehensive speaking practice and formal listening activities.

Includes phonetic pronunciation of each word and focuses on teaching pronunciation of vowel sounds, can be used orally with non-readers, but written exercises only require matching

Cultural KnowledgeInsufficient Evidence

Cultural knowledge integration is not evident in the available curriculum description.

No mention of Roman culture, history, or cultural context in the review materials

Sources: cathyduffyreviews.com