Parent Guide Chapter 7
The Latin Journey Through Classical Education
Follow the Latin path from Grammar Stage chants through Logic and Rhetoric Stage translation.
Latin is woven throughout the entire classical education experience, but what your student learns changes significantly between programs. Here is what to expect at each stage.
๐ Grammar Stage Latin (Ages 4โ12)
In the Grammar Stage, Latin is learned through chants and songs. Your student memorizes endings and patterns โ they do not translate sentences yet.
Year 1: All five noun declension endings (1st through 5th). Students chant "a, ae, ae, am, ฤ" etc.
Year 2: All five verb conjugation endings across multiple tenses. Students learn present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect endings.
Year 3: Latin vocabulary words and John 1:1โ7 in Latin. This year focuses on actual words and a meaningful passage.
โ๏ธ Writing Program (Ages 9โ12)
The Writing program does not include formal Latin. It focuses entirely on English grammar and writing (IEW method). However, the English grammar concepts (parts of speech, sentence structure) provide excellent preparation for translating Latin later in the Logic and Rhetoric stages.
๐ Logic & Rhetoric Stage Latin (Ages 12โ18)
This is where Latin gets serious. The upper levels use the Henle Latin textbook series for systematic grammar-based Latin instruction.
| Level | Henle Coverage |
|---|---|
| Logic 1 (7th) | Henle First Year, Units 1โ3 |
| Logic 2 (8th) | Henle First Year, Units 1โ8 |
| Rhetoric 1 (9th) | Complete Henle First Year |
| Rhetoric 2 (10th) | Henle Second Year |
| Rhetoric 3 (11th) | Henle Third Year / Latin literature |
| Rhetoric 4 (12th) | Advanced Latin / Senior thesis |
๐ Why it all connects: Those noun and verb endings your 4-year-old is chanting in the Grammar Stage? They are the exact same endings they will use to translate Latin sentences in the Logic Stage. The Grammar Stage chants are building genuine Latin fluency foundations, even if it does not feel like it yet.