Second/ Third Form in one year

[Sartori337]

My DD ( 6th grade) is finishing First Form Latin next month. This is her fourth year doing Latin (Prima Latina,LC1, LC2, FF). She has always done great in Latin 100% all year. She has been bored with how slow it moves ( one lesson a week). We may be moving and putting her back into her classical Christian school. She would need to have completed third form by next fall ( 2021) in order to be current with the school. We ended up taking time off from Latin half way thru last year bc of scheduling and life. We started first form again this year. So since I dropped the ball, she is now behind.
I'm wondering if it would be possible to do both second and third forms before then? I looked at switching to Henle but I just don't like the format.

Looking for advice, is this too much to take on? Has anyone completed two forms in this time frame? We would be schooling year round.

Thanks in advance!

[tanya]

Hello.

This is too much to do in one year. You might be able to accelerate SFL, but TFL is a beast. I just don't think you could get these done with the mastery over the material that your student will need in order to go into 4FL. Would your student be able to go down a grade just for Latin in her school? That is what we would do at HLS for new students. She will be ahead of most if not all incoming students because she will have a significant Latin knowledge. But I think pushing her through two Forms in a year, especially these two Forms, would kill any affection for Latin she may have. I would definitely go forward at a pace you feel she can handle, which could be accelerated, but I wouldn't push her to do more than you feel she is handling to mastery. If she can complete a SFL lesson in two days and make an A on the quiz, then go ahead and do the second lesson that week. But as soon as you see her competency level dropping, I would slow it down. I think the school will be impressed with what you have done, even if she isn't ready for 4FL.

Tanya

[klwalukas]

My DD ( 6th grade) is finishing First Form Latin next month. This is her fourth year doing Latin (Prima Latina,LC1, LC2, FF). She has always done great in Latin 100% all year. She has been bored with how slow it moves ( one lesson a week). We may be moving and putting her back into her classical Christian school. She would need to have completed third form by next fall ( 2021) in order to be current with the school. We ended up taking time off from Latin half way thru last year bc of scheduling and life. We started first form again this year. So since I dropped the ball, she is now behind.
I'm wondering if it would be possible to do both second and third forms before then? I looked at switching to Henle but I just don't like the format.

Looking for advice, is this too much to take on? Has anyone completed two forms in this time frame? We would be schooling year round.

Thanks in advance!

My very bright and diligent then 8th grader could barely get through 3rd Form in one year, so I wouldn't recommend this either. If you really wanted to try, you could start 2nd Form immediately in June, skipping or moving very quickly through the 1st Form review lessons. You could get through 2nd Form by the end of January, taking no breaks for the holidays. Then again skipping or moving quickly through the 2nd Form Review lessons at the beginning of 3rd Form, you could probably get through 3rd Form by the end of August by the skin of your teeth, again with no breaks. However, like Tanya said, 3rd Form is a beast which takes much more time than the previous Forms. Unless your child is completely on board with this plan and is motivated to do this, it could crush any love of Latin they have. You could start with the acceleration of 2nd Form, and then decide later about 3rd Form.
Just my thoughts!
Kristin

[Mrs Bee]

Hello.

TFL is a beast.

Tanya

True. We sailed through Prima Latina, etc., then Third Form took us a school year and a half. I wondered what was wrong with us, until I came here on the forum and learned Third Form is officially a tough one. For one thing, the workbook is enormous compared to previous forms, with many weeks having 8-9-10 worksheets, if I remember correctly. Schooling year round might help you, but you should expect a few slow weeks here and there. How's her knowledge of grammar? If she's done a lot of grammar on the side already, that would help too. Still, there's a lot to be mastered. You can find the table of contents here: see what you think.

[Sartori337]

Thank you for your input. I do appreciate it. She is motivated and wants to try to accomplish as much as possible for a smooth transition to school. She loves Latin and I would not want her to end up hating it. Unfortunately Latin class is set for each grade level. They do not offer alternative that I am aware of. But something to look into depending on where we end. I did not realize that third form was such a step up in intensity. She has always been good in grammar. We completed Shurley Grammar 7 last month. I suspect the best course of action is to just take each lesson at time and see where we end up. =)

[GeorgiaMom]

My oldest son has taken to Latin like a duck to water, and I still had to slow down 3rd Form to 1 lesson every 2 weeks because of how complex it was. I did the 1st/2nd Form Review lessons in a single week, but he really needed the time to sit with the material to KNOW it. Schooling year round and the fact that 2nd Form isn't such a bear will get you far, but mastering 3rd Form really does take time.

[tanya]

Tracy,

I love that your son had to have TFL slowed down for him! I always wanted one of those kids, but I didn't get it. Enjoy this moment!

Tanya

[GeorgiaMom]

Tracy,

I love that your son had to have TFL slowed down for him! I always wanted one of those kids, but I didn't get it. Enjoy this moment!

Tanya

I'd say 80% of the reason was that I needed it slowed down for ME...but I didn't tell him that! ?