I had been dreading teaching my 8^th grader Latin this year. Why? I honestly don’t know! Especially since I have been through the material two times before with my older daughters. But still I kept pushing off our start date until after Labor Day. Imagine my great surprise when a chance to have Mikayla join an online Latin class literally popped into my inbox. It was heaven sent and just what we needed to get our Latin studies started this year!

Carmenta Online Latin School is an accredited Latin school that teaches courses in Latin, Ancient Greek, as well as Latin Junior classes for kids aged 6-13. Classes at Carmenta Online Latin School are taught online through Skype by expert PhD instructors. Divided into two parts, the Latin courses are spilt into 5 semesters and work through Wheelock’s Latin text and workbook written by Frederic M. Wheelock and Richard A. Lafleur.

The Latin 1A course combines an intensive grammar study with consistent spoken conversation within the language. Completing the eight semesters of the Carmenta course, Latin 1A-Latin 4B is the equivalent to taking 4 years of Latin that is typically offered in most high schools or the first 1-2 years (3-4 semesters) of Latin in a university setting. The main focus during the first 2.5 years, or 5 semesters is learning the grammar of the language. Having a strong foundation in the grammar will prepare students for further study and ultimately lead to second section of the courses which is reading a series of both classical and modern Latin texts by various writers and Latin conversation.

The Latin 1A course works through the first 10 chapters of the Wheelock text and workbook. Topics of study include:

Chapter 1. Verbs; First and Second Conjugations: Present Infinitive, Indicative, and Imperative Active; Translating

Chapter 2. Nouns and Cases; First Declension; Agreement of Adjectives; Syntax

Chapter 3. Second Declension: Masculine Nouns and Adjectives; Apposition; Word

Chapter 4. Second Declension Neuters; Adjectives; Present Indicative of Sum; Predicate Nouns and Adjectives; Substantive Adjectives

Chapter 5. First and Second Conjugations: Future and Imperfect; Adjectives in -er

Chapter 6. Sum: Future and Imperfect Indicative; Possum: Present, Future, and Imperfect Indicative; Complementary Infinitive

Chapter 7. Third Declension Nouns

Chapter 8. Third Conjugation: Present Infinitive, Present, Future, and Imperfect Indicative, Imperative

Chapter 9. Demonstratives Hic, Ille, Iste; Special -ius Adjectives

Chapter 10. Fourth Conjugation and -io Verbs of the Third

Three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8PM Eastern my daughter logs into her Skype account and waits for the call from her instructor, Mr. Philip Cooke. Class usually lasts between 45 minutes to an hour depending on how much material they are covering. In my daughter’s class of six students, they learn the rules of sentence structure and inflection as they become familiar with the language as a whole. A typical night in Latin class involves logging into Skype and waiting for the professor to call. Once class starts the professor goes over the material to be covered and/or reviews the homework assignment and the students take turns practicing translation and speaking. Homework is assigned most nights and due before the start of the next class by email.

I must say that this course has blown my mind! I love it and so does my daughter! Not having to worry about teaching Latin to my 8^th grader has taken off some stress so that I can focus on my younger Latin students in our Classical homeschool. The best part is that she wants to learn and excel at Latin! My daughter comes home from 4 hours of intense gymnastics training each class day and looks forward to class. Over the course of the last few months I have had to tell her to stop working on Latin for a bit so she can get some of her other studies completed. That is huge for this daughter of mine as she is usually a reluctant learner. She is getting such a world class Latin education that I have been telling everyone I know looking to study Latin about Carmenta Online Latin School! I will say that the price for one semester is quite steep at $750, but overall worth every penny spent!

My daughter likes that she is progressing and learning the language in such a fun and engaging way. Because my daughter is so competitive she enjoys the fun review games that the students play at the end of the chapters. The class is just finishing Chapter 5 and I can tell you the quality and personal attention shown to each individual student is well worth the price in my book! I look forward to my daughter moving onto Latin 1B in the spring. Learning Latin does not have to be boring, Carmenta Online Latin School takes the chore out of studying Latin!

—Product review by Jacquelin Caffey, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December, 2016