Song School Latin

Song School Latin is the gentle early-elementary entry point into Classical Academic Press's Latin sequence, written by Amy Rehn. Built around songs, illustrated stories, and weekly vocabulary lessons, it introduces roughly 150 Latin words to children ages five through nine before they encounter formal grammar.

Last updated: 2026-04-24 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Classical, subject-specialist
Worldview	Christian-ecumenical (publisher), program content largely neutral
Grades	K-3 (Book 1: K-2; Book 2: 2-3)
Formats	Print workbook, audio CD/MP3, optional streaming video teacher
Cost tier	Budget
Parent intensity	3
ESA-common	Yes (Classical Academic Press is a common ESA vendor)
Accredited	No
Established	Book 1: 2009; Book 2: 2010
Website	classicalacademicpress.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	3	Vocabulary-first introduction; rigor comes later in the CAP sequence
Ease of teaching	4	Open-and-go workbook with audio; no prior Latin needed by parent
Content quality	4	Cheerful, well-paced, and developmentally appropriate for early elementary
Flexibility	4	Stands alone or feeds into Latin for Children; works with any classical core
Value for money	4	Workbook plus audio runs roughly $30-$60 per book
Worldview scope	4	Light Christian framing; broadly usable across worldviews
Visual/design	4	Bright, illustrated workbook in CAP's house style
Support resources	4	Strong CAP support: video teacher, audio, parent guides, forum

Who the publisher is

Classical Academic Press is a Camp Hill, Pennsylvania publisher founded in 2001 by Christopher Perrin to serve the resurgence of classical Christian schools and homeschoolers in the United States. CAP's catalog spans Latin, Greek, logic, rhetoric, and writing, and their Latin sequence. Song School Latin Book 1, Song School Latin Book 2, Latin for Children Primer A/B/C, and Latin Alive! for high school, is among the most widely adopted Latin scopes in the classical-school and classical-homeschool world.

Song School Latin was written by Amy Rehn, a Latin teacher at a classical Christian school, and published as Book 1 in 2009 with Book 2 following in 2010. The premise is straightforward: most early-elementary children are not developmentally ready for formal Latin grammar, declension paradigms, verb conjugations, syntactic analysis, but they are absolutely ready to memorize a couple hundred words through song and illustration. Song School Latin establishes a Latin vocabulary base that pays off when the child encounters grammar two or three years later in Latin for Children.

CAP itself is a Christian publisher; the company's About page describes a broadly ecumenical Christian editorial posture, and CAP materials are widely used in classical Catholic, classical Protestant, and classical Reformed schools. The Latin content within Song School Latin is itself religiously neutral, vocabulary, songs, and stories feature animals, family members, food, and weather rather than catechetical content. Families across the worldview spectrum use it without modification.

The core pedagogy

Song School Latin operates on the classical trivium's grammar-stage assumption: young children memorize naturally and well, and they enjoy the memorization when it comes through music, repetition, and play. Each weekly lesson introduces roughly 5-7 Latin words organized by topic, body parts, family, weather, common verbs, and pairs the vocabulary with a short song, an illustrated story, and a short workbook activity (matching, coloring, simple translation).

Scope and sequence is vocabulary-driven, with grammar postponed. Book 1 introduces approximately 150 Latin words over 31 weekly lessons, focusing on nouns, common adjectives, and a limited set of verbs in the present tense. Book 2 adds another ~150 words and begins very gentle grammar, first conjugation verbs, first and second declension nouns, but in a hands-on, story-based way rather than through formal paradigm tables. The program does not expect students to decline or conjugate; it expects them to recognize, sing, and use the words in simple sentences.

Signature mechanics: (1) Songs and audio, each lesson has a memorable jingle, recorded on the included audio, that drills vocabulary in a way children adopt voluntarily. (2) Workbook consumables, students write directly in the workbook, which is the one consumable component. (3) Optional streaming video teacher. CAP offers a video instruction track for parents who don't want to teach Latin themselves. (4) Picture-driven stories, each unit features a comic-style story using the vocabulary, which children read aloud and translate.

A day in the life

A first-grader using Song School Latin Book 1 starts a Latin lesson three or four days a week, for roughly 15-20 minutes per session. Monday: parent and child listen to the new week's audio song twice through, then open the workbook to the first activity, typically a picture-vocabulary match. Tuesday: parent reads the illustrated story for the week; child points to and pronounces the new vocabulary as it appears. Wednesday: workbook activity (translation match, coloring page, or sentence dictation, depending on the lesson). Thursday: review, sing the song again, read the story again, drill the words orally. Friday off, or used for the optional review activities if the family wants a five-day Latin schedule.

A family using the streaming video teacher option follows the same rhythm but with the video instructor leading the song, story, and workbook walkthrough rather than the parent. This works particularly well for parents who took no Latin themselves and feel uncertain about pronunciation. Total weekly Latin time across both formats: roughly 60-90 minutes, which is appropriate for the early-elementary age band.

What they do exceptionally well

Approachability for parents who don't know Latin. This is Song School Latin's signature strength. The audio, the optional video teacher, and the pronunciation guides make the program teachable by a parent who has never studied Latin. Few Latin programs at any level are this forgiving of parent inexperience.

Developmental fit. The program is built for the cognitive and attention range of a five-, six-, or seven-year-old. Lessons are short, illustrated, and song-based; nothing demands the kind of sustained grammatical analysis that early-elementary children genuinely struggle with. By matching the medium to the child's stage, Song School Latin gets vocabulary into long-term memory in a way more advanced programs cannot at this age.

Sequence-readiness. Song School Latin is designed as the on-ramp to CAP's Latin for Children sequence. Children completing both Song School Latin books arrive at Latin for Children Primer A with roughly 300 words already learned, which dramatically smooths the introduction to formal grammar. Even families who do not stay in the CAP sequence find the vocabulary base useful for any subsequent Latin program.

Production quality. The workbook layout, illustrations, and audio production are polished and pleasant. CAP's house style is consistent across their Latin sequence, and Song School Latin reads as a serious educational product rather than a hobby publication.

What they do poorly

Limited grammar. This is a deliberate design choice rather than a flaw, but families and reviewers should be clear-eyed about it: a child finishing Song School Latin Books 1 and 2 cannot read Latin sentences, parse a verb, or decline a noun. They have a vocabulary, an ear for pronunciation, and a friendly relationship with the language. The grammar work begins in the next program. Families looking for a single early-elementary program that teaches Latin reading will not find it here.

Two-book ceiling. Song School Latin is two consumable books and no more. After Book 2, families must transition to Latin for Children Primer A, Latina Christiana from Memoria Press, or another grammar-stage program. The transition is straightforward, but it is a transition; this is not a single Latin program a family stays in for years.

Workbook consumability. Each Song School Latin workbook is a write-in consumable. Families with multiple children must purchase a fresh workbook per child, which adds up across siblings, though at $20-$30 per workbook, it is still inexpensive relative to other Latin options.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Song School Latin if: you have an early-elementary child (K-3) and want a gentle, song-based introduction to Latin; you are pursuing a classical homeschool sequence and intend to follow with Latin for Children or a comparable grammar-stage program; you (the parent) do not know Latin and need audio support; you value developmental appropriateness over rapid progression.

• Skip Song School Latin if: your child is already in the upper-elementary or middle grades and needs a faster start; you want a Latin program that teaches reading and grammar from day one; you prefer a single-program-for-all-grades approach (Song School Latin caps at age nine); you are not pursuing a classical model and have no intention of continuing Latin past two introductory books.

Cost honest assessment

A new copy of Song School Latin Book 1 (workbook + included audio) runs approximately $30-$35 from CAP directly as of April 2026. Book 2 is similarly priced. The optional streaming video teacher subscription adds approximately $50-$80 per book. A complete two-year Song School Latin sequence with video runs roughly $150-$200 per child.

Compared to Memoria Press's Prima Latina (the closest direct competitor at this age band, roughly $40-$60 for the basic kit) and Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek (a similar workbook-and-audio early-elementary classical-language program), Song School Latin sits squarely in the budget tier. The audio and optional video make it slightly more parent-friendly than Prima Latina, which assumes a more traditional teacher-student dynamic.

A realistic per-child cost across the full Song School Latin sequence (Books 1 and 2, with video teacher): $200-$300 across two years.

ESA eligibility notes

Classical Academic Press is a recognized vendor on most state ESA marketplaces, including Arizona's ClassWallet, Florida's Step Up For Students MyScholarShop, Iowa's Student First Scholarship, Utah Fits All, and Arkansas's LEARNS Act marketplace. The Christian publisher classification is rarely a barrier. Song School Latin's content is religiously neutral, and Latin is a mainstream academic subject. ESA-funded families should verify the specific Classical Academic Press SKUs they need before placing the order, as some marketplaces list individual workbooks separately from video subscriptions, but the program is broadly approved across the ESA landscape.

Alternatives

• Memoria Press Prima Latina, a family would choose Prima Latina over Song School Latin because Prima Latina starts grammar slightly earlier and pairs more naturally with Memoria Press's own Latin sequence (Latina Christiana, First Form Latin) for a unified vendor experience.
• Visual Latin Lesson 1-30, a family would choose Visual Latin over Song School Latin because Visual Latin is video-first, suited to slightly older children (grades 4-6), and emphasizes reading Latin sentences from week one.
• Getting Started with Latin (William Linney), a family would choose Getting Started with Latin over Song School Latin because it is older-child-friendly, self-paced, and teaches a small grammar core (rather than vocabulary first), making it a better fit for a child starting Latin in middle elementary or older.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed the Song School Latin Book 1 and Book 2 product pages, sample lessons, and audio previews available at classicalacademicpress.com, CAP's Latin sequence overview, and the published scope and sequence documents for both volumes. We cross-referenced against Cathy Duffy Reviews and the Memoria Press classical Latin sequence for competitive context. Prices and program availability verified April 2026.