Blessed with seven Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Is this something you can just use "aspects" of, like vocabulary only??? Or literature?? Is it very teacher intensive and is it for advanced children only? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 You could use only parts of the program, but the sum is greater than the parts. The program is teacher intensive. An advanced child might use a higher level at an earlier age, but I think other children could benefit from the program as well. A note of caution: There is not much in the way of daily review of mechanics etc. Many families, ours included, use another program for added review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I think you could use the vocabulary and/or poetry books as a standalone. But as Hilltop said, there's a synergy to using all the books together. The grammar instruction, for instance, isn't solely located in the grammar book... it extends to the writing and practice books. And often, the other books use words that have been learned in the vocabulary book. So it really is nicely tied together. It is pretty teacher intensive. This is not a program where you can hand the books to the child and have them work independently. It requires a good deal of discussion. We actually set the program aside in the fall for that reason, and switched to Hake Grammar... we just couldn't do it anywhere near as intended. Now that life has calmed down a bit, we're keeping Hake a couple times per week because I like the way it covers all aspects (punctuation, plurals, verb tense, the whole enchilada), but we're adding MCT back in so that we can get the richness I love from that program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie131 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 How long does it take to complete a day of mct? Does it include all areas of LA or are there areas that need supplementing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 How long does it take to complete a day of mct? Does it include all areas of LA or are there areas that need supplementing? Many people supplement/review with a program such as Hake, which is what we use. We spend lots of time on MCT. We could easily spend over an hour a day on MCT alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 LOL..funny, we have very different answers. ; ) LOL I would imagine that partially depends on what level of MCT is being used and how much discussion the child enjoys. Maybe we need a smiley that holds a sign saying, "Just the opposite of what she said." ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Whew. That makes me feel better. ;) I was starting to doubt myself. We are on level 4 and the vocab takes a leap to 25 stems/words a week and adds more discussion. My dd loves discussion, but it does add time. The 4 practice books expect much more from the student than the previous 4 level analysis books did, too. So that takes more time as well. Either that or we're just slowpokes. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyMama Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 We used Sentence Island as a read-aloud book for my 9 yo in the fall. His regular language arts curriucum is in my signature line, but I felt he could benefit from the MCT approach as a supplement. We both LOVED it!! I'm ordering Building Language to read together for our 2nd semester - he's expressed interest in learning more about Latin roots. I'm also planning to order the new Mud trilogy for some readers he can do alone. He was thrilled that there were more stories about Mud the fish! We've had a wonderful experience using MCT as an add-on to our LA curriculum. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed with seven Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 So...as awesome as this looks, it probably isn't for a mom who is trying to get more done in a day and can't seem to fit in Language..ha! Seriously...I get so discouraged because some of this looks so wonderful but, actively homeschooling 5 children, 2 learning to read, one who needs some remedial work in spelling.... :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I hate to say it, but you probably *don't* need full teacher intensive programs in your situation. :grouphug: But, even if you don't use it as a primary program, you could fit in a piece here, a piece there. One thing I would recommend using, even if you use nothing else, is Language/Vocabulary. It starts with Building Language then goes to Caesar's English... they are thorough, beautiful, and fantastic. How old are your kiddos? If you have a few grouped together, you could easily do these books as a read aloud and discussion once a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed with seven Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Well I have a almost 5 year old, 7 and 8 year olds. Remedial work with an older son so he wouldn't use these so mainly for my 7 and 8 year old I guess? Had decided on Hake for my 5th grader and 7th grader for grammar. Had decided on FFL/WWE for my daughter (oops..she just turned 9, not 8..ha). I said "had" decided..ha! I just love the look of some of these but, my days are pretty overwhelming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 MCT is the love of my curriculum stash. My boys love it and I find it easy to implement even when my days of homeschooling four are hectic. We don't do many of the creative writing assignments in the Building Language or the Poetry book but we do read it as a group. Its great for discussion. There were times I thought there would be no retention but they have proven me wrong. I plan on purchasing level 2 this year. We will be using R&S for spelling. eta: we will be reading the Mud Trilogy to finish up this year and then adding in the Search Trilogy as part of their literature discussions for the next school year (we typically "graduate" to next level in January but we are behind and graduate the first week of April this year) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed with seven Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 So..if I were using it with a 7 and 9 year old, maybe having my 11 year old read some things aloud?? What all would I get. I am doing AAR and AAS (reading and spelling). I have FFL 1, have not gotten WWE yet.... I am not sure how it all works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyMama Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I hate to say it, but you probably *don't* need full teacher intensive programs in your situation. :grouphug: But, even if you don't use it as a primary program, you could fit in a piece here, a piece there. One thing I would recommend using, even if you use nothing else, is Language/Vocabulary. It starts with Building Language then goes to Caesar's English... they are thorough, beautiful, and fantastic. How old are your kiddos? If you have a few grouped together, you could easily do these books as a read aloud and discussion once a week. Yes, this! :iagree: My kids all love to listen to the Setence Island stories about Mud (even the 5th & 7th graders ;) ) Sometimes when I was reading it, my 5th grader would walk through and linger/listen to the story and then say something like "Wow, I never learned it like that!!" She's got a great grasp on grammar from her years of Abeka and Easy Grammar, but she loves how they weave it into the story. It could be a bedtime story, an afternoon snack story etc. It doesn't have to take the place of your curriculum. We're planning to read Building Language this semester (for "fun"). Well I have a almost 5 year old, 7 and 8 year olds. Remedial work with an older son so he wouldn't use these so mainly for my 7 and 8 year old I guess? Had decided on Hake for my 5th grader and 7th grader for grammar. Had decided on FFL/WWE for my daughter (oops..she just turned 9, not 8..ha). I said "had" decided..ha! I just love the look of some of these but, my days are pretty overwhelming. I think you should stick with your plans. I felt the same way as this and I'm glad we have independent grammar. I loved that I could add in Setence Island when we needed a break from the "formal stuff" one day a week, or if he felt like more of the story, I could read him a few pages of Sentence Island before bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 So..if I were using it with a 7 and 9 year old, maybe having my 11 year old read some things aloud?? What all would I get. I am doing AAR and AAS (reading and spelling). I have FFL 1, have not gotten WWE yet.... I am not sure how it all works! This is a great idea! Honestly, if money is not an issue, I would buy everything and see what works. The early levels don't take nearly as much time as the later ones. The books have great resale value, so you could sell the books you decide not to use, if there are any. Sentence Island and Paragraph Town are such treasures. I imagine it might be a fun time for the 3 of them--the 11 year-old reading to the 7 and 9 year-old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I do think maybe it's a good idea to have a solid all-in-one program like Hake as your core. MCT would make a good supplement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed with seven Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Awesome...feeling some relief! I think I will get the lower level stuff, do you just get like all level 1 stuff? Since I will use as a supplement when I can I really want literature and vocabulary, knowing I would not use everything, which ones should I get and what should I "do without"? Thanks you guys!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I would start with Building Language for the vocabulary book, and yes that's first level. It's a great introduction to the series, but it's really not babyish so even your older kids may get something out of it. I'll defer to others on the literature question since we haven't used those yet!! :) Good luck... it feels good to have a plan!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed with seven Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Okay..just want to see if anyone else has ?on what to get and not get. Do I need the teachers books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 You might be better off just getting the parent manual if you don't want to buy both books. The parent manuals are the same as the student books only with additional info and assignments/answers, so if you just get one it makes sense to get the parent manual. (I'm talking about the vocab. I've not used the lit.) If you mainly want vocab and lit, then I would go with those. I would start with the first level, even though it might go fairly quickly. You might consider Sentence Island and Paragraph Town to use as fun read-alouds. You could just get the student books of those if they are just for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I would get Sentence Island for a grammar review, and then the Mud trilogy for literature along with Building Language for vocabulary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed with seven Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 OK So do I get both student and teachers books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I like having both, ds likes to write his answers in the student book (but that is probably hs blasphemy to some). I don't think you NEED them both, but they are nice to have. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.