My kids must have received the grammar-comes-easy gene from me. Before MCT, we had used Growing with Grammar. I was going to transition my eldest to Easy Grammar, but she hated it. She said it was too boring. So when I found MCT, I knew it would cut the boredom. Honestly, the Island level was too easy for them, but I didn't care. They were both naturally good with grammar, but found it very boring. So my goal for that year was to find enjoyment. That was definitely achieved! We also did IEW's SWI that year to add in writing. We started the poetry book with the Island level. My eldest loved it, my younger one didn't. Since I had other issues at the time we dropped it as a school subject and my eldest just read it on her own for enjoyment. I would say that MCT, for the right kind of learner, is all you need for grammar. I have a friend who looked at them and said her DD wouldn't be able to learn that way because she is a textbook learner. We did the fun writing assignments in SI, but I prefer IEW for writing, so that is what we are sticking with. But I have purchased all the elementary grammar books to do with my next two DDs when they reach that level. Blessings.

With the entire MCT series, the idea is to "front load" the grammar portion. So you would use Grammar Island first and take a month or so on it. It is to be read aloud together and discussed. Then you would begin Sentence Island and, if you purchased it, Practice Island. These would take you through the rest of the year. We did GI, SI and PI when my two eldest were in 4th and 6th grades. They were very easy for them, but they enjoyed them so much! The assignment suggestions in SI are so fun. Enjoy it! Blessings.

http://www.christianbook.com/conquering-cursive-left-handed-workbook/9780838840351/pd/840351?event=SERIES Is this the one you are talking about? Blessings,

Yes - this is a child who has been extremely strong willed since birth. This is a child who insists on doing things her way, despite the fact that her way doesn't work though she continues in it over and over. She refuses to ask questions when she doesn't understand something, despite my asking her if she understands or needs help with something. This is a child who will claim to have done her reading, but really only spent time skimming for answers. It is not unique to TOG. This has been in every.single.subject. This is a child who, though she has had the same chores in the home (on a rotating schedule) will still forget every.single.chore.every.single.day unless given a reminder, though they are all written out for everyone and posted on the fridge. And the quality of her work in every.single.chore. is worse than her 6 year old sister. This is a kid who is very smart. The observations she has made over the years have proven that. But, she is soooo strong-willed. If she doesn't care about something, then her attitude about it is bad and her effort at it will be the bare minimum until she has worn me down enough that I will just let it go. And her three younger sisters have seen her tactics and emulate them. So with four kids pulling the same stunt, it doesn't take long to wear me down any more. As I said before, there are character issues at work here. As for getting out of the box, we don't use all of TOG. We use history, Bible, geography (just copying the maps,) and portions of the Lit. As I've said before, this child will not read the books, not because she can't, but because she doesn't want to take the time. Instead of just doing it, she will spend an hour complaining about it, then will only skim the materials looking for answers, which of course will not be found because the questions are not asked verbatim. The suggestion to answer the questions on paper was from her LLC teacher. I have suggested it to her before because without it I have no proof that she has even cracked open the book. She is responsible for all of the questions for her LLC class, not just one or two that I pick out for her. If I only picked one or two, I guarantee you this child would skim the books to answer those and then shut the books.

How did dd manage with LLC? She did great the first unit, but that was because our church spent the whole last year focusing on Genesis 1-11. Turns out she did very little reading and was relying on what her Sunday School class had learned. However, from the second unit on, she has taken a slow nose dive. I learned that her teacher was giving her better grades than she deserved because she assumed there may have been extenuating circumstances. When the teacher learned otherwise, she sent her an email advising her of how best to prepare, including preparing in writing all of the AQ/TQ's, because they would all be discussed in class. Needless to say, she is not doing it this way, and her grades have since plummeted. What grade is she? She is in 7th grade, however since she has failed most of her classes this year (I really only count points in about four classes that allow for that type of a grade - the rest I guess I have a grade in my head based on attitude and effort,) the plan is to have her essentially repeat 7th grade. This was a wasted year as far as I'm concerned. As for my other DD who is finishing up 5th grade, she has some learning issues due to ADD and SPD. I am hoping that we can afford going to Learning RX with her and get some of her issues straightened out. Her issues this year in all subjects are, I believe, due to this focusing problem. She is, however, learning and improving this year. Her problems are only with her TOG work. My thoughts right now are that these two girls are not suited, at least for now, for the type of work TOG requires. It isn't a matter of moving them back to UG either, because they have read all of those books already and would be bored to death. Because of the LLC schedule, we are forced to keep to a tight schedule. Without the LLC, we would drag too slowly if we were to go only as fast as the weakest link allowed. I own all four year plans in DE form. I am invested in TOG. However, if it is not going to work for my girls, if it is only going to bring contention and continue to foster such bad attitudes in my girls (and by extension me,) then perhaps it is best we set it aside. Even if for only a few years and then come back to it.

Hello, I have used TOG for four years. I love it! My DDs, however, not as much. As my eldest moved into D level a year and a half ago, I have heard nothing but complaints about how she can't find the answers in the reading. In order to help my second DD get transitioned to D level, I decided to enroll my first DD in the LLC for the year, which keeps us committed to a tight schedule. Now my second DD has moved up to D level and I'm hearing the same thing from her regarding not finding answers. (Yes - I spent much time working with them in the beginning, however both seem to prefer to do things their own way.) Both my DDs are good readers, my second in particular who has somewhat of a photographic memory - with those things that mean something to her. Of course, much of what she reads for school means nothing to her. We have had a very rough year with my eldest DD, mostly because of character issues that seem to be getting worse with time rather than better. Her grades have taken a nose dive this year in every subject, and we are looking at repeating 7th grade. Part of my reason for wanting to do TOG was to have everyone learning together at their level. At this point, however, there doesn't seem to be any learning going on and we have to rush on to the next week without understanding. There isn't any learning together, and hardly any learning at all. I have been planning to add the 3rd DD into our TOG next year. I know that it is said all the time that TOG doesn't work for all families. How do I know whether it will work with mine? My eldest DD is lazy. My second DD has focus and sensory issues. My third DD most likely has sensory issues as well. I want so badly to make this work for us. But with all we have going against us right now, I just don't see how that can work. I'm wondering if we need to switch to something else. Suggestions? Blessings,

Hello, I am a TOG user of four years. I love it, however, it does require a significant amount of time from me in planning. I try to do most of it over the summer. However, we have a LOT going on in our family right now, and this summer is not going to allow me much time at all for preparation. And, the potential is there that these issues will go on through a significant portion of the school year. Therefore, I am considering taking a TOG hiatus to go with something a bit more open and go. However, I don't want to get out of the flow of the history rotation we are in. Currently, we are starting the last unit of year one. So I'm looking at something that will cover the middle ages, renaissance and age of exploration. What would be the suggestions to use for a D level student to cover that time frame that would allow us to return to our TOG in another year? I'm contemplating Heart of Dakota's Resurrection to Reformation and MFW's Rome to the Reformation (though both of those would have a bit of review in the beginning and not quite go as far as TOG.) Any suggestions? Blessings,