Dawn E
-
Posts
1,265 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by Dawn E
-
-
As someone who has used (and liked) both, I can comment a little on each.
CLE LA includes grammar, penmanship and spelling. This is a very nice way to streamline LA; however, if your child is not a natural speller, the spelling section is likely to need supplementing. I found the information included in level 3 (the only level I have used) to be very thorough. I liked that in addition to the material taught, the student is also learning study skills, such as preparing for tests. Each lightunit has two quizzes and a comprehensive test. The program is written to the student, so it fosters independent work.
MCT is much less structured and very teacher intensive. If you need something laid out in a way that you can cross boxes off, it can drive you a bit nuts. However, the program is an amazing breath of fresh air in the world of LA. It is wonderful for children who already have a love for language and would likely inspire that love in most any child. Children who don't have a tolerance for fun, silly stories in their lessons will not enjoy this program. It is a front-loaded grammar program so the child can quickly cover the material and then put it into use. There is not much attention to mechanics and usage early on(at least in the earliest level) as MCT introduces these things later on in the series. I personally feel dd needed to be introduced to and learn/practice these things early on, so I choose to supplement with a traditional program.
MCT is unconventional and will be unlike most any program that you find...but after hearing Michael Clay Thompson at convention I was convinced to continue through with the series despite my few issues with it. I will be using it alongside R&S (using short lessons, mostly orally and with the white board).
-
At convention IEW had the first two levels of All About Spelling displayed as what to do prior to starting Phonetic Zoo.
-
I plan on using the old edition with ds when he is old enough (it wasn't a good fit with dd). I could be wrong, but I think the main reason it was updated was to remove issues of redundancy that would occur when using it in combination with WWE. So, you can either use it and skip the parts that are repeated in WWE, or use it fully without WWE.
-
We were using it earlier in the day, but the site is down for me too right now.
-
I am trying to search for the quote that changed my whole outlook on these books. I hate to paraphrase, as they were such wise words, but I can't find the post. Anyway, the poster said since a person only gets one chance to experience a book for the first time, why not wait until the child is ready for the real book? I decided to ditch the "adapted" classics and instead wait until dd is ready for the actual classics.
-
Here's a short thread from the curriculum board.
-
Did you see me waving my hand just above your post? :001_smile:
-
Starfall classic is still free; they've just added a lot of new activities (k-2) in the *More*Starfall section that is $35/year. We paid it, and for us it has been TOTALLY WORTH IT. My ds loves it and has learned a lot. It comes in handy when I have to focus on lessons with dd.
-
Math: CLE 406-410, then start 501 w/LoF
Grammar: R&S 4 w/MCT Grammar Town
Writing: WWE 4
Latin: Visual Latin
Greek: Elementary Greek 2
Science: The New Way Things Work w/dad, Dr. Dave’s “Our Solar System,†science reading
Bible: Walking With Jesus (Noah Plan)
Logic: Logic Countdown
History: Sonlight 4 history, readers and read-alouds
Spelling: How to Spell
Art: Mark Kistler Online and outside class
Still working on the extracurriculars. A lot of this will be continuing from this semester. It is a full plate, so I will have to see how the days look and evaluate from there.
-
I think your plan sounds great. The typical course is to get at least two years of one before adding the other. We are working on both now, and it is going well. The New Testament is written in Koine Greek, and most of the elementary programs available use this form. We are using Elementary Greek, and I am very pleased with it. There is also Greek for Children and Hey, Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek. I spent a year going over the alphabet slowly prior to us starting an actual program. We used the first level of Hey, Andrew and The Greek Alphabet Code Cracker. I think adding either one (or both) of these in next year would not be overkill and would help lay a foundation for you to build on. There is also the Greek Alphabetarion by Bluedorn.
-
I would encourage you to hit at least one of Michael Clay Thompson's seminars even if you aren't interested in using MCT. He is a very organized, informative speaker, and I learned a lot.
-
I was somewhat afraid of R&S and also thought it looked boring. When we finished level 3 of CLE last semester, I wasn't crazy about the looks of level 4. I took the plunge and purchased a teacher guide for R&S 4. Dd loves it. When I went to convention I purchased a student book for her. She jumped up and down when I gave it to her and thanked me profusely...I probably could have gotten away with making it a b'day present. :)
That being said, we still love MCT here, too, and will find a way to have the two work together next year.
-
One thing I have struggled with especially with the short term trips is that there is so much need in our own communities. You don't have to go to another country or even another state to do mission work. I have sat in churches talking about mission trips overseas while there was major flooding within an hour or 2, or very poor areas where people struggle to survive. I often think we would be much better stewards of our time and money if at least the short term mission trips in general were local community trips.
I am not giving anyone a hard time and I have supported kids mission trips before...it is just something I struggle with.
I completely understand what you are saying, and it is very true. Unfortunately young people are often too caught up in themselves to even see this need. A mission trip completely out of their comfort zone teaches them to look outside of themselves. They no longer have a safety net and have to depend on God for strength and protection. Working hard (often for the first time in their lives) gives them confidence in their abilities to actually make a difference. When I came home from such a trip I began to search out ways to become involved locally. This is not the case with every young person that goes, but it is the case with many. And, of course, as others have mentioned, not all mission trips are equal.
So, yes, to the OP, in many ways you are investing more in the individual than the people they will be ministering to. Consequently, you have to decide if you want to prayerfully invest in that person...supporting them financially while praying for a seed to be planted in their heart that will grow to benefit many. I think you should only support people you feel comfortable doing so with this knowledge in mind.
-
Jenn, thank you so much for all the work you do and for sharing these great finds!
-
:bigear:
-
Thank you both so much. This is very helpful.
-
Could you tell me how much time you spend daily on MCT? I'm planning to continue using R&S in a mostly oral way, and I'm just trying to wrap my mind around how much time this will take. Thanks.
-
I'm so bummed I missed that one, but we had to leave the conference early. Sigh. At least they are planning a 2012 Memphis conference...maybe he'll do it again. :)
-
I accessed this post from the main index and didn't realize this was on the logic board...I feel like a jr. high girl trying to give advice to high schoolers.
One thing that is difficult about MCT is that the time you put into it is completely teacher intensive...which makes using it difficult when you have multiples. Ds is 3 this year (was 2 when we began MCT last school year) and that made things very difficult.
The MCT literature series is scheduled to be available soon. It looks far less teacher intensive. Perhaps that would be a good way also to keep the MCT flair in.
-
It's okay, and your homeschool world won't implode. :001_smile:
I had almost given up on MCT, too, until I heard him talk. Then I decided I wanted to find a way to make it work. My original plan had been to wait until middle school, but I've decided to move into Town. I have used Grammar Island in a supplemental way...taking a break from our regular LA program to read the grammar book, restarting the original LA when finished adding in Practice Island and the other supplemental books. We have not done Sentence Grammar, though. I plan to start on it now and finish, though we likely will not use it in its entirety. Next year I am planning to let MCT take a front-burner position while continuing R&S alongside it. We are currently using R&S and we do most of it orally or on the white board. I add in the worksheets and tests. I don't think this will be a time overkill next year with Town. My dd would do MCT all day if I let her, but I try to keep it in manageable chunks.
Could you perhaps modify how you are doing your R&S lessons so they are still effective yet less time-consuming? Again, you'll be completely fine if you ditch MCT altogether or wait a few years to add it in...
I'm curious about how much time you are spending on the two together right now. Are you counting the time with all the supplements? I know they are all LA, but I would be using something else for vocab, poetry and writing anyway. I don't plan on doing the vocab and poetry daily, and I'm currently planning to use the writing portion mainly as grammar reinforcement.
-
I'm going to actually time everything tomorrow and post back. It seems to take her a long time, but she can get distracted.
-
Thank you! It does help and makes more sense. I was starting to wonder if we just take much longer thank most but what you explained makes it clearer. My time with dds is 15-30 min and their independent time is 30-45 min. so that fits.
This is the typical schedule we have, too--typically her time is closer to 45 minutes, but she's a bit of a dawdler. We started CLE Math 4 in January, and we love it. Dd has always been quick to grasp math concepts, but she needed some practice building speed with facts. This has been a great fit here.
-
Well, Susan Wise Bauer, of course... :) I really enjoyed all of the seminars by her that I attended. Also, if you have any interest in MCT LA at all (and I'd encourage you to attend at least one even if you don't), Michael Clay Thompson did a fabulous job in all of his presentations I attended. I also enjoyed Dr. Christopher Perrin of Classical Academic Press. I wanted to see Jessie Wise, but I didn't get to. These were the only presenters I wanted to make sure not to miss, and I wasn't disappointed. However, it really depends on your interests...I'm sure there will be many other wonderful presenters there.
-
How so?
It's rather hard to explain. I loved Grammar Island and felt that it was a breath of fresh air to our language arts study. However, there were several issues that I had with it. It seemed to not be complete since there was very little coverage of mechanics and usage. The lack of structure in the writing assignments made it difficult for me. We continued our regular LA choice and used MCT as a supplement. As wonderful as I had found the materials to be, I wasn't sure that I wanted to invest in another level.
I was concerned that the material was too "touchy-feely" with too great an emphasis on intuitive writing instead of structure and rules. His seminar on Advanced Academic Writing changed that opinion. He was very clear that his goal was to teach children the rules of MLA format to the point that they were free to write without having to think about those rules. He front-loads grammar so that the child can be aware of the grammar and then put it to use. When we asked about the lack of mechanics and usage in the early years, he said that he introduces those things later on with the logical reasons for why they are used. The presentation was so well planned, organized and interesting. I was very impressed with his goals for AAW, and it assuaged my concerns.
I personally feel mechanics and usage need to be introduced and practiced earlier, so I've decided that I will continue to also use R&S in a modified way alongside MCT. I also plan to implement SWB's writing plan for the logic stage and only use Paragraph Town to help solidify the grammar. But, even with all of these tweaks, after hearing him describe the path I'm convinced that I want to be on it.
Has there been a thread comparing MCT to CLE LA ?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted · Edited by Dawn E
I've only used Grammar Island, but I have purchased Grammar Town for next year. I think it is very likely that since your youngest will be in fourth both of your children could start at the Town level; however, I would call the Royal Fireworks Press co. and ask their opinions if you can't get any advice here from those who have used that level. Perhaps you could have your oldest work through CLE independently and join you and your youngest for MCT time. I think your oldest definitely will need more--particularly in mechanics and usage--than the town level will provide.
:blushing: Please forgive me for not noticing you have a boy and girl, not two boys. I've corrected the mistake. :)