LanaTron Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 (edited) How much time do you spend on this, especially if you do all the components (grammar, vocabulary, writing, poetry, and practice)? OR another way of asking is how do you schedule this? Also, is there time for other writing practice? For example, with my younger dc, could they use both MCTLA and WWE writing, maybe alternating weeks? For, my elder dc, I would use writing strands alongside. Or would that be too much? (I realize that "too much" is highly subjective, but if a number if people say yea or nay...) If you answer, can you include which levels you are using? I'm guessing we won't make the switch this year, but maybe next? Or maybe I'll switch dc #3 this year, and the olders next year. Edited July 7, 2009 by LanaTron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynful Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I just bought and received, but have not yet started, our package of Grammar Island. I have all the books. I sat down and looked at MCT's recommendations and then went through the books and came up with this tentative schedule: Grammar Island 3x/week till finished Building Language - start when GI is half-way finished - 3x/week till GI is finished Practice Island - start when GI is finished - 3x/week till this is finished Sentence Island - start after GI is finished - 1x/week Building Language - start after GI is finished - 1x/week Music of the Hemispheres - start after GI is finished - 1x/week This doesn't include reading books like MCT recommends. That can be added anytime. It looks like Grammar Island will take about 6-8 weeks to finish. Building Language probably about the same amount of time, maybe a bit more once it slows down. I'm not sure the entire program will take us all year, but if not, that's ok. If I'm really loving it (or the kids), then we'll just purchase the next level and move on. Let me know if you have any questions or opinions on my schedule. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Grammar Island 3x/week till finishedBuilding Language - start when GI is half-way finished - 3x/week till GI is finished Practice Island - start when GI is finished - 3x/week till this is finished Sentence Island - start after GI is finished - 1x/week Building Language - start after GI is finished - 1x/week Music of the Hemispheres - start after GI is finished - 1x/week I'm confused -- you have Building Language in there twice -- are there 2 books per level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Also watching this with interest. I've been kind of thinking of doing just Building Language and Language of the Hemispheres with my younger dd, exactly because WWE has been so good for her, and she's going to also have a writing class in the fall, and I thought one more writing program might explode her brain. In way of order of doing the books, my intial plan was to do Building Language first over the summer when she had less time commitments, and see where we were from there. The assigments in Building Language at the end of each root are: write a poem using words with that root, and write a metaphor using that root. Well, on the very first assignment it became abundantly clear that my dd had no idea what a poem was. Now, I've read her tons of poetry, she's memorized lots of poems, but what makes a poem a poem vs. a random bunch of words strung together - apparently she had no idea. This is all taught in Language of the Hemispheres. So, I flipped the order and we've been working through Language of the Hemispheres first. It also covers what a metaphor is. And after we're all done with that, we're going to restart Building Language and hopefully she'll come up with some better stuff after that! And I may very well be buying Grammar Island and Practice Island for her after all. I just talked with RFWP yesterday and they gave me permisson to quit Easy Grammar halfway through and just do their program. I'd been feeling a need to "finish" it before I moved on. My younger one has been asking to do EG with her older sisters, and she's the only one dismayed to hear we might be dropping it! So maybe some Island grammar is just the ticket... oh dear I can see myself slowly getting sucked into doing the whole level after all... :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynful Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I'm confused -- you have Building Language in there twice -- are there 2 books per level? It's the same book, but I'll do it 3x a week for part of it, then drop to 1x a week once I add in Sentence Island and Music of the Hemispheres. My other option is to maybe finish Building Language at 3x a week and then work in just Sentence Island and Music of the Hemispheres until they are finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynful Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Also watching this with interest. I've been kind of thinking of doing just Building Language and Language of the Hemispheres with my younger dd, exactly because WWE has been so good for her, and she's going to also have a writing class in the fall, and I thought one more writing program might explode her brain. In way of order of doing the books, my intial plan was to do Building Language first over the summer when she had less time commitments, and see where we were from there. The assigments in Building Language at the end of each root are: write a poem using words with that root, and write a metaphor using that root. Well, on the very first assignment it became abundantly clear that my dd had no idea what a poem was. Now, I've read her tons of poetry, she's memorized lots of poems, but what makes a poem a poem vs. a random bunch of words strung together - apparently she had no idea. This is all taught in Language of the Hemispheres. So, I flipped the order and we've been working through Language of the Hemispheres first. It also covers what a metaphor is. And after we're all done with that, we're going to restart Building Language and hopefully she'll come up with some better stuff after that! And I may very well be buying Grammar Island and Practice Island for her after all. I just talked with RFWP yesterday and they gave me permisson to quit Easy Grammar halfway through and just do their program. I'd been feeling a need to "finish" it before I moved on. My younger one has been asking to do EG with her older sisters, and she's the only one dismayed to hear we might be dropping it! So maybe some Island grammar is just the ticket... oh dear I can see myself slowly getting sucked into doing the whole level after all... :tongue_smilie: I also have been doing WWE and I like it alot. I wasn't sure either about Sentence Island, however, now that I've looked it over, I'm very excited about starting it. It's completely different than WWE and, as far as I can tell so far, there really isn't that much writing involved with it. I think I'll even continue with WWE while working on the Island. I don't think either one will take too much time - WWE is only about 15 minutes a day or so and I won't spend too much time on Island either, maybe 20-30 minutes to let the lessons sink in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 (edited) I am doing the Magic Lens program. Magic Lens - Grammar -5X a week for 8 weeks Practice Loops 1-10 - between 2-5X week for 17 weeks (this is doing 1-2pages a day) Word within the word- 5X a week for 29 weeks (1-2 pages per day) 4Practice - 3 sentences a week for 31 weeks Advanced Academic Writing- Starts in week 3 1 Lesson a week for 4 weeks Written assignments are given 4 weeks each to research, read, write & edit The assignments become longer and more indepth over the year. One assignment per quarter Poetry- Begins in Week 4 - ends in week 26 1 lesson a week Poem of the Day - every day for 22 weeks I am using a secondary lit. analysis program for junior/senior high (Stobaugh). DS will read 13 assigned lit. pieces (varying from books, epic poetry, plays to short stories) and a variety of free reads. MCT recommends 8 assigned & 8 out-of-class. DS will have numerous writing assignments that will come from the lit. analysis. I am also using MCT's philosophy program for junior high. We will work for 5 weeks, take a break when DS is working on AAW assignment #1, philosophy for 5 weeks, break for AAW #2, Philo. for 5 weeks, break for AAW #3, philo. for 3 weeks, then AAW #4. A different way to look at it: Magic Lens will be completed in 25 weeks WWW will be completed in 29 weeks 4prac. will be completed in 31 weeks AAW will be completed in 34 weeks (with 3 weeks in between each major assignment) Poetry will be completed in 22 weeks. Lit. Analysis will be completed in 36 weeks. Philosophy will be completed in 18 weeks scattered thoughout the year. I hope to spend about an hour a day on the Magic Lens, WWW, 4Prac. & poetry assignments. The reading and writing will be accomplished independently. Philosophy will take some time as DS is excited about it and is quite the little talker; I am allotting 45-60 mins. per day. If you are interested I will try to send my schedule as an attachment in a PM. Let me know if you want to see it. Edited July 8, 2009 by The Dragon Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in SEVA Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 WWE and SI are so different, you could easily do both on alternating days, or WWE first semester (along with GI), and SI/PI second semester using the sentences for copywork/dictation. For anyone using the Town level, I have a pretty spreadsheet with all of the books broken into 36 weeks. PM me and I can e-mail it to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 It's the same book, but I'll do it 3x a week for part of it, then drop to 1x a week once I add in Sentence Island and Music of the Hemispheres. My other option is to maybe finish Building Language at 3x a week and then work in just Sentence Island and Music of the Hemispheres until they are finished. Ah -- thank you for that clarification! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 PMing you now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 Thanks, that is helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 From what you wrote, it sounds very doable. I would love to see your schedule...sending a p.m. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 My older two kids are remediating with WWE while working in Writing Strands. I alternate by week, so doing one week of WWE, then one assignment in Writing Strands (ususally one week, but sometimes takes two). I would like to do something similar with my younger two, but they are not quite ready for Writing Strands yet. Anyway, it is good to know that it could work for my youngers to do both the writing in MCT and WWE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I had to email the schedule. The forum says my file is invalid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I am really trying to stay away from any MCT threads, but no Lana, you just have to keep asking questions.:D Has anyone established how much time spent for the teacher? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 I don't even know how or what made me look at MCT again. I looked at it a long time ago, and decided against it, but I think that was because I thought it was only for "gifted" kids. I'm not even that unhappy with what we are using, in the sense that my children are learning and progressing. My middle two dc, though, are especially at risk of losing interest in academics if the work seems pointless. I wanted to use Classical Writing, because of the way it integrates the language arts, and tried it a few years back, but it was misery for my eldest, and I'm not sure I want to give it another go. Anyway, I think you hit the nail on the head with your question of how much time is involved for the parent. That's probably what I'm really trying to find out, to know if it's doable for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in SEVA Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 It depends how you want to use it... since I don't have a lot of time to plan, I spent about 2 hours looking through all the materials for the year so I knew where we were going. During the year, I only had to open up the book and have DS start reading. So -- no PLANNING time each week for the parent. For the Island level, DS read each lesson to me and we discussed along the way. He also still needed a lot of direct guidance for writing, so the LESSON time for me was the full 20 minutes or so (this is not a program for parents who want to send their child off with a worksheet to fill in). I imagine the writing assignments will be more on his own this year (after we go through the lesson in the book together), but the vocab and grammar lessons will still be 1-on-1. FWIW... I don't think I will be able to use this program with all of my kids because of the amount of direct teaching involved. It is the best program for B, but I am exlploring other alternatives for G (who probably won't do well with this program anyway, as he is a VERY literal, just-the-facts-stay-out-of-my-way-please type of learner). I would not consider MCT to be large family friendly, unless you were using the same level to teach multiple kids. Teaching multiple levels of this program wouldn't be good for me (too many stories to keep straight ha ha), so I am hoping that only a couple of my kids need this kind of presentation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in SEVA Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 For anyone using the Town level, I have a pretty spreadsheet with all of the books broken into 36 weeks. I posted this spreadsheet on the MCTLA Yahoo group, in the Lesson Plans folder in the Files section. I requested feedback from the group, and once I make any changes suggested, I will e-mail it to those who have PMed me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Thanks, Colleen! I found it on the Yahoo group but I can't open those types of files-I would love to have it emailed to me when you can! I will PM you my email address.Thank you so much-it will be a real time-saver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 :lurk5:I now have my whole program and have most of it scheduled. However, we don't start until September.:tongue_smilie: Waiting to hear what you all have to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Thanks, Colleen! I found it on the Yahoo group but I can't open those types of files-I would love to have it emailed to me when you can! I will PM you my email address.Thank you so much-it will be a real time-saver! Oh, darn, me too. Any chance you could upload it as a plain old .xls file instead of that newfangled .xlsx so us luddites can read it? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddhabelly Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Doh! You mean I have to schedule it? I thought it was pretty good that I already have it on hand..... Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in SEVA Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Any chance you could upload it as a plain old .xls file instead of that newfangled .xlsx so us luddites can read it? :tongue_smilie: xlsx is what happened when I converted from Works to Excel, I think. Once I have a final version, I will try to do it plain xls. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Luddites...:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 xlsx is what happened when I converted from Works to Excel, I think. Once I have a final version, I will try to do it plain xls. :) .xlsx is the format for the latest and greatest version of Excel - when you convert it from Works, there's the option to save as Excel, which it looks like is the latest version, and probably (hopefully?) further down the list an option to save as an older version of Excel (.xls)? I know in Excel itself you can choose to save as an older version, but I don't have Works to say for sure if that's also the case from there - but they usually keep old formats in the list for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in SEVA Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Oh! That makes sense -- I saw an option called Excel 1997-2003, I will use that. Thanks! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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