2greatkids Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I searched and read threads about this program, but they were mostly about older grades. What is it like for younger kids? My ds will be in 3 rd grade. What do you love about it? (or not) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 you start grammar island series in 3rd / 4th. There is nothing younger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2greatkids Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 that is the level I mean, it's the one my son would be in.. most of the threads were about older levels.. So, I guess Grammar Island is what I want to know about.. how would it compare to Fll and / or WWE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2greatkids Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 When I typed in grammar island, I found what I was looking for.. Thanks!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 So, I guess Grammar Island is what I want to know about.. how would it compare to Fll and / or WWE? I know that I'm going to get slammed by the members of the MCT cult ;) for this but I have to say that I was very underwhelmed by the elementary grammar series when I took a look at a friend's copy. It seemed like it had a lot less content than other grammar books I looked at aimed at the same age. Sure, the story aspect was cute, but I came away wondering why I keep hearing so much hype about this product. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSDCY Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 It's true that if you compare MCT's grammar program with FLL, FLL covers A LOT more grammar than MCT's elementary series. We gave FLL a try for a year, but it just wasn't a good fit. I chose MCT because of how logical it is written and how easy it is to learn grammar with it. All I can say is, Grammar Island and now Grammar Town have made learning grammar so enjoyable and effortless that we are going to continue with it. Grammar Island introduces basic grammar like parts of speech and part of sentence. It is a gentle introduction and thus the book looks very simple. It will be great for 3-4th graders who have NO prior grammar exposure. If you've done other grammar program, this level will probably be too easy. As with everything else, there is not a grammar program that will fit everyone. You probably won't know for sure before you try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I know that I'm going to get slammed by the members of the MCT cult ;) for this but I have to say that I was very underwhelmed by the elementary grammar series when I took a look at a friend's copy. It seemed like it had a lot less content than other grammar books I looked at aimed at the same age. Sure, the story aspect was cute, but I came away wondering why I keep hearing so much hype about this product. :confused: No way are you going to get slammed.:lol: If you look back at previous MCT threads, there are several current converts (myself included) who have at one time or another been scratching their heads wondering how MCT could work. I'll admit it. When the rather small box arrived from RFWP, I just stood there and whispered sadly,"Is that all there is?" So many expectations, so few pages. Remember that the TM has only a few worksheet pages and all the rest of it is instruction. MCT recommends you take about a month to go through the book learning the concepts. It took us 2 months to cover Grammar Voyage. Small book=1-2 months. This is not like the exceptionally heavy Easy Grammar that requires you to cover several pages every day all year. When you are done with the grammar book, you move to practicing 4-level-analysis on 3 sentences a week for the rest of the year. Since grammar is the core of MCT's program, you will find that it is taught in the vocabulary, poetry and writing books as well. For example in each Caesar's English II lesson, you use the 4-level analysis on a sentence containing one of the vocabulary words. Then, your student writes 4 sentences altering the vocabulary words into a different part of speech than what they originally learned. It's definitely having to think outside the box, at least for my ds. In A World of Poetry, there is an entire chapter devoted to "poetic grammar." The student analyzes lines from famous poems. This is an excerpt from an analysis for a line from Sylvia Plath's "The Moon and the Yew Tree." "It is Plath's creative placement of the compound adjective that throws us off and catches our attention." MCT proceeds to show how the line could have been written in a more normal pattern and then concludes, "But then it would not have had its haunting quality, or the pause in the center of the sentence or the disturbing impact on our thinking as we read it." All LA components are woven together and it's the grammar foundation that supports it all. Your student learns that grammar is not a separate subject. Oops. Time for the evening chauffeur session. I hope this helps if you are still awake by the time you finish reading it.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 No way are you going to get slammed.:lol: If you look back at previous MCT threads, there are several current converts (myself included) who have at one time or another been scratching their heads wondering how MCT could work. I'll admit it. When the rather small box arrived from RFWP, I just stood there and whispered sadly,"Is that all there is?" So many expectations, so few pages. Remember that the TM has only a few worksheet pages and all the rest of it is instruction. MCT recommends you take about a month to go through the book learning the concepts. It took us 2 months to cover Grammar Voyage. Small book=1-2 months. This is not like the exceptionally heavy Easy Grammar that requires you to cover several pages every day all year. When you are done with the grammar book, you move to practicing 4-level-analysis on 3 sentences a week for the rest of the year. Since grammar is the core of MCT's program, you will find that it is taught in the vocabulary, poetry and writing books as well. For example in each Caesar's English II lesson, you use the 4-level analysis on a sentence containing one of the vocabulary words. Then, your student writes 4 sentences altering the vocabulary words into a different part of speech than what they originally learned. It's definitely having to think outside the box, at least for my ds. In A World of Poetry, there is an entire chapter devoted to "poetic grammar." The student analyzes lines from famous poems. This is an excerpt from an analysis for a line from Sylvia Plath's "The Moon and the Yew Tree." "It is Plath's creative placement of the compound adjective that throws us off and catches our attention." MCT proceeds to show how the line could have been written in a more normal pattern and then concludes, "But then it would not have had its haunting quality, or the pause in the center of the sentence or the disturbing impact on our thinking as we read it." All LA components are woven together and it's the grammar foundation that supports it all. Your student learns that grammar is not a separate subject. Oops. Time for the evening chauffeur session. I hope this helps if you are still awake by the time you finish reading it.:D Your wonderful post sends shivers of excitement running though me. This is precisely the way I want to teach. Thank you. Where is that "rep" button? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna in Texas Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 No way are you going to get slammed.:lol: If you look back at previous MCT threads, there are several current converts (myself included) who have at one time or another been scratching their heads wondering how MCT could work. I'll admit it. When the rather small box arrived from RFWP, I just stood there and whispered sadly,"Is that all there is?" So many expectations, so few pages. I saw CE I about 4 years ago. I was considering getting the 1st level for my dd, which at the time would have been absolutely perfect and on her level. It was at a homeschooling store in the DFW area. I thumbed through it and was so disappointed. It looked like a giant powerpoint presentation. Of course, my eyes automatically went to the pages with the large lettering and disregarded the others. I don't know why I finally decided to try the program, but it took years to finally buy it. It may have MCT's posts on the yahoo group and looking at the PDF's. It may have been someone's post here. I'm just glad I gave in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Your wonderful post sends shivers of excitement running though me. This is precisely the way I want to teach. Thank you. Where is that "rep" button? Bill Thanks Bill. I'm a bit worried that I am beginning to sound like a high school girl with a new crush. You know, the kind that goes on and on and on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I saw CE I about 4 years ago. I was considering getting the 1st level for my dd, which at the time would have been absolutely perfect and on her level. It was at a homeschooling store in the DFW area. I thumbed through it and was so disappointed. It looked like a giant powerpoint presentation. Of course, my eyes automatically went to the pages with the large lettering and disregarded the others. I had looked a couple of times at the RFWP website a few years ago and was completely underwhelmed. I totally didn't get it. It looked fluffy. Where was the beef? Didn't appeal to me at. all. At that point I was primarily looking at the Island level and didn't look much beyond because my kids were younger. I looked at it again sometime last year but came at it from interest in the middle/high school writing program, as I was having a panic trying to plan middle school for my now older kids. I loved the look of Advanced Academic Writing, which led me to take a closer look at how one got there - I ended up buying Town level. Wow, it's so much more rich than I could have anticipated! It's so hard trying to figure out how what at first glance appears to be a silly story about ducks or fish could be a rigorous grammar program, but it is. The vocabulary and poetics blow me away. The way all the pieces reinforce each other is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Thanks Bill. I'm a bit worried that I am beginning to sound like a high school girl with a new crush. You know, the kind that goes on and on and on... I'll live vicariously though your crush while my little man grows up. But when I read the explanations, and people's real-life experiences...I get excited! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Add me to the excited camp :lol:. I'm sooooo tempted to buy the books (for myself!). I just read Classics in the Classroom, sigh, I wish I had had MCT as a teacher in high school. If only I did not need to pay for shipping to Europe $$$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna in Texas Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I had looked a couple of times at the RFWP website a few years ago and was completely underwhelmed. I totally didn't get it. It looked fluffy. Where was the beef? Didn't appeal to me at. all. At that point I was primarily looking at the Island level and didn't look much beyond because my kids were younger. I looked at it again sometime last year but came at it from interest in the middle/high school writing program, as I was having a panic trying to plan middle school for my now older kids. I loved the look of Advanced Academic Writing, which led me to take a closer look at how one got there - I ended up buying Town level. Wow, it's so much more rich than I could have anticipated! It's so hard trying to figure out how what at first glance appears to be a silly story about ducks or fish could be a rigorous grammar program, but it is. The vocabulary and poetics blow me away. The way all the pieces reinforce each other is amazing. That's what it was! It was the secondary grammar. I don't know how that slipped my mind. The secondary material looked enormously challenging and truly excellent and I wanted to ease us in. Maybe I got the Town series for me, rather than dd. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemykids Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I'm anxious to page through it. I read through previous MCT threads here, looked at the Royal Fireworks Press Site, and watched the youtube videos. I like what I'm seeing with the vocabulary and poetry. I've wanted to include IEW's poetry, but it seemed complex and more memorizing vs understanding. The grammar I'm unsure about. I'm concerned the different fonts and pictures will be confusing with my visual ds, as he thought the explanations in Singapore were confusing. I'm not sure what his reaction will be to a story format. FLL was not a good fit. He has completed FlashKids 1 Language Arts (B&N workbook), Daily Language Review 2, and is now working through his older brother's Winston Basic slowly, just 1 or 2 sentences per day. It just not an ideal fit for him though. I still think we'll continue WWE's summaries and dictation. What I'm trying to figure out is whether to drop IEW and "trust the MCT program" or do both. From the MCT samples, he seemed to say a strong sentence has a solid noun and verb, thus doesn't need adjectives and adverbs. IEW's approach is load it with style? Those who use MCT with elementary, any comments on using: WWE summaries/dictation IEW 1 composition per week MCT for the rest? What about how IEW and MCT approach to writing differences? Is the MCT writing plenty? Would another program compliment it better? Timing wise, I just had to see it. Ds will finish his current materials this month and is again asking for more, thus it's time to go up a notch or two. I'm hoping it will fit him. Michele, I think you have some interesting questions poised here; I’d love to see them addressed in another post! :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 That's what it was! It was the secondary grammar. I don't know how that slipped my mind. The secondary material looked enormously challenging and truly excellent and I wanted to ease us in. Maybe I got the Town series for me, rather than dd. :tongue_smilie: Shawna, I had this wild hair that maybe I could use the highest level of the secondary materials to prep my high schoolers for SATs. I have the prep books but I would like to add some polish that the dc are not getting at the public school. Just one more thing to contemplate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Michele, I think you have some interesting questions poised here; I’d love to see them addressed in another post! :lurk5: This one I can do in the morning. I am using IEW and MTC. It's a weird combo but I'm fairly happy with the results for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna in Texas Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Shawna, I had this wild hair that maybe I could use the highest level of the secondary materials to prep my high schoolers for SATs. I have the prep books but I would like to add some polish that the dc are not getting at the public school. Just one more thing to contemplate. I would show them samples of all the secondary (grammar and vocab maybe) and look at their facial expressions. That might tell you where to start. :tongue_smilie: This would maybe warrant a call to rfwp or ask on the yahoo group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 If only I did not need to pay for shipping to Europe $$$. I feel your pain, shipping to Australia here. :crying: However, I received an e-mail from them yesterday, and they said that postage on the Full Level 1 Homeschool pack was $42. If I'm correct, that's only 22% of the purchase price. At Rainbow Resource I would be paying 50% shipping on something of that value, and would have to spend over $500 to bring my shipping cost to a similar percentage of purchase. So pretty good value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 However, I received an e-mail from them yesterday, and they said that postage on the Full Level 1 Homeschool pack was $42. If I'm correct, that's only 22% of the purchase price. At Rainbow Resource I would be paying 50% shipping on something of that value, and would have to spend over $500 to bring my shipping cost to a similar percentage of purchase. 22%, that is good. Very good. I never buy stuff at Rainbow Resource, the last time I checked I had to pay 60% for shipping :banghead: . I really wish Amazon or the bookdepository would carry the MCT books. On the other hand, now I'm only drooling about the poetry stuff, then I would probably buy the complete set ($$$) :lol:, even though it is highly unlikely I will be able to use it. I doubt my dds are gifted and English is a foreign language for us. Oh, well, I can dream...:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 22%, that is good. Very good. ) :lol:, even though it is highly unlikely I will be able to use it. I doubt my dds are gifted and English is a foreign language for us. Oh, well, I can dream...:tongue_smilie: Your kids don't HAVE to be gifted to use it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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