MCT for a 1st/2nd grader?

[Wildwood]

I am interested in hearing from those who are using MCT with a 6/7 year old.

How is it working for you and your kiddo?

I noticed that the MCT website says that it is geared for 3rd grade and up (Grammar Island) yet, I have come across some posts showing that some are using it with the younger set.

Are you able to pretty much use it in its entirety/as written or do you find you modify quite a bit?

I am still familiarizing myself with MCT but, I definitely like what I see so far.

 

Thanks!

[MariannNOVA]

There are folks on the Accelerated Board who write about using it with youngers.

 

I've taught first and second graders in school - Some of them would be ready for Island (it is written for GT), some would not be.

 

At any rate, the Grammar Island book, Sentence Island Book are enjoyable and the illustrations are wonderful. The poetry would be enjoyable - reading it, talking about it, reading other poems.

 

I think there are other things that might be more helpful at that age if the child is not ready to do the books - but that is a determination that only you can make.:001_smile:

[TracyP]

I don't know if I'm right (so someone please correct me if needed) but I think if you start Island early you will be okay. However, you may not be able to move onto each level year after year. For example, Essay Voyage with a 3rd or 4th grader isn't going to work. This is why I am waiting. HTH!

[MariannNOVA]

I don't know if I'm right (so someone please correct me if needed) but I think if you start Island early you will be okay. However, you may not be able to move onto each level year after year. For example, Essay Voyage with a 3rd or 4th grader isn't going to work. This is why I am waiting. HTH!

 

 

I would agree - and I think that's what I was trying to say:tongue_smilie: -- but it just wasn't coming out. But, yes, Island is great - I sent home an extra copy with m dd31 so she can read it to dgd 6.5

 

But, that's about all I would expect to happen at this point.

[EKS]

I started Grammar Island with my then 7yo last September. It is working very well for him and I think Paragraph Town will be ok for him next year. He is a very strong reader (solid middle school) and writer (I'm guessing about 4th grade level). He also had done Growing with Grammar 3 the year before which probably helped as well.

[Wildwood]

Hmmmm. Thank you for the responses.

I'm starting to think I may need to do some more foundational work with my dd before moving into MCT. My dd is simply an emerging reader at this point (at best, we are still doing a phonics program but, she is reading pretty well) and we have not even done any formal grammar with her yet. I was thinking she would be done with our current phonics program by this Fall however, and would be a stronger reader.

I think I may be jumping the gun here though.

 

If anyone has any recommendations for beginning grammar, and LA in general for a 1st grader, that would be very much appreciated! What would be good prep in these younger years to move into MCT later on?

Edited April 21, 2010 by Wildwood

[Laurel]

I am NOT doing MCT yet with my 6 yo (even though I really, really want to start), because while I think she could easily handle Island level, she won't be ready to be writing essays at 9.

 

We did FLL 1/2 for grammar. I did modify it, skipping some lessons, combining others, but in general I really liked it. I did purchase FLL3, but after looking it over decided not to do it. Right now we are taking a break from formal grammar until we start MCT. (Right now I am planning on starting next January. If I can hold off that long.) We do talk about incidental grammar during writing and when it comes up, and she also likes doing Mad Libs, so there is still quite a bit of review going on.

 

We are using WWE for writing, which is working out really well for us. (This is a strange child who actually enjoys doing dictations...)

 

There was another thread a few months ago about what would be good prep for MCT. I will see if I can find it.

 

ETA: Found two threads:

What to do before MCT?

What is the ideal early elementary preparation for MCT?

Edited April 21, 2010 by Laurel

[Wildwood]

Thanks so much, Laurel.

I'll see if I can find that thread that you are referring to, it would be helpful.

[Laurel]

I found them and added them to my post above.

[Wildwood]

Wonderful, thank you very much.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

My oldest dd is advanced and although I've contemplated putting her in the island level when she is in second grade I think that she'll get more out of it if we wait until third. Another reason that we are waiting is that she has a brother who is 18 months younger and he will get more out of it if we wait a year, too. In the meantime, we'll be doing WWE 1 & 2, Classical Writing Primers, FLL 1/2 (because dd likes it, otherwise I'd probably drop it), The Sentence Family (I think), and AAS. We are also doing Latin.

Edited April 21, 2010 by Lisa in the UP of MI

[MariannNOVA]

Hmmmm. Thank you for the responses.

I'm starting to think I may need to do some more foundational work with my dd before moving into MCT. My dd is simply an emerging reader at this point (at best, we are still doing a phonics program but, she is reading pretty well) and we have not even done any formal grammar with her yet. I was thinking she would be done with our current phonics program by this Fall however, and would be a stronger reader.

I think I may be jumping the gun here though.

 

If anyone has any recommendations for beginning grammar, and LA in general for a 1st grader, that would be very much appreciated! What would be good prep in younger years to move into MCT later on?

 

This thread is probably worth a read - 'what to do before MCT'

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164003&highlight=mct+prep

 

this one is elementary prep for MCT: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146066&highlight=mct+prep

 

hth:)

[Wildwood]

Thank you, Mariann. I appreciate the links.

 

Lisa, you mentioned using FLL and you would probably drop it if it weren't for your dd liking it, why would you drop it?

I have FLL 1/2 that was given to me, would love any thoughts about it.

Thanks!

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Lisa, you mentioned using FLL and you would probably drop it if it weren't for your dd liking it, why would you drop it?

I have FLL 1/2 that was given to me, would love any thoughts about it.

Thanks!

 

I guess I am not sure that I feel it is necessary. If she did not like it (as opposed to just tolerating it) I would definitely not use it. For my other kids I'll probably just do other memorization, picture study, and story narration, and then read books about the parts of speech. For now, we are skipping lessons as needed, because there is a lot of repetition.

[Wildwood]

Got it! Thanks, Lisa.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

One more thought that I had while posting to the hits and misses thread. FLL is almost too thorough. It's a thought that I have about FLL, OPGTR, and WWE, but we will continue using all three of them, at least for oldest dd. I'm guessing that they would drive ds crazy.

[anabelneri]

I just wanted to echo what others have said, more or less.

 

I have a very verbal 1st grader, and we started the year doing FLL and moved into MCT Island level before Christmas. She has very good retention, and is not only very verbal but very aural. She is also an excellent reader and not particularly sensitive (Lightning Thief, anyone? It's making serious use of her SOTW1-based knowledge of Greek mythology... gotta love that.)

 

She enjoyed FLL once I "sped it up", and really liked the stories, memorization, and narration exercises. We are still doing WWE1 because she likes that sort of thing immensely.

 

She liked Grammar Island, and is really enjoying the stories in Sentence Island and the information in Building Language. I'd say she tolerates Music of the Hemispheres but doesn't hate it. What I've found, though, is that I've "hit her growing edge" when it comes to the activities. She is capable of doing them, but she really doesn't like them. And since she's only in 1st grade, I've decided to stop doing them for the time being. We'll probably read through the rest of Sentence Island and Building Language, but we'll wait for a while before doing any more activities. I figure we've got 2+ more years to do them in :001_smile:.

 

Meanwhile, we'll be working on reading lots of classics and memorizing more poetry. We also do spelling three days a week, and we'll keep up our handwriting practice too.

[freerange]

I started Grammar Island with my 2nd/4th graders & whilst both enjoyed reading it, my younger one found the 4 level analysis a little overwhelming, so we've agreed to put it on hold until the autumn. When we do it, I want her to really get her teeth into it, not just have a reasonable (superficial) understanding of it. Her older sister meanwhile is loving it. So my only problem with MCTLA is that I can't sell on the island level books to fund the town level that DD1 will soon be needing!

[Wildwood]

Thank you, all. I very much appreciate all the input.

 

I think I've concluded that I will wait a good while on MCT and work through some foundational stuff first. My daughter is bright but, not advanced.

Upon looking through the links provided in this thread, I came across Sentence Family and Aesop's Fables My Book About reading, Writing, and Thinking.

They look to be something that might suit us very well.

[catz]

I used MCT Island level with a HG-PG 3rd grader that reads somewhere at the high school level this year. He did K and 1st at public school, and we did very little grammar in 2nd other than mad libs. He's having a great year with it, is able to apply, gets all the humor in the books, and is running with it. He can comfortably write or type a page or 2 well. I also think he will be on track to complete one MCT level per year. So even though he didn't have much grammar background, it has been totally fine for him.

 

I have a 5 year old (6 in the summer) who is a fluent reader. She enjoyed and laughed at the stories all year. But I won't do the full package with her until she can do it at the level my son is. I am doing modified FLL 1/2 with her. I'm guessing she won't do it until 2nd or 3rd grade.

 

So I think it depends on your child, your long term goals, and how you want to approach the curriculum. It's been great the way we have used it, but you could drag it out a little more too.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Thank you, all. I very much appreciate all the input.

 

I think I've concluded that I will wait a good while on MCT and work through some foundational stuff first. My daughter is bright but, not advanced.

Upon looking through the links provided in this thread, I came across Sentence Family and Aesop's Fables My Book About reading, Writing, and Thinking.They look to be something that might suit us very well.

 

We have the first book in this series and dd enjoys it. She does it some days when she has quiet time.

[Spy Car]

:lurk5:

[Wildwood]

Thanks, Lisa.

It looks like the Aesop's might be more age/level appropriate for my 6 year old, than the SF. Maybe I could do Aesop's first then Sentence Family??? Who knows.

I have totally used up my computer/research time today, that's for sure.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Thanks, Lisa.

It looks like the Aesop's might be more age/level appropriate for my 6 year old, than the SF. Maybe I could do Aesop's first then Sentence Family??? Who knows.

I have totally used up my computer/research time today, that's for sure.

 

I would agree. If we use The Sentence Family it won't be until second grade.

[Wildwood]

I'm still here.:tongue_smilie:

Okay, good to know, Lisa.

 

Do you think you will do the other Aesop books in the series.

Feel like sharing about the Aesop books, or rather do you have time?

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I'm still here.:tongue_smilie:

Okay, good to know, Lisa.

 

Do you think you will do the other Aesop books in the series.

Feel like sharing about the Aesop books, or rather do you have time?

 

I should be starting dinner, but it can wait a few more minutes. :)

 

I'm not sure if we'll use the other books or not. I do like them and if we weren't doing FLL I would be more likely to use the others. I do like that it is one of the few things that dd does mostly independently.

 

As far as the book, it has 11 lessons. Each one is based around an Aesop's fable. There is a story to read, it gives a list of words from the story to go over, there is a picture to color and a space to write a sentence beneath it, and then there are two pages of various activites to do. You might draw and label pictures, write words, make a puppet and act out the story, finish a sentence, etc. The topics that this book covers are: nouns, verbs, basic sentences, sequencing, synonyms, opposites, predictions, adjectives, paragraphs and writing your own story, and abc order.

 

I like it even more now that I'm looking at it again. DS would be so bored with FLL but I think he would like this book better.

[Wildwood]

I should be starting dinner, but it can wait a few more minutes. :)

 

I'm not sure if we'll use the other books or not. I do like them and if we weren't doing FLL I would be more likely to use the others. I do like that it is one of the few things that dd does mostly independently.

 

As far as the book, it has 11 lessons. Each one is based around an Aesop's fable. There is a story to read, it gives a list of words from the story to go over, there is a picture to color and a space to write a sentence beneath it, and then there are two pages of various activites to do. You might draw and label pictures, write words, make a puppet and act out the story, finish a sentence, etc. The topics that this book covers are: nouns, verbs, basic sentences, sequencing, synonyms, opposites, predictions, adjectives, paragraphs and writing your own story, and abc order.

 

I like it even more now that I'm looking at it again. DS would be so bored with FLL but I think he would like this book better.

 

 

Fantastic, thank you.

I appreciate you sharing your time right before dinner.

I was able to look at some samples at RR and they look just right for my daughter.

[Crimson Wife]

My oldest started the "town" level in the 2nd semester of 2nd grade. Language Arts has always been her strongest subject and she had a strong foundation from all the other stuff she'd already completed. It has gone well so far.

 

IF we continue on with MCT (jury's still out on that), I don't think she'll be ready for Essay Voyage next year. That's fine because I want her to do the next Kilgallon Sentence Composing book (she did Story Grammar for Elementary Students the 1st semester of this year) and possibly WWE 3 (she did WWE 1 in 1st).

[Kuovonne]

I'm using MCT Island Level with a 6 year old. However, she is advanced in language arts. The main reason I started DD with MCT so young is that *I* was tired of reading DD's bad writing. So far we are almost through Grammar Island and have also done parts of Music of the Hemispheres and Practice Island. It has been a good fit for us.

 

Here are some ways I've adapted it for my kid. First, I've slowed *way* down. The grammar book is supposed to take about a month. We've spent four months on it and aren't done yet. We started the poetry book early because my daughter loves poetry. I started Practice Island as soon as we finished the eight parts of speech, because it is taking us so long to get throug the grammar book. When we start Sentence Island I will pick only the easier writing assignments for my daughter.

 

My daughter had no formal grammar before starting MCT. When we started the program, DD couldn't tell a noun from an adjective from a verb. However, she could read and write (handwriting) fluently. If DD had known the parts of speech before starting MCT, she would have gone through Grammar Island faster, but I'm not concerned with how long it takes.

 

DD might not be ready for Town level when she finished Island level. However, I'll deal with that when we get there.

[Happy2BaMom]

I am just starting MCT with my 7-yr-old DS...however he is reading several years ahead of grade level and writes his own (admittedly amateurish) books.

 

Even with that, I am very grateful that we did the first year of FLL - I love MCT but FLL is much more thorough in its approach, even if it is not visually appealing. We did condense a bunch of lessons with FLL. We also did WWE1 and I am planning on doing WWE2 while also doing MCT (I just love the approach of WWE and it takes so little time.) I will probably also work in a little FLL2 as well - don't know yet about FLL3. I think WWE and FLL are great preparation for MCT.

 

I don't know how far we will get with MCT - ds may not be ready for the upper levels as we go. If not, we'll just pause for a year and do something else.

 

Not sure if that helps or not...another benefit to waiting is that MCT is supposedly going to come out with some hs-friendly, less expensive TMs...right now you have to buy the classroom versions, which are relatively pricey.

[Wildwood]

I'm using MCT Island Level with a 6 year old. However, she is advanced in language arts. The main reason I started DD with MCT so young is that *I* was tired of reading DD's bad writing. So far we are almost through Grammar Island and have also done parts of Music of the Hemispheres and Practice Island. It has been a good fit for us.

 

Here are some ways I've adapted it for my kid. First, I've slowed *way* down. The grammar book is supposed to take about a month. We've spent four months on it and aren't done yet. We started the poetry book early because my daughter loves poetry. I started Practice Island as soon as we finished the eight parts of speech, because it is taking us so long to get throug the grammar book. When we start Sentence Island I will pick only the easier writing assignments for my daughter.

 

My daughter had no formal grammar before starting MCT. When we started the program, DD couldn't tell a noun from an adjective from a verb. However, she could read and write (handwriting) fluently. If DD had known the parts of speech before starting MCT, she would have gone through Grammar Island faster, but I'm not concerned with how long it takes.

 

DD might not be ready for Town level when she finished Island level. However, I'll deal with that when we get there.

 

 

Thanks, Kuovonne.

I'm thinking if I can get my dd pretty solid with reading and handwriting, plus some basic exposure to grammar, we will be ready to possibly get going with MCT early next year. Will have to see how she progresses from now until then.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, I appreciate it.

[cjbeach]

My oldest started the "town" level in the 2nd semester of 2nd grade. Language Arts has always been her strongest subject and she had a strong foundation from all the other stuff she'd already completed. It has gone well so far.

 

IF we continue on with MCT (jury's still out on that), I don't think she'll be ready for Essay Voyage next year. That's fine because I want her to do the next Kilgallon Sentence Composing book (she did Story Grammar for Elementary Students the 1st semester of this year) and possibly WWE 3 (she did WWE 1 in 1st).

I haven't seen this before.....thanks for the link! I have a 9yo entering 4th who could do MCT I'm just not certain I want to do it with him yet. I'm actually looking for something more along the lines of the book you linked to, so thank you! (well with him I think I would look at lower elementary though...)