If we start MCT, which of the following will be replaced?

[scrappyhappymama]

OK, so I've just recently discovered the MCT LA curriculum, and I am in love! :001_wub:

 

My oldest will be starting 3rd grade sometime next fall, so we are going to start him right at the beginning with the island series. I'm really excited about what I see here.

 

Problem is, I have all this other stuff sitting on my shelf that I'd been planning to start in the next year or so, but which I think will be redundant if we go with MCT instead.

 

So... for current MCT users, especially 3rd or 4th grade, which of following will I not need to use? Are there any that would still be beneficial as a supplement or is MCT just that thorough?

 

~FLL 3: I just recently bought this, and until I started researching MCT, was excited to be using it next year. I'm probably weird, but ever since we started homeschooling I have been looking forward to diagramming someday. WTM sold me on the value of diagramming, so am I going to regret giving this up? I see that MCT has what looks like his own version of diagramming. Are you happy with this and does it provide the same benefits of traditional diagramming?

 

~Wordly Wise and Vocabulary from Classical Roots- will Building Language and Caesar's English replace these completely?

 

~WWE- I really have enjoyed using WWE so far, and it also doubles as our penmanship practice. Would it be too much to continue this alongside the writing and practice components of MCT?

 

~Latin- I know this is really a bigger question than the scope of this one post, but I'm just curious whether folks who are using MCT are also doing a separate Latin study. Or do you consider the Latin-based vocabulary study in MCT to be enough?

 

~Spelling- We're currently doing Apples and Pears spelling. I like it, but my son has been so-so about it. Recently I've started skipping some of the repetitiveness in each lesson and he's much happier about it. I believe we'll still need a separate spelling component if we use MCT, right? Any suggestions here?

 

Thanks for any recommendations! I think I'll have better luck "selling" MCT to my husband as a worthwhile expense if I am able to sell some of the curriculum I already own that we wouldn't end up using! :)

[Crimson Wife]

WWE, spelling, and Latin I would keep. MCT doesn't cover spelling, teaching Latin beyond just some of the roots, or copywork/dictation/narration.

 

Vocabulary MCT covers very well and doing VCFCR or WW would probably be overkill.

 

FLL 3 you could use as a supplement to MCT. It would really depend on the individual kid whether it would be helpful or overkill.

[mbeaser]

We still do Latin and spelling. I believe that many continue using WWE, we never started it, so I didn't need to worry about that one :tongue_smilie:

 

Its been nice, because MCT and Prima Latina have been reinforcing each other.

[scrappyhappymama]

MCT doesn't cover spelling, teaching Latin beyond just some of the roots, or copywork/dictation/narration.

 

 

Isn't Practice Island copywork? I was concerned it might be too much on top of the WWE writing. Or is it different enough?

[Sunshine Mama]

:lurk5:

[Matryoshka]

Isn't Practice Island copywork? I was concerned it might be too much on top of the WWE writing. Or is it different enough?

 

Nope. Nothing even remotely copywork-like about Practice Island.

 

I find WWE to be a great complement to Island level. They focus on entirely different skills, and are not overwhelming to do together. I do skip the "grammar focus" bits that sometimes pop up in WWE (on copywork/dictation days), as they really don't need it if they're doing MCT.

 

I'll basically agree with everyone else that says keep WWE, a spelling program, and Latin if you want to really learn the language vs. just roots. The rest you can jettison.

[Annabel Lee]

Aimee, I could have written your post! I called RFWP today to get some more answers that I couldn't get from their site or the yahoo group. If you're serious about taking the plunge, you should join that yahoo group if you haven't already. Michael's on there to clarify very detailed questions.

 

I have a hard time with the idea of no traditional diagramming/outlining. I want to have my cake and eat it too. :)

[Irishmommy]

I can say that I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED diagramming when I was a kid (English teacher in the making, right?); but I'm am SOLD on the MCT way, simply because my ds is totally enjoying it. He loves the creative way the material is presented. He said today that he loves the building language the most. I almost cried I was so happy to hear him say he loved ANY part of school. I'm not sure about your question, as I am unfamiliar with the other programs; but I am now a diagramming convert!;)

[TKDmom]

I'm doing WWE and Latin in addition to the Island series. I thought about using Spelling Power as well, but it was just too much. I figure dd is a pretty good speller. Maybe we'll add spelling in when she's done with WWE. We had a really interesting discussion on the MCT Yahoo group a couple weeks ago about the merits of teaching spelling. If you join the Yahoo group, search the archives for the thread "I Hate[d] Spelling".

[MyLittleWonders]

We are and will be doing WWE, spelling and Latin along with MCT Island (and next year Town). We were about 20 lessons into FLL 3 when I received and started MCT. I plan on picking it back up 2-3 times a week. (Ds#2 is following along with us in MCT Island; I will probably restart FLL 1 wherever we left off when ds#1 restarts FLL 3). My rough plan is:

 

Practice Island: M, W, F

FLL: T, Th

Building Language: T

Music of the Hemisphere: Th

Sentence Island: I'm not sure ;)

WWE: M-Th

 

We have not yet begun Sentence Island and I have no idea yet where I'll put it. I might have them do WWE only 2 days a week, but have them cover both a narration and copywork/dictation each time, and then do Sentence Island 2-3 days a week.

 

But, none-the-less, I plan on keeping WWE, FLL (not sure if we'll do FLL 4 with ds#1), spelling and Latin. :)

[Irishmommy]

We are and will be doing WWE, spelling and Latin along with MCT Island (and next year Town). We were about 20 lessons into FLL 3 when I received and started MCT. I plan on picking it back up 2-3 times a week. (Ds#2 is following along with us in MCT Island; I will probably restart FLL 1 wherever we left off when ds#1 restarts FLL 3). My rough plan is:

 

Practice Island: M, W, F

FLL: T, Th

Building Language: T

Music of the Hemisphere: Th

Sentence Island: I'm not sure ;)

WWE: M-Th

 

We have not yet begun Sentence Island and I have no idea yet where I'll put it. I might have them do WWE only 2 days a week, but have them cover both a narration and copywork/dictation each time, and then do Sentence Island 2-3 days a week.

 

But, none-the-less, I plan on keeping WWE, FLL (not sure if we'll do FLL 4 with ds#1), spelling and Latin. :)

 

I don't mean to hijack, but this is good to know. I was trying to do all componets every day, too much probably.

[scrappyhappymama]

We are and will be doing WWE, spelling and Latin along with MCT Island (and next year Town). We were about 20 lessons into FLL 3 when I received and started MCT. I plan on picking it back up 2-3 times a week. (Ds#2 is following along with us in MCT Island; I will probably restart FLL 1 wherever we left off when ds#1 restarts FLL 3). My rough plan is:

 

Practice Island: M, W, F

FLL: T, Th

Building Language: T

Music of the Hemisphere: Th

Sentence Island: I'm not sure ;)

WWE: M-Th

 

We have not yet begun Sentence Island and I have no idea yet where I'll put it. I might have them do WWE only 2 days a week, but have them cover both a narration and copywork/dictation each time, and then do Sentence Island 2-3 days a week.

 

But, none-the-less, I plan on keeping WWE, FLL (not sure if we'll do FLL 4 with ds#1), spelling and Latin. :)

 

That's really helpful, thanks! Do you mind me asking why you decided to continue FLL?

[MyLittleWonders]

That's really helpful, thanks! Do you mind me asking why you decided to continue FLL?

For us, I think FLL 3 (and probably doing FLL 1-3 with the other two eventually) is good daily reinforcement. And like WWE and Sentence Island, it teaches things a little differently, which I think can be a good thing. We were enjoying FLL 3 (ds#1 is visual in many ways and I think the diagramming was making the parts of speech make more sense). I do really like the MCT materials (and the boys seem to enjoy them too - we are almost done with Grammar Island and just started doing one or two sentences from Practice Island on the board each week to keep the parts of speech fresh in our minds), and I believe that even if I dropped FLL for them all, they would still have a very strong grammar background with the MCT materials. I just like that the same information is presented in two different ways (or so it seems to me), giving them a chance to see it from different perspectives. That's our rationale for now. ;)

[scrappyhappymama]

For us, I think FLL 3 (and probably doing FLL 1-3 with the other two eventually) is good daily reinforcement. And like WWE and Sentence Island, it teaches things a little differently, which I think can be a good thing. We were enjoying FLL 3 (ds#1 is visual in many ways and I think the diagramming was making the parts of speech make more sense). I do really like the MCT materials (and the boys seem to enjoy them too - we are almost done with Grammar Island and just started doing one or two sentences from Practice Island on the board each week to keep the parts of speech fresh in our minds), and I believe that even if I dropped FLL for them all, they would still have a very strong grammar background with the MCT materials. I just like that the same information is presented in two different ways (or so it seems to me), giving them a chance to see it from different perspectives. That's our rationale for now. ;)

 

Thank you! I really want to do some of the diagramming, so I think we're going to try to do FLL3 too and just see if it ends up being too much.