Need some reassurance about MCT

[emzhengjiu]

I called Royal Fireworks Press this afternoon about using MCT with my two DD, 10 and 13. I explained that I could only buy one set for this coming school year. The consensus here at the Hive was the Town series but the lady at RFP seemed to think there would be no way to use one level for both girls given their age difference. I use MOH and some science material for both by adding material for my older girl. I was hoping to do something similar with MCT. She put me on hold to speak with someone else about this but after a long time no one came back on the line. I feel discouraged now but thought I would run this my all you wonderful MCT cult members before I decide to spend the money on math books and keep what I have for LA.

Ann

[Mynyel]

I think Town series would be fine for both ages. I am using Island right now but have the Town series as well. My dd12 is fine with them.

 

Shoot even Island level might be fine if you want to start them there. They may breeze through it but the stories are engaging enough that they shouldn't mind! :)

 

MariannNOVA (I think I spelled that right!) is a plethora of info with MCT and I have heard tell about a Hummer that, for those who take the plunge into MCTville, is (are?) granted driving privleges. That alone is worth it! :D

Edited June 15, 2010 by Mynyel

[Matryoshka]

I think Town would be fine for both. You'll probably get different quality of work out of the writing assignments, but the assignments themselves will be fine.

[Storm Bay]

I'd buy the Town series & see how it goes. I'm trying to remember what level that one is off the top of my head.

 

What I'm doing is only buying some of their books so that I can buy different levels. My ds is going to do Paragraph Town whereas my dd Essay Voyage and Poetry & Humanity/ies. However, we're already all set for Grammar, etc, with R&S. It's not as good a fit for ds as it has been for my dd's, but I can't afford to buy him a whole new grammar book since my eldest is homeschooling high school. Most of my curricula & homeschool supply money is going toward high school now.

 

I wonder what happened when you called, since when I called I was helped right away. I'm not an MCT groupie, btw, just trying it out to see what all the fuss is about & because it sounds like it will fit my dc.

[MariannNOVA]

I called Royal Fireworks Press this afternoon about using MCT with my two DD, 10 and 13.

 

I think Town series would be fine for both ages. I am using Island right now but have the Town series as well. My dd12 is fine with them.

 

Shoot even Island level might be fine if you want to start them there. They may breeze through it but the stories are engaging enough that they shouldn't mind! :)

 

MariannNOVA (I think I spelled that right!) is a plethora of info with MCT and I have heard tell about a Hummer that, for those who take the plunge into MCTville, is (are?) granted driving privleges. That alone is worth it! :D

 

Wow - and here I am! I think that the folks are RFWP are a little :willy_nilly: right now with an upcoming conference in Seattle next week.

 

And there are other conferences in the planning and prep stages that are coming up every week. That might explain your being left on hold.

 

Anyway, with a 10 and 12 year old, I would have to ask what kind of grammar foundation your dds have -- if it a good, firm foundation, I would start with TOWN.

 

Otherwise, I would start with Grammar Island, then do Sentence Island. I would also do Practice Island at this level - you can buy the Teacher's Manual and use a white board or have them write the sentences as dictation and then do the four level analysis on the same piece of paper. You must have the TM as you need the answers for the four level analysis of the sentences.

 

If you are comfortable with their level of knowledge of basic grammar, then you might consider starting them both at Grammar Town with Practice Town (again, buy only the TM if you are economizing).

 

My third suggestion (and I am not trying to confuse you - but only help you make the best selection) would be to take both girls quickly through Grammar Island without the Practice Island (you would have to be very vonfident that their basic grammar skills are good and firm). I suggest this method b/c it gives them a good taste of MCT. After going through Grammar Island and the exercises in the back of the Teacher's Book (the only volume you would need if you are all able to share one book), I would go to Grammar Town, Practice Town and proceed from there.

 

Let me know if you have any questions -- I hope I haven't confused you.

 

We can talk about the Hummer later!;)

[StephanieZ]

Remember, RFWP is just getting the hang of hs'ers. . . I wouldn't put total faith in their opinion of what level(s) to use. . .

 

I think you'd be just fine in Town.

[Corraleno]

I think Town would be fine for both. You'll probably get different quality of work out of the writing assignments, but the assignments themselves will be fine.

:iagree:

 

Jackie

[radiobrain]

Town.

 

It should be a bit easy (and therefore boost confidence) for the older one, and should be a challenge for the 10 yo.

 

CE1 is challenging enough for both. AND EXCELLENT! :D

 

Just make your older kid to most/all the writing assignments.

[emzhengjiu]

Wow, thanks so much for this information! I'm leaning toward buying the basic Town set with two practice books but I'm also wondering if I should buy Grammar Island TM for a review. My girls are okay in grammar. I so wish RFP offered a placement test though. My budget for this coming school year is dwindling quickly and I still have Discovering Math 2 set to buy.

 

So RFP isn't that familar with us homeschoolers. Maybe that's why the lady on the phone sounded mystified or maybe she was overwhelmed with convention preparation.

 

You guys are great.

 

Ann

[Lorax]

I didn't use the Island level, but since I accidentally took my 9 year old through Grammar Voyage instead of Grammar Town last year without a problem I'm guessing that it wouldn't be necessary to review with Grammar Island and you could just go with Town.

[TKDmom]

Wow, thanks so much for this information! I'm leaning toward buying the basic Town set with two practice books but I'm also wondering if I should buy Grammar Island TM for a review. My girls are okay in grammar. I so wish RFP offered a placement test though. My budget for this coming school year is dwindling quickly and I still have Discovering Math 2 set to buy.

 

I think that you probably wouldn't need Grammar Island if they have had some grammar. We've only done Grammar Island (I'm saving my pennies to get Town soon). It covers the 8 parts of speech, basic parts of the sentence, prepositional phrases, and independent clauses. I looked at the samples of Grammar Town, and it looks like these things are reviewed, but then they go into a lot more depth.

[radiobrain]

I wouldn't worry about Grammar Island, Grammar town will cover the info well... if you were going to get ANYTHING from the Island level, I would say, Sentence Island.

 

JMHO

[Matryoshka]

I wouldn't worry about Grammar Island, Grammar town will cover the info well... if you were going to get ANYTHING from the Island level, I would say, Sentence Island.

 

JMHO

 

:iagree:

[MariannNOVA]

Wow, thanks so much for this information! I'm leaning toward buying the basic Town set with two practice books but I'm also wondering if I should buy Grammar Island TM for a review. My girls are okay in grammar. I so wish RFP offered a placement test though. My budget for this coming school year is dwindling quickly and I still have Discovering Math 2 set to buy.

 

So RFP isn't that familar with us homeschoolers. Maybe that's why the lady on the phone sounded mystified or maybe she was overwhelmed with convention preparation.

 

You guys are great.

 

Ann

 

Hi, Ann: In red above, that will be excellent for you. I wasn't sure of their comfort level in Grammar but with what you have said above, TOWN will be perfect for you.

 

The homeschooling thing is new to RFWP. RFWP is a boutique size publishing company (my classification, not theirs) and the buzz they are experiencing from homeschoolers is a good thing as every single phone call, convention, conversation gives them more info about h-schoolers.

 

Enjoy!

[Aubrey]

Here's an idea: whatever level you decide to go with, order an extra practice booklet so you can sell the whole thing here when you're done & move more quickly on to the next level w/out too much more $.

 

Maybe?

[emzhengjiu]

Aubrey, buying an extra practice book now is a great idea. The shipping wouldn't be much more and I would have a complete set to sell later. I've passed on buying an almost complete set of something or other because buying the one missing book with shipping would end up costing too much

 

Thanks so much!

 

Ann

Edited June 16, 2010 by emzhengjiu

[Storm Bay]

The homeschooling thing is new to RFWP. RFWP is a boutique size publishing company (my classification, not theirs) and the buzz they are experiencing from homeschoolers is a good thing as every single phone call, convention, conversation gives them more info about h-schoolers.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

I must have called on a quieter day. What I did was tell the gentleman what grades they were going into & we discussed their backgrounds. Since ds is doing R&S 5 already and fully understands sentences, he suggested Paragraph Town. For dd, even though she's going into gr 8, it was Essay Voyage because she's never written an essay, but is otherwise strong in writing. As for the poetry, that's one level higher, which will be perfect for her to start off with, I think.

[rachel_rfwp]

So sorry Ann got lost in the system when she called Royal Fireworks Press. So many of you report good experiences and so many are so helpful here on the forum.

Another way to get advice is to join the Yahoo Group for homeschoolers: MCTLA. (There are nearly 1,000 members now).

We are indeed relatively new to the homeschooling community but absolutely thrilled that not only the MCT curriculum but other books are being taken up so enthusiastically. (We have been in schools for more than twenty years and claim to have more titles than any other publisher for gifted education).

This year we are going to some homeschool conventions for the first time: Seattle this week, then NoVa (thanks to MariannNOVA), Phoenix and Atlanta in July and lastly Chicago in August. We also meet some parents at conferences like NAGC or Ohio Gifted.

Do keep calling and posting!

Best wishes to all

Rachel, Royal Fireworks Press

[Storm Bay]

Our order arrived yesterday. I have to say that so far, I'm very impressed with what I saw looking through them & reading parts of the three books we ordered. However, the proof will be in the pudding starting in Sept.