CC Essentials--how much time outside of class?

[Chaqar]

For those who have participated in Essentials, how much outside work (in terms of both number of days and length of time) did you and your child need to work on the activities each week? I'm wanting to supplement but not at the expense of overwhelming my DS.

[Karis]

10 minutes a day 4 days a week. Grammar & IEW Vocab only. Not long at all.

 

 

If you're just running through task sheets you can do that orally or written on the chart in 2-5 minutes.

 

Often, student does task sheet independently and we work together on dictation and diagramming.

 

The IEW portion takes the longest time. EEL is short and sweet. I do extend our sessions - but I like grammar.

 

 

Will you supplement with Our Mother Tongue? I do, but don't consider it a "supplement."

 

Writing was time consuming (not actual writing but the typing... finding or creating the perfect illustrations... and reviewing the checklists for the dress ups & stylistic techniques)

 

My student spends anywhere from 2-4 hours a week on the writing. (Varies)

[G5052]

I'm an Essentials tutor, and I personally don't recommend it as an add-on.

 

I've seen kids who are using something else for grammar get very mixed up after sitting in class learning how CC handles grammar, and frankly if you don't pretty much keep up with the IEW assignments, it can get a lot harder as you go. You can miss a few, but IEW builds and first year students really need to try to complete every assignment even if the parent has to help.

 

First year students seem to need about 30-60 minutes a day, and you will need to be more involved the first time through. The second time through your involvement can be minimal, but I still would say maybe a little less time.

[Chaqar]

I appreciate the input. That's kind of what I figured. My kids and I are so in love with MCT materials--just discovered them last spring--and it will be hard to completely give those up.

 

Will I need to add in grammar conventions--capitalization, punctuation, forming plurals, etc? Is that what Our Mother Tongue can be used for? I guess I thought it was a reference book, but it actually has exercises? Are they scheduled to correlate with EEL? So many questions!

 

Thank you for your time.

[Brenda in FL]

I appreciate the input. That's kind of what I figured. My kids and I are so in love with MCT materials--just discovered them last spring--and it will be hard to completely give those up.

 

Will I need to add in grammar conventions--capitalization, punctuation, forming plurals, etc? Is that what Our Mother Tongue can be used for? I guess I thought it was a reference book, but it actually has exercises? Are they scheduled to correlate with EEL? So many questions!

 

Thank you for your time.

 

:bigear:

[dsmama]

I can answer some of your questions, though I'm hoping the Essentials tutor above will chime in as well!

 

The Essentials of the English Language (EEL) guide has weekly editing exercises that focus on punctuation, capitalization, agreement, plurals, etc. Our Mother Tongue focuses on parts of speech, parts of a sentence (phrases, clauses), and diagramming. There are exercises in each chapter, and the answers are in a separate book (OMT Key - about $5 and definitely worth every penny).

 

Each week in the EEL guide, there are suggested assignments from OMT. Many parents use these as part of their LA work the rest of the week, but I know some who do not.

 

Hope this helps!

[AngelBee]

:lurk5:

[Brenda in FL]

:lurk5:

 

AngelBee,

Do you have any specific questions - this is an old thread and not likely to have anymore answers the the OP.