Mosaicmind Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I had heard such great reviews of this program and felt that I should investigate it at the conference this weekend. I spent almost 45min standing and talking to the gentleman at the booth, looking through the books, and talking with someone else thinking of buying it. This is so different from what we have always used which was a workbook for vocabulary and grammar plus a writing program. I also thought it would be a great fit for my one son who has ADHD and SPD. I have been looking through the books for the last hour. I purchased Island level for my 3rd and 5th graders and Voyage level for my 7th grader; these are what the gentleman suggested I start out with for the boys. I really can't make any sense out of them. How much do I do each day since there are no "lessons"? Do the boys do almost everything orally except for the sentence island and practice voyage? I am really lost looking at these and not for sure I made the right decision. I want to pack them up and send them back because I am just not sure this is going to work. Can someone please explain how this works and help me?:confused::confused::confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon in TN Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I had heard such great reviews of this program and felt that I should investigate it at the conference this weekend. I spent almost 45min standing and talking to the gentleman at the booth, looking through the books, and talking with someone else thinking of buying it. This is so different from what we have always used which was a workbook for vocabulary and grammar plus a writing program. I also thought it would be a great fit for my one son who has ADHD and SPD. I have been looking through the books for the last hour. I purchased Island level for my 3rd and 5th graders and Voyage level for my 7th grader; these are what the gentleman suggested I start out with for the boys. I really can't make any sense out of them. How much do I do each day since there are no "lessons"? Do the boys do almost everything orally except for the sentence island and practice voyage? I am really lost looking at these and not for sure I made the right decision. I want to pack them up and send them back because I am just not sure this is going to work. Can someone please explain how this works and help me?:confused::confused::confused: There are lessons in the back of the teacher books. :) For example, in Paragraph Town there are around twenty lessons. The lesson will assign a section of Grammar Town to review. Then it will teach some aspect of grammar or writing. Then it will analyze a few sentences. Then it will give a writing assignment. You will need to assign sentences from Practice Town, but that's easy to do. :) My ADHD dd loves MCT. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Somewhere on the rfwp website there is a page that summarizes the general guidelines for using the books. (I've used the Town level) Start with the grammar books and do them first. Just sit on the couch w/your dc and start reading them aloud together. Stop when your dc need to stop to let the topics sink in, or after an hour :001_smile:. After the grammar books, start the other books. We sat down on the couch w/those too. I really had to tell my dc we had to put the books down and move on to the next subject after 1 hour, because they enjoyed it so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I'm certainly not a super experienced MCT mom, but I'll share how we do it. I started Grammar Island with 9yo dd last month. We read together and work through the example sentences until one of us hits an "overload" point and needs to let everything sink in. We work on it 3 days a week, and her retention has been very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 This is really a cuddle up on the couch and read aloud kind of curriculum. Read a chapter at a time. Discuss the examples, review the concepts, then do the assignments from the teacher's guide or modify them for your individual child (as I did). The Practice Books (Practice Island, Practice Town etc.) are the "workbooks" for grammar. Begin those after you finish the student books. With a good diagramming reference like Warriner's or Rex Barks, you can add in diagramming of the sentences in the empty space at the bottom of the page when the kids are ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 It was posts like this and on the MCT list that made me stay far away from that program. I wish it was better organized. I don't need 'open and go'. I am happy to work and learn to use something. When you are holding the books, it shouldn't be a mystery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 For Island, we read through Grammar Island first, over a month or two, before we started up with the other components. Then what I'd do is just take the total number of pages to read in each book and divide by how many weeks you have to get a weekly goal. And then maybe assign two of the writing assignments (or whatever you decide) from the back every week. IIRC, we did Sentence Island and Practice Island every day that we did school, then alternated the vocab and poetry, doing each around twice a week. We did the Island level in half a year and didn't find it overwhelming, so it should be a pretty relaxed program for a full year. Once you get to Town, things are laid out a little more clearly. Caesar's English and Paragraph Town each have 20 lessons. For CE we spend two weeks on the lessons with words and one week on the ones with stems. For PT we did one lesson a week for the first 10 and are now spending around 2 weeks each on the final 10. And then we spend a few minutes on poetry once a week and do around 3 sentences a week from Practice Town. Once you get going, it falls into place pretty nicely. ETA: I find looking at weekly goals rather than daily lessons is helpful for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosaicmind Posted April 4, 2011 Author Share Posted April 4, 2011 For Island, we read through Grammar Island first, over a month or two, before we started up with the other components. Then what I'd do is just take the total number of pages to read in each book and divide by how many weeks you have to get a weekly goal. And then maybe assign two of the writing assignments (or whatever you decide) from the back every week. IIRC, we did Sentence Island and Practice Island every day that we did school, then alternated the vocab and poetry, doing each around twice a week. We did the Island level in half a year and didn't find it overwhelming, so it should be a pretty relaxed program for a full year. Once you get to Town, things are laid out a little more clearly. Caesar's English and Paragraph Town each have 20 lessons. For CE we spend two weeks on the lessons with words and one week on the ones with stems. For PT we did one lesson a week for the first 10 and are now spending around 2 weeks each on the final 10. And then we spend a few minutes on poetry once a week and do around 3 sentences a week from Practice Town. Once you get going, it falls into place pretty nicely. ETA: I find looking at weekly goals rather than daily lessons is helpful for us. Thanks. So, I want to make sure I have this right. First I need to do the grammar book for each the Island and Voyage levels. Do I do any of the other books at the same time, such as the poetry book? After the grammar book do I do the practice books then or what? I really don't want to send this back....I WANT to make it work. Unfortunately, I did open the Caesar's English book and found that pages 225-232 are folded into the binding and I will have to send it back and get a new one. Otherwise I don't want to send it back because I think this is what the boys need instead of alot of workbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Thanks. So, I want to make sure I have this right. First I need to do the grammar book for each the Island and Voyage levels. Do I do any of the other books at the same time, such as the poetry book? After the grammar book do I do the practice books then or what? I really don't want to send this back....I WANT to make it work. I've only done Island and Town, but FWIU, Voyage is structured similiarly to Town (that's my disclaimer). I've heard of people doing it both ways...I'd go ahead and start CE along with the grammar, just because there's no reason not to, and you'll have more time that way. Poetry takes less time (IME), so you might wait to add it in just to give yourself more time to get the hang of things. Definitely wait on the practice books until after grammar; they need what they learn in the grammar books to do the practice. I think it sounds more complicated than it really is; if you just keep opening it up and doing the next thing, you can't really mess it up :) The books all coordinate to a certain extent, but not in a way that means you have to be at a particular place in one when you get to a certain lesson in another...just in that the practice book will reinforce the vocabulary by using a vocab word in a sentence--that sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn E Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 MCT frontloads the grammar so it can be put into practice throughout the rest of the year. I agree that the lack of "do this on this day" structure is frustrating (to some of us), but the beauty of the program is worth pushing through that. You read through the grammar book at your own pace using the teacher notes and hints to spur deeper conversations about grammar. In the back of the book there are some activities. I had the older edition and these activities were not mentioned throughout the book (island level--that may still be the case, or they may have changed this). So, I went to the back, deciphered at what point we would reach that activity (most were clearly explained), and put a mark in the reading section to remind me to do the activity. After you've finished the grammar book you begin putting what you have learned into practice with the practice books. You also begin adding in the other components. Many people plan out a day for poetry, a day for vocabulary, etc. It does take more effort than the average pick-up-and-go material, but, as I said earlier, I think it is worth the effort. Before I went to convention I was seriously considering not purchasing any more MCT--at least not until middle or high school. I am not fond of the lack of structure, and I also, personally, feel MCT doesn't cover some of the things I want covered at this stage (more mechanics and usage); however, after hearing him at convention I was convinced to persevere. My Dh was also so impressed he didn't blink when I paid for the next level...maybe his eye twitched a little...just kidding. I will be using it in combination with R&S (orally and on the white board). R&S will provide the structure and the complete coverage I want while MCT will breathe new life and enthusiasm into our study of grammar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 OP, I hear ya. I wish I had been taught grammar this way, but I'm not sure I want to teach grammar this way. :tongue_smilie: We have not started yet but I went through and made a schedule for myself. I scheduled about 7 pages per day (I think) in GI. It seemed like there were places that lent themselves to being a natural stopping point. I know scheduling it is not very MCTish but my brain needs a schedule. If you do a search I know I have seen schedules posted before that might be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosaicmind Posted April 4, 2011 Author Share Posted April 4, 2011 OK....I guess I am convinced to at least not throw it out before I try it out. I guess it's silly to do that. I know it is a good solid program and I don't doubt my boys will learn alot but when you have been taught a certain way and have taught that same way it takes awhile to get out of that rut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca M Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I felt the same way when starting on Town this year. I joined the Yahoo MCT users group (MCTLA) and found some sample schedules posted in the files section. The schedule helped me feel a little more grounded and has worked well for us this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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