Seasider Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 DD is coming home after doing K & 1st at a local private school. I have been looking at MCTLA and believe it will be a great fit for her. In addition, she will do Spelling Power, some writing with an outside tutor to meet her at her level of ability, and transition to cursive writing. Of course, lots of reading, no real program, just interest led. Do you add copywork and dictation to the MCTLA, or is there something in that program to cover the same skills/accomplish the same goals? For the past two years her classroom day has begun with "journal" work. She has come into class with something - the date or a short sentence - written on the chalkboard. She copied the words, then added an illustration. It would be easy for me to continue that practice for her. I just wondered if it would be redundant. And, it wouldn't really cover dictation. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and suggestions with me. Am I leaving anything out in the language arts department? Before I know it, it will be time to start schooling. I want to be ready! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 A lot of people do additional writing along with MCT - either WWE (which would cover copywork/dictation) or a different writing program. Many feel that it doesn't provide enough writing instruction on its own. However, it is designed to be used with gifted 3rd graders in Level 1 (Island Level). Although many use it with younger kids very successfully, just be aware that it's an "off-label" use so you'll want to get feedback from those who have had success with littles :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 One of my daughters uses MCT LA. She doesn't do the writing exercises. She uses Writing with Skill (which comes after WWE4). Before WWS, she used WWE3. She went from WWE3 to WWS. edited to say: she went from WWE3 to WWS, because it took her a loooong time to get thru WWE3. I was afraid she would be taking WWE3 to college with her. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChandlerMom Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 MCTLA doesn't do copy work/dictation, so you can add that. What I will say it is a delight-driven and very deep program. It is better to spend 5min or read one page a day than to try to push through a section. There may not be any "exercises" that day. It doesn't mean they aren't learning anything. ;) The little stories in Grammar Island are clever and engaging and by the time you get to Sentence Island you can appreciate how truly deep the content is. Since your dd is so young, keep in mind that it's OK to slow down and take it slow or take a break. The whole point of MCTLA is to instill a love of the english language. IMO, better to learn grammar well once rather than the traditional method of covering basic grammar for six years, "underlining the verb and circling the adjectives" for 25 sentences on a page. My oldest dd learned grammar the traditional way and says she's jealous her sister gets to learn it the MCTLA way. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 (edited) DD is coming home after doing K & 1st at a local private school. I have been looking at MCTLA and believe it will be a great fit for her. In addition, she will do Spelling Power, some writing with an outside tutor to meet her at her level of ability, and transition to cursive writing. Of course, lots of reading, no real program, just interest led. Do you add copywork and dictation to the MCTLA, or is there something in that program to cover the same skills/accomplish the same goals? For the past two years her classroom day has begun with "journal" work. She has come into class with something - the date or a short sentence - written on the chalkboard. She copied the words, then added an illustration. It would be easy for me to continue that practice for her. I just wondered if it would be redundant. And, it wouldn't really cover dictation. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and suggestions with me. Am I leaving anything out in the language arts department? Before I know it, it will be time to start schooling. I want to be ready! I've been using MCT, WWE 1-2, and separate dictation/copywork with a first grader. We started Grammar Island in K, but DD listened to Grammar-Land a few times, and with our Latin studies, it felt redundant. Instead, we read through the poetry books from all 3 levels. DD is strong with languages but has weak motor skills, which means she does most of her work orally. I have to say that MCT is lovely for a young child - the text size is huge, the colors are mute, storyline is creative. ETA: DD did read through Sentence Island in first grade, but we didn't do any practice exercises since we have been focusing more on Latin/Greek grammar this year. Edited July 5, 2012 by crazyforlatin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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