julikins Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Oh, those who have gone before me, please guide me now. I've hemmed and hawed for two years about buying MCT, mostly due to price but also not being sure I could wrap my mind around the program. I'm pretty sure I want to take the plunge and believe I've got a much better feel for how it would go. But now, I'm wondering, is my 6th grader too old for it? She knows grammar rules, but it's not internalized. And she loves things that are beautiful and crafting beautiful sentences, by copying good writing. So, I think MCT will encourage and develop that! BUT, which program should I start with? She's going to be in 6th grade. She will have completed 1/2 of Intermediate Language Lessons by Emma Serl and Rod and Staff English 4. Should she start with Town level or Voyage? Also, I've been thinking about what to use to complement it--usage and mechanics practice. I've seen people using Hake 6 but I've been thinking about using Evan Moor Daily Language Review and Daily Paragraph Editing. Would that be enough? Should I continue with ILL? (besides spelling with a different program) One last question...would this be something that little brother (who will be in 3rd) could listen in on and benefit from (while still doing his own LA program)? I want to do what is best for 6th grader, so his involvement doesn't sway the decision one way or the other for me, just curious. But maybe he'd enjoy it too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Ok, well, I have both Town (just finished) and Voyage (just started). If I were you, I think I would start with the Town level. Mostly because I think it's good to start with Caesar's English 1, which begins introducing Latin-based vocab with the most frequently used words from great literature, as well as Latin stems. You didn't say what she's done for writing, but I think Paragraph Town is great even for kids who are already writing multiple paragraphs, because it really helps them to stop and think through what a paragraph is, and what it does, and why, and when you stop one paragraph and start another, and I think these are things young writers often struggle with. The Grammar seems to be pretty similar for the two, but the big thing introduced in Town is verbal phrases, and I think going over that twice (in Town and Voyage) will only be helpful! It's a little hard to get them all straight, and I wouldn't rush it. You will be fine either way, but I would give my dd the extra time for vocabulary development, and not rush into writing more complex essays, so if I were you I would start with Town. Good luck and have fun! Glad we've managed to drag you in . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 i used part of town with an 8th grader (2E) who did not find it too babyish. We used Voyage over 9th and 10th and it was still a reasonable challenge. I've heard you dont want your younger to miss out on Island, but i've never used it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I think you can safely skip Island, so don't think twice about that! We started my older dd in 5th grade with Town and it worked very well. I don't think it is too young for 6th grade at all. I later did Island with my youngest and again felt fine that my older dd didn't go through it. There is quite a jump between Town and Voyage. I think your dd will be fine with that at her age, but my youngest who is doing Town now in 4th grade will not start Voyage until 6th grade--we'll use something else next year. Also, Paragraph Town is about 20 lessons (20 weeks), plus add maybe a month to do the grammar program before starting it. If you want to get to Voyage sooner, you could do Town in less than a year and then start Voyage. We did the poetry book at the Town level (and loved it) and then found the Voyage level book maybe a bit repetitive and not as necessary. We're not doing a poetry book this year. Youngest definitely sat in while older dd and I did Paragraph Town on the sofa and all three of us did the poetry together. The grammar and vocab was more just for the older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cschnee Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I agree; start with Town! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julikins Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 pop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I'm doing town level with a sixth grade boy who enjoys writing and an eighth grade boy that is 2E with language issues. It is a great fit for both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.