LBoogie Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 I am figuring out 3rd grade for next year. It is down to the Get-R-Done Easy Grammar or the intriguing MCT. Very different. My goal is just retention, but it would be wonderful if grammar could also be semi-enjoyable, as well. Honestly, is MCT worth it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 It has been here! No regrets at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 It depends on your budget and how good a fit it is for your kids. Hard to judge. I started w just one book . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 MCT is more than just enjoyable... It makes grammar meaningful. DS9 learned solid grammar from R&S (we typically take a secular approach, but that was a very solid grammar program as well). However, MCT has bumped it up a notch-- it helps him see why all the parts of speech and parts of a sentence and phrases and clauses work together the way that they do, and how vocabulary, poetics, and grammar interact in clear writing. MCT manages to simplify things (yes, you really can get the main grammar program done in 6 weeks, and grammar is non-intimidating when you see just 8 main parts of speech) yet in the daily practice through the rest of the year, it really sinks in, particularly as you set into infinitive phrases and gerunds and practice spotting prepositional phrases and appositives over and over, discusing poetic use and vocabulary as you go. I would say that MCT makes grammar a living, breathing thing. I don't regret the purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 For my child, yes. She's advanced in English and very intuitive-that is, things just "look right" or "sound right" to her. MCT is giving her the language to use and the tools to use it in her writing, without boring her to tears with repetition she doesn't need. She doesn't need to go through a bunch of exercises to identify the predicate nominative-as soon as she knows that's what it's called, she has it. She just needs the terms. You also have to understand that this is the child who loves things like "Eats Shoots and Leaves" and wordplay, and has been pointing out mistakes on signs since she was about 4. However, it's NOT "get 'er done". It's sit, snuggle, read, discuss, go back to the room, write and draw a bit, read what she's written, discuss some more, try to figure out how Mud can be up on land without dying, and so on. The vocabulary books are read, discuss, brainstorm a list of words, look up in the dictionary to see if those actually ARE words that we've just come up with, come up with new words that aren't in the dictionary but should be, write stories using a ton of the words, and so on. It's slow. it's drawn out...and it's joyous and fun. For a child who isn't into grammar and syntax, it might be less time consuming, but it also might not be such a perfect fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 It depends on your budget and how good a fit it is for your kids. Hard to judge. I started w just one book . . . If you could start with just one book, which would you start with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 If I had to pick just one book from the "island" level, it would be Sentence Island. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrumm4448 Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 I would say that MCT makes grammar a living, breathing thing. I don't regret the purchase. I agree completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forgiven Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 It is well worth the price in our house. I'm amazed at how well my dd and ds understand and at how much they've retained. We love MCT's LA in our house. It's definitely a winner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoo_keeper Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 I can't choose just 1 book, I'd choose 2. I'd choose the teacher editions of Sentence Island and Practice Island. SI drew my girls in and they grew to love all of the characters. PI is, IMO, the meaty application part of parsing non-simplistic sentences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 yeah, i started with paragraph island (which i've heard some ppl say is one of the best) - it was my first year homeschooling and my 2E 8th grader couldnt write a paragraph. we loved it so much we bought all of voyage, which i think was worth it, but i can afford to splurge sometimes. My son had very strong grammar but still learned something from the grammar of voyage level, tho he did get tired of the practice book. output isnt a strong point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 Yep, well worth it here. And yes to starting with Sentence Island, if you want a taste of what makes this program special and magical! Although if I had to pick just one component to use, it would be Caesar's English 1 and 2 for vocab. I don't actually think the Lit packages are worth the money, though, if you already own the books. I'm peeved that you cannot just buy the TM for the lit packages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 MCT is one of DS's favorites. He loves the quirkiness of it, and we really appreciate how it ties things together. If you have to skip something, make it the poetry book. But if budget permits, just get the basic package for whatever level you need. With your child's age, Island will be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 It has great resale value, too. So figure its true cost is probably only 40-50% of the list price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBoogie Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 So... what I am hearing is that, depending on the child, YES, it is worth it. If I just want to dip my toes in, would I start with Grammar Island or Sentence Island? Plus Practice Island? Or should I add something in like Daily Grams? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 the way a lot of ppl use the series is to work through the grammar book first, then do everything else. the practice books usually are used after you have finished the grammar book. i havent used daily grams, but the practice books have . . well, the one i used had 101 pages and we only did 2 a week iir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 So... what I am hearing is that, depending on the child, YES, it is worth it. If I just want to dip my toes in, would I start with Grammar Island or Sentence Island? Plus Practice Island? Or should I add something in like Daily Grams? You would need to do Grammar Island before Practice Island, and most people start with Grammar Island. I believe every schedule I've ever seen has GI listed first. However, after I read through eveything myself before starting, I decided to begin with Sentence Island. My oldest is a whole to parts learner, so it was logical to cover sentences before parts of speech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
km123175 Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 I'll start by saying we're on a budget. We are in the Island level. We thoroughly enjoyed it - especially Sentence Island. My dd asks for each book. We rotate which one we read each day. That said, I don't feel I'm very food at gettin our money's worth because I have a hard time, even with the teacher Gide in the back, turning the lessons into workable writing instruction and practice. I am a writer (of academic research); so, I k ow how to write, but I have a hard time getting it down to the steps. So, I feel like it is very expensive for what I'm doing with it. I also think we probably could have done without grammar island and moved on to the voyage level of grammar because we had already done FLL 1 and 2. I'm still debating about the next level. I think it will really help my daughter understand more complex grammar and paragraph structure. I'm hoping I'm better at using it to implement writing instruction. We've been using MBtP for lit and we have incorporated MCT ideas into those writing assignments. Hope that helps, Kimberly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 Not for us. We have the complete (expensive!) set. I've tried several times and still don't really "get" it. I know a lot of people love it, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 Yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 It's been worth it here. Even with the $50 international shipping. We've only been at it one term, so only used Grammar Island and Building Language so far... but, DD will often sneak Grammar Island off into her room to read on her own - that's generally a good sign (she also did it with Life of Fred and Beast Academy). I've also read ahead a little to Sentence Island and I was having a hard time putting it down - can't wait to get there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Totally worth it. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBJones Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 My DD has learned so much from MCT. We have been using the Level 1-Grammar Island for DD's 4th grade year. It has been one of the BEST homeschool curricula purchases I have made yet. I just received the Level II Grammar Town (Classical Education Edition) for next year. I'm sure it will help make our school year very productive and enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyMama Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 My DS stalks me with his MCT books begging for me to read more! He is sad we're almost finished with the Latin book - his only consolation being I have Music of the Hemispheres waiting on the shelf! Totally worth it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EducatedbyLife Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 If you bought the package options have you been happy with your purchase, for example if you bought the basic package do you wish you had bought the complete package. Or vice versa, if you have bought the complete package do you feel that you could have managed successfully with just the basic. I'm from the UK, and from the samples I have seen so far I really like MCT's method, but not only is the course expensive, so is the shipping...ouch! :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 The basic packages have been fine in both cases (Town and Voyage), for me, and I got them on Ebay for considerably less. I've bought the Search trilogy, the Mud trilogy and the Jefferson and Lincoln books directly from RFP, and yeah, shipping is rough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 If you bought the package options have you been happy with your purchase, for example if you bought the basic package do you wish you had bought the complete package. Or vice versa, if you have bought the complete package do you feel that you could have managed successfully with just the basic. I'm from the UK, and from the samples I have seen so far I really like MCT's method, but not only is the course expensive, so is the shipping...ouch! :huh: I think that the basic package is more than enough; however, I have a daughter who has become so passionate about this program that she really wants her own books without all of those "Mom circles" in them. For her, I'm buying the whole package next level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 We loved using the MCT Island series this year. My son is doing 3rd grade work, and this is our first homeschooling year. Now that I am more familiar with the books, and my son is more comfortable with the open-ended approach, I would probably try to use both Grammar Island and Sentence Island together (back and forth fashion). We started Practice Island right away, filling in the parts we knew and coming back to the partially filled in analysis as we learned new information. Eventually (1/4 of the way through the book or less), we were doing a whole PI exercise at once. It worked well for my son. I have not used the writing yet. He loves the Poetry and the Latin stems. We use Daily Grams along with MCT because my son does not internalize rules very well, and it helps him to practice punctuation, etc. separately in a more cut and dry fashion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I share everyone else's view: we absolutely LOVE MCT! I love hearing how much everyone else is enjoying it as well. The books are so incredibly original and funny. Whoever thought of making word roots interact with each other as characters (in Building Language) or having a fish go in search of sentences, or a duck go looking for paragraphs and finding himself in a street where everything is topsy turvy? The bit where he looks out at the reader intrigued my son no end. Oh, and another favourite: anyone else read 'John Silver and the Vague Abstraction'? It's in Grammar Voyage. Two kids end up on an island where they meet LJS and they correct his grammar. LJS has a 'pet' called the vague abstraction. You should see my son do an impersonation of it! Start with Sentence Island. If you just buy that, perhaps with Sentence Practice, then you can decide from there if you want to continue. 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.