bnwhitaker Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 I am beginning to think that because of the way I learn some curriculum seems better to me than others. So if you caught on to the "Im learning" part I think that is the problem. Grammar is something I'm learning with my littles since I don't know any of it. We have been using Shurley 1 almost to Shurley 2 and I'm pretty sure my littles are learning well and the curriculum is good. But it really doesn't seem very straight forward to me. I seen many people posting about MCT Island so I bought it. We began to read through it just to supplement. Its great to me. It seems to make so much sense. It seems more simple than Shurley at least to me. Like why didn't they just tell us at the beginning of shurley, "there are this many parts of speech and these are what they are"?? Anyway does this make sense? Do you think its because I learn more the MCT way myself? So I posted a separate question about when others started there children using MCT Island. I was thinking I could go over that to kind of give a foundation for my Kinder before 1 grade when we do shurley I was so surprised to see that almost all began there children at 7-10 with MCT. Does anyone have any wisdom for me :)? Also a side note....... When I go to write in a post it wont let me use the return button to begin a new line? Does anyone know what I need to push to get this back to normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 It makes sense that you would learn a certain way and get on better with MCT. :) Some kids need a very slow progression with lots of repetition, and some kids need to get to the point. So grammar curriculum will be all over that spectrum. Also, as an adult, you don't have the mind of a young child, where everything falls out if not repeated and repeated and repeated. ;) People usually start MCT at ages 7-10 because the Island level was designed for "gifted 3rd graders". That doesn't mean you can't use the program earlier, of course! But your K or 1st grader may not get into it like an older child would. Also, the MCT program incorporates grammar, writing, poetry, and vocabulary. While the grammar book is accessible to younger students, the writing, poetry, and vocab may be above the average K or 1st grader. So many like to wait until they can use the whole program together, since it was designed to be used that way. Of course, it's perfectly fine to not use something as it was intended. ;) You might want to look at Grammarland, which is a free thing on Google Books, and I think there is even a free audio of it on Librivox? That goes over the parts of speech in a fun way. My biggest piece of advice though is... Don't fret too much over grammar for K and 1st grade. :) Most elementary grammar programs repeat and repeat and repeat every single year. It's really not important to learn the grammar in 1st grade. I would just make sure it's solid by around 4th or 5th grade, as in 6th grade, the grammar programs change and don't repeat as much. In fact, with my oldest, if I could go back and do it again, I'd just wait until 2nd grade and start him in a 3rd grade grammar program at that point. I may end up doing that with my youngest, who is similar in the reading/language department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Really, I wouldn't worry about teaching grammar concepts until at least 3rd grade. Just get them reading well and enjoying it. Re: the problem with not being able to use the "enter" key, if you're using Internet Explorer, try a different browser like Firefox or Chrome (both free). See thread below: Apparently there was an update recently so IE in conjunction with some forums has problems with the enter key. I switched to Firefox and now no problems! http://forums.welltr...ost-or-message/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnwhitaker Posted May 12, 2013 Author Share Posted May 12, 2013 That makes sense about using the WHOLE MCT program. We would only be "reading" through the grammar book. Ive thought about jumping in with shurley at a later age but the problem for me is Im not sure how to teach all the things a child would need to know from the 1st and 2nd grade books. Or I would have to switch to a completely different program? Ugg. So many people use FLL maybe I should look into that ? But I do like Shurley? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 That makes sense about using the WHOLE MCT program. We would only be "reading" through the grammar book. Ive thought about jumping in with shurley at a later age but the problem for me is Im not sure how to teach all the things a child would need to know from the 1st and 2nd grade books. Or I would have to switch to a completely different program? Ugg. So many people use FLL maybe I should look into that ? But I do like Shurley? I don't know how Shurley is set up, but almost every elementary grammar program repeats everything from the beginning each year, so if you pick up a grade 3 program, it starts with the basics - what is a sentence, parts of a sentence, what is a noun, what is a verb, etc. It moves through it faster than a 1st or 2nd grade program, but it still starts at the beginning. Maybe a Shurley user will chime in and let us know if it's also set up that same way. I don't think you need to change programs if you like what you're using. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnwhitaker Posted May 12, 2013 Author Share Posted May 12, 2013 Yes I do hope someone will chim in and tell us :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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