MCT LA users: when?

[strange_girl]

For everyone who uses Michael Clay Thompson language arts...what grade or age did you begin with Grammar Island (the first level)?

 

The more I learn about the program the more I like it (it's visual enough for me, lol). My oldest is very advanced in language, vocabulary, etc. But I don't want to start a rigorous program like MCT before she's ready or before it is intended to be used. Some say 3rd grade, and others go by age. What do you think?

[Mandylubug]

We did it in 4th with my sons. It was easy for them. If you are wanting challenging and on level, 3rd should be just fine. My boys had a good understanding of grammar but it was their least favorite subject, so I chose a "level" down for them so that it would be relaxed and fun. They really loved it. We are doing R&S this school year and will do the next level of MCT the next. 

[strange_girl]

We did it in 4th with my sons. It was easy for them. If you are wanting challenging and on level, 3rd should be just fine. My boys had a good understanding of grammar but it was their least favorite subject, so I chose a "level" down for them so that it would be relaxed and fun. They really loved it. We are doing R&S this school year and will do the next level of MCT the next.

Thanks! Great advice. Anyone else?

[Spy Car]

I was chomping at the bit to start MCT for what seemed like an eternity, in an attempt to impatiently wait until the recommended Third Grade start. But I failed :D

 

I just couldn't take it anymore. We started the summer prior to 2nd Grade (MCT was among the 7th Birthday gifts).

 

Personally, I'm really happy we started "early." My child is pretty fast on the uptake (so that's a factor) but the other thing is the grammar and vocabulary portions of MCT just aren't that hard. In fact, for my child at least, they were simple enough that starting later would have been a detriment (in lacking challenge).

 

Now the Poetry book is a whole different kettle of fish. It is almost unbelievably advanced (and cool), but we treated this wonderful part of the program (especially the sections on formal poetics, like meter) as an "exposure pass."

 

I think you just need to "guess." If you've got a kid that does better when the work is a little more challenging than "easy." then 2nd is not unreasonable. Third is the target grade. And there is plenty in there if a child started grammar (etc) in 4th.

 

Bill

[EKS]

We started in 2nd grade, but I think the most important thing is that your child is reading well when you start.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Funny you should ask . . . Grammar Island just arrived on our doorstep today, and we'll start it on Monday! I'm sure my dd7, 2nd grade, will be fine with GI and SI this year.  I don't know whether we'll advance straight into the Town level in 3rd grade, or wait till 4th.  I will definitely wait a year between Town and Voyage, though, I don't want to hit Voyage till 5th grade at the earliest.  I think Essay Voyage would be wasted on a kid younger than 5th grade.  Literally wasted - some of the classic essays are so cool, but I can't see the typical (even the MCT typical) 8 or 9 year old managing to get their head around  them.

 

I'm thinking we might do Island, then Town, then take a break for a year and do Grammar Land with Killgallon's Sentence Composing for Elementary School, then do Voyage.

 

While I've got a captive audience of Island-users here: what did you guys think of Building Language?  I've seen that it has gotten mixed reviews.  I haven't decided whether to get it or skip it.  Thoughts?

[dancingmama]

I started it with my 4th grader but we hadn't really done a lot of grammar prior. A bit here and there. We are loving it and she always has me retread the stories over and over ( or she reads them out loud).

[Spy Car]

Funny you should ask . . . Grammar Island just arrived on our doorstep today, and we'll start it on Monday! I'm sure my dd7, 2nd grade, will be fine with GI and SI this year. I don't know whether we'll advance straight into the Town level in 3rd grade, or wait till 4th. I will definitely wait a year between Town and Voyage, though, I don't want to hit Voyage till 5th grade at the earliest. I think Essay Voyage would be wasted on a kid younger than 5th grade. Literally wasted - some of the classic essays are so cool, but I can't see the typical (even the MCT typical) 8 or 9 year old managing to get their head around them.

 

I'm thinking we might do Island, then Town, then take a break for a year and do Grammar Land with Killgallon's Sentence Composing for Elementary School, then do Voyage.

 

While I've got a captive audience of Island-users here: what did you guys think of Building Language? I've seen that it has gotten mixed reviews. I haven't decided whether to get it or skip it. Thoughts?

Building Language seems designed to inspire young people to see how words are like a "time-bridge to the past."

 

Thomson uses a limited number of examples to show how English and Spanish are both infused with the legacy of the Latin language. He tries to make the study of words, and their Latin "roots" interesting, and relevant. He is moderately successful here. It appealed to my son. It is a "seed planting" type of book.

 

What is not is "meaty" in the conventional sense. It is not like Ceasar's English in being chocked full of words, roots, and stems.

 

I was happier reading BL in 2nd Grade than in 3rd. It served its limited purpose well. Those who want all their materials to be "meaty" might find BL lacking. I would expect so.

 

I guess this qualifies as a "mixed review." I do think there is room for books like these that don't pay off in the short term (at least in big ways) but that open a child's mind to the value of things in the big picture. Does that make sense?

 

Bill

[Chrysalis Academy]

Building Language seems designed to inspire young people to see how words are like a "time-bridge to the past."

 

Thomson uses a limited number of examples to show how English and Spanish are both infused with the legacy of the Latin language. He tries to make the study of words, and their Latin "roots" interesting, and relevant. He is moderately successful here. It appealed to my son. It is a "seed planting" type of book.

 

What is not is "meaty" in the conventional sense. It is not like Ceasar's English in being chocked full of words, roots, and stems.

 

I was happier reading BL in 2nd Grade that in 3rd. It served its limited purpose well. Those who want all their materials to be "meaty" might find BL lacking. I would expect so.

 

I guess this qualifies as a "mixed review." I do think there is room for books like these that don't pay off in the short term (at least in big ways) but that open a child's mind to the value of things in the big picture. Does that make sense?

 

Bill

 

It does make sense, thank you.  I adore CE, but clearly she's not ready for that.  I don't have to do vocab at all this year, so meaty isn't obligatory, I'm more trying to entice her with an enjoyment for these materials, because she really, really hates workbooks/worksheets and I've assured her that MCT is different . . . so I hesitate to use it if it feels dry or boring, but if it plants seeds, that is a good thing.  She does love language, "big words" and has a phenomenal vocab for a kid her age, so maybe it would appeal.  At this point, I'm really going for appeal - this is my challenging/less compliant child, and I'm still figuring out what works with her!

 

Thanks for the feedback Bill & Wendy.

[LMD]

We started the Island level package when my DD was 7.5, and going into her 3rd grade year (though it would have been 2nd if she were at school).  We're just about finished now - we school Jan - Dec - and have had no problems.  Only have half the Music of Hemispheres and about 25 practice island sentences left.  She has really loved it!

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Do i really need the TM for Building Language, or is the student book fine on its own?  Does the TM have quizzes or anything like the TMs for CE 1 & 2 do?  Just being cheap, wondering if it's worth the extra $5.  If all the TM adds are the "teacher pages" in the sample, I don't need it, I'm familiar with the program (and have memorized the stems with my older dd already  ;) )

[musicianmom]

Island in second with my language-oriented kid. She's doing Town this year, but we're going slowly and will probably take part of 4th grade to finish. She went through Grammar Town fast, but now has a lot of work for tutorial and is preparing for NaNoWriMo, so we're taking things slow. She adores the program, though. Caesar's English is her favorite subject next to Latin.

[MarigoldHS]

started MCT island with my second grader (7 years old) this year and he loves it! its his favorite subject.  he even wants to do it on the weekends.  today i caught him doing the four level analysis on his copy work! i don't know what we will do next year but i would like to continue with MCT if it won't be too difficult for him.

[Soror]

I started ds right after he turned 9(this August). I had thought about trying it earlier but it wasn't in the budget last year and I had read quite often that people who started it earlier ended up having to take a year break b/t some of the higher levels. So far we have finished GI, just started PI and SI and are about 1/3 through the poetry book and it has been all fabulous so far. We could have likely started it last year but I believe he is able to get more out of it this year.

[amyrobynne]

I started this fall with my 9.5 year old 4th grader, although I didn't hear about it until after I'd made my 3rd grade plans last year, so 3rd grade or earlier wasn't really an option.  However, I think I'll wait until 4th grade with my middle son too. Writing isn't the strong suit of either of them (although they were early readers and my oldest thought FLL3 was painfully repetitive last year) and I'm not sure they'd be ready to move straight into Town if I did Island in 3rd grade. This way I feel like I'll be able to go through the levels with them, one after the other.

[BatmansWife]

I will be starting it probably within the week with a 4th grader (we are just finishing up The Sentence Family first). 

 

Do i really need the TM for Building Language, or is the student book fine on its own?  Does the TM have quizzes or anything like the TMs for CE 1 & 2 do?  Just being cheap, wondering if it's worth the extra $5.  If all the TM adds are the "teacher pages" in the sample, I don't need it, I'm familiar with the program (and have memorized the stems with my older dd already  ;) )

 

I got the Basic Homeschool pkg plus the Mud trilogy books.  The pkg only came with the BL teacher's manual.  If it were me and I only had one (which...I do)...I'd want the teacher's manual.  You know how in GI the teacher's manual has the little bubbles of extra words....that's kinda like in BL only it's mostly boxes, sometimes circles, in the corner.  I'll tell you what some of the boxes say that correspond to the student sample pages shown online (so you can decide if you think you need that extra stuff or not):

 

Sample page 6: "The aesthetic side of knowledge is very important.  Emphasize the beauty of the arch.  Often, perfect forms are beautiful." 

 

Sample page 29: "The Romans borrowed the word amphitheater from the Greeks.  Amphi means both; an amphitheater curves around both sides of the audience." 

 

Page 30 sample: "You could almost say that Rome used the arch to conquer the world.  Look at this massive, long bridge.  How impressive." (interestingly, the picture I have is different than the sample on that page). 

 

Page 31:  "Here is the guiding metaphor of this book, the stems make words like stones make arches.  Things are made of pieces." 

 

Page 41:  "Always linger over the first page, thinking about how the stem works in some of the words, and asking the students to think of other examples." 

 

Page 48:  "When we see an aqueduct, we turn and look at it again, it is so impressive.  Respect is like that, we look at the person again, with new admiration". 

 

Page 67:  "By now, students should be able to write their own little stem stories, in which they personify the stems by linking behavior with definition." 

 

At the end of the book is a Teacher Resources section.  Most of it are actually the samples online of the teacher's manual.  Following that are two quizzes. 

 

HTH. 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Thanks, AprilMay!

[Chelli]

I started Island level in 3rd grade with my dd9. It was the perfect age for her.

[Crimson Wife]

DS started "island" at age 6 and took it slowly (in fact we just finished "Practice Island" last week). He is now mostly done with "Grammar Town" and about halfway done with CE1. He isn't ready yet for the writing in "Paragraph Town" so after he finishes "Grammar Town" I'm planning on working through Singapore "Sentences to Paragraphs" books 3 & 4 and then probably Killgallon's "Sentence Composing for Elementary".

 

I'll probably try "Paragraph Town" and "Building Poems" either 2nd semester of 3rd or 1st semester of 4th, but we'll just have to see when he is ready for those.