Can I use MP??

[Kristen Baddeley]

I am pouring over these boards and falling in love with MP! I have been using The Well Trained Mind methods and curriculum from the beginning, but I'm missing something... A richness in ideas and literature. My husband and I are in agreement that we don't think history should be the CENTER of the curriculum, and I've never really taught that way. But I would love to have things more planned out for me at this point, rather than having to tweak and plan things for myself so much.

BUT my kids are in a homeschool group kind of like Classical Conversations but Charlotte Mason-influenced, and I'd like to let that take things off my plate rather than just adding more to our schedule. My kids LOVE this group, so I'm hesitant to leave... You receive a syllabus with work listed for each subject, but they are pretty open to you picking a different curriculum to use at home. Writing assignments, however, need to be done at home and turned in to class.

Can you help me figure out how MP can fit in? What can I combine for them? They're so used to doing things together - Grammar, Latin, WWE, history, read alouds...

My Kids: Grade 5 (age 10), Grade 3 (but he has always kept up or been ahead of brother. Started reading when he was 2 because brother did!), Grade 1 (age 6).

Our co-op will use:
Writing: IEW (Medieval history. Primary Arts of language for the 1st grader.)
Grammar: First Language Lessons 4
Spelling: AAS (I might just stick to our Spelling Workout at home.)
Science: Apologia Astronomy

I'd like to use:
Latina Christiana (1 year or 2?)
Greek Mythology (1 year or 2?)
Literature Guides (pick individually? Combine the 5th and 3rd grader?)
1st Grade Enrichment

I haven't found a way to do Nature Study that gets done at my house, and I'd love to try a MP Natural Studies choose. Maybe this would be overkill? But Apologia can be done independently, while Natural Studies is something I imagine us doing together.

I own Story of the World 3. My kids like it. I'm a little bored. I add in American history read alouds and Stories of Great Americans at the same time, so we don't miss them! (When I look at my choices, I can see how I've been dissatisfied with centering education on the history cycles as prescribed in WTM.) My husband likes SOTW and has said he willI read it to them after dinner ?

I own the Golden Bible. We read it daily and they narrate it. We also memorize lots of poetry and Scripture that I pick out and create a schedule for reciting.

We recently started Beautiful Feet's Geography set with the Hollings books and maps. Again, I was looking to add some beauty to what the WTM offered...



How can I fill in with MP? What can I let go of?? Any thoughts are appreciated!

TIA!

[enbateau]

Yes! It can work for you. We started with SOTW Vol 1 and did a whole year of lapbooking, narrating, and reading almost every book they recommend, even doing their activities like painting a life-sized sarcophagus, Joseph's robe, and a crafting Spartan war helmet. It just wound up being too much with very little retention. To this day, my eldest can't tell me a thing about what she learned. THAT was the problem. MP's gentle focus on deep but meaningful learning drew me in, and ask my daughter anything about what she's learned since last May and she can rattle it all off.

I think you outlined a great plan, especially since you've been given freedom to study an alternative to their basic subjects. The workload is totally doable. For instance, we are in a full MP2 core with Enrichment (plus a preK-SC B for my youngest) and we still read our own Bible chapters each morning, do a separate Bible Study Fellowship study with 12-15 comprehension questions each week, and read 2-5 picture books each night that reinforce topics we've covered. Plus, we belong to a P. E. co-op that cuts out day in half twice a week, but the fellowship is so important to my kids that we just tie up loose ends when we get home...usually the lit guides and some cursive/memory work.

I would definitely put your 10yo in 5th grade science, math, and lit guides (or 6th if this is for next fall) if you're pursuing a college track. It's so much better to have your adjustment year now and lay that good foundation of science, math and literature analysis. You can treat Apologia like a read aloud if they require it, but frankly they'd probably be able to show up for co-op and just enjoy the experiments. We did a full year of WTM science (Elementals), and even that was more fruitful than trying to listen to a book well above her comprehension because it required memorization of animal traits and habitats. It's what made the transition to MP easy, actually. The Tiner books are amazing. I got to put hands on them at a conference, and they are well-written, as are the guides MP published. You won't be disappointed. Finally, consider if you ever want to transition to MP's writing. 4th/5th is about when you'd like to start, and it is so different from most approaches that you might not have the energy to switch much later. Think about it.

Let us know if you do much of MP3. There's a whole group of us starting MP3 or 3A this year. You will have a plethora of support.

[Mom2mthj]

Welcome to MP! Short answer...yes, you can use Memoria Press! Longer answer...you may not fit exactly in a core, but I think you are going to love it. Many here have used WTM and Charlotte Mason and made the switch so you should get plenty of responses.

1st grade...get the first grade package and you are good to go. You might want to check out some of the summer options for reading instruction between K and 1st.. Did your older kids use primary arts of language for reading? I fused it with my third and I feel like it really encouraged guessing and I did not find that it taught phonics very systematically. I liked the writing portion, just be aware of the reading. Some kids will learn with whatever, but if this isn’t one of those kids, just be careful.

3rd grade..3M should work and is a perfect intro to MP. Make sure you have him working on cursive if he hasn’t already started. He can do IEW and spelling at the co-op and either use the included math or whatever math you are currently using. Latina Christiana is included at a two year pace (there is no longer a second level of LC, kids go to first form) as is Greek myths. You might have as much science as you can handle with the co-op.

5th grade...5A I believe has the medieval history literature and history. You would need to swap out Latin.

others will have more ideas.. good luck!

[MamaHill]

I am pouring over these boards and falling in love with MP! I have been using The Well Trained Mind methods and curriculum from the beginning, but I'm missing something... A richness in ideas and literature. My husband and I are in agreement that we don't think history should be the CENTER of the curriculum, and I've never really taught that way. But I would love to have things more planned out for me at this point, rather than having to tweak and plan things for myself so much.

BUT my kids are in a homeschool group kind of like Classical Conversations but Charlotte Mason-influenced, and I'd like to let that take things off my plate rather than just adding more to our schedule. My kids LOVE this group, so I'm hesitant to leave... You receive a syllabus with work listed for each subject, but they are pretty open to you picking a different curriculum to use at home. Writing assignments, however, need to be done at home and turned in to class.

Can you help me figure out how MP can fit in? What can I combine for them? They're so used to doing things together - Grammar, Latin, WWE, history, read alouds...

My Kids: Grade 5 (age 10), Grade 3 (but he has always kept up or been ahead of brother. Started reading when he was 2 because brother did!), Grade 1 (age 6).

Our co-op will use:
Writing: IEW (Medieval history. Primary Arts of language for the 1st grader.)
Grammar: First Language Lessons 4
Spelling: AAS (I might just stick to our Spelling Workout at home.)
Science: Apologia Astronomy

I'd like to use:
Latina Christiana (1 year or 2?)
Greek Mythology (1 year or 2?)
Literature Guides (pick individually? Combine the 5th and 3rd grader?)
1st Grade Enrichment

I haven't found a way to do Nature Study that gets done at my house, and I'd love to try a MP Natural Studies choose. Maybe this would be overkill? But Apologia can be done independently, while Natural Studies is something I imagine us doing together.

I own Story of the World 3. My kids like it. I'm a little bored. I add in American history read alouds and Stories of Great Americans at the same time, so we don't miss them! (When I look at my choices, I can see how I've been dissatisfied with centering education on the history cycles as prescribed in WTM.) My husband likes SOTW and has said he willI read it to them after dinner ?

I own the Golden Bible. We read it daily and they narrate it. We also memorize lots of poetry and Scripture that I pick out and create a schedule for reciting.

We recently started Beautiful Feet's Geography set with the Hollings books and maps. Again, I was looking to add some beauty to what the WTM offered...



How can I fill in with MP? What can I let go of?? Any thoughts are appreciated!

TIA!

Hi Kristen! Welcome!

Our family has used MP Latin for years, but we finally jumped to full cores this year after using WTM methods for 8+ years. It has been a breath of fresh air.

So would you start next year? That would put your older two at 6th grade and 4th grade?

If so, that's where we have jumped in with two of my girls - both 4th and 6th this year. Here's what we chose to do in terms of combining:

I combined my older girls for Greek Myths and Christian Studies I. I also combined them for Composition, using Fable the first semester and Narrative the second. Next year, my older girl will move on to Chreia/Maxim and my younger will circle back through Fable and Narrative again. I did this composition combining for my own sanity, but it was definitely not the best fit for my 4th grader.

I chose not to combine my girls for Literature because 1) My younger girl tends to default to my older girl for answers. She doesn't want to think through issues/situations herself despite being incredibly bright. She needs to stand on her own merits here. 2) My oldest girl needed to move on to more mature concepts of Lit and writing. She would have felt held back using the younger Lit choices. The 6M list has been wonderful for her! It's pushed her at just the right pace.

I held back a long time from MP because I just couldn't fathom teaching them separately. In our first year experience with cores, I needed to ease into this method for my own sake. Next year, my younger girls will combine for Mammals only and I'll keep them all in Christian Studies II, since we all love our Bible time in the mornings. Everything else will be in their own cores.

Others will have much more seasoned advice regarding MP, but I wanted to encourage you that after spending years with WTM methods, this has been an enormous blessing to our family and homeschool.

Lauren

[Kristen Baddeley]

Thank you so much for your responses! To clarify, their grades NEXT year will be Grade 5, Grade 3, and Grade 1. We've never used Primary Arts of Language, my 1st grade DS will be using it next year for Writing in his co-op. I use The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading, and it's going well, so I think I'll just stick with the Language Arts we are used to and our co-op will be using, for now, apart from Literature Guides. (Let me know if you recommend something else, though.)

Do I combine read alouds at all for their ages - not literature guide selections, but others? It sounds like I could combine Latin, Greek Myths, and Christian Studies. But science should be separate? The idea of so much being separate is a big change, but I understand the reasoning behind doing it that way.

Another question: How much of their work is done independently in Grades 5 and 3, and how much of the time do I teach it or sit and do it with them?

Your responses are so encouraging and help me feel even better about going with MP.

[enbateau]

We have everything for 3A, so I'll speak to what we're doing. For the read-aloud novels in MP3, we're doing them over the summer. We bought and shelved the picture books to read as they are sporadically assigned. Most are Greek Mythology. We're also reading the American Studies supplementary novels over the summer. We've already read a few: Cabin Faces West, Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Most of these are NOT available at the library, but they are SO SO good. I bought the guide to go with them but haven't used it yet.

As for the Lit Guides, MP recommends a paired/discussion approach where you help the student answer questions at least orally in complete sentences, having him copy what you come up with together until he feels competent to answer alone with proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. We're about 5 weeks from the end of MP2, and I frequently let my DD do the comprehension questions on her own. She reads the chapter aloud to me (20-ish min), then I stay nearby while she works independently (10-20 min). It takes her about 5 minutes to write synonyms for new vocabulary. MP3 LGs also have quotes to attribute. Go over them in advance and let him underline them as he reads.

For Latin, we do 10-15 min of review at the start of each lesson. Monday, I teach the new part of speech/conjugation/declension and vocabulary. She copies her words. It's 35-40 minutes max (many less than that). Aside from reciting prayers together, T-Th she copies her words alone, does flashcards alone, and sometimes* does workbook pages alone. Quizzes and tests take more time, and there is a lot more parent time reviewing on test weeks (every 5 lessons). LC is meant to be a teach-led class, so I stay available even if she wants to work independently, esp if it's their first year in Latin.

Christian Studies and Greek Myths are supposed to be a once-a-week class in 3A, but the maintenance is built into daily recitation (or review box) and the occasional picture book read aloud. I don't know how it's scheduled in MP3 at a 2-year pace. FWIW, we are doing maintenance of the 39 books of the OT, the 12 signs of the Zodiac in alphabetical order, the 12 gods of Olympus, the 12 tribes of Israel and a few scriptures by reciting them every 3-4 days. I'm hoping that enables us to work on spelling alone next year. The main work of CS1 is memorizing the plagues, OT books & tribes in order, and some "who was it?" people of the OT matching.

Are you doing States & Capitals? That's another 1-day a week class that gets its own daily review outside of "class time." Astronomy is also a 1-day-a-week class that is so fun. It's main meat is memorization of constellations, asterisms and bright stars. Mammals in MP3, like a lit guide, can be done independently after you see him writing clear, concise answers with proper capitalization, punctuation and spelling.

[Kristen Baddeley]

Okay I have a couple remaining questions, for anyone who can help.

1.) If I am planning on doing math, writing and possibly spelling separate from MP plans, do I buy the full curriculum guide still, or just individual lesson plans by subject?

2.). For starting Grades 5 and 3 who really work at very similar levels at this point, do I combine science? Or just Christian Studies and Greeks? If combined, which Science curriculum would you recommend or not recommend for their ages?

3.) We did Prima Latina this year. Do I take 2 years for LC and Greek Myths, or 1 year??

[enbateau]

I might be tempted to get a 3A curriculum guide to do LC, Christian Studies and Greek Myths at a 1-year pace (combined) and then do Astronomy for the 3rd grader (plans are already in 3A CG) and either Insects or Birds & History of Medicine for the 5th grader. What would put me over the edge for a 5M manual would be if you wanted to do all the 5M lit guides, Insects AND all the read-alouds and supplemental history books. Otherwise, I'd just get lesson plans for 5th grade science and lit guides.