Hold me please! (very long & whiney, wherein Anne loses it!)

[bluedotsmom]

I believe I have made an expensive mistake & could use some other perspectives, please. We have not done any formal grammar/writing so far.

I bought Levels 1, 2 and 4 of MCTs grammar, full packages (& extra copies of 4 for my middle girl.) :doh http://www.rfwp.com/pages/michael-clay-thompson/

I read and read and read reviews & they all did say they needed parental involvement. I've found schedules for each level (bless the mommas to did that) but I am not sure we can do this! I WOH F/T and DH is home.

I love everything I read about MCT, I love the books, I love everything but I've been scared to even try and start! If anyone has used MCT, I'd love to hear what you think.

Do I just give it a shot and see how it goes or give up right now & find something simple??? Have you ever given up on something before you start?? I have never been so unsure of myself (of course, I've never spent so much money at one time on curriculum.) :-/

Bless you for reading this far & I am open to advice, concerns, pats on the head, chocolate, etc... :giggle

p.s. - this is why I need to stay away from the WTM forums...they make me feel inadequate. :shifty

[mamacat]

Can you look at the curricula again with the idea of tweaking and modifying it to work for you and your dc? I have had to give myself permission to do that and not feel chained or obligated to doing/using each and every part of it.For ex. when I used 100 Easy Lessons stopped using the writing section at all. Also might be helpful to find some online grammar printouts for your dh and dc to use that have each part of grammar listed and then examples of each that they can refer to

[forty-two]

:hug I haven't used MCT, but I've researched the heck out of it, too :giggle, and have two of the poetry books (which are awesome :tu), so I'll throw out some ideas in the hopes they might be useful.

First, I'm guessing you had a plan for how you'd fit in MCT, right? So is there a concrete reason why that plan will no longer work? Or is it just that you're now feeling intimidated :hug?

Second, do you *want* to make it work - overcome intimidation and any practical problems - or do you want "permission" to quit?

Third, you picked MCT for a reason - having seen it in person, are those reasons still valid? Will it do what you want it to do? And if so, how badly do you still want to do it?

Because if you really want to do it, I bet you can find a way to make it happen :yes. But if you feel that it's somehow not worth it anymore, no amount of troubleshooting and problem-solving will work, because you don't really *want* to do it anymore.

In any case, I'd start looking at what changed - the facts on the ground (what it does, how it does it, the time you can devote to it), and/or your feelings about the facts - and go from there. Once you know what the problems are, it'll be easier to solve them :hug.

[mamacat]

And stop visiting the forums! I have a science curric. have used for yrs that my older ds loves and my younger dd also loves reading but it is very copy work heavy and redundant as far as unit questions and pretests and study guide questions and vocab. defintions and pre and post experiment sheets.My older son learned so much from the text and enjoyed it but we just had him read the text and then used the test as sort of an open book review for all of the material he had covered in that unit.He didnt do experiements but read through each and the outcomes. My dd was asked to do a homeschool coop using that same curric. but they have them do each and every thing and it has become something she dreads and the focus has shifted to getting all of the paperwork done rather than how amazing the things are that she reads in the text which is why we arent going to do the coop after break.

[bluedotsmom]

mamacat & forty-two, thank you so much!!!!

1. I will stay away from the WTM forums :)

mamacat - it is so interesting how differently one curriculum can be used! Part of my issue with MCT, I think, is that I decided I need to get the entire dadburn levels!!! I COULD have just started with one piece. :doh

forty-two - I :heart MCT so much & I believe that language we read, write and speak is so critical to all learning. I DO want to make it work, but I have to be completely honest with myself that part of me wants permission to quit. :shifty I have already talked with my girls about our school year restarting next week, so MCT will be part of this new adventure.

I just this moment had an epiphany!!! I don't have to start with my son right now! I can work with the girls starting January, see how it goes and blend him in next fall!! [breathing room] :phew

I also know that part of my general panic is that my oldest will technically be 9th grade next year, high school. :nails

Thank you ladies for your kind, calming words.

[mamacat]

My ds is a senior this yr. :jawdrop I also felt overwhelmd at first by the HS yrs but if you can get ahold of the credits/courses needed for highschool in your state with the codes for each it makes it less daunting.And know that beyond that it can look like whatever you choose to - at least in our state. For example - he needs a .5 chemistry credit this year but it doesnt have to involve being in a lab.He is reading his way through a book called Exploring the World of Chemistry by John Tiner.Love his books BTW. He also does some things online like games/quizzes working with periodic tables and that kind of thing.That is how he learns best.

[bluedotsmom]

Thank you!