Disclosure: Complimentary Product Received.
I will say right off, I was looking forward to doing this review. Parents of Gifted Children are first and f oremost, usually scholars themselves. We consort and advise each other on the best resources available for our children in small, closeted education groups as if we are mapping out the plans for the continuation of life itself. There is no limit to the amount of money or time spent to ensure our little Einsteins learn absolutely everything – correctly and completely – the first time around. And in those very circles, the fabled name of Royal Fireworks Press, Michael Clay Thompson (MCT) Curriculum, reigns supreme.
If you’ve read this far, don’t worry, I’m not going to lose you. But you will need to pay close attention. When a curriculum says they are “Publishers for Gifted and Talented Children since 1977”, you better believe you need to bring your teaching “A” game. The first full level of MCT – Island, is created to make your child a writer. The emphasis is high on the academics of ELA, but not so much on grades. Don’t expect workbooks full of questions with multiple choice answers – MCT is a discourse on language with a solid foundation of grammar and a significant amount of writing. This elementary course feels like a college class. My first peek at the course materials gave me heart palpitations.
With the complete level, you get Grammar Island, Building Language, Sentence Island, Practice Island, and The Music of Hemispheres which focuses on Poetry. You’ll receive both the Teacher Guide and Student Books for each section. These are not your typical Teacher Manuals. Do not expect to read verbatim from the book. There is no script. You use the manual to understand what your child will be working on and from there hold a Socratic seminar to discuss. For most parents of gifted learners, we do this anyway. It’s the long rabbit holes we go down when our kid asks his 200th question of the day. So eschewing the typical elementary class setup for a home think tank isn’t that far fetched when you look at it.
The student book is made to be consumable. Writing in the books is encouraged and the price points of those books are kept on the lower end because of it. Besides the Curriculum you are also provided with the Literature needed for the Level. You’ll find three books and a Parent Manual, for the Mud Trilogy by Michael Clay Thompson. The purpose of these books are to prepare the child to continue on to master works of literature, in both their tone and literary elements. If you’re still fearful at this point in the review, I’m getting ready to give you relief. This curriculum, though composed for gifted children is indeed FOR CHILDREN. The accompanying novels are about a main character named Mud the Fish who has adventures with animals on Sentence Island. The story is absolutely captivating – even for the parent.
There is a lot to digest in this curriculum and the hardest to swallow element is figuring out where to start. I suggest you read the pamphlet that comes with the curriculum. A few pages in you’ll find a 28-week lesson plan ready and waiting for you along with a short suggested chronology for tackling the material. If you accidentally discard or misplace it, Royal Fireworks Press offers a plethora of support and guidance right on their website. You’ll even find printable assessments for Grammar Island.
Here are your Quick Notes for adding MCT Level 1 – Island, to your routine.
1. Your children should be reading to learn at this point. Vocabulary and language are definitely accelerated but it is manageable.
2. Start with Grammar Island before beginning any other parts of the curriculum. It’s written to give the child the ability to pick up on its nuances quick enough to use them within a short period of time.
3. When you finish the Parts of Speech in Grammar Island, You can add in the Vocabulary in Building Language.
4. Start Practice Island when you complete Grammar Island. Try to complete three sentences each week from the one hundred sentence book. Use these for morning work, discussion, or additional practice.
5. At the same time, begin Sentence Island. Everything in writing begins with writing a good sentence and this book will make sure your kids have a good foundation for it.
6. Sentence Islands ends with prepping your student for The Music of Hemispheres which highlights Poetics.
7. Don’t forget about the Mud Triology. It may not be the official recommendation, but we saved it for our nightly bedtime stories.
8. Lastly, take your time. The week by week breakdown is suggested but not mandated. These are in-depth lessons meant to be comprehended well. Go deep and slow down if necessary.
We are only at the precipice of this exciting journey into language education. I sincerely hope this review gives you the courage to take this leap into the world of Royal Fireworks Press, Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts with us.
A sincere Thank You goes out to Royal Fireworks Press and Melanated Gold Review Squad for allowing us the opportunity to enjoy this piece of language arts curriculum nirvana.
Want to see more levels of MCT or other products offered by Royal Fireworks Press? Find them online at http://www.rfwp.com
For this specific level of MCT, Island : https://www.rfwp.com/series/mct-english-language-arts-curriculum-level-1-the-island-level#book-grammar-island-1
@Mamasweetbaby 
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