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Review
from Practical Homeschooling Magazine
Copyright
Home Life, Inc. Used by
Permission.
Mary
Pride - Editor of Practical Homeschooling
Magazine
Web: www.mecssoftware.com/parents.htm. Downloadable demos on site.
Capture a Montessori teacher for your classroom!
Always patient and
Always present, this program is the most elegant and effective
educational computer program I have
ever used. Without
the typical
flashing lights and video
cartoon clips so typical of educational
software, the MECS Software
programs steadily build your child's
understanding and skills in a
number of subjects.
Created by Carol Parker, a Montessori teacher with over 30 years
of
experience, the principles of good instruction are incorporated
within each MECS program. This
means focused lessons with no
distractions and no reward
system to cheapen your child's learning.
The reward is the skill gained itself.
Throughout, you will hear
Carol's calm, encouraging
voice as she teaches your children.
Montessori education stresses the "big picture"
(framework) and
essential topics for each subject, while eliminating excessive
information. Details
are filled in through research. That's
why some
of the programs listed below include a research component.
Of course,
library
books and writing experiences will be part of the rest of
your child's homeschool experience.
Each lesson is presented in the Montessori
three-period format. First
period
presents the nomenclature for several items one at a time as
the child looks at the example on the screen.
For instance, Carol's
pleasant voice might say, "This is
Texas
." The child repeats,
"
Texas
,"
while
viewing a picture of the state of
Texas
. Then two or three more
states are introduced.
Second-period lessons cement this information by giving
multiple choices and
asking, "Point to
Texas
." In this example,
five states might be shown on the
screen, with a list of state names down the side that have to be
moved from the
side of the screen to under the picture.
The third period is where most
programs begin: quizzing children for information by asking,
"What is this?"
while showing a picture of a state. So,
Texas
might be flashed on the screen and
a label is then picked from a large group of names.
These programs invite
"over learning,"
repeating a concept until it is
second nature, a
needed component for long-term retention.
Each
program continues to work through one period until the child can
complete the lesson to perfection.
Students may work a program as
long as they like, and some programs include a certificate that
can
be printed at the completion of the program.
My son Timmy, at age 7,
worked through the
United States
map and regions. He found a
great
deal
of quiet satisfaction working through the three period lessons
to mastery, and enjoyed displaying his newfound knowledge to me.
Phonics the Montessori Way MECS Phonetic
described below, is probably
the most powerful
program for teaching phonics
to young children on the
market. Materials
are color-coded from simple
to complex and brief animations
highlight the many visual memory
aids. Carol
has discovered that children
remember best when
moving colored pictures and sound are enhanced by their
own speech.
So children are asked to repeat the
letter sounds after the
computer. Later, letters are presented kinesthetically so that all
senses are
eventually involved.
I presented an "animated alphabet" lesson to three
preschoolers only
this morning, and they were fascinated with the simple story
sequence
used in presenting each letter and its sound.
This is essential to
retention, as the brain was not created to retain facts but
stories.
Reading
Module 1:
Reading
Module 1 contains:
* The animated alphabet, described above.
* "b-d sort" and "p-q sort"-two lessons to
help children distinguish
between
mirror image letters.
* First letter sounds, last letter sounds, middle letter sounds,
and building
three-letter-words (with clapping)-These
four exercises build "phonemic
awareness,"
the ability to hear each individual sound in a word.
Three
consonants are mastered at a time.
On-screen teaching assistant "Monty
Sory" (get it?) demonstrates
clapping the sounds
within three-letter words to refine the child's exact speech
and enable him to
hear each sound. Monty's
mouth motions
show exactly how each sound
is made.
* The vowel ladder and blends-The "vowel ladder"
introduces children to
vowels and the first hurdle of reading, blending the separate
sounds into
words. The
"window cards" promote speed blending of words. Really
nice are
the
On-Screen
Teacher Boxes that tell you (the
teacher) just what to do at each
point.
* Matching labels-These
moveable labels are just like the moveable alphabet box
in
traditional Montessori schools.
You can find a description of this moveable
alphabet in Montessori's own
handbook, available at most libraries.
Your child
matches labels to pictures of three-letter objects.
Reading Module 2: The
method continues to teach with its "see,
hear,
say, move, say as you
move" approach. Children
advance to four-letter
words and complete the second reading hurdle of blending two
consonants. Digraphs
are introduced with animations, and silent
letters are illustrated.
Reading Module 3: In
this module a terrific animated writing program
leads your children through the steps of correct letter
formation. Oh, how I hate
to teach printing! This
one is really my friend! The long vowels sounds
are
introduced, as are the
final silent e and silent letter digraphs.
Children continue
building words with the on-screen moveable alphabet, which now
includes
these additional word parts.
A word list is added at the end of the module to
promote quick reading.
Reading
Module 4: R-controlled vowels
are introduced through key
animated stories,
and these new phonograms are now included in the
movable alphabet. Vowel
diphthongs such as ew, oo, ou, ue are
introduced and tested, and then later presented in the animated
word
lists in a way that organizes all the spellings under one sound.
In fact the same
70 phonograms used by
Spalding's
Writing Road
to
Reading
are incorporated at
this
level. A
great benefit for students to see how many different spellings can
create the same
sounds.
As a terrific bonus, the screens
can be printed out so that you can make materials
and handouts
for your children.
Reading Module 5: This
module reinforces and extends all the
previous reading modules
Reading
Module 6: Diphthongs
are presented just as in module 4.
Students read the
animated stories in chorus with children's voices on
the
CD-ROM.
As before, printable word lists are provided for hands-on
practice,
and
words can be read and organized under headings for each diphthong.
Geography, Earth Science, & More!
Speed is often not emphasized in
the Montessori approach, but MECS
teaches
concepts in the same relaxed math-anxiety-preventing way and
then adds a little mental
zip.
The Red and Blue Rods. These
rods are used to introduce the quantities
1 to 5
and
6 to 10. They are the first
Montessori math materials
presented to a
student. The rods are
painted in alternating patterns
of red and blue. Students
count and manipulate the on-screen
rods in the same three-period format used
in presenting all materials.
I found that I needed to sit with my preschoolers
because they couldn't quite answer fast enough on their own.
But I didn't mind
spending the time with them to reinforce their learning.
I have plenty of
counting activities in my
classroom that are enhanced by this program.
This lesson is followed by a terrific
yet simple introduction of numeral writing.
The child simply follows a ball moving about a numeral with his
finger. This
ensures proper numeral formation and kinesthetic participation.
The
Golden Bead materials. These
explore the decimal system and
present
1-10-100-1000's places. The online teacher never gets tired of
patiently
presenting and counting with
your child.
The Multiplication Board.
This is a first multiplication lesson.
An
equation appears. The
student places sets of beads on the board in rows to
represent the equation. He
then counts and types his answer.
The "real world"
versions of these boards are
quite expensive, so here using the software
provides a nice savings.
Multiplication Program
The following lessons are incorporated in this program:
* Multiplication as addition
* Commutative law
* Multiplying by 1
* Multiplying by 0
*
2x as adding doubles
* Math Facts
* Math Timings
Addition Facts. Addition
tables are presented and practiced similar
to multiplication.
Telling Time. This
very complete program teaches children to tell
time without the pressure of
timed lessons.
In Period 1, the child learns
how
the hour and minute hands make the time.
In Period 2, the
computer speaks a time and the child picks from between three
clocks
for the correct time. In
Period 3, the child sees a clock and must
identify the
correct
time. Subsequent lessons
introduce the child to half hours, quarter
hours, and so forth. Fractions
are introduced with the clock faces and are
consistent with materials used in the math sections of the
programs. There is a
final mixed random test at the end.
We now move on from math. The
following programs provide an excellent
basis for Earth Science, Astronomy, and Geography for elementary
students.
Even younger children can learn
from and enjoy them.
Discovering Planet Earth.
For ages 4-10, this covers beginning earth
science, geography, and social studies.
All of the following 36 lessons are
presented in the Three-Period format
with on-screen animations and clear
information.
* Land And Water.
This presents the continents and oceans.
* Directions. These lessons present compass coordinates: N, E, S, W.
* Hemispheres.
Names,
meanings, and transitions to flat maps are taught.
* World Map:
Continents. Uses flat map pictures as a transition
from previous
lessons. Students
match continents and oceans with word
labels.
* World Map: Oceans.
*
The Sun. An
introduction to facts about the sun, safety tips,
and an on-screen
animation that demonstrates how sun and earth work together to
make day and
night, and how they make a year.
* Planet Earth. A
presentation of rotation, revolution, seasons
and year. Plus an
on-screen experiment that allows students to play with the idea
of rotation and
revolution.
* Children Around the World. Includes music from around the world and a
lesson on the fundamental needs of people.
* Reading Comprehension. For ages 7 and up, here's an overview and quiz of
all the above material.
Discovering the Solar System.
In Period 1, Mercury, Venus, Earth,
etc. are
shown in order, labeled and placed in their orbits.
Always a
logical sequence
and clutter-free
presentation. In
Period 2, students label the planets with their
correct names. Errors
are corrected and automatically retested.
In Period 3, the
student
must label planets by picking from a list of planet names (harder than
focusing on one name at a time).
This module also includes the following
activities:
* Puzzle. The
student puts the pieces of the puzzle together to
make the planet
and become more familiar with its color and size.
* Rotation and
Revolution. A short
interactive demo allows the student
to
experiment
with rotation and revolution.
* Research. Students are given a short article describing each
planet and a list of
blanks to fill in per planet.
Jurassic
Earth. Every child loves
dinosaurs! In the initial
lessons,
students learn the names, sizes, and supposed evolutionary eras
in
which each dinosaur lived. In
the research component, the student
builds knowledge about each type of dinosaur.
In the puzzle section,
he puts the pieces together to help imprint the physical features
of each species.
*These programs do not
in any way violate Christian principles!
Geography. Montessori
puzzle maps are wonderful.
Where else can you find
children's puzzle maps of all the countries of
Africa
, for instance? And the cost
of actual puzzles would be enormous for all the countries and
their flags. This
part of the software is an
incredible bargain.
Discover
North America
In these lessons, the
student learns the flags of each country and their capital cities.
Territories/provinces of
Canada
are included, as well as cities and flags from
Central America
.
Geography Facts:
The topic titles describe the material:
Name the
U.S.
Capitols, Countries of Europe, Flags of
Europe
, Countries of S.
America
, Flags of S. America, Countries of
Africa
, and
States/Territories of
Australia
. All are taught in the
same quiet,
systematic way
Anatomy of the Horse: In
this early presentation of zoology, the
exterior anatomical nomenclature of the horse, an animal
fascinating to most
children, is taught. The
student is also introduced to breeds of horses, and a
short research section reviews fun facts about horses and the
meanings of color
names.
More Goodies
RM 6 Spelling/Typing: This module promotes
mastery by combining speech,
reading, spelling, and typing skills.
Spelling patterns are color-coded, and
auditory analysis continues through clapping sounds.
The program notes
student errors, and assignments keep pace with the student's
ability.
Puzzle Words/Typing II: A continuation of reading
practice, typing
skills, and auditory analysis of words.
I look
forward to each new program Carol Parker develops.
So far, each of her
programs has been very productive for my
children's learning and a great aid to
my teaching.
The reading program makes a great starting point for the many
writing activities and hands-on materials with which I enhance
it. I found the
math programs teach the basics well and aid in computation speed,
so I have
added them to my normal workbooks.
The earth science, geography,
astronomy, and horse programs nearly stand alone for younger
children, and
have been very useful and vivid introductions to these topics for
my upper
elementary children.
I found I needed to assist my preschool children with the mouse,
reinforcing and pointing and clicking for them until they built
computer skills.
This only requires intermittent attention, because the
online teacher keeps
teaching, though I am often
distracted! MECS
also offers a catalog of hands-on
materials that coordinate with their software.
And if you own or are thinking of
purchasing traditional Montessori equipment from them or any
other supplier,
all of the pictures and colors in the
MECS software programs will coordinate
with those materials.
You will find that the MECS
software delivers exactly what is promised, and if
you have questions or need help, Carol herself has phone hours
available to
gently assist and encourage you in your homeschool teaching.
Very highly recommended. YYYYY
MARY PRIDE SAYS:
All these programs until recently were only sold as
individual modules, at a much higher price.
I talked the people at
MECS into letting PHS readers have them as reviewed above,
at greatly
reduced prices,
to see if a reasonably large number of homeschoolers would
want this software if it were more affordable.
So if these programs sound
good
to you, I
strongly suggest that now is the time to purchase them, as I have
no
idea how long this special offer will last.
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