I admit right here upfront that I am NOT a structured person by nature. A careless, clumsy attitude throughout life left me married with children to homeschool and a heavy burden to try to make it happen with no skill at all in the areas of organization and structure. So when I began reading about the Madsen Method, I knew it would be something helpful and hard. Nearly impossible and yet necessary. Madsen is very structured. Completely scripted. There’s room for a little flexibility but the Madsen’s stress the importance of preserving the integrity of the program. (with good reason, I have learned.)
English for Life – the Madsen Method is a “complete (nothing else to buy), non-consumable, fully scripted, teacher’s English language arts study guide (all the student needs is paper and pencil). Using our non-graded, non-age-specific guide, you will teach all of English in 6 to 8 years. You will lay the complete speaking and spelling foundation necessary for self-study in the first 3 to 4 years, teaching yourself and all your children what other language arts programs (philosophies) do not, even cannot, teach in 12+ years!”
As with any curriculum there are a ton of questions in the beginning. The Madsen’s provide an enormous amount of supportive material for teaching instruction. Most homeschooling mamas have a tendency to just dive right in, skimming the instruction material. Then there are the select few who actually enjoy reading through the entire manual. With Madsen, I’d say both are wrong. Whaaa? you say. Well, with Madsen it is very important to read the instructions in the manual, but don’t just stop there. Read the notes in the sidebars. Read the tutorials in the appendix. Listen to the Learning CDs. And one of the BEST helps the Madsens provide is the Letters to Teachers on their website. If you’re stumped about something, I can almost guarantee the answer to your dilemma has been covered in Letters to Teachers. And if all else fails, Joe and Sharon are just a phone call away. They love receiving calls! They are beyond thrilled to help you!
Madsen Method begins with the very basics. I started from the beginning with all my little ones, from age 10 all the way down to age 5. It was slow go at first and yes, there were tears. The rigid structure was quite new to us and it took a while to get used to. It’s a fact – people do not like change. My family is no exception, but within a short while, we all adapted. Learning how to learn is a whole new concept and is exactly what the Madsen Method teaches. This is why it is so important to stick with it. There is a great temptation to just skip ahead over this seemingly useless rigmarole. But let me tell you, if you remove a foundation the structure will not stand and this applies to Madsen Method just as it applies to architecture. You are teaching your children (and most likely yourself too!) how to learn. There is so much research and information available on this topic that I dare not try to explain it in a measly blog post. Visit the Madsen’s website and you’ll find some information there, plus links to some very helpful resources.
We are now moving on to section 4 in our Part 1 of the Madsen Method. Sections 1 – 3 were a bit of a slow go (or at least, it felt that way.) It’s hard to see the progress or even the sense of it some days. But after getting through section 3, I am so glad we stuck with it. The perseverance has paid off. I truly feel like we’ve accomplished a ton and we’ve only just covered writing English numerals. I know what you’re thinking. “How can you possibly say this has been a good use of time when your ten year old is just now writing numerals??!!” Yes my ten year old had been taught to write numerals at a much younger age and we are covering it all again. But it’s different this go around. He’s learned so much more than just how to copy letters. You really must read through the Madsen’s website and use the program to fully understand. And remember this is a program that will be completed in 6 to 8 years. We are still on target here.
Our lessons have picked up speed quite a bit lately for a couple reasons. 1. My five year old is now doing the Madsen Method at a separate time. She needs more time to fully complete and understand the program than the others who are 7, 9 and 10 years old. Her and I now work together on our own and this actually saves more time than it uses! 2. The basics of sections 1 – 3 have prepared the kids so well. It’s like riding a bike or learning to knit or even addition. Your first attempts always take a little longer than they should. But before you know it, you’re flying! This has been our Madsen experience in a nutshell.
We will continue to use Madsen Method throughout our kids schooling. I only wish I had know about it sooner. But all in His time, I know.
I do recommend the Madsen Method. I beg of you – take the time to read through the information presented on the Madsen’s website. Give the program a try. DO IT TO A TEE. And at section 4, email me and let me know what you think.
Now for some product information. The complete program is broken down into 4 parts – each part costing $299.95, though home educators receive a 30% discount. You can purchase the program at the English for Life – the Madsen Method website.
Part One teaches students…
…to position the body, the writing arm’s wrist and hand, and the pencil and paper; the five jobs of the non-writing hand; the importance of the pencil holder; the best way to train one’s brain—the Backup System of Learning; the paper’s physical features; the eight mapping checkpoints and ten explicit Writing How-to’s for beautiful penmanship; to name, describe, draw and read the ten English Numerals; to name, describe, draw and read the lower case and Capital Forms of the twenty-five stand-alone single–letter English Phonograms; to name, describe, draw and read the lower case and Capital Forms of the English Alphabet (except q and Q); to solve writing errors and practice problems; to rehearse with the teacher and with a group; to practice in three ways: the Introductory Way (Initial Practicing Method), the Automatic Way (Intermediate Practicing Method), the Totally Automatic Way (Mastery Practicing Method); to identify four kinds of sounds: voiced, unvoiced, staccato, fermata; to discern sequences of sounds in spoken words (Game: Sound Off!); to say, write and read one-syllable words from dictation (Game: Base Boss); to identify English words that do not conform to official sound/symbol expectations (Speaking-for-Spelling Challenge Words and Houdini Words); to repeat complete sentences; to say, write and read complete sentences from dictation; to discern sentences that state a fact, ask a question and show strong feeling; to correctly use the period, question mark and exclamation point; to orally identify, then spell and read rhyming words and to compose oral poetry (Game: Poet’s Privilege); to orally change one sound in a word, then say, write and read the new word (Game: Sink the Sound); to use a Bar Graph for recording performances; self-evaluation; to practice and reference studied concepts through class chart-making and by beginning personal Notebooks: a Phonics Notebook and a Vocabulary Words Notebook (students will add to Notebooks through Part Four); to summarize and review information; test-taking.
This is where you will start. All parts must be completed in order to purchase the next. The Madsens are truly dedicated to the students using their program. You are required to mail in Teacher Report cards at the end of the sections. When you are ready to purchase Part 3 or 4, you must speak with the Madsens about doing so. A child’s success is their #1 priority and I know this is at least part of why they want to keep so much control over the usage of the program. I fear this will be a deterrent to some people in using the Madsen Method but it is a great benefit to have personal attention, instruction and care while teaching. I do hope that you will take a good look at the program and try it out. I am so very thankful we did. : )
I’ll continue with my Madsen updates as we progress. I hope these updates will be a source of encouragement along your own Madsen Method journey.
-Sara O’