Michael Clay Thompson

MICHAEL CLAY THOMPSON is the author of thirty books of language arts for gifted children, including The Word Within the Word series, Caesar’s English, The Magic Lens series, a series of six books about poetics, and other texts designed to provide the most challenging and appropriate language arts texts for high ability learners. Michael’s books are available from Royal Fireworks Press, and we’re pleased to also announce that Royal Fireworks Press is an Exhibitor at this year’s convention!

At this year’s convention, on Thursday evening, Dr. Tom Kemnitz of Royal Fireworks Press will present an introductory session on using the MCT curriculum.

MICHAEL CLAY THOMPSON will then be presenting two (2) times on Friday and two (2) times on Saturday. The Friday sessions will be GRAMMAR and VOCABULARY. The Saturday sessions will be POETICS and WRITING. The exact times and locations for these sessions will be on the final schedule of Speakers, Topics & Times that will be posted on our website.

What homeschoolers say about Michael Clay Thompson

…the books encourage depth, sensitivity, and reflection

…my favorite resources

I have never been so excited to start a curriculum…

• I find that the Michael Clay Thompson books are so useful that I go back year after year for review and to get new ideas even after we’ve finished a book. It would be impossible to put a price on what we’ve gained from the series. I only wish all the materials I’ve bought over the years were as useful as MCT! – - Elizabeth Pyle Ross, homeschooling parent.

• The interest in words and what they mean has really shot up in our household…Thank you for not dumbing down. – - Julie from Texas

• I haven’t bothered with much Language Arts with my son because so many materials make me nervous and I can’t bear putting my son through that. And then came Michael Clay Thompson with his wonderful materials and the scales fell from my eyes and now we are a family of language lovers. We cuddle up on the couch and read them together like bedtime stories (sometimes in the morning). We both really dig them. Fun is had by all. – - A Homeschooling Parent

• These are my personal favorite resources for grammar, vocabulary, and etymology (word roots), as well as introductory studies of poetry and philosophy… – - Julie Shepherd Knapp, owner of the Homeschool Diner resources website

• We have found these Michael Clay Thompson books to be our favorite things to read together. We have so few books written for the erudite learner that we simply enjoy them. – - Miriam, Homeschooling Parent, Maryland

• I just received Paragraph Town, Essay Town and the corresponding workbooks. I have never been so excited to start a curriculum, probably because I can see many areas where I can learn with my daughter. I also bought Classics in the Classroom. I am astounded at Thompson’s ideas. I have thought for a very long time that we should be approaching literature education in a different manner and Classics in the Classroom seems to be the way to go. I promised my daughter that we wouldn’t start something new until this summer, but I don’t know if we can wait. She has already read the first three chapters of Paragraph Town in anticipation! – - Britta S on the MCTLA Yahoo Group

• I find the materials extremely rich and imaginative. The language is just such a treat. Thanks, Michael, for your work and dedication to providing appropriate and beautifully crafted materials for our special students. – - Connie Bernard, BA English Literature: founder of the Yahoo homeschoolers’ discussion forum for Michael Clay Thompson, MCTLA

I think what makes this a gifted curriculum, and not merely a speeded-up curriculum, is not just more stuff at a faster pace-the books encourage depth, sensitivity, and reflection as well. – - Shaun Strummer, PhD English, editor, and homeschooling parent