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MFW Adventures or Sonlight Core A, B or C


garness
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I received Sonlight cores a, b, c (a few years old, but think this is what they are called now) free from a friend. She used them for first, second and third grade for her girls.

I think the core a would be fun for my younger daughter, who is 4, starting next year.

My older daughter is 7 and will be second grade.

For first grade we did a hodgepodge of stuff I put together, I was very unorganized and I want something more planned out for me for next year.

My question is this: I had my heart set on used MFW adventures for her for next year. I like that is a US history study and that music, art and science are included. I already have an idea for math and LA.

The sonlight cores b and c have so many great books, but its two years of world history as an overview. It feels like a lot of reading and not so much help with hands on stuff. Also I wonder if I could use them for grade 3-4?

Just wondering what to do, because I feel like if I get MFW, that I will really like it and want to stay with it.

I would like to keep the sonlight and use it eventually, but she asked me to keep the cores intact and give them to someone else if I wasn't going to use them. I feel like that means If I am not going to us them as our core curriculum, that I should give them to someone else.

I could use the money savings, of course, but we could afford the MFW adventures package.

What would you do?

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I think if you want to read the books in sonlight and can keep them nice enough to pass on, you don't have to use the instructor's guide if you don't like it.

 

Also, there are CD ROMs on the website with activity ideas for the cores now - so you could buy one of those to give you activities to go with what you read (I'm sure some books have changed but probably not too many).

 

I have only used core A (K) and will be using B (1) this coming year. Unless your daughter is very very advanced, she would likely enjoy doing the first core and your younger daughter could tag along. My then 5 and 3 year olds did core a. Of course my older child got more out of some of it, but my younger enjoyed the stories. I could also see how lots of the books could be discussed and understood on a higher level with older children as well.

 

So, if I were you and got 3 free SL cores, I would personally:

use the first (give it a try!),

find math and language arts to fit each child, and

thank that friend profusely :)

 

I still need to figure out how to properly thank the person who shared their SL core with me. I did thank them initially, but I feel like now that we have really enjoyed it I want to thank them again!

 

HTH

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It sounds like hands on activities are important to you. MFW has a lot of hands on activities, and SL doesn't schedule them in those cores (they may now, but they didn't in the older IGs).

 

I have always been one, if I can afford it, to put the curriculum choice above the cost. It sounds like you really do want to do MFW, so it makes sense to me that you would do so and not be swayed by your friends offer.

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I wouldn't use Core A for the 4yo alone. She might enjoy the stories, but wouldn't get much out of some of the harder ones like Twenty and Ten, Apple and the Arrow, or Mary on Horseback. They are great books that led to some great discussions with my oldest at 6yo. I'm getting ready to do it again with ds6.

 

Since you have all three of the younger cores, you could go through Core A with both (letting the 4yo go along for the ride) at whatever pace suits your 2nd grader and move on to Core B when finished. When your 4yo gets to be around 6, you can decide if combining is working for you or repeat those cores again solely for her.

 

I'm doing Core C with my oldest now and we have really been enjoying the two years through World History. I've learned A LOT!

 

You could add these packages for more hands-on. They are designed specifically to go with each SL Cores.

http://www.handleonthearts.com/cart/handson-activities-c-24.html

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I think if you want to read the books in sonlight and can keep them nice enough to pass on, you don't have to use the instructor's guide if you don't like it.

 

 

 

I think this is an excellent idea.

 

Here is my personal experience. I used Core B (1) with Rebecca for her second grade year. I used it as written and it bored the tears out of both of us. She's still traumatized from CHOW. She needs hands on activities.

 

Switched to MFW Adventures and used it for both girls, grades 1 and 3. LOVED it! Rebecca was much happier, adored the activities, and got a lot more from it. Sylvia did very well with it too. They're both excited for ECC.

 

Just my 2 cents! If you want activities, MFW is the better choice IME.

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I add activities to SL Cores. This last year we did Core B with SOTW and SOTW AG activities. It was wonderful! I added in picture books from SOTW AG and did a few activities here and there when we wanted to. I replaced some of the CHOW readings with SOTW too, as we liked SOTW better. If the CHOW readings were something we already covered in SOTW, we would skip it. We had a wonderful year.

 

The base of books in SL fits us, and its easier for me to add in activities we like instead of possibly something we don't like being scheduled in something else and then me feeling bad for not doing it as scheduled.

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I'd use MFW Adventures first. We did use it and loved it. I think it would be easier to have your 4 year old tag along on this too. The books are just more suited for younger children.

 

Then I'd go with Sonlight B and C. They can be used for 3rd/4th graders. Lots of people recommended that in the Sonlight boards, and that is what I am doing. Sonlight doesn't have the hands-on crafty stuff built in, but they offer that CD rom now OR find free stuff online (lots of people have blogged their Sonlight ideas!!!). Plus since the rest of your plans are all laid out, it's not too much to take a few minutes each week to plan some fun activities. Plus you can pick actvities that you know your children will like! That's the one thing I found about MFW.....some of the activities were, well, lame and I ended up going online to find ones that would be better for us anyway.

 

This is our exact plan (well, we used MFW ECC in between Adventures and Sonlight B). Using Sonlight B with a 1st and 4th grader this fall.

Edited by Samiam
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I'd use MFW Adventures first. We did use it and loved it. I think it would be easier to have your 4 year old tag along on this too. The books are just more suited for younger children.

 

Then I'd go with Sonlight B and C. They can be used for 3rd/4th graders. Lots of people recommended that in the Sonlight boards, and that is what I am doing. Sonlight doesn't have the hands-on crafty stuff built in, but they offer that CD rom now OR find free stuff online (lots of people have blogged their Sonlight ideas!!!). Plus since the rest of your plans are all laid out, it's not too much to take a few minutes each week to plan some fun activities. Plus you can pick actvities that you know your children will like! That's the one thing I found about MFW.....some of the activities were, well, lame and I ended up going online to find ones that would be better for us anyway.

 

This is our exact plan (well, we used MFW ECC in between Adventures and Sonlight B). Using Sonlight B with a 1st and 4th grader this fall.

 

Thanks I think this might be just what I want to do.

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