Julie, My eldest started AHL in 10th, WHL this year, and will be doing MFW US Hist/Govt in 12th. She will be doing Econ this spring/summer through a coop class being offered locally. We will then tweak the schedule a bit to spread out the govt. portion, and just do the US History all year. MFW schedules 1 semester US in 11th and 1 semester in 12th. If your daughter hasn't done Ancients and the OT, I would highly recommend starting with AHL! (I say that with confidence now. Two weeks ago, I was whigging out wondering how to get everything done for 12th. Crystal and Julie in Mn have really walked me through it. I didn't want to miss the worldview/Bible portion of MFW US Hist 1.) If you choose to go this route, I'll be happy to walk you through it too! Mary

We have used BP Year 2 and Year 1 for jr high and my dd loved it. We used Companion, Cool History, Maps, Timeline. She did the readings from MOH, but not the activities. We used Greenleaf's guide to the OT and I like that better than OT challenge (my other two used in MFW Ancients). BP is flexible! Readings can be as "heavy" or light as they need to be for each child. We use another writing/grammar/lit. analysis program, so that was not an issue for us. It worked beautifully with BP. If you are not going to use the Companion or Cool History, I probably wouldn't bother with BP. But, that said, if you are "visual" like I am, the price of having an "outline" in the Family Guide to gauge your year by is worth the price. You can buy BP in bits and pieces, which is nice. Their samples on the website give you a pretty good feel for the program. HTH, Mary

If you have more than 1 child, want to keep them all on the same history rotation, and like MOH, you may want to take a look at BiblioPlan. They have MOH scheduled in, as well as optional history spines for HS. They have their own "spine", their Companion, which you read to the youngers in chunks and the Jr/Sr HS kids read solo. Well worth a look. We have used it for one daughter in 7th/8th, while elders were using MFW. They each have their strengths. We have enjoyed and recommend both. Mary

You might take a look at BiblioPlan. We used it for my youngest for jr. high (Yr 1 and Yr2) and she loved it. So did I. It is inexpensive for the Companion (their own spine), schedules, maps, timeline, answer guides and "Cool History" - the questions, tests, essays. You can add in optional spines and pick and choose lit. choices. They don't have writing/grammar/lit analysis instruction. They have writing prompts and in the HS years use/suggest lit. guides. We use a separate writing/grammar/lit analysis program, so it wasn't an issue for us. You can add in or delete with much flexibility. We have also used MFW AHL and WHL for my eldest and been very happy. Their Bible credit is quite complete and I loved that the girls read thru the entire Bible in two years. I am deciding between the two, myself, for my dd1's 12th grade year. She will be doing US Hist/Govt/Econ Love the Worldview/Bible of MFW, Love the Companion/flexibility of BP. Oh, decisions......I like having a grid to work from that I don't have to create (honestly). Thank goodness their are so many great choices out there.

We will be using BP for HS for youngest next year (9th). My other two used MFW Ancient and World History. One will finish with BP, the other will be using another Hist. for her last year. Had we found BP 3 years ago,we would have continued to all study the same time period at the various individual learning levels right through HS. BP has updated supplements for HS in the last couple years, which IMO put them in the running for what I was looking for in a HS Curricula. We used Sonlight together when girls were younger and loved it, but found it didn't work well when eldest started HS. Actually, due to differing learning styles and reading appetites, BP would have been great to have around from beginning to end. I love the Companion and optional Spines with living history books, church history and bible added. It is very easy to sub books (readers) as desired. With the maps & timelines, cool history and quizzes, my youngest's retention has soared! There are writing assignments, but no real instruction .I would call them writing prompts. We use another writing program (IEW - love it) and this fits perfectly with BP for us. We do the same for lit. analysis. All in all, we have found BP to be a wonderful way to study history. It is affordable, flexible and you can keep all your kiddos on the same page of history while tailoring to their learning styles and ability, which makes all of the discussion, read-alouds, and the rest all that much more fun!

BP has been an excellent fit for my youngest DD through middle school and she wants to use it for HS next year also. You can add-in tougher/lighter lit. selections as desired. I like the framework given to work within. We use a separate writing program so this works very well for us. My other two are using MFW for HS. We are having way more fun with BP. The integration of timeline, maps, cool history, tests really helps it all "fit together" for retention. It also leaves room for rabbit-trails, add-ons and independent research. JMO

BP has been an excellent fit for my youngest DD through middle school and she wants to use it for HS next year also. You can add-in tougher/lighter lit. selections as desired. I like the framework given to work within. We use a separate writing program so this works very well for us. My other two are using MFW for HS. We are having way more fun with BP. The integration of timeline, maps, cool history, tests really helps it all "fit together" for retention. It also leaves room for rabbit-trails, add-ons and independent research. JMO

BP has been an excellent fit for my youngest DD through middle school and she wants to use it for HS next year also. You can add-in tougher/lighter lit. selections as desired. I like the framework given to work within. We use a separate writing program so this works very well for us. My other two are using MFW for HS. We are having way more fun with BP. The integration of timeline, maps, cool history, tests really helps it all "fit together" for retention. It also leaves room for rabbit-trails, add-ons and independent research. JMO

I am with you on the "back porch" project! You could plant a garden with what I sweep in my kitchen every day. And, we can barely get by the woodstove with the myriad shoes/boots which ring it spring/winter/fall. The amount of footwear is incredible! Oops! I don't want to talk too loud and make the cow nervous! I hope that one works for you for a good loooooong time! :lol:

The ranch has given the kids some amazing skills. I came home years ago to my then-13yo telling me that so-and-so number heifer had calved and it was breech, but she put her in, put the cow in the headcatch, pulled it, the calf was up sucking and was tagged. She apologized for not getting a weight on the calf but she really did need to get to orchestra... :D LOVE this! We are rancher wannabes, in an old farmhouse w/outbuildings in various stages of antiquity on only 6 acres (we rent ground for pasture and haying) with horses, mules, chickens,ducks, cats, dogs, 1/2 doz. 4-H steers and, since the girls started buying heifers to raise their own show stock....two cows, two heifers and two baby calves. Dad grew up on a ranch and Mom (me) grew up with lots of animals big and small. Girls feed/grain twice a day for steers, once a day cows& horses. One is in charge of chickens, another stock tanks, all muck stalls. They split up am/pm chores "pretty" well. I used to do it all when they were little and DH worked out of town, now I just help. I agree, it gives them such great skills. Eldest DD (15) is quite an operator on tractors and backhoe, the 14& 12 year old can drive in the field during haying. DH works a "regular" job for 4 -10's, and does the outside stuff on his days off. He does not do much inside, but he doesn't complain about the mess either. We all help with fencing, getting/splitting wood, haying, irrigating.

Thank you for posting! Great article.

In fact, it is usually about here that parents panic because they can look very incompatable. You have to compromise, jump through just enough hoops to get into college or meet your school districts requirements (if it has them) while at the same time making sure that you are not creating an adult who excels at nothing but being a stellar college applicant. If you work backwards, you have a much better chance of doing this. You will also have a better chance at making the right decisions and compromises when your child comes to you with his or her own plans.. Well sa!d Nan! What a process.....

Why not list the curricula that you will have for sale in June now and find someone who will commit to it? I placed a WTB post in January and found what I need for next year...no deposit, I am trusting that seller will come through when she has finished (June). We have touched base several times and I feel good about it. In the meantime, I sold what we were finished with, so I have the funds in June. If you are going to a local used curricula sale, couldn't you do the same thing with the seller? Let them know that you have a buyer for your stuff and that you will purchase their curricula once you are paid by your buyer. I would think that type of a transaction/commitment would work even better in person. JMHO Bottom line, trust that it will all work out. It will! Every time I trust, it works. Every time I scramble and push, there is always a wrinkle!

Ladies, Thanks for this thread! They are all different aren't they? And so are we! I am constantly reminded how deeply ingrained PS standards of education are ingrained in me, the "grading" a child against the "average" (is my child a "A" student?), the sequence,the time allowed to learn a "subject", blah blah. I want my dc to learn, not regurgitate! And yet, if I was honest with myself, it would take another 10 years to investigate all of these subjects we cram into high school and do them with excellence! It may take that long for dd1 to grasp AlgII !! ; ) That said, I am just now beginning to embrace the "get 'er done" concept in some areas....others, I am not willing to compromise. This thread helps me to remember to quit trying to fit square pegs into round holes. To breathe, to enjoy my kids and trust that my best efforts will be enough!! I am with you, Faith, on the garden piece! I'm also going to saddle up my mare and go riding all by myself! Mary

I'd love to give you more info, but I don't know either. Call MFW and speak to Bret. Keep me posted on what you learn!

IMO taking time to focus on skills is more important the covering a lot of content. I have been thinking this very thing with my dd#1 who is in 10th this year. I keep having to remind myself that each one is soooo different and my focus is to meet them at their point of need. Where are they, what do they need for college/future plans, how do I best get them there?

I think it depends on the history rotation that you/your child want to cover during HS. With DD#1, we had planned to do SL, so I had her do a 1yr WH in 9th for some background (we started HS'g her in 6th w/SL and did 2 yrs of AmHist and Eastern Hem.). We switched to MFW for 10th, but chose to start with AHL, 11th will be WHL and 12th will be AmHist w/Govt. We used IEW for writing to get all three up-to-speed and confident. DD1 is reluctant writer and has made huge progress. I picked and chose writing out of AHL. MFW says it is do-able to do USHist1 & 2 in one year and I will be talking to them more about it next year. Looking at Notgrass also. So far, planning to use MFW with the two youngers (9th & 8th next year) all through HS. But, youngest is using BiblioPlan this year (yr2) and loving it. I may consider BP for her..... always open to hearing what worked for others!

"I really don't want to spread US history out over 2 years" Another thought here is that I understand that it is possible to combine the two years of MFW USH into one with the help of the folks at MFW. Currently, that is the plan we have for DD#1 since we started AHL in her 10th grade year (after coming from SL). I will be researching this more thoroughly next year, but thought I'd mention it as another option.

"AHL is very bible heavy compared to history so I oftentimes have to use his bible work as history credit. Does that make sense?" I had to smile on this one, because it does make sense! My DD is finishing up AHL this year and the OT reading/study of the Bible was her favorite part (and one of the main reasons we chose MFW). In our home, we consider the Bible to be a history book- real stuff that really happened. IMO, the Bible is the better half of the spines for AHL. So, yes, AHL is very bible heavy not "compared" to history, but because it is history. We are only teasing out what we are calling "history" and what we are calling "bible" for transcript purposes. Does that make sense? Then you throw in the Answers book so you can tease apart historical science from observational science and you can really have some great discussions with your kids!

I am interested in any input also. I have one dd finishing MFW Ancients this year and one going into HS (Ancients for 9th) next year. I have toyed with the same idea since I have AHL...personally, I think the two could work very well together. There are no literature guides/helps with Biblio, so I would definitely want to incorporate some sort of lit. analysis into the school year. My youngest used Biblio Medieval this year for 7th and it was a great fit for her. I really like BiblioPlan. I found it flexible, yet thorough. Their book selections were excellent and assignments/reading schedules were "do-able". We use IEW for writing and it was very easy to incorporate with BiblioPlan.

Julie, thanks for your posts. You have been such a help to me and countless others. We too are excited to have found MFW for HS and look forward to beginning in Aug. Is your son going to be continuing on with WHL?

We are planning to use TRISMS for the first time this year and I am waiting to get our HM curriculum in the mail, so I'm no help. You may want to post to the TRISMS yahoo group also.

Kim, What's VfCR?

I just wanted to thank everyone for this thread. I have read with interest as I have a rising 15 yr old dd who approaches writing assignments with much fear and trembling, tears and gnashing of teeth. We are doing SWI-B together this summer. We are starting "below" her recommended age level to gain confidence. I also have EE to do with her later. I am greatly encouraged by all the posts - mostly just knowing that I am not alone in this struggle and relieved to consider that it might not be all "my fault"! I am better prepared to push through the stuck parts and persevere thanks to all of you!

You might like Biblioplan. Take a look at it. I did, and while we decided to move forward with MFW Ancient Hist & Lit, BP did appeal to me for it's simplicity, flexibility, and affordability. DD and I wanted the structure MFW offered with the Bible incorporated as an actual history spine for Ancients.