MFW - worth it?

[cbollin]

I think I understand that part. The issue Crystal had (not wanting to speak for Crystal, so she can correct me if I'm wrong), and I guess so do I, is that that particular poster that was speaking highly of HOD was saying how HOD has everything included and MFW doesn't. From the website, it is clear that you basically have to include the same outside subjects as you do with MFW: math, grammar & writing. With MFW, I have replaced their grammar with my own. I used ILL for the first part of the year, and it just didn't work for us so we switched back to R&S. It's effortless to use what works for us when something else doesn't. Just trying to correct misinformation, and I may be misunderstanding the poster who wrote it. I may have even misunderstood what you're saying too...I do that sometimes. ;)

 

Teresa is understanding me correctly. That was and still is my question: both HOD and MFW include all of those things and include the scheduling for them, so what's the unseen difference that was mentioned by Tamra?

 

That's great that it is yet another similar thing between them. It's not a difference at all from this side of the screen. They use different English (MFW uses PLL/ILL, HOD uses R&S, MFW uses Writing Strands, HOD uses Igniting Your Writing, both use Singapore). It's interesting to me that on some parts one of them is more classical than CM, but on other parts more CM than classical. whatever that means, right?

 

tagging on to Kay in PA's comments: the tiny difference seems to be that MFW's singapore lessons are separated pieces of paper. HOD's singapore lessons are in the manual itself.

That difference can have advantages and disadvantages depending. If you have a child who is using a different level of Singapore than what is scheduled in the HOD base program, then you have to do your own lesson planning, right? If you have several children in Singapore math at different levels, then having separate day to day scheduling can have advantages too. You just place MFW the lesson planner into the textbook each day. it's thin enough for that and allows for multi level needs. Or what if your child works ahead or needs to repeat a math lesson but is moving along just fine in the base manual for HOD. So, it's not a good/bad thing: just paperwork and paper trail differences.

 

Or maybe all levels of Singapore are included in all levels of HOD? Is that the case? (well, maybe I'll find samples on that some day while packing for an out of state move or something.)

 

another advantage/disadvantage (very cosmetic one): with "blank grid" (MFW) for English/math it is easy to write in your own lesson plans if you use different recommendations, but that means quicker record keeping too. So, people who use HOD and use different langauge arts/math, well, they have to write in that stuff too. very cosmetic difference.

 

But yeah, I just don't understand why someone who uses HOD and likes it ended up saying that MFW doesn't do those subjects. MFW does them and provides scheduling too.

 

-crystal

[Donna A.]

tagging on to Kay in PA's comments: the tiny difference seems to be that MFW's singapore lessons are separated pieces of paper. HOD's singapore lessons are in the manual itself.

 

That difference can have advantages and disadvantages depending. If you have a child who is using a different level of Singapore than what is scheduled in the HOD base program, then you have to do your own lesson planning, right? If you have several children in Singapore math at different levels, then having separate day to day scheduling can have advantages too. You just place MFW the lesson planner into the textbook each day. it's thin enough for that and allows for multi level needs. Or what if your child works ahead or needs to repeat a math lesson but is moving along just fine in the base manual for HOD. So, it's not a good/bad thing: just paperwork and paper trail differences.

 

Or maybe all levels of Singapore are included in all levels of HOD? Is that the case? (well, maybe I'll find samples on that some day while packing for an out of state move or something.)

 

 

Well, it would be a bad thing for us because with my girls' age differences, I'd have to buy 3 separate TMs from HOD just to get lesson plans for the different levels in math and LA.... even if we were combining in history and science. Which we couldn't do if we wanted to because my oldest is too old for HOD. And my younger two would be on completely different levels. Can you say Cha-Ching? :001_huh:

[cbollin]

Well, it would be a bad thing for us because with my girls' age differences, I'd have to buy 3 separate TMs from HOD just to get lesson plans for the different levels in math and LA...

 

well, in theory someone in a similar situation (like using the beef up extension packs or bringing younger kids along while using a HOD package)

could just buy the MFW lesson plans for Singapore math to meet everyone's needs in math.

It takes a phone order, but MFW does sell those separately.

 

just thought I'd mention that part if it would be helpful to someone using HOD and Singapore and needed something like that to help with planning if that's not an option in the HOD stuff.

 

-crystal

Edited May 30, 2009 by cbollin

[ChicoryChick]

Thanks for clarifying Crystal I misunderstood your question. Yes the difference I have seen when it comes to language arts & math in MFW & HOD is that HOD does schedule the lesson plans in and MFW does not. HOD does include a schedule of an additional year or two of math in the appendix. In Preparing it schedules both R&S 3 and R&S 4 in the same box in the manual for those who are on different levels. MFW leaves it up to you to schedule your own language arts and grammar, but has a box on the page to remind you to do so! Both are great programs I don't think you could go wrong with either.

[Evergreen Academy]

Thanks everyone for so much input about MFW, the science, the scheduling. Now I can get busy and start ordering curriculum!

 

Blessings,

Aimee

mom to 6 great kids ages 6-18, schooling k, 2, 2 and 5

[Donna A.]

MFW leaves it up to you to schedule your own language arts and grammar, but has a box on the page to remind you to do so!

Well, no, that's not accurate. That's what we've been trying to explain.

 

The resources that MFW recommends for language arts are pretty self-explanatory... just do the next thing. IN fact, R&S is that way, too. So HOD has a box in the TM that says do this page of this R&S book. MFW's box on the schedule doesn't give you a page #, if that's what you mean, but it's just "do the next thing". Obviously you would know what page comes next after the lesson you did yesterday, right? The same is true with all the language arts resources that MFW uses... plus there are additional teaching tips for these resources at the front of the TM, which I mentioned earlier.

 

So if saying that "MFW leaves it up to you to schedule your own language arts and grammar" means the box where it says to do language arts doesn't have a page #, then you're right, it doesn't "schedule" that. But it's pretty self-explanatory... but R&S is also a pretty open-and-go curriculum (like PLL, ILL, WS, and Appl. of Grammar), so I don't know why HOD even needs to schedule it (i.e., assign a page # from one day to the next). ;)

 

And as has been mentioned already, if you buy the Singapore math from MFW, they do include the lesson plans for it. I actually like that better, as it's much cheaper than a whole TM for math lessons for a sibling that's 2 or more grade levels away. :thumbup1:

[Julie in MN]

The resources that MFW recommends for language arts are pretty self-explanatory... just do the next thing.

 

Yes, somehow that's not getting thru?

 

MFW suggested PLL for 3rd grade. It told me to start with lesson X and end with lesson Z. It had a box for English (PLL) a certain number of days per week.

 

It was fully planned out for me (if I chose to follow that plan).