MFW __ Do you supplement ?

[blessedmom3]

I am considering MFW for the future .

Do you supplement and what do you use ?

 

Do you have time to supplement ?

 

It seems MFW takes about 3-4 hours . Also , does the Teacher's manual have questions & discussion about the books being read ?

 

Are there a lot of crafts? I am not a craft person but I am ok with a few crafts now and then. I would rather focus on the basics if I do not have much time .

[mlgbug]

thanks ill be watching this thread. i want to do the MFW 1 for next year

[Sue G in PA]

Which MFW are you considering? That would make a big difference. And, what would you want to supplement? I am using MFW K and have 1st (to use in a few months). I do not have to supplement K at all...it is pretty full as is. However, since my dd4 LOVES schoolwork, she has some ETC Primers and other "workbooks" to use when I am busy with another sib. MFW 1st looks pretty full as well. As for the higher levels...I found that they were also very full except for math and la, of course. I did supplement the science b/c my kids were "sciency" and the science wasn't meaty enough (We did ECC last year) for them.

 

K doesn't take long at all...so to supplement wouldn't be so bad if you needed to. HTH.

[FriedClams]

We're doing MFW ECC this year. We use it for social studies, science, read alouds and a portion of our bible.

 

As recommended we add:

Spanish (Rosetta)

Math (Horizons and Singapore)

LA - FLL or CLE

Writing - our own thing alternated with Logos reading comp

 

Not recommended but we supplement with:

Grapevine Bible and/or CLE Bible*

CLE Reading - because we saw a need after testing last year

 

And our extracurriculars can be academic:

AWANA

4H

piano

 

 

I think MFW is very full - especially when you add in the recommended LA/Math/Writing (or use the ones they recommend). I want my kids to have a little more for bible - so we add in (I am a first generation believer so we're all learning together). The reason for Grapevine / CLE is that we did CLE last spring and the kids love it so much we just kept it up - very sporadically. I LOVE Grapevine so we're trying to do it 4 days a week. As I said up in the list - we do a reading comp program because we saw a need. If there were no need - we would not do it. I love MFW and we're hoping to stick with it to the end. :)

[dhudson]

MFW is very full but we use lots of books (most of them from the MFW's book basket) for reading time. We get a lot of books from the library but we do buy books from Sonlight or Amazon as well. We are a very book loving family so more books the better but I use the MFW TM book basket list as they are very extensive and I trust them.

 

We added more books to the K and 1st because all three of mine were reading before K but I still went through all of the MFW programs.

 

Was that what you were asking?

[MaryCatherine]

I'm using MFW CTG for my two sons ages 10 and 11. I don't supplement much. I do add another science because I don't really care for the science at this particular program, but do look forward to the other three science years of the cycle. We also add math, language; we don't currently do foreign language. We also have tennis and lots of field trips and church activities on the side.

 

This is the first year I've used MFW, so I can't comment on any other years. I plan to use the remainder of the cycle at least and will reevaluate before each boy starts their high school years. I sorta see us using MFW for the younger all the way through and switching back to Sonlight for the upper levels for my oldest. But a thousand things will change by then.....

[blessedmom3]

I am considering mostly from Adventures &up.

I read great reviews about MFW and so many moms love it , but from the samples I see , I am not sure I will be satisfied. The history seems superficial as well as the science . For me , these have priority after the 3 R's . We read the Bible, memorize verses, read Christian books in addition to Sunday school, so I do not care alot about the Bible portion of any curriculum , though I want it to be Christian ...

 

I have tons of books at home , mostly from garage and homeschool sale but I prefer to have a schedule so I don't worry what I will read tomorrow :bigear: but with MFW it seems I will have to supplement a lot at least in history and science. Of course, I am looking at the future years because I want to choose a curriculum and stay with it if possible.

[dhudson]

I think that the Book Basket is what you are looking for. The Book Basket has a weekly schedule of suggested books in both history and science based on what you are currently learning that week.

 

Many of the MFW book basket books are the same books that are used in many other curriculums but the great thing is that you can choose to buy what you can afford and just use the library for the rest.

[Donna A.]

I am considering mostly from Adventures &up.

I read great reviews about MFW and so many moms love it , but from the samples I see , I am not sure I will be satisfied. The history seems superficial as well as the science . For me , these have priority after the 3 R's . We read the Bible, memorize verses, read Christian books in addition to Sunday school, so I do not care alot about the Bible portion of any curriculum , though I want it to be Christian ...

 

I have tons of books at home , mostly from garage and homeschool sale but I prefer to have a schedule so I don't worry what I will read tomorrow :bigear: but with MFW it seems I will have to supplement a lot at least in history and science. Of course, I am looking at the future years because I want to choose a curriculum and stay with it if possible.

 

Every year builds upon the previous year, sort of like a "layering", and you can't really see that from just one week's sample lesson. And then there's the extensive book basket list that makes it very flexible, as well, so you can do as little or as much as you like, depending on time and interest.

 

Are you considering this for the current year, or next year? If you can get to a homeschool conference to see it hands-on, that would be helpful. If not, then you might print out all the sample lessons from all the MFW years and read through them in order, which can give you a general overview of where they'll be heading. It's not quite the same as having the material in your hands to really study it, but reading through all the sample lessons (in order) they had available was helpful to me when I was first trying to decide. They didn't even have the high school years going yet then... so I think it's even better now than it was then. ;)

 

Also, just FYI... Adventures was written as a "filler year" between 1st and ECC because ECC is just a little too much for most 2nd graders. They've really made it a FUN year... but honestly, when we did Adventures, we (that is, *I* :D ) learned tons that I'd completely forgotten about since my school days! My girls were 10, 7 and 3 at the time, and yes, I did add to it for my then-10yo. But it was right on target for the 7yo, and the 3yo had fun joining in on some parts of it, too.

 

As to the science... well, that really depends on your view of science in the early years. Many of us think that exposure to various science concepts via simple hands-on activities and books is perfectly fine for that age range, but I know some prefer a more formal science study right from the beginning. If you fall into the latter group, I'd suggest maybe adding the Apologia Zoo 1 to Adventures, "Flying Creatures", as it would make a great go-along for that particular year.

 

Have you listened to any of the conference talks on CD (or at conference)?

[Donna A.]

I think that the Book Basket is what you are looking for. The Book Basket has a weekly schedule of suggested books in both history and science based on what you are currently learning that week.

 

Many of the MFW book basket books are the same books that are used in many other curriculums but the great thing is that you can choose to buy what you can afford and just use the library for the rest.

 

Right... this is what you don't see in the sample lessons.

[blessedmom3]

Thanks! Really helpful.

I was considering for the next year or mmaybe in two years since we still have a lot of books to finish and a few books from Sonlight core K and 1, I was thinking to start with ECC in two yrs , but maybe I should start first with Adventures next year...not decided yet.

[Angel]

We are doing Adv this year. The History and Science reading portions ARE quick, however, dd is loving it. But there is also the timeline for history and notebook pages, these take some time. In Science there are small experiments to do which can take more time, too. There are plenty of crafty things to do, however, you can easily leave some out and not lose any of the program (I found this true in Rome to Ref as well). Most are quick and require items you'd find around the house. The Book Basket is amazing. It really fleshes out the history and science to whatever extent YOU want. A few of the days, dd has just wanted to browse through some books. Then others, Book Basket has lasted 40 minutes as we've read through some of the bigger books.

 

We will add Apologia's Flying Creatures later in the year because Adv. does a state study which includes all the state birds. I think it will be a great go-along and my dd loves science.

 

 

Our days go along pretty quick, but dd is a 3rd grader doing Adv, it may take a little longer for a younger one. But maybe not!

 

It really is a lovely program with a perfect amount for that age group.