Blueridge Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 OK, I've been at this a while...I should be able to decide...but I am at a standstill and running on emergency brain power. We finished our TOG before Christmas and need something new. I want to do world geography with my 5th and 6th graders for a nice change from chronological history. The scales of my mind are balanced between these 2 programs, and I cannot choose. We love, love, love read alouds, need something scheduled but flexible, enjoy an occasional craft project, want to make some happy memories and build a solid Christian worldview. Please, push me in a direction before my patient dh kicks me out in the snow. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Have you looked at Mapping the World with Art by Ellen McHenry? You could do that as the base and add books from SL5, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelle l Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 If you do SL you would need to add in your crafty things on your own. There are not any hands-on activities included other than mapping and Book of Time. They are scheduled but you would need to buy them seperately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 I've used ECC two times now. First time when oldest was 2nd grade and then last year when she was in 7th. We like it. (haven't used SL) The crafts vary in ECC and you get some choices and flexibility with Global Art. It's about 1 craft per week from that book. We enjoyed lots of what we did last year and some of the crafts are still in the house as decorations. We enjoyed the cooking every other week - it was try one item associated with the country you are studying. Some times you're encouraged to have a fiesta, but not each time. I enjoyed using Hero Tales as Bible and character time. And then studying the book of Matthew for a reason to "go into the world". I like praying for people groups around the world. I like the feeling of doing a biome/habitat study as part of science and geography. ECC now uses an Answer in Genesis book (Properties of Ecosystems) as well as Living World Encyclopedia for that. I like the missionary biographies for read aloud. I like book basket. It's a wide variety of reading for many levels. Assumes you use the library to get them or buy just some of them. I guess there are roughly 300 or so titles in the ECC manual for those enrichment options. We certainly have the memories and doable projects and plenty to read either on our own or some out loud. I like the scheduling. Still left time to get co-op, dance classes, etc. I liked adding in library videos Families around the world. enjoy the snow. :) -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3babiesmommy Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 I would agree with the poster that said you would definitely have to add the crafts with SL. We are using ECC next year so maybe I am a little biased, but to second what Crystal said, I think it definitely seems to fit what you are looking for. Good luck deciding:) And Crystal....no fair making ECC sound so great that I would love to stop what I am doing now and start early! But alas, I will finish what I have started (for once;)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyGirl Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 :lurk5: I am trying to make the same decision for next year - we are doing SL 4 (and SL K) right now. One reason I am hesitant to use SL 5 is that my sister's kids HATED the main history spine - an encyclopedia. And I have to agree, I never really liked history text books myself, there is no way you could have gotten me to read an encyclopedia for history regularly. But we have all loved the early SL cores. And I should mention, that all though my kids love hands on stuff, I'm not that fond of it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 Thank you all very much for your suggestions and insights! I think my honest problem is that this is my *last chance* to teach my younger children while they are still tender and moldable, and I want to do it *just right*. I have no more time to waste deciding. Such an awesome responsibility, kwim? I have used some programs that I stayed faithful with to the year's end, only to be discouraged that it had not been a 'great' year, just an adequate one. I just want to be inspired as a teacher. It makes me do a better job inspiring my girlies. Blessings to you all~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kissy Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 I tried MFW ECC with my 4th grader and found it was too light and I had to add too much stuff. I have not used SL so I don't know how it would compare to that. My son thought it was fun but there wasn't a challenge. The missionary stories were great and praying for other places was good too. The stickers on the passport he thought that was cheesy. Most of the art was easy too. I think it is a fun program for a younger child but I am not sure it would be enough for older elementary. I have heard MFW becomes more rigorous after that year. I wouldn't know though I switched to Beautiful feet after that and loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 We tried Core 5 this year...hated it! Didn't like the subject matter, and too many books. The EHE was near to impossible to find the answers, very disappointed in it, in fact returned it yesterday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Help me decide between MFW ECC and SL 5...pretty please~I want to do world geography with my 5th and 6th graders for a nice change from chronological history. The scales of my mind are balanced between these 2 programs, and I cannot choose. One of the biggest differences between SL5 and ECC is that SL5 covers the Eastern Hemisphere and ECC covers the world. I like that ECC doesn't look at one hemisphere in a vacuum, or as if it's the "different" hemisphere." It's a look at one world, which is especially interconnected these days with fast communication & transportation. And really it's a look at enjoying the cultures of the world, without worrying about historical difficulties. MFW is able to do this because they cover the world throughout their 4 history years, while Sonlight covers the world during two very young ages (1st & 2nd), followed by America exclusively for the two years just before SL5, so by SL5 they need to get caught up especially on Asia. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 I tried MFW ECC with my 4th grader and found it was too light and I had to add too much stuff. I have not used SL so I don't know how it would compare to that. My son thought it was fun but there wasn't a challenge. The missionary stories were great and praying for other places was good too. The stickers on the passport he thought that was cheesy. Most of the art was easy too. I think it is a fun program for a younger child but I am not sure it would be enough for older elementary. I have heard MFW becomes more rigorous after that year. I wouldn't know though I switched to Beautiful feet after that and loved it. I would tend to agree with the above commenter. I changed to TOG and feel like it is much more to my liking. Ds was in 2nd grade and an advanced reader if that makes any difference. I'm not a big fan of the YWAM missionary books either so that didn't help in that area. ECC was an O.K. year for us, but it really didn't wow me enough to want to continue with MFW. Just to muddy the waters, what about this: http://www.geomatters.com/products/details.asp?ID=76 Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 I think it is a fun program for a younger child but I am not sure it would be enough for older elementary. I have heard MFW becomes more rigorous after that year. I wouldn't know though I switched to Beautiful feet after that and loved it. I've used it at higher levels, so chiming back in with my opinion and my oldest child's experiences too. She was in 7th grade last year in ECC. ECC 2nd edition is really good with a jammed packed schedule. Once you have a child reading in book basket, it's not that light in my opinion and experiences. I liked that we got a lot done each day and still had time for dance, and life, and other stuff. But then again, I was having my kids do everything in the manual (even the daily science notebooking) and we liked adding in control ways like DVD series from library. Also, in the older years with ECC there is the jr. high reading and research package too. My 7th grader didn't find it too young at all. The neat thing with passports for her? She did her flag sticker on the passport (2nd edition ECC has a nice passport book instead of a make your own).... But from that my daughter asked me if she could apply for a real US passport in case a missions trip ever came possible for her she wanted to be ready to go! wow! yes, we got a real passport -- just in case. She liked to expand cooking projects too and made full meals for us. She really likes crafts and enjoyed trying all kinds of things. She had about a 5 hour school day using all mfw recommendations. Seems enough for me. different strokes for us all :) -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 We did Core 5 last year and ds loved it, however we did not do ANY of the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer or the encyclopedia work...that probably has everything to do with it. We started to use it and it was awful, so decided to just use the history readers, which were all very good. We read most the books, a lot of great read alouds. Most the books were historical fiction, written from the cultural point of view. No crafts, however we did check out books from the library and ate according to the region we were reading in. Lots of fun! I've never seen MFW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted January 8, 2010 Author Share Posted January 8, 2010 (edited) Ladies, I cannot thank you all enough! I have pondered each and every thing you have shared. We have decided to go with ECC and buy some of the SL read alouds and readers as we go along. I have really been feeling my age this past year :tongue_smilie:, and although I have a deep desire to create and prepare and present the most perfect program to my girls, many days have fallen flat because of my lack of ideas/energy/inspiration. I need all my subjects planned out for me this time around. I am renewing my vision for why we are homeschooling in the first place. It's not all about academics and fulfilling my own ego (I am speaking only about myself, not implying that striving for strong academics is prideful), and I had forgotten that along the way. Hopefully the lesson plans will be full enough that I can add some extras here and there, but that good days aren't dependent on my extras and planning. Blessings to everyone for your help! Edited January 8, 2010 by Blueridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenileigh Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 We are going to be using ECC next year also! Glad you made your decision. That is the hardest part for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kisa in CA Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I think you will be very happy with ECC. The book basket selections are a wonderful way to easily add to the program. My boys did not find the passport cheesy at all. They loved it. I am now in my 4th year with MFW. It is the best thing that has happened to me in homeschooling. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunnytracks Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I hope you enjoy ECC. We really enjoyed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandKsmama Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I'll be doing ECC next year for the 2nd time:-) I'm pretty excited about it, because the first time through was also our first year homeschooling, and I KNOW I could have done a better job with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhudson Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 If you are looking for a Christian worldview then I think that ECC might be great for that. I think you can add SL read alouds to ECC, but the year that we did ECC changed our family's worldview more dramatically than any other home school year thus far. It changed the way we spend our money, the way we take vacations as we have taken two family missions trips instead of a yearly vacation, and has given my children a heart for telling others about the love of Jesus. There are many great curricula out there but ECC is a great way to teach worldview (and geography is not my favorite subject:001_smile:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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