Anybody using MFW for high school?

[mamananci]

I *think* this is what I am going to use for my 9th grade dd....I love the way it is layed out. We might add a couple of more books and I think she needs an online writing class too...

 

Just wondering if there are any of you using it for history and bible?

[Di3kids]

We had success with it here (did their first year - Ancients). I do feel that it was a bit "light" in terms of the history covered (I used Winter Promise QAW with 4th and 7th grade dds and we read quite a bit more than ds did). Seriously considering MFW second year of hs for ds, perhaps with modification.

[Deanna in TN]

My son will be using AHL this fall. I also bought Spielvogel Human Odyssey and the Teaching Co. World History DVDs to supplement. I am particularly excited about reading through the Old Testament and discussing it with my son.

 

Deanna

[abc123mom]

We will be using it this coming school year with my 9th gr. dd. We are very excited to get started.

[Tenaj]

We did the second year, World History this year, and I can't imagine adding anything else in to their schedule though it probably depends on what other credits your kids are working on. My ds was also taking Advanced Chem, Physics, Latin, Algebra II and his schedule was really full. My dd was also doing Algebra II, Marine Biology, French and Latin. We did add in a full grammar course as part of the English but we changed nothing in the Bible, History and Literature/Writing portions.

 

Curious, what would you add and why? Now I'm wondering if I should have . . . no, I'm covering my ears (LOL)! They were busy, busy, learned a lot, improved in all areas and my ds did fairly well on his first ACT test. We're looking forward to doing year 3 next year.

[LatinTea]

We did the second year, World History this year, and I can't imagine adding anything else in to their schedule though it probably depends on what other credits your kids are working on. My ds was also taking Advanced Chem, Physics, Latin, Algebra II and his schedule was really full. My dd was also doing Algebra II, Marine Biology, French and Latin. We did add in a full grammar course as part of the English but we changed nothing in the Bible, History and Literature/Writing portions.

 

Curious, what would you add and why? Now I'm wondering if I should have . . . no, I'm covering my ears (LOL)! They were busy, busy, learned a lot, improved in all areas and my ds did fairly well on his first ACT test. We're looking forward to doing year 3 next year.

 

Does the student study the individual books that MFW has in the course? Is it through the Lesson Plans? Or is it only through the Parallel British Lit book that there is analysis? Were you satisfied with that particular book? I was thinking of adding in Progeny Press guides, but now am rethinking that. There are just so many good books missing in this course though. Some that come to mind are The Great Gatsby, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, poems, etc. So, no time for these? I always have too full of a year planned out though and then things just don't get done!

[cbollin]

Can I hijack and ask if it is really practical to add more great books to this program?

 

My oldest just finished week 1 of AHL. Already wrote her first argumentative essay! wahoo! I love the instructions in the literature/composition supplement especially for how to evaluate an essay and grade it and make real suggestions for improvement.

 

In some sections of English, reading is specifically assigned with package books (Homer, Illiad, and other ones like that).

 

Then,

there are parts of the English credit that is to add in "great books" or "extra reading related to ancients". Marie (mfw author) gives specific suggestions for books for reading for related history. And also says you can use any classics if you wish.

 

you can almost see how that is scheduled on page 10 of the sample for AHL for that "reading time".

http://mfwbooks.com/pdf/ahlsample.pdf

 

depending on the student, they might do just a few more, or several more great books reading than what is in the package.

 

So, some (not all) of them my oldest just read this year (as 8th grader in CTG) so we'll sub in a few classical books using a list from the back of an SAT prep book I have.

 

 

-crystal

[4wildberrys]

We're going to!!!! ;) I printed off the sample schedule, and it does seem to say to add in books for reading---so ds will be reading select SL books from Core 6 and 200 (I have them all because dd will do all of them). I decided against using SL exclusively for ds---so I am starting the 4-yr history cycle from MFW next year--SO excited!

[Tenaj]

Does the student study the individual books that MFW has in the course? Is it through the Lesson Plans? Or is it only through the Parallel British Lit book that there is analysis? Were you satisfied with that particular book? I was thinking of adding in Progeny Press guides, but now am rethinking that. There are just so many good books missing in this course though. Some that come to mind are The Great Gatsby, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, poems, etc. So, no time for these? I always have too full of a year planned out though and then things just don't get done!

 

Some of the analysis is in the lesson plans, some in the lit book and a lot is accomplished through the Writer's Inc. book and the writing assignments. I'm like you in that I usually add to much in and then am frustrated. This year we had a new baby right at the beginning of the year so I didn't get those extra things added in and looking back, I'm glad. I felt that MFW gave us a good balance this year.

 

My kids read all the time though and read some of the great classics just for fun. My ds just finished The Grapes of Wrath. They both have a copy of the 1,000 Good Books List and they both are trying to read as many of those as they can before graduation. Though they won't be analyzing them formally, at least they will be familiar with them.

[brendafromtenn]

After many years with TOG, we are using MFW with 2nd child. One thing that I like is that is seems VERY age appropriate.

 

I think sometimes we, as homeschool moms, forget that a 9th grader....in the very beginning of the year....is not really that different from an 8th grader;)....just a little step up. I think MFW takes that into account. I see a big difference in the pace and the book list as you progress in the MFW high school series.

 

I think MFW remembers that these students are high schoolers and that this is their first taste at the Great Books. And hopefully, the student will ENJOY their taste with these Great Books, and will want to explore them again in college with more fervor the second time around.;)

 

Blessings,

 

Brenda:001_smile:

P.S. Used TOG Classic with a future history major....he couldn't get enough history...LOVED it. Using MFW with a future nutritionist....has a bent toward science...a VERY different student. This curriculum FITS her to a T. Nothing WRONG with TOG. Just not the best fit for THIS student. Make sense?

 

You have to find what will work for YOUR student. O.K. getting off my soapbox today.....:D

[4wildberrys]

After many years with TOG, we are using MFW with 2nd child. One thing that I like is that is seems VERY age appropriate.

 

I think sometimes we, as homeschool moms, forget that a 9th grader....in the very beginning of the year....is not really that different from an 8th grader;)....just a little step up. I think MFW takes that into account. I see a big difference in the pace and the book list as you progress in the MFW high school series.

 

I think MFW remembers that these students are high schoolers and that this is their first taste at the Great Books. And hopefully, the student will ENJOY their taste with these Great Books, and will want to explore them again in college with more fervor the second time around.;)

 

Blessings,

 

Brenda:001_smile:

P.S. Used TOG Classic with a future history major....he couldn't get enough history...LOVED it. Using MFW with a future nutritionist....has a bent toward science...a VERY different student. This curriculum FITS her to a T. Nothing WRONG with TOG. Just not the best fit for THIS student. Make sense?

 

You have to find what will work for YOUR student. O.K. getting off my soapbox today.....:D

 

This is exactly what I have noticed too---and what I love about MFW so far! ;) TOG looks wonderful---I spent a few hours last week reading and studying at the website and even printed off a week's worth of lessons. It's just 'too' much, although wonderful looking. I just know TOG would burn me and ds out.

[Julie in MN]

I also see a nice transition from 8th to 9th at the beginning of the year in AHL. Iliad & Odyssey aren't scheduled until late in the year, and there's some flexibility for different students in the extra reading list at the beginning. There's less flexibility and more study of each piece of literature in the later years.

 

But I think also folks looking at AHL forget that there are 39 great books read in their entirety from the Old Testament, which add to Bible and Literature and History. Those were the "main" great books of many a well-educated person of the past. And I have met precious few adults in my lifetime who have read these great books cover to cover, even if they've read Homer and the like.

 

So I'm agreeing that for 9th grade, AHL is good!

Julie

[imeverywoman]

Thanks! :)

[Julie in MN]

Thanks! :)

 

Sorry, AHL is Ancient History and Literature, the first year of high school using My Father's World curriculum.

http://www.mfwbooks.com/highschool.html

 

WHL is World History and Literature, the second year.

[Sophia]

I *think* this is what I am going to use for my 9th grade dd....I love the way it is layed out. We might add a couple of more books and I think she needs an online writing class too...

 

Just wondering if there are any of you using it for history and bible?

 

My rising 9th grader will be using MFW. (Ancients)

I'm curious about you adding an online writing course...I thought writing was adequately covered by MFW? :bigear:

[Donna A.]

My dd's finishing up week 17 of AHL. She normally stays on schedule so that she can start a new week on Monday, but we got off track last week with dental appts, etc.

 

So far so good! We've only done a few things that aren't according to the schedule as written. One is to adjust the pace of Bible reading because she was getting bogged down with the amount of reading (and writing) everyday (and she's an avid reader!), especially in the beginning when she was first adapting to the curriculum. So I let her slow down the Bible reading, and she's doing that according to the way it's written in the OT Challenge Guide instead of the MFW lesson plans. We're going to take a couple weeks to do catch up here at the end of June so that "Bible" and "history" are on the same page (though Bible is the only thing she's not on schedule with), and I need to catch up some grading and transcript stuff before we start our "official" new year for recordkeeping purposes on July 1st.

 

I also opted not to have her read the unabridged versions of Homer that come in the package. Personal decision. She read abridged versions, though.

 

At the beginning, there was a TON of reading from the New Answers book. (Many of the chapters are long!) While she's learning a massive amount of information from this book and likes it, it was a LOT to take in there for a while.... like trying to drink from a firehose. :001_huh: Once she got past that, she started doing more reading separately from the curriculum. She's reading some of the lit selections that are scheduled in Notgrass that MFW doesn't schedule, as well as some other titles she's been wanting to read. But I don't schedule those at all. MFW is very full all by itself.

 

Note: MFW uses Notgrass spread over two years, so some of the lit titles that you see in Notgrass that you don't see in AHL (year 1 of MFW) will come later, during year 2 of MFW. I saw that misunderstanding posted in another thread one day and wanted to go ahead and clarify for anyone who's wondered about it. :)

[Donna A.]

My rising 9th grader will be using MFW. (Ancients)

I'm curious about you adding an online writing course...I thought writing was adequately covered by MFW? :bigear:

 

Yeah, I don't think she'd need an online writing course. There is a LOT of writing in MFW. My dd writes *something* every single day, has both daily and weekly writing assignments, and the instruction in the Literature Supplement book is very good. It also includes grammar.

Edited June 14, 2010 by Donna A.

[cbollin]

My rising 9th grader will be using MFW. (Ancients)

I'm curious about you adding an online writing course...I thought writing was adequately covered by MFW? :bigear:

 

Writing is definitely covered in MFW high school. I really like the detailed help and evaluation guidelines in that literature/composition supplement. It was great for my dh to follow it to help grade a paper. that first week the lessons walk the student and parent through it all. it's really nice.

 

-crystal

[mamananci]

Yeah, I don't think she'd need an online writing course. There is a LOT of writing in MFW. My dd writes *something* every single day, has both daily and weekly writing assignments, and the instruction in the Literature Supplement book is very good. It also includes grammar.

 

I didn't know all of this!!! This is good news! Maybe we'll do a grammar daily worksheet...I just want her to be a confident and wonderful writer! :001_smile: