Evergreen Academy Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I just wrote out a long post, hit send and it appears to be lost in space. If both appear, please forgive the double post. I have asked and answered questions about Biblioplan and MFW, and have used and enjoyed both. Now I'm trying to make a decision for the upcoming year, and am hoping someone will have input that will help. We are entering the fourth year of the history cycle, having used Biblioplan for the first two years, and MFW for the third. I'll be teaching grades 2, 4 and 7 for the last year, 1850-modern. I have never done this year of the history cycle with a 7th grader, and have two things in particular I want to address. My 7th grader enjoyed MFW and the way it covers history all over the world (not unit study); he likes to think deeply, discuss a lot and read historical fiction. I can't tell if MFW 1850-modern goes deeply enough - it's hard to tell from the catalog, it looks light; however he'd love to do MFW again. My two ds9 enjoyed MFW but one told me he preferred the way Biblioplan "goes deeper," likely because it's arranged more by topic and you spend longer in one "place" before moving on. The other ds9 is sweet but spacey and I am hopeful he will get something (anything!) out of either program. I do have many books from WP's American Story 2 that I can use to dress up either program for the younger ones. So my question, for those of you who've done either of these programs for the last year of the cycle, is how would either of these address the above concerns? It is hard to tell from what either of the programs lists; MFW looks light without the book basket, and I can't see all of Biblioplan's listings without buying the program. Thank you for any experiences you can share, and my apologies if this shows up twice. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Well, I did 1850MOD (mfw). never done biblioplan. 1850MOD you use the SOTW activity guide for review questions, outlining, map work. Book basket was huge in 1850MOD. over 450 books listed, so we could go deeper on a topic of preference if needed. I liked using 1850MOD with 6th and 3rd grader and using the younger supplement with 3rd grader so she got more US facts and fun social studies without it being heavy world history that she wasn't ready for. And more US lit. too. At first I thought the US Facts and Fun workbook wasn't all that great, but my daughter liked using it on her own. Nice for independent work. We really like 1850MOD. probably my favorite year in MFW. I've use them from Pre K -1850MOD, and oldest just started high school. Bible was good in 1850MOD too. I liked that we were back to praying for others around the world in a different way than in ECC and we liked Tales Persia. -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen Academy Posted June 14, 2010 Author Share Posted June 14, 2010 I liked using 1850MOD with 6th and 3rd grader and using the younger supplement with 3rd grader so she got more US facts and fun social studies without it being heavy world history that she wasn't ready for. And more US lit. too. At first I thought the US Facts and Fun workbook wasn't all that great, but my daughter liked using it on her own. Nice for independent work. Crystal, thanks for sharing your experience with this. We did really like MFW this year, and it's nice to hear 1850-mod was a favorite for you and yoru family. Do you think the Facts and Fun workbook would be ok for a "young" 2nd grader? I really like that SOTW is used and the activity book is incorporated - that would be a big plus for us as we've really enjoyed the series. I really want to read Persia Tales myself! Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 The beginning of the year will seem really easy for your oldest, but the books are great. Just keep going if it seems too light at first. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen Academy Posted June 14, 2010 Author Share Posted June 14, 2010 Thanks for letting me know, I could be sure to schedule a tad more for him in the beginning if it looks easy at first. Blessings, Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicoryChick Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Can you do both? Since MFW & Biblioplan both use SOTW 4 for their spine. I would get both and use MFW as my main curriculum and supplement Biblioplan (which is not expensive) if I feel I need to add in more or go ahead and order the TM for MFW and then make a decision. Just my .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Can you do both? Since MFW & Biblioplan both use SOTW 4 for their spine. I would get both and use MFW as my main curriculum and supplement Biblioplan (which is not expensive) if I feel I need to add in more or go ahead and order the TM for MFW and then make a decision. Just my .02 I don't think this would work because the scheduling of SOTW is likely to be different between BP and MFW. The OP would have to do a lot of juggling and reinventing the wheel. I tried to do this with MFW CTG and HOD CTC last fall, and believe me, it did NOT work. :glare: Way too much work on my part! MFW has so many extras included that she can easily add more from that alone (including the Book Basket that Crystal mentioned), so adding another whole program wouldn't be necessary. I just gave my oldest lots of extra reading where needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen Academy Posted June 14, 2010 Author Share Posted June 14, 2010 Can you do both? Since MFW & Biblioplan both use SOTW 4 for their spine. I would get both and use MFW as my main curriculum and supplement Biblioplan (which is not expensive) if I feel I need to add in more or go ahead and order the TM for MFW and then make a decision. Just my .02 This is not a bad idea, but I do think it could be difficult because of the scheduling differences. However, I've considered getting a few of the spine books - like the Story of Us series or Streams, and assigning my ds12 extra readings from those. It would take minimal research to find the topics but still give enrichment. So I was thinking somewhere along the lines you suggest. Thanks! Aimee mom to 6 great kids ages 7-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3, and 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Crystal, thanks for sharing your experience with this. We did really like MFW this year, and it's nice to hear 1850-mod was a favorite for you and yoru family. Do you think the Facts and Fun workbook would be ok for a "young" 2nd grader? It should be. It's written for 1st-3rd graders for reading comprehension in the context of learning US history. So a young 2nd grader might need some help with some reading from time to time depending on skill level of the student. Scheduled in just a page or two. It's an Evan Moor book. -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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