Any MFW users complete 5 year cycle?

[wanderer109]

If so, did you repeat the cycle with any of your children? Did any of your children continue on to the MFW High School curriculum?

 

Would you mind sharing your thoughts on your experience with MFW?

 

Specifically, these are my questions/concerns;

 

1. Is it monotonous to repeat a cycle?

 

2. Did any of you feel that the cycles were too advanced for younger dc's? (I will have 3rd, 1st, and pre-K this year and plan to use ECC). We did Adventures last year.

 

3. Did any of you supplement science and or history, or did you feel MFW was complete enough?

 

Thanks so much for your thoughts!!!

[mommaduck]

1. Not yet.

 

2. Yes, but they sat along and I was able to pull other things off the web and ordering the activity books to SOTW, regardless whether it was included in that year's MFW curricula or not, made up for it.

 

3. History is always supplemented with discussion, videos, and sometimes field trips. Science is supplemented with videos and my kids had fun with a free online science workbook. It's not that it was needed, but depends on the child and their needs. There is never a "one size fits all" curricula, no matter how hard you look. Most homeschooling parents will supplement here and if for nothing else than for the fun of it.

 

And yes, we felt it was enough. Though I intended to homeschool my children through highschool with MFW, we've decided to slowly integrate them into Catholic school. My oldest is simply beyond me in certain areas and needs to be continually challenged. I can't give him that, especially with our finances and family size. So I'm doing what's best for him and sending him to a private school with a good reputation.

[wanderer109]

Thanks Mommaduck!

[mommyagain]

:lurk5:Would love to hear from others also!

[wanderer109]

mommyagain,

 

Are you just starting out with MFW, or thinking about it? Have you done any of the cycles yet?

 

We did Adventures last year and will be doing ECC this year.

[urban mama]

2. Did any of you feel that the cycles were too advanced for younger dc's? (I will have 3rd, 1st, and pre-K this year and plan to use ECC). We did Adventures last year. !

 

I'm not qualified to answer your questions but wanted to let you know that I will be right there with you in terms of ages (except for the pre-Ker)! We did Adventures 2 years ago, tried SL Intro to World History (poor fit for my kids) and are back with MFW again for ECC. In terms of being too much for the younger kids, I've gotten lots of ideas from the message board on MFW. They address which books to go easy on with the littler kids etc.

 

I'm so excited for this year! I think it will be great! We start Tuesday next week!

[cbollin]

Raising my hand. I'm right there.

 

If so, did you repeat the cycle with any of your children

 

yes. My oldest started MFW in 2nd grade when I first found it. That year since Adventures hadn't been written yet, we did ECC. So, she repeated ECC in 7th, and CTG in 8th.

 

? Did any of your children continue on to the MFW High School curriculum?

 

yes, oldest is in week 5 of the AHL program (MFW hs year 1) as a 9th grader. It's fine to have to do CTG and AHL back to back. very different focus. it works.

 

 

Would you mind sharing your thoughts on your experience with MFW?

 

I love it. I have 7 plus years of really doing well with this program and love it. I could link you to way too many posts about my experiences. Basically in a nut shell, MFW is an answer to prayer for me. My oldest is smart. We (dh and I) are academic types (he's a PHD in chemistry. I have my degrees.) We're happy with MFW.

 

Specifically, these are my questions/concerns;

 

1. Is it monotonous to repeat a cycle?

 

I have done ECC twice, CTG twice and currently doing RTR the second time. 5 years is a long time in between and to get to do it again is a lot of fun for me. Not been monotonous at all for me. Having fun.

 

 

2. Did any of you feel that the cycles were too advanced for younger dc's? (I will have 3rd, 1st, and pre-K this year and plan to use ECC). We did Adventures last year.

 

My middle daughter is not an advanced child. She has some mild special needs even. We have been just fine with it because the program has multiple ages in mind. She doesn't always do all of the advanced assignments, but there is so much in the program that she can do. Prayer, Bible, memory work. Crafts, cooking. book basket, art, music. We go slower with her to understand the readings.

 

Oldest and middle gal are 3 grade levels apart. It's worked fine.

 

3. Did any of you supplement science and or history, or did you feel MFW was complete enough?

 

Thanks so much for your thoughts!!!

 

I honestly think it has been enough. I tend to supplement with things that are of interest to my children such as which foreign language to learn. Or more/less library books. We've loved the science in MFW. We can simply add more of the suggested enrichment reading, and use the internet linked books for extra experiments as we want. The science is good and stage of learning appropriate.

History is fine in MFW.

 

MFW is gentle and stage of learning appropriate. I've loved seeing how my kids have grown over the 7 plus years of using it and we're not done with all of it yet.

 

Oldest has done: ECC, CTG, RTR, EX1850, 1850MOD, back to ECC, back to CTG, and currently in AHL. oh yeah, we did the Bible and Science in ADV for summer fun one year too. currently 9th grade

 

Middle gal: done Pre K, K, 1st, (bible and science in ADV for summer fun), EX1850 and 1850MOD (younger supplement), ECC, CTG and currently in RTR in 6th.

 

Youngest - has autism. Has done MFW Pre K, K, parts of 1st (slowed down due to special needs). and enjoying science and music in RTR with older sis. let's just say 2nd grade.

 

 

-crystal

[mommyagain]

mommyagain,

 

Are you just starting out with MFW, or thinking about it? Have you done any of the cycles yet?

 

We did Adventures last year and will be doing ECC this year.

No, I haven't done any of the cycles yet. This year my oldest will be in 1st grade. I'm waiting until she's in 3rd and my son is in 2nd to do Adventures and then go on from there.

I couldn't really get a good feel for it through the website. I had a chance to really take my time and browse through all the TM's at a recent convention and I loved what I saw. I'm really looking forward to using it.

[wanderer109]

Thanks, mommyagain. Adventures was GREAT! We loved it! I'm sure you will too.

 

cbollin,

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. It sounds like MFW has been wonderful for your family. I do feel that it was an answer to prayer for me when I found it and we did love Adventures. I'm the type who stresses over things though, so I just needed a little encouragement from someone who's had lots of experience with MFW and has repeated some of the cycles. So, thanks for the encouragement! We are starting ECC next week!

[SandKsmama]

If so, did you repeat the cycle with any of your children?

Another one who has done the whole cycle - we are starting over this year with ECC :-) My 9 and 7 year old will do ECC, but they were too little the first time through, so it will be a repeat for me, but brand new to them. My oldest will be 9th grade this year.

 

Did any of your children continue on to the MFW High School curriculum?

My oldest actually is *not* using MFW this year - we talked and prayed about it, and decided it wasn't a good fit for her, at least this year!

 

Would you mind sharing your thoughts on your experience with MFW?

 

I'll answer the specific questions, but I just wanted to put here that I've used MFW K (twice), MFW 1st grade, and all 5 years of the history cycle, with no plans to change anything, so I think we've had a great experience so far!!!

 

Specifically, these are my questions/concerns;

 

1. Is it monotonous to repeat a cycle?

Obviously, I'm not there YET, but I honestly don't think it will be. For one thing, it's been 5 years - 5 years is a pretty long time. For another thing, a kid who experiences a program at 7 or 8 years old, and then goes through it again at 12 or 13 will have totally different experiences, b/c they will be at such different levels of maturity, development, etc. Also, there are SO many opportunities - book basket books, activities, etc., it is very likely that the 2nd time around you could read totally different books, and do some different activities.

 

2. Did any of you feel that the cycles were too advanced for younger dc's? (I will have 3rd, 1st, and pre-K this year and plan to use ECC). We did Adventures last year.

Not at all. My just-turned-7 year old did Exploration to 1850 as a 5 year old, and got a lot out of it. I was shocked at how much of it she wanted to do, and really learned! She did nearly all of 1850-Modern as a 6 year old last year. Now, my kids are not at all sensitive, and my younger ones are pretty "old" for their ages, but I think there is a good variety of age/maturity levels in the activities and books. Something for everyone.

 

3. Did any of you supplement science and or history, or did you feel MFW was complete enough?

 

Never supplemented, definitely felt it was plenty. My 13 year old only had MFW science, and went straight into Apologia last year with no trouble at all.

 

hth!

Amanda

[Marie in Oh]

but I think I can speak to some of your questions:

 

I do think that most years are a little much for the littles. Last year we did Explorers to 1850 and I included my younger 1 quite a lot (1st grade). This year we are doing 1850 to Modern times and because of the intense nature of the history and the complexity of the science (Chemistry and physics), I am not including my younger 2 (1st and 2nd) much. They are participating in the geography and that is about it. Even SWB says not to use SOTW 4 with a child younger then 4th grade. We are doing something else for history and science for them. I am reading the read alouds for the 2nd and 3rd grade supplement to them. A freiend did ECC last year and definitely thought it too much for her young son, then K.

 

I do think it is enough. I don't think you need to supplement. What drew me to MFW was that is was very doable. I think it is plenty rigorous as written, but very much realistic to accomplish each day.

 

HTH.

Edited August 9, 2010 by Marie in Oh
to add something

[cbollin]

This year we are doing 1850 to Modern times and because of the intense nature of the history and the complexity of the science (Chemistry and physics), I am not including my younger 2 (1st and 2nd) much. They are participating in the geography and that is about it. Even SWB says not to use SOTW 4 with a child younger then 4th grade.

HTH.

 

tagging on in agreement.....

 

Even MFW agrees with that and that's why they have the "younger sib supplement" to do American geography and basic facts.

 

quoting from their 1850MOD website:

Note for 2nd and 3rd Grade: The content of 1850 to Modern Times is difficult for 2nd and 3rd graders. The information is more difficult to understand than in our other history programs; many of the books are written at a higher comprehension level. The history content is often troubling—describing wars and human cruelty—and not suitable for younger students. The author of The Story of the World does not recommend using Volume 4 with 3rd grade or younger, and we agree. However, 2nd and 3rd graders can still join you for Bible, science experiments, science readings (the easier sections), and studying presidents and states. (Remember that 2nd and 3rd graders will have an opportunity to repeat 1850 to Modern Times in 7th or 8th grade, when they will have the maturity needed to fully comprehend the complex information.)

 

To add history content for 2nd and 3rd graders, you will need the 2nd-3rd Grade Supplement for 1850 to Modern Times. Fascinating literature books as well as two activity books help make history and U.S. geography come alive for younger students. You will find all of these books conveniently scheduled in your lesson plans. They are great books, and you won’t want to miss any of them!

 

so yeah, they have ways to work it all for grades 2-8. I guess I should mention that with my middle gal, I didn't fold her into the 5 year cycle until 2nd grade per MFW recommendations.

 

-crystal

[dhudson]

We have finished the 5 year cycle and are repeating ECC with an 8th grader and twin 5th graders. I was a little concerned that I would find it boring but am finding that the kids are excited. My oldest is excited about doing the new books in the 7th/8th grade supplement and the twins are REALLY excited about doing all the projects that they just vaguely remember.

 

I am getting excited about doing the cycle again and being able to have more time to do more of the projects that I may have skipped the first time around.

 

I thought that my twins did great with the older programs with the 2nd and 3rd grade supplements and found a really amazing side benefit of them being about to have so much commonality.