MFW vs Sonlight

[Guest]

I am SO on the fence with this.:confused:

 

I originally planned on going with MFW ECC for my 9 yo.

 

But I have seen SL Core 3(Part 1 Intro to Americna History) and their LA program, and that caught my attention. I like how all I have to do is add Math, Science and Handwriting.

 

My 9 yo is a vocarious(sp?) reader.

 

But not sure if SL would be OVERKILL with the books

 

Anyone have any opinions on either one?

 

Thank you:)

[Rhonda in TX]

My DD (turned 9 that year) is also a voracious reader and absolutely loved all the books. I've looked at MFW, but there aren't enough books for my DD. Yes, I could add more, but that's just more work for me.

 

I think another thing to look at is hands-on activities. I think MFW schedules them, while SL doesn't. My kids actually don't like history-related projects, so it's not something I care about. You might, though.

[Guest]

People tend to think Sonlight is more "rigorous". What do you think?

 

I am so torn over this!!:lol:

 

I mean, you COULD add hands on to Sonlight if you choose to correct??

 

Thanks:001_smile:

[Marie in Oh]

that SL is the more rigorous program. I have only browsed the MFW products and read comments here and came to the conlusion that SL looked a bit tougher-- in a good way.

 

We are using SL Core 3/4 next year with my 5th and 4th graders.

[Donna T.]

I've used both SL (Core K - twice, Core 1 and some of Core 2) and MFW (K, First Grade and Adventures for second grade). I haven't done Core 3 but I want to. I have ECC sitting on my shelf but haven't gotten inspired enough to start it. I would be a "SL all the way, no doubt about it" mom if my children were closer in age. They are three years apart and I haven't wanted to teach two different cores at once, though many moms do that just fine. I think it's easier to teach multiple ages with one program with MFW. But, overall, I think SL is more enjoyable. I find it more relaxing to teach, more interesting for all of us, and just plain fun. I don't think it's any more rigorous than MFW. MFW's phonics program is just unbeatable in my opinion and I'll definately be using that again next year with my upcoming first grader. There is also alot of writing with MFW. I think MFW has that reputation (of being less rigorous) but I've never quite understood it. MFW is alot of work if you do everything that they plan and schedule for you. It's put together very well. It's more legwork because you have to locate additional books. There are simple activities... nothing too elaborate, expensive, or time-consuming.

 

So, I think both are great, but I personally have enjoyed our SL time more. The books are so good. The children look forward to them, even waking up ASKING to get to it. It's easy to add activities to SL if you want to do so. MFW does a better job integrating Biblical History with World History if that's important to you. It's not really a problem with SL though because SL includes plenty of reading straight from the Bible and the missionary stories are so good.

 

I have only used one level of SL's LA and I did not like it at all but that was a long time ago. I think they've changed it up a good bit since then. I do use a reader's package now for my 3rd grader. My oldest son is truly addicted to reading and I credit both SL and MFW for that. With SL, he learned to love books and with MFW, he learned to read very, very well.

[bethben]

I think if I had only one child, I might be persuaded to go with Sonlight. But, I have a 4 year span between two children that I'm homeschooling and Sonlight will not work for us because I refuse to do 2 cores at the same time. I think MFW is more family friendly- it can span across several ages and teach the various levels where they're at. We did Core K with Sonlight and MFW adventures this year. I can say we enjoyed our adventures year much better. I switched over because I was reinventing a Sonlight program to my liking - using notebooking and hands on projects. I think that MFW fits what I want out of my children's education better.

 

I like that everything is included except language arts and math. I like that there are activities included for my ds who loves those type of things. I like that there are notebooking pages already scheduled for me where I don't have to think about it. I found MFW adventures to be rigorous enough for a 2nd grader. He's learned quite a bit about American history. I don't think it's a light program at all.

Beth

[TexasTea]

I have used both MFW and SL and can say that Sonlight is absolutely more rigorous. For some of my children that is best and for another child MFW was best. I guess it just depends on what you need.

I do want to say that while i think SL is more rigorous, MFW is 'enough'. KWIM?

 

HTH

[Free Indeed]

:iagree: Yep what she said! MFW is enough, but Sonlight is deeper!

[TexasTea]

I just wanted to add something......

 

With MFW it is very easy to add in more if you want it. I added in *some* of the SL readers for my child who uses MFW. I was able to add in just the right amount of reading for her. SL was too overwhelming for this child. I think MFW with SL readers is a great mix. I have even heard of some ladies using MFW as their base and using SL Lang. arts with readers.

 

Debbie

[Donna A.]

LOL, I have to say that anyone who thinks MFW isn't rigorous enough hasn't done the upper years. It is indeed quite enough. If one wants it to be more rigorous, that is, leaning more to a Greco-Roman style of classical education, then there's certainly room enough to add more as desired. The Book Basket list inside the TM contains over 400 optional titles in every genre, ranging from children's picture books to high school and adult level reading and videos. Examples of middle school and higher level material include Invitation to the Classics, Ben-Hur, the Henty books, the Genevieve Foster books, the "Famous Men" series, How Should We Then Live.

 

I will agree that MFW isn't as rigorous as SL in the early years, and that's intentional. MFW believes in a gentle start a la Charlotte Mason or Ruth Beechick, and then gets deeper and more rigorous each year. MFW also believes in laying a strong biblical foundation before addressing the paganism and mythology beliefs and lifestyles of the ancients.

 

One reason I chose MFW over SL (besides the above) was the amount of books included. SL was overkill for our family, and I felt like if we hadn't read every single one of them, then we weren't "completing" the curriculum. With MFW, I can choose from the extra booklist as time and interest allow. I can use the library or buy the books, whichever I choose. I felt like more control was in my hands than with SL. Plus I would've had to figure out where to store all those books from SL. LOL.

 

I also don't like that SL changes their core packages and prices frequently. MFW doesn't do this.

 

I like the biblical emphasis in MFW.

 

In SL, there are just too many books that are "questionable" that I would've had to pre-read. In MFW, the author has personally read every single title on the booklist, and has noted where there may be questionable content so that I can decide whether to bother with it or not. Then I don't have to feel bad about the fact that I spent money on books that we can't read.

 

With SL, I would've had to buy a separate IG for every subject.

 

With MFW, all subjects are included in the one TM, plus teacher's notes, plus the 400-title booklist, plus the appendix pages for copying for the notebooking, plus a section on "Help! How do I fit everything in?" and an example of the Hazell's personal daily schedule, plus tips on how to use PLL, ILL and other subjects that are recommended but not required, as well as dictation, narrations, notebooking, and other skills. (For those who said MFW doesn't include LA, that's not quite true. It does include some LA skills a la Charlotte Mason.)

 

There's also a complete supply list at the front of the TM which includes everything you'll need on an ongoing basis through the year, so that you can stock up ahead of time. Then at the beginning of each week, you see a list of items needed specifically for that week for hands-on projects, science experiments, and photocopying. (I personally do several weeks' worth of photocopying at one time to save trips to the UPS store where, as a homeschooler, I get copies for 4 cents a page.)

 

MFW is described (in my own words) as a mix of classical, CM, literature-strong with a few textbooks used as reference material, biblically-focused unit study. One neat thing about MFW is that whether you lean more classical or more CM, you can tweak, add or delete activities and books as desired. There's plenty of room for personalizing, yet the weekly grid with specific plans is there to fall back on when you need your hand held. Some people love that flexibility, and some don't. Regardless, it's definitely family-friendly.