Reality check - plans next year for 1st & 4th graders....

[Tabitha]

I need someone other than dh to run my plans by. I do all the homeschooling, so when I talk my circles around him with curriculum I just get this "uh-huh" which doesn't help me much.

 

I just need to check that I'm not going to be backtracking.

 

We are using MFW ECC right now. I do not plan to continue with MFW CtG, but to put it off for year.

 

Next year my oldest will be in 4th, and I'll also have a 1st gr. Here are my thoughts.

 

My oldest wants to complete her Bible notebook from MFW 1 (we started mid year with her and didn't get lots done in that program). So, I was going to do this with the 1st and 4th together, and then add in MOH for my older dd. They'd prolly both listen to the cd's, with the book primarily intended for my older dd.

 

Science - do the MFW 1st lessons together, and then add in My World Science for the older...or perhaps both if the younger will sit in. I've had 2 MWS programs here for 2 years not getting used. It's time for them to shine.

 

So, in a nutshell here is what I am thinking for the 4th grader (very detailed, workbook type kid):

 

Bible/History - MFW 1 w/sister + MOH (cds and/or activities)

Science - MWS and whatever in MFW 1 for kicks for her

*Grammar - R&S English 4 (used FLL and GWG previously)

*Writing Strands level 2 or 3 (writing this will be new for us)

Math - Saxon 54 (coming over from AO Horizons 3)

Prima Latina (after finishing up Power Glide German since we have a German gal coming to live with us for the summer)

Art - GeeGuides online + Drawing with Children alongside 1st gr. sister

Piano - she's been taking lessons for 3 years now.

 

1st grader (later she'll do MUS, I'm sure - very tactile and visual):

 

MFW 1 for everything - history, science, math...whatever they recommend

Supplement with 100 EZ Lessons...hope to start this one in a few weeks

FLL - work through this very slow...dd is not this speed just yet.

Art - same as above for 4th grader

Click'N Read Phonics program online

And whatever else she wants to sit in on with her older sister.

 

I'm just starting my search into what to use with the older dd for writing and grammar. I'm not set on what I have above, but am heavily leaning towards those. She enjoys GWG, but said today if I wanted to try something different next year she was fine with it...then after that we can decide which we live better to continue on with. At this point GWG isn't really challenging...just reinforces/repeats a lot of what she learned in FLL.

 

I looked at Classical Writing, but wasn't sure....

 

My main concern is not moving forward with MFW CtG until 5th grade...and doing the oldest a disservice by using the MFW 1st stuff some with her. If I wait a year, then I can easily have them both do CtG together. At that time, I'll also have a preschooler (perhaps K by then) to add into the mix.

 

I've also pre-ordered LCC...just incase I decide to NOT move onto MFW CtG as I am considering...or perhaps want to change something for next year. Perhaps a mix of WTM, LCC and MFW - who knows!

 

Thanks for mulling over this with me! Any insight, or other curriculum suggestions, are appreciated. My 2 older girls have very differing learning styles, and my youngest is a total mix of her older sisters.

 

Tab

[Osmosis Mom]

Tabitha,

 

I am just trying to bump your post so somebody more helpful can brainstorm with you.

 

I am not familiar with MFW that you are using, but off the bat then I'd think that your oldest would really need some beefing up in order to be challenged if she is doing this with younger sister. Perhaps you could add in something like Sonlight readers for her at her level?

 

Also, while we love, love GWG then you could consider Jr. Analytical Grammar. WHich level of GWG were you using? Perhaps go level 5 so she'll be challenged since it is a pretty easy to use curriculum. Or look at the other one I recommended or try Easy Grammar for a year although that one doesn't have diagramming.

 

Since you are having a German exchange student this summer and have studied German then I strongly think you should have your dd develop her German, quite frankly. There is plenty of grammar in the German language to satisfy anyone and in this way your oldest might built up a real language especially if you get another exchange student next summer...

 

For math then Saxon 54 is easy so be ware if she gets bored doing that one after a regular 3rd grade text.

 

For writing then WS seems like a fine choice. Just get both books and start in book 2 and then proceed from there.

 

Was that helpful in any way?

[Heather in Neverland]

Hey Tabitha!

 

Well, you know Kyle and he is finishing up 4th grade right now so this is what I can tell you about his lessons:

 

Spelling: Phonetic Zoo A

Language Arts: Easy Grammar, copywork and Latina Christiana II

Writing: IEW (we did not like Writing Strands)

Foreign Language: LCII

History: SOTW 4

Science: Lego Robotics

Math: MUS (we did not like Saxon 54)

Bible: AIG and AWANA

Reading: classic books (he loves to read)

Music: Piano lessons

Art: not happening, he hates anything art-related

 

Next year we will start the history rotation again and I am leaning towards a more LCC approach.

 

HTH!

[Tabitha]

Thanks to both of you.

 

We are starting German now, and it's just to prep for summer. DH and I know German already, the kids don't. Power Glide isn't that intense...I see it more like play/fun learning to grasp some of the language vs. seriously studying it. We'll see how well they do with it.

 

We're moving over from Horizons 3 to Saxon 54 next week...having only finished 1/2 of Horizons 3. Looking over the lessons, I think it will be fine. Horizons introduces more early, but at a slower pace. We need the textbook style that Horizons does not offer.

 

For the Bible/History, I am beefing up with Mystery of History (MOH) vol. 1 with the cds/activities.... Mainly she's doing the little Bible notebook with her younger sibling for fun, and to fill that yearing desire to finish coloring her Bible book. So, it won't be just the MFW 1 Bible/History stuff solely for the older...I did feel it wasn't enough.

 

Kyle's stuff looks great Heather. I'm learning and looking into LCC. I love the WTM, but with a slightly different focus. Once I get LCC in and read it, I think I'll be doing a mix of things for the following year. I really want to focus on a few areas and really develop those, then add in other things as we can. Hannah's a workbook kinda gal, and Abigail is more hands on - I've got my work out for me with those two.

 

Tab

[Tabitha]

Heather,

 

Have you looked at GeeGuides online? If Kyle likes doing things on the computer, he may like this. Both Hannah and Abigail love it and Abigail being more visual picks things up as quick as Hannah if not faster. It's not crafty, but they are learning about art. I bought the lessons through Homeschool Buyers Coop last year, and we're just now starting it.

 

You can do a lesson/demo to try it out.

 

http://www.geeguides.com/

 

BTW, Hannah just pulled out some pics and found one of Kyle making that flower box - lol.

 

Hey Tabitha!

 

Well, you know Kyle and he is finishing up 4th grade right now so this is what I can tell you about his lessons:

 

Spelling: Phonetic Zoo A

Language Arts: Easy Grammar, copywork and Latina Christiana II

Writing: IEW (we did not like Writing Strands)

Foreign Language: LCII

History: SOTW 4

Science: Lego Robotics

Math: MUS (we did not like Saxon 54)

Bible: AIG and AWANA

Reading: classic books (he loves to read)

Music: Piano lessons

Art: not happening, he hates anything art-related

 

Next year we will start the history rotation again and I am leaning towards a more LCC approach.

 

HTH!

[Tabitha]

Tabitha,

 

I am just trying to bump your post so somebody more helpful can brainstorm with you.

 

I am not familiar with MFW that you are using, but off the bat then I'd think that your oldest would really need some beefing up in order to be challenged if she is doing this with younger sister. Perhaps you could add in something like Sonlight readers for her at her level?

 

Also, while we love, love GWG then you could consider Jr. Analytical Grammar. WHich level of GWG were you using? Perhaps go level 5 so she'll be challenged since it is a pretty easy to use curriculum. Or look at the other one I recommended or try Easy Grammar for a year although that one doesn't have diagramming.

 

Since you are having a German exchange student this summer and have studied German then I strongly think you should have your dd develop her German, quite frankly. There is plenty of grammar in the German language to satisfy anyone and in this way your oldest might built up a real language especially if you get another exchange student next summer...

 

For math then Saxon 54 is easy so be ware if she gets bored doing that one after a regular 3rd grade text.

 

For writing then WS seems like a fine choice. Just get both books and start in book 2 and then proceed from there.

 

Was that helpful in any way?

 

Thanks for the grammar suggestions. I'll look into those. We're in GWG 3, and it is too easy, but she's still learning since it's solidifying what she knows and has learned before. I just didn't think about jumping to a higher level....:tongue_smilie:

 

Tab

[Jan in SC]

1st grade (next year)

 

Horizons math 1 w/ Singapore 1A/1B

Spelling Workout A & B

FLL

Finish OPGTR

SWB's new Writing program (name escapes me!)

 

(With 2nd grader & K'er)

SOTW Vol. 2

Earth Science & Astronomy (WTM way)

Prima latina (if he is reading well enough!)

[Tabitha]

Just a few thoughts from someone doing the WTM/LCC/MFW mix.

 

I occurs to me that if you do MOH and MFW-1st this year and then MFW CtoG next year you will be doing ancients 2 years in a row. Is that ok with you? Did you want to do that?

 

CtG and 1st go really well together and if you wanted to I think you could totally put them together and even your 1st grader will get a lot out of CtG - I do understand wanting to wait though and the science books on the shelf would be a big draw to me.

 

After reading LCC I was really encouraged that I could simplify things. There are some building type subjects that we do daily and then content subjects are once a week.

 

Daily:

Latin

math

handwriting/writing

Phonics for dd

 

I am integrating our English grammar studies into Latin. So before we go over a grammar concept in Latin I do a quick review of it in English. I am considering Lively Latin next year because it would do this for me.

 

We are doing ECC right now and we school 4 days a week so our week goes something like this...

 

day 1 - Bible missions

day 2 - Geography

day 3 - Science

day 4 - art,music, projects

 

We take the whole week's work and put it into one day. Next year we are doing R2R and we might need to move a little history to day 4 so it's not overwhelming. We will see.

 

I know that MFW is constructed around the CM philosophy of short lessons exc. but that simply doesn't work for my kids. It jumps around to much and they really like to immerse into a topic. By rearranging in this way it works very nicely.

 

Hi, and thanks for sorting this out.

 

I like the MFW tm and that is the draw for me. I want more Biblical than what SOTW is (well, SOTW 1 anyway) and that is why I wanted to try MOH for a year. Also...I could just skip CtG and go right to R2R as well. Right now, I am looking at selling ECC when we are done in June, and not having to buy that much for next year - that is a big plus in itself.

 

That would work, wouldn't it, just going to R2R...and keep me out of Ancient for 2 years?

 

I do like your layout better. It is a bit too choppy for me as well. It's nice to delve more into one thing at a time.

 

Thanks again!

[profmom]

 

I occurs to me that if you do MOH and MFW-1st this year and then MFW CtoG next year you will be doing ancients 2 years in a row. Is that ok with you? Did you want to do that?

 

 

This is what I was going to say too. CtG is basically an OT study with other cultures brought in at appropriate times. The Bible is one of the main history texts for the year.

 

BTW, I liked that CtG scheduled us to read directly from the Bible, but I found that we preferred reading from The Story of the Ancient World by Guerber/Miller as our spine! This book follows CTG's weekly topics almost exactly! It's the story of the OT in chronological order with the history of other ancient cultures (and how they interacted with and influenced the Israelites) woven in. We've really enjoyed our year and have a much greater understanding of the people and events of the OT as a result.

 

So, I'd recommend choosing only one Ancient history/OT study: CtG, MOH, or Story of the Ancient World -- SAW. (We ended up just reading SAW in order with Victor Journey Through the Bible instead of referring to CtG. SAW has book lists in the back per chapter and really could be used on it's own.)

 

Otherwise your schedule looks good. You could still use your MWS, even if you choose CtG. We ended up not liking the CtG science, Genesis for Kids. We've used MWS and would definitely prefer it.

 

I think 4th grade is a great time to start a writing program. We've used R & S for grammar in the past and then switched to GWG. We're going back to R & S next year too. I think it'll be a good move for you and that it'll be easier to switch now than later (because R & S could very well be more rigorous, especially as the levels increase).

 

About PL, you could start LC1 instead with a 4th grader. The publisher recommends PL for K-3rd. LC1 is the recommended starting point for 4th graders. (I say this, but I've decided to let my then 4th grader take PL next year as an easy start to Latin. The main reason I'm doing this, though, is because some of his 4th grade friends are forming a class and because we are also doing Greek -- EG2. Otherwise, I'd go with LC1.)

 

HTH! Your schedule looks good!

[profmom]

Oh, and for writing, I really like Writing Tales! It's effective and seems more pick-up-and-go than CW. (I use CW too, but have chosen to start my 2nd child in WT instead of CW-Aesop.)

[Tabitha]

This is what I was going to say too. CtG is basically an OT study with other cultures brought in at appropriate times. The Bible is one of the main history texts for the year.

 

BTW, I liked that CtG scheduled us to read directly from the Bible, but I found that we preferred reading from The Story of the Ancient World by Guerber/Miller as our spine! This book follows CTG's weekly topics almost exactly! It's the story of the OT in chronological order with the history of other ancient cultures (and how they interacted with and influenced the Israelites) woven in. We've really enjoyed our year and have a much greater understanding of the people and events of the OT as a result.

 

So, I'd recommend choosing only one Ancient history/OT study: CtG, MOH, or Story of the Ancient World -- SAW. (We ended up just reading SAW in order with Victor Journey Through the Bible instead of referring to CtG. SAW has book lists in the back per chapter and really could be used on it's own.)

 

Otherwise your schedule looks good. You could still use your MWS, even if you choose CtG. We ended up not liking the CtG science, Genesis for Kids. We've used MWS and would definitely prefer it.

 

I think 4th grade is a great time to start a writing program. We've used R & S for grammar in the past and then switched to GWG. We're going back to R & S next year too. I think it'll be a good move for you and that it'll be easier to switch now than later (because R & S could very well be more rigorous, especially as the levels increase).

 

About PL, you could start LC1 instead with a 4th grader. The publisher recommends PL for K-3rd. LC1 is the recommended starting point for 4th graders. (I say this, but I've decided to let my then 4th grader take PL next year as an easy start to Latin. The main reason I'm doing this, though, is because some of his 4th grade friends are forming a class and because we are also doing Greek -- EG2. Otherwise, I'd go with LC1.)

 

HTH! Your schedule looks good!

 

Hmmmmm...nice food for thought.

 

So, since I wouldn't be using much of the MFW program...is just getting the tm, and perhaps that other Ancient book you mentioned, something smart to do? Or, since I have MOH on it's way...I can use that as a supplement. DD likes to read a lot on her own, so this with the cds for her personal reading time is a possibility.

 

I would forgo their science...and I've got basically everything else here for history. Just adding whichever history text to their tm? I did not like SOTW1, so I haven't looked at them beyond that (can ya tell!).

 

Thanks also for the GWG and R&S comments...we'll definitely try R&S. I do want to do a gentler approach for the Latin, so since I have all the PL items I'll just do that. If we move fast, that will be a plus.

 

Thanks!

[Tabitha]

 

Since you are having a German exchange student this summer and have studied German then I strongly think you should have your dd develop her German, quite frankly. There is plenty of grammar in the German language to satisfy anyone and in this way your oldest might built up a real language especially if you get another exchange student next summer...

 

 

 

This is pretty much a one time thing for us. Unless someone else through our church wanted to do it. I'm not into taking just anyone and through any program.... It just stumbled upon us this time.

 

I looked through Power Glide today, and this one is different than the Spanish one I looked at a few years ago.

 

I'm torn now between pursuing German...and using the PL.

 

Wondering if it would be hard to do both.....

 

Tab

[profmom]

Hmmmmm...nice food for thought.

 

So, since I wouldn't be using much of the MFW program...is just getting the tm, and perhaps that other Ancient book you mentioned, something smart to do? Or, since I have MOH on it's way...I can use that as a supplement. DD likes to read a lot on her own, so this with the cds for her personal reading time is a possibility.

 

I think that CtG, Story of the Ancient World, and MOH would all completely overlap and it could be too much to use more than one. I know almost nothing about MOH, but I'm guessing it comes with supplemental book lists like the other two do. I'd probably compare the writing style of the texts and see which you think would be best for your 4th grader.

 

If you decide on either MOH or SAW, you'll then need to evaluate what the MFW TM would be adding for you. It sounds like you wouldn't be using the science, or English from the Roots Up schedule (since you're doing Latin). Do your kids like to color? There are lots of coloring pages and timeline figures. The book basket book lists are nice (but may not be necessary with your other resources).

 

We used the memory verses, which basically work out to a verse a week, but they are a part of a few longer passages (which I prefer) instead of individual verses. (We finished those early and so we're working on an extra one that I added.) We also loved the read alouds (shown at the site), but we always got ahead of their schedule. (Actually, we were always ahead in the Patricia St. Johns books, and we may be behind their schedule in the Children's Homer.)

 

One other aspect of MFW that didn't work well for us was the "book basket" concept. It works much better for me to assign them some reading than it does for them to browse the basket.

 

HTH!

[Tabitha]

I think that CtG, Story of the Ancient World, and MOH would all completely overlap and it could be too much to use more than one. I know almost nothing about MOH, but I'm guessing it comes with supplemental book lists like the other two do. I'd probably compare the writing style of the texts and see which you think would be best for your 4th grader.

 

If you decide on either MOH or SAW, you'll then need to evaluate what the MFW TM would be adding for you. It sounds like you wouldn't be using the science, or English from the Roots Up schedule (since you're doing Latin). Do your kids like to color? There are lots of coloring pages and timeline figures. The book basket book lists are nice (but may not be necessary with your other resources).

 

We used the memory verses, which basically work out to a verse a week, but they are a part of a few longer passages (which I prefer) instead of individual verses. (We finished those early and so we're working on an extra one that I added.) We also loved the read alouds (shown at the site), but we always got ahead of their schedule. (Actually, we were always ahead in the Patricia St. Johns books, and we may be behind their schedule in the Children's Homer.)

 

One other aspect of MFW that didn't work well for us was the "book basket" concept. It works much better for me to assign them some reading than it does for them to browse the basket.

 

HTH!

 

Hi,

 

You can see all MOH includes here, view additional pages link under book pic:

 

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=427044&event=ESP1016|1484897|1016#curr

 

I think I'm going to just stick with MOH, get the audios and any extra stuff. I'll use the MOH table of contents for my tm schedule...and get other books around that for readers, and then follow it for scripture memory.

 

I wouldn't use much from the MFW CtG package...so I'm going to just bypass MFW next year (I'm having a hard time accepting that I am doing that for some reason), and then pick it back up with R2R.

 

Thanks all for mulling these minute details over with me.

 

Tab

[profmom]

Sounds like a good plan! :thumbup1: :)