MFW, MOH or TOG?

[sixtimemomma]

I have multiple grade levels. I tried SOS and Lifepacs in both Science and History to take the pressure off of sooo much lesson planning! I don't feel they are getting enough with Alpha Omega and I am trying to decide on a new curriculum.

 

I have seen many say they LOVE TOG but I have also seen others say it was just too much work. I am looking for a lighter load that is both interesting and educational.

 

Any suggestions. Anyone tried more than one?

 

BTW I have a rising 8th, 11th and 12th and a few younger ones.:confused:

[cbollin]

Guess it depends on lots of factors.

 

If the 11th and 12th grade use MFW, they'd work more independently. The lesson plans are "pre trimmed" and pick up and go. Parent still guides them and checks in and has weekly time for conference on topics. I"m not sure which program they'd use, because much of it would depend on what you need to finish for graduation requirements for them. I'd definitely call MFW's office and talk with their high school consultant for best fit placement on that.

 

Many 8th graders might do better in the non high school programs in MFW. So you could put everyone in grades 2-8 in something like Exploring Countries and Cultures and use the jr. high reading supplement and such.

 

-crystal

[sixtimemomma]

Thanks for your response. Just wondering if anyone has tried multiple programs and found success in one rather than the other and why?

 

I am slightly overwhelmed with the choices.

[Julie in MN]

I have used a lot of programs, but TOG is not one of them.

 

You mention MOH and I have their year 1 manual. To me, it would take a lot of planning to get it to high school level. TOG also sounds like it takes a lot of planning at least initially, and I often hear it has lots of teacher notes but from my experience with using SL7 teacher notes, those words bring to my mind (a) an extra 1,000 page book that *I* must read and (b) I've heard TOG's is mostly copied from an encyclopedia and I already have one of those (and can access others online). That's all I can say about MOH & TOG.

 

I've also used SOS for biology and was not happy with it, so if you haven't used biology from them yet, I'll just say that my experience is that they try to squish each chapter into a certain number of pages so sometimes there seems to be "no room" to teach whole concepts, at least some of which are still on the test. But if SOS is working for you, then I should be quiet :)

 

As far as MFW, your two high schoolers should be able to work almost completely independently, if you like, with just a weekly check-in meeting and maybe some dinner time conversation. Crystal told you about that, and we are both using it with very different children (she has an oldest dd and I have a way youngest ds).

 

Best wishes as you decide,

Julie

[sixtimemomma]

Well I can't actually say SOS is working for me outside of the fact that it frees me up to work with the other children. Next year I will have K, 1st, 3rd, 8th, 11th and 12th. I have my hands full to say the least.

 

I am trying to find as many subjects as possible that are comprehensive but require less hands on for me.

 

Based on both my observation of the kids....SOS and Lifepacs are either too easy or to light. But I don't really know what other options I have that won't drive me crazy.

 

I figured I would get the opinions of others who have tried the other "time freeing" options for History and Science.

 

Thanks for your input.

[LatinTea]

I have used Sonlight high school cores and Julie is right, the instructor's guide is another 1000 page book to read, very wordy, and to the excess, at least for my family. I research TOG from time to time and always leave their website shaking my head. If I had many children, I would consider them, but probably still wouldn't use them. Every time I get to the part where they literally have the encyclopedia printed there for your student to read (and you too!), I know that would be ultra boring. I'm sure many love TOG though and will hopefully chime in here for you.

 

I have searched and searched for what Sonlight has (the schedule page) and something like Calvert (walking the student through their day with a schedule plus all the bells and whistles) and have found MFW late in the game. MFW is the closest to REALITY when it comes to what can be done in a day. We were always behind with Sonlight. MFW gives you a somewhat lighter day on Friday to catch up. Works for us. The notes are sparse though and I do sometimes long for more like SL, but it's better for us to add than to have to decide what to take away. That's just my family though. Others love SL's amount of notes.

 

Since MFW covers Bible, Literature, and History, (and gives you a schedule written to the student with spaces on there for the other subjects), it is a simple approach, but with a depth that allows you to go further if you want or leave as is and give a solid education.

 

Didn't know I felt this strongly about MFW. I have been struggling with deciding if I want to order WHL (their 2nd year of high school) thinking that I could just do it myself and make my own schedule. Your post helped me to see that I need to just get it and take advantage of their hard work. Why make myself crazy? :D

 

One other thing, the best thing to do is go look at samples online. But you know that! Good luck in your decision. :)

 

EDIT: See my post #11 concerning my statement on the encyclopedia above. Thanks!

Edited April 9, 2011 by LatinTea

[Melissa in CA]

Why not just get them history textbooks at grade level? I would have no problem handing my ds a BJU history text, assigning him the review questions, the Activity Guide mapping/activities/etc, and that he take notes from his reading and study for his tests. In fact, we did that for a while this year and ds loved it. BJU history is pretty solid and definitely high school level, not to mention MUCH better than SOS. :D

 

As for science. Why not just get Apologia? It is independently learned and, except for gathering the lab materials, should take very little mom time.

 

You haven't stated what your high school students need to cover though. Does your 12th grader need to take Government? Is your 11th grader in need of World History? There are certain requirements when they get to high school, and I think those are more important for your olders right now than what program to use. Know what I mean? :D

 

I personally, having used both SL and TOG, would not consider either in your situation. Maybe SL for the youngers if you have the time to read to them, but not for the older three. I did not like SL's high school level Cores, and at this juncture, jumping into high school level TOG would be quite overwhelming to you...and time consuming, I believe.

Edited April 9, 2011 by Melissa in CA

[RobinF]

I do think some of it depends on your goals. We are currently using TOG but have not done the high school years. It is designed to be more and more independent the older the children are so your 8th, 11th and 12th grader would be working more independently with weekly or bi weekly meetings/discusions with you.

 

For the younger three you would be studying the same time period with TOG which is a huge plus for me. I would actually use your older to do some of the reading with the littles that way you could have more individual time with all of them.

 

You could also combine the younger ones in one science curriculum or even just let them tag along with the older ones and what they are learning where appropriate.

[Karenciavo]

To clarify :001_smile:: the teacher notes are not mostly copied from the encyclopedia, they are mostly discussion scripts for Socratic discussion. The encyclopedia is not for students to read, it is for the teacher.

 

My high schoolers use TOG independently, we come together at various points in the week for Socratic discussion. It does not take a lot of planning on my part, but I have been using it for 8 years. TOG provides an excellent education in history, literature, church history, and government. The writing assignments are very good, although we don't use them regularly. TOG also has what I consider minor "threads" through the history of art, music, science, philosophy.

 

TOG also sounds like it takes a lot of planning at least initially, and I often hear it has lots of teacher notes but from my experience with using SL7 teacher notes, those words bring to my mind (a) an extra 1,000 page book that *I* must read and (b) I've heard TOG's is mostly copied from an encyclopedia and I already have one of those (and can access others online). That's all I can say about MOH & TOG.

 

 

Every time I get to the part where they literally have the encyclopedia printed there for your student to read (and you too!), I know that would be ultra boring. I'm sure many love TOG though and will hopefully chime in here for you.

 

[jewellsmommy]

I have used Sonlight high school cores and Julie is right, the instructor's guide is another 1000 page book to read, very wordy, and to the excess, at least for my family. I research TOG from time to time and always leave their website shaking my head. If I had many children, I would consider them, but probably still wouldn't use them. Every time I get to the part where they literally have the encyclopedia printed there for your student to read (and you too!), I know that would be ultra boring. I'm sure many love TOG though and will hopefully chime in here for you.

 

I have searched and searched for what Sonlight has (the schedule page) and something like Calvert (walking the student through their day with a schedule plus all the bells and whistles) and have found MFW late in the game. MFW is the closest to REALITY when it comes to what can be done in a day. We were always behind with Sonlight. MFW gives you a somewhat lighter day on Friday to catch up. Works for us. The notes are sparse though and I do sometimes long for more like SL, but it's better for us to add than to have to decide what to take away. That's just my family though. Others love SL's amount of notes.

 

Since MFW covers Bible, Literature, and History, (and gives you a schedule written to the student with spaces on there for the other subjects), it is a simple approach, but with a depth that allows you to go further if you want or leave as is and give a solid education.

 

Didn't know I felt this strongly about MFW. I have been struggling with deciding if I want to order WHL (their 2nd year of high school) thinking that I could just do it myself and make my own schedule. Your post helped me to see that I need to just get it and take advantage of their hard work. Why make myself crazy? :D

 

One other thing, the best thing to do is go look at samples online. But you know that! Good luck in your decision. :)

 

 

The passages of encyclopedia are in the teacher's notes. They are just to give the teacher a lot of background quickly. The students get their info from various other sources including literature and history texts.

[LatinTea]

To clarify :001_smile:: the teacher notes are not mostly copied from the encyclopedia, they are mostly discussion scripts for Socratic discussion. The encyclopedia is not for students to read, it is for the teacher.

I knew I should have rechecked that first before posting. Yes, I remember now that the World Book encyclopedia is in the teacher's notes, not the student's pages. Ugh. My apologies to all concerned. :)

 

TOG looks so wonderful and I really wish I were up to it AND that my daughter would love it. Oh, that's right, I only have one to teach so THAT really is the reason why I don't use it. ;)

[Brindee]

I'm in agreement with the MFW posters. It has WAY more depth than SOS or LifePacs, but there aren't a million extra things that could bog us down. I consider it rigorous compared to many, and the best part is that my dd ENJOYS it! She asked me to please get the MFW WHL for next year! We've never had a curriculum that fit so perfectly, to the point that I scratch my head wondering when they got info. from us to produce a curriculum with my dd's needs/interests in mind! :D The only part she doesn't care for is writing out the "Taking the Old Testament Challenge" answers. So, we do that orally. That includes both of us in it, and sometimes dh too, which helps her learn and remember it better anyway! I am absolutely thrilled with AHL and hope WHL goes as well!

[virtual_twins_mom]

We used MFW in 2nd grade, so I've looked at the entire curriculum in preparation for the higher grades. For next year, I'm changing from an "all-in-one curriculum" to a more skill-focus approach. MFW would be the only "all-in-one" curriculum I would consider due to my need for a very structured and less open-ended approach to teaching and assignments. My kids also do much better with a different book for each subject. It provides them with an "end point" to the lesson and helps them to see the logic in that line of study. The curriculum we are using this year is Paths of Exploration which is a very integrated unit study. This has not worked well for us at all. It's a very nice curriculum, but it doesn't fit us.

 

Good luck in your search for the right curriculum. For me, it's the worst part of homeschooling but also the greatest part of homeschooling.

[Penny from Tenny]

I haven't used TOG or MOH but after homeschooling for 20 years I will say that MFW is the first program we have used with multiple children and we actually are in view of finishing the course for this year! We have always finished our core subjects, but somehow science, history, and the arts got put on the back burner (at the elementary level at least) and were never quite "finished". MFW has been very doable and this has been one of the hardest years I've ever had with homeschool. We didn't do it as "perfectly" as I would have liked, but I am pleased. I would check out the possibilities and pray for wisdom. I've learned to wait for a peace before making any major changes. I had that with MFW and am so thankful.

[hose]

Well I can't actually say SOS is working for me outside of the fact that it frees me up to work with the other children. Next year I will have K, 1st, 3rd, 8th, 11th and 12th. I have my hands full to say the least.

 

I am trying to find as many subjects as possible that are comprehensive but require less hands on for me.

 

Based on both my observation of the kids....SOS and Lifepacs are either too easy or to light. But I don't really know what other options I have that won't drive me crazy.

 

I figured I would get the opinions of others who have tried the other "time freeing" options for History and Science.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

I suggest focusing on the three R's for the little ones and let the other subjects come in via different routes. Personally, I would get Diana Waring audio books or SOTW audio (or any other, honestly) and call that history for the younger three. I would also make a weekly trip to the library and stock up on historical fiction, science books, and educational DVDs (history and science). Then I'd require 30 min. of daily reading from each subject for the little ones who can read well and make sure they listen to the audio books throughout the week. You could treat them with an educational movie every now and then. That's pretty "hands off".

 

Melissa had a great idea concerning a history textbook and Apologia science for the olders. :iagree:Don't worry about a "program"; just figure out what the olders need to graduate. In two years, you'll have more time for history and science with the younger ones.

 

HTH.