MFW vs. SL vs. HOD

[BlsdMama]

Weigh in please?

 

My last two were schooled with an eclectic blend of curriculum and books. It worked well for us. However I'd really like to combine my 8yod and 10yod. They both operate solidly as a beginning fourth grader in all aspects including reading and writing.

 

I want to continue my writing plan and I also insist on using Rod & Staff grammar.I want something laid out for the student to follow as my goal is to help them become a little more self sufficient. This sounds silly, but I actually don't care what subjects it does or does not cover. ;)

 

Which would you choose and why? I am only familiar with Sonlight out of the three I'm comparing. And to add, I have previously used TOG and I have no want to make my own daily plans this year for these two girls. I also am not up to tweaking right now. :)

[Guest]

Weigh in please?

 

My last two were schooled with an eclectic blend of curriculum and books. It worked well for us. However I'd really like to combine my 8yod and 10yod. They both operate solidly as a beginning fourth grader in all aspects including reading and writing.

 

I want to continue my writing plan and I also insist on using Rod & Staff grammar.I want something laid out for the student to follow as my goal is to help them become a little more self sufficient. This sounds silly, but I actually don't care what subjects it does or does not cover. ;)

 

Which would you choose and why? I am only familiar with Sonlight out of the three I'm comparing. And to add, I have previously used TOG and I have no want to make my own daily plans this year for these two girls. I also am not up to tweaking right now. :)

 

Of those three I would hands down go with MFW. It is great for combining. We did MFW Adventures and it was such an awesome year. Great books, activities, narration pages, etc. It would be harder to combine with HOD, but it isn't impossible. Sonlight has some good books, but I felt as if we were just reading, reading, reading, reading. MFW was such a richer year. We preferred the books in MFW to Sonlights also. We read lots of read alouds and great picture books.

Edited November 16, 2011 by Guest

[Ewe Mama]

We have used all three and have preferred MFW. There are pros and cons to every one of these programs. The best thing is to discern your family's needs and your needs as their teacher and go from there.

 

SL is great if you like checking boxes and feeling like you've accomplished a lot at the end of the day. I never felt felt that we were doing much in-depth learning. Maybe it was all the Usborne books that felt like they scratched the surface, but just didn't really feed our knowledge. It felt very rushed and disjointed to us. I loved all the books and still do use their book lists to supplement where needed.

 

HOD is great for some people, but it was not a great fit for us. I did not care for many of the book choices (some of the older choices had racist undertones). My dd hated some of the projects (although she did enjoy some). Our three boys (in a different guide) were bored to tears and couldn't wait for school to end each day. I kept tweaking until it didn't even look like HOD. We stuck it out for about 10 weeks and then ditched it.

 

MFW has been our most successful of the three choices. I can combine and send the olders to do independent work while I read age-appropriate books from the book basket to the younger children, and then the youngers can listen in while I read to the older children, or they can play quietly nearby and absorb some info. Is it perfect? No, but it's the best fit for us at this time. I have not had any qualms about their book choices and I love the mission-based focus. My eldest is prayerfully considering mission work, largely because of the influence of MFW.

 

 

Best wishes in your search.

[SonshineLearner]

Hey There :)

 

Is $$$ an issue right now? We're doing Adventures right now, with another mom. I think that the 5-9 yr olds could all do Adventures; I would have them listening to audios of the books, when possible. I don't think it's beyond wonderful, but it works :)

 

If you're wanting less $$$ I would do SOTW with audio cds. (and do a project once a week, perhaps your oldest would do this part?) Shurley Grammar jingles, God's Design for Science, Rod and Staff for actual "language work"

 

Anyway with lots of cds....

 

:)

[speedmom4]

It sounds like you have two children at about the same level. I am combining my two boys in HOD PHFHG. I have used many Sonlight packages and it always felt like I was doing all the work and the children were passively listening. I feel that HOD makes children engage with what they are learning. I love Sonlight's book choices but it would not work for my boys. Rod and Staff is actually scheduled out in HOD.

 

The only experience I have is with MFW at the high school level. It is wonderful for that age.

[4littleones]

HOD has worked for us well. We are learning a ton of things. We have tried SL and felt it was just a book list. We haven't tried MFW.

[mothergooseof4]

I have used multiple levels of SL and HOD. Each fit during a certain stage of life, but for combining MFW has been a real blessing. I love some SL books and some HOD books and I add those in for my oldest for independent reading. I like being able to choose which books he reads. MFW gets done. And, as for independent, you can assign as much of the reading as you would like to be done independently. I choose to read most of it aloud since my younger two are included in on this, but if it were just my oldest, I would have him read more of it himself.

[Mommy22alyns]

I have not used HOD, but I'm using MFW Adventures right now and have used SL last year. I much prefer MFW. It's easy to combine the girls, it's all planned out, the book basket is amazing, and it's got just the right amount of hands-on activities. SL seemed very thin to me, and I can get all the good books I want from the book basket list in MFW (MANY titles overlap with SL).

[BlsdMama]

Hey There :)

 

Is $$$ an issue?

 

:)

 

 

Well, obviously with this many it's always in my consciousness. ;)

However, any of the three are within budget right now.

[BlsdMama]

I'm at a really comfortable place in my homeschooling journey right now. I'm incredibly happy with what we' re doing with Ana and pretty happy with where we're headed with Christian.

 

As far as my little people go, the 3yod, 5yod, and 6yos are all on the EXACT same level. They are all beginning readers and writers and I'm content with just doing phonics work, teaching science at co-op, and doing RAs, narration, and copywork.

However, when it comes to the two middle girls... I'm NOT content. What we' re actually doing is fine, however, I'd like it if they were less Mom dependent.

 

*Specifically I' d like THEM be able to look up what to read and do each day. So guess I I'm not asking which program do you like the best but which program can I utilize to have them ENJOY self starting their day?

 

As a side note, the one thing keeping me from Sonlight even though I covet their guides, is that they are incredibly fiction driven. Plus when they do use non fiction it is rarely a whole book or a biography, but is an excerpt from something else.

Edited November 17, 2011 by BlsdMama

[BlsdMama]

So to clarify, the only two I need something for are the two girls. They are at the exact same ability level. ;)

[speedmom4]

I would really recommend that you look at HOD. It has a lot of assignments that are independent. That has been a huge blessing for me this year. I can get them started on something and they are able to finish it without my help (most of the time). There are some mommy dependent assignments but I think it's a good mixture of the two.

 

Do you have their catalog? It was a little confusing for me at first. I really began with their placement chart and went from there. Placement is extremely important with HOD. Since your two girls are on the same academic level you won't have any trouble combining them.

 

God Bless,

Elise in NC

[twoxcell]

I think HOD PHFHG would work nicely for your girls, but be sure to look over the placement chart first.

[SonshineLearner]

The reason I was suggesting a larger grouping, is because I can't imagine any of these being independent... ;) We are reading one of the books now, that is able to be purchased on cd. The activities are usually beyond what my son could think of doing by himself... If you had a larger span of kids doing it, I can imagine them all doing the projects...

Just my thoughts ;)

[BlsdMama]

The reason I was suggesting a larger grouping, is because I can't imagine any of these being independent... ;) We are reading one of the books now, that is able to be purchased on cd. The activities are usually beyond what my son could think of doing by himself... If you had a larger span of kids doing it, I can imagine them all doing the projects...

Just my thoughts ;)

 

Carrie,

 

What if you were using the guides to just essentially teach your girls to wake up in the AM and get started on schoolwork while the mama is busy working with the little ones? I don't need them to be independent, but my goal is to have them look at what needs to be done each day and get themselves going. I don't mind, and even would like, if there is a project I could be involved with later after I have worked with Thing 1, 2, and 3. :) Olivia has a morning nap and I can work with the girls then. In the late afternoon we do writing individually.

[Mommy22alyns]

I'm at a really comfortable place in my homeschooling journey right now. I'm incredibly happy with what we' re doing with Ana and pretty happy with where we're headed with Christian.

 

As far as my little people go, the 3yod, 5yod, and 6yos are all on the EXACT same level. They are all beginning readers and writers and I'm content with just doing phonics work, teaching science at co-op, and doing RAs, narration, and copywork.

However, when it comes to the two middle girls... I'm NOT content. What we' re actually doing is fine, however, I'd like it if they were less Mom dependent.

 

*Specifically I' d like THEM be able to look up what to read and do each day. So guess I I'm not asking which program do you like the best but which program can I utilize to have them ENJOY self starting their day?

 

As a side note, the one thing keeping me from Sonlight even though I covet their guides, is that they are incredibly fiction driven. Plus when they do use non fiction it is rarely a whole book or a biography, but is an excerpt from something else.

 

 

Hmm, I wouldn't say that SL or MFW is very independent, especially at those ages. Where my two are more independent is reading, some LA, and somewhat in math. Could you have them move towards independence in those subjects while you work with the littler ones and then come back to your history/science with them together?

[Momofeat]

I've used SL & MFW, and MFW worked better for us. We enjoyed Sonlight, but I LOVED MFW. With Sonlight, I felt an overwhelming need to check all the boxes--& it was too much! MFW seemed like just the right amount, it was well-organized, and my kids loved the stack of books Daddy brought home from the library every week. ;)

[SonshineLearner]

Kelly,

Have you seen a week's worth of material from there? I would say that if you have some math like I do, that makes it so that after you teach, "they do theirs" and so you teach in the pm and in the am they do math, then handwriting or something, and then read from their book basket...., and listen to a cd from the book that would normally be read to them from MFW... that may be a morning of school work. (2-3 hrs) They could kinda "Check off" their assignments from there. Basically, if that's what I wanted, I'd kinda flip what they would normally do in the pm... to the am....

[Michelle My Bell]

I have used all three in my years of homeschooling and I prefer HOD. I didn't like Sonlight because it offered nothing but reading. My Father's World felt light, repetitive and boring.

 

HOD has a good mix of hands on, reading, notebooking, (even a form of lapbooking in Rev to Rev). It schedules Rod & Staff grammar as well.

 

My favorite levels are CTC and up.

[Another Lynn]

Of those three, HOD is probably closest to what you want. PReparing has two independent assignments everday, but the core history reading is still supposed to be with you. You could possibly have them read it alone or have an older sibling read it to them and then discuss it with them during your afternoon time with them. Have you looked at the sample week? http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/PHFHG-sample-week.pdf As you look at it each "box" is marked with a "T" for teacher, "S" for semi-independent, and "I" for independent.

[hmschooling]

You could definitely combine them both in HOD's Bigger or Preparing Hearts!! But, also easy enough to separate them if you felt you needed to, b/c HOD is super easy to do different levels, and also great for combining without leaving anyone over or under challenged, bc each guide is skill focused for a certain level, then extensions are added for the older. R&S grammar is already part of the plan for HOD. I've used MFW and HOD, and really think HOD sounds like it best fits what you are looking for.

[Evergreen Academy]

We've used all three of those curriculums, and all have their merits. However, based on your description, I think HOD is what you're looking for, perhaps PHFHG, if that's what they'd test into (see the placement chart, and remember that you can adapt - you're in charge!). We're using HOD CTC for two ds11, and ds14 with extensions and additional material. We're using R&S as scheduled for the ds11s, but using our own writing program and that's working well for us, and we're also using our own choices for math and I'm tweaking the science. The bigger guy has his own programs for math, science and writing - my point in sharing this is that it can still work if you don't use it exactly as written.

 

Even with those changes, this is such a stress-free year so far. The boys really, really like being able to do things independently, and most mornings, start before 8 (I don't usually start school until 9), because they've figured out they'll have more free time if they get their work done sooner. They move through their independent boxes, and then come to me for narrations - I make sure they don't overhear one another, so each boy has to do his own work. Some of the work we do together, and I like that, as it keeps us together as a family and keeps me in the loop. For the story time, I'm subbing in some Sonlight titles I loved with older dd, so we still get that cozy storytime too; if you did preparing, I understand you'd be reading the core history as well.

 

I loved Sonlight, and MFW felt organized but I chaffed at the schedule, and it was all mom-driven. HOD, at the level we're using, is moving a bit more toward CM's philosophies, and I like that. I can really see the learning and connections happening, and I like the way this curriculum is geared to different learning styles - their strengths can shine in different ways.