T'smom Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Can anyone give me a review of this? I'm NOT looking for info about the company's policys- I'm looking specifically at this program. I have a K boy and want something that is fun/project-oriented but not too intense. If you have ideas of something else that would fit the bill- I'd love suggestions. I plan on starting SOTW in 1st, but want something fun for this year. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I got to look this over at our local group's used sale last month. You could see in the mom's notes where she had started out enthusiastically, got overwhelmed, and finally put it aside. I asked if I could buy just her copy of "Creating Clever Castles and Cars" from the set, and that was what I did. It's cute and will make a good supplement to a traditional sequence. K5 is a really nice time to do FIAR. It's also a good age for a geography survey (Galloping the Globe, whatever is popular these days), a survey of american or state/local history. You could also just pick a thing to construct from that Creating book, get some books from the library on it, rinse and repeat, nothing too taxing. Or pull appropriate constructions from Creating to go with whatever survey you're reading this year. Don't know what level you're working at, but I'm doing the MFW K5 with my ds, and it is UTTERLY adorable. It has been SO much fun for us, in a way that I never expected from a canned curriculum, and it's easy peasy to implement. If a letter of the week unit study approach is appropriate for your level of student, you might really enjoy it. It would be worth it even *without* their worksheets, even just for the letter of the week themes and booklists and stuff. Just adorable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I got to look this over at our local group's used sale last month. You could see in the mom's notes where she had started out enthusiastically, got overwhelmed, and finally put it aside. Was it mine? :lol: I started it with my son in K and the projects were fun, adorable, and overwhelming! The program didn't last long for me. As a side note, I was using the original program and hear that it's been updated. My favorite K programs are MFW K, Five in a Row, or Heart of Dakota's Little Hearts for His Glory. (My dd is currently using HOD.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Hmmm, I really don't want overwhelming. I want fun. I've got RS for math and preogressive phonics/ OPGTR for phonics. I just want something fun to add to it. I didn't look closely at MFW because I saw that it was letter of the week type and he knows letters/ sounds ( he has for a long time, but we're not making any headway with blending.....) Is it worth looking into for a kid that knows letters/sounds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Well on the MFW, look at the samples. It's just like the samples. Go with your gut. When I looked at the samples online my gut said the activities were fun and fit ds, and they do. There's definitely a lot that is flying RIGHT OVER my 3.5 yo, mercy. There's so much more a 5 yo would do with it. They've been covering great science in the book basket. (phases of the moon, plants and seeds, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I attached pics of some of the stuff we did - Trojan Horse, Volcano, Pyramid. We just kind of went overboard and we were doing a huge project every week. Looking through my pics, we also did a huge wall mural, a cave (that both my kids fit in), and then a family pyramid thing. It just got to be a lot of supplies, and a lot of asking my dh to help out. That's why it was overwhelming for me. ETA: It was fun. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I attached pics of some of the stuff we did - Trojan Horse, Volcano, Pyramid. We just kind of went overboard and we were doing a huge project every week. Looking through my pics, we also did a huge wall mural, a cave (that both my kids fit in), and then a family pyramid thing. It just got to be a lot of supplies, and a lot of asking my dh to help out. That's why it was overwhelming for me. ETA: It was fun. :p Wow, you don't do anything halfway! :lol: See that's the thing I was saying, that all those are GREAT PROJECTS, but they'll be *just as great* spread out over grades 1-4. They really don't have to be all done in one year, whiz bang, like that, mercy. And I guess I can say that because I'm up the road a bit farther, and I know the things from that book my dd naturally did on her own. (ship, castle, volcano, etc. etc.) So much more fun to do things when they're able to do it for themselves. And while it seems *rational* for me to pick up the book and do one here or there, on occasion, to fit a theme I'm doing with my ds, it doesn't seem at all rational to try to do that weekly or on a faster pace. One a month would be GOBS. My dd made a ship when she was in, um, wow can't even remember when. Let's just say it was a long time ago. Anyway, she played with that ship for YEARS. So they make it themselves, they own it, and they use it for quite a while. There's no need to rush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrindam Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I attached pics of some of the stuff we did - Trojan Horse, Volcano, Pyramid. We just kind of went overboard and we were doing a huge project every week. Looking through my pics, we also did a huge wall mural, a cave (that both my kids fit in), and then a family pyramid thing. It just got to be a lot of supplies, and a lot of asking my dh to help out. That's why it was overwhelming for me. ETA: It was fun. :p I have the whole Hideaways curriculum just waiting for future use. I can't wait to do it. I expect my boys and my DH will have as much fun as DD! (We love making houses out of boxes lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecclecticmum Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Its what we're going to be doing. But I agree with the other reviewers. Its a very hands on, project based program. If you don't want something "intense" then I would not suggest it. It would be very easy for any one to get overwhelmed. The reason I changed over to it was because I was using a very lit-based/WTM approach, then trying to add on a whole heap of things, to make it more crafts based, thus making about 3 programs in one rofl. My children learn best when doing a project/making that subject come to life. Think of it like the Early childhood educator you see thats all perky and bubbly and has all these great ideas, and takes your child on a imaginative journey that makes them squeal with joy. The idea of it sounds fantastic, but not that many people can keep up with that bubbliness. I hope that made sense :001_huh: rofl. Basically, lit-based items that are non-picture books, do not work for my kids right now. I actually went and purchased 3 stuffed animals to go with the spine critters, ti give it an AAS-Ziggy feel, so they could sit and play with the animals whislt I read in a spectacular amount of goofy voices. End opinion: My children are very crafty, I'm very crafty, I don't think it would work very well without skipping the hideaways for a non-crafty family. If you're interested in doing history, either FIAR or SOTW would be good. If you think you're child wouldn't listen to SOTW, get the audio version, play it whilst he's colouring and get some nice books from the library for the era in question. Story of the World Activity Book, is sort of the same as the "On-the-Spot-History Book" of HiH. We prefer a secular program (or a program thats easy to secularize) as we do bible separately (due to mixed beliefs). If I wanted a bible-inclusive program, I would of jumped towards My Father's World long ago. I hear so many great things, and each time I look at something new I might like, it also happens to be something in one of the MFW kits :tongue_smilie: HTH xxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Wow, you don't do anything halfway! :lol: See that's the thing I was saying, that all those are GREAT PROJECTS, but they'll be *just as great* spread out over grades 1-4. They really don't have to be all done in one year, whiz bang, like that, mercy. Totally :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 Thanks for the advice everyone....I still don't know what I'm going to do! When I said 'intense' I meant "lots of information with the expectation that it will be retained". I don't want him to feel any pressure or feel overwhelmed by the amount of information. He LOVES projects. When I pull something out that I got off of Pinterest, he's beyond thrilled. But I don't want something that takes hours in prep either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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