If you've used MFW American History to 1877..... can I have your opinion please?

[Sweet Home Alabama]

We're using MFW for high school with my oldest. AHL is getting done this year, and I have WHL for next year. I realize that I'm thinking waayyy ahead, but I have a small dilemma in dd's 11th grade year, and I want to resolve it sooner than later. I'm hoping some of you MFW users can chime in with your experience/opinion.

 

DD took Comp I in 8th grade at our local home school cover school, and did very well. She loved the class and loved the teacher. The same teacher will teach Comp II using American lit when dd is in 11th grade, and it would be a fantastic course for her to take: very college prep from a Christian view- (not a worldview credit, though- just English). If we go with the Comp II class, however, we won't do MFW Am Hist to 1877 (too expensive, redundant, and time consuming to do both). I would need to find a history, government, and world view (a requirement of our covering) to substitute for the MFW credits. I'm not sure what I would use for these classes. (At least we could maintain the English/history/Bible integration somewhat if we make the right curriculum choices.) I'm not sure if we would return to MFW for 12th or try something different like dual enrollment classes.

 

First, I would like to know how thorough MFW Am History 1877 is and how you like it. (If we don't use the Comp II class, dd and I are both all for going with MFW!)

Second, I would like to know what you would use for history and Biblical worldview- the two credits left if substituting for MFW credits.

 

Obviously, the history, English, Bible integration of MFW is a pro. The most obvious con for me is that I have to grade the compositions.... not so bad, yet I do confess that I'd like to hand this over to a more experienced teacher.

 

Comp II with an American lit emphasis and fantastic, loved teacher is a pro.... and I wouldn't have to grade papers!!! The con: we lose the tight history, English, Bible integration and have to find substitutes for history, govt, and Biblical worldview.

 

 

If you have any experience/ opinions that would help me think through this, I would be so grateful!

 

 

Editing to ask: How is using the BJU Am hist. text with the MFW lesson plans vs. using the BJU text alone? I don't know how BJU is scheduled, what kind of assignments are given, etc. If we just used the BJU text on our own, at least we might be able to jump back into MFW 12 th grade if we went that route.

[cbollin]

Why couldn't you use the rest of US1 for the other subjects you need? If you sold off, or didn't buy the "english" books that year.... could that work and still be in your price range?

 

how thorough? I don't know.. this is wtm everyone always thinks it's never enough, but I'm the lone hold out and like it. BJU is not a light text. I find it more thorough than Notgrass. My daughter can't sit down and do a week's worth of history in 1 hour. MFW encourages doing BJU and then REA study guide for CLEP and testing out at college level. but that starts debate on whether that is light or not...

 

Gov't credit - we just finished that. I've heard that the Under God book is being revised and will be released soon...There are 2 books used for the gov't credit. The first one was very interesting read with the history of early colonial gov't and the leading up to Constitution. Very interesting read. Then, for doing Constitution, the Under God book.. was not super complicated. It covered the Constitution. I feel it was normal high school, not advanced high school. I liked that we had to look up and research some things. My daughter didnt' know everyone in local gov't. She was frustrated learning that not all local gov't are the same, so some of the research projects frustrated her at first, until we sat down together and learned that our state/city isn't set up like that (which the book did say it would vary.... )

 

worldview class.. it was good to go through the TLAC program together. good discussions. We then used the Assumptions book. I decided to read that book out loud to my daughter and discuss together. We set one day a week as special time for that. I wanted to read the book and was struggling reading it quietly. so... grab some coffee, and crunchies and had time together. Now, she's in the Character book. haven't gotten to Growing Up Christian. I imagine she and I will laugh at ourselves in that book.

 

mixed feelings on the English class. I know I'm not the best writer. I know we probably could have done more. Readings... the Stobaugh based supplement... we've liked how it has connected to everything else we're doing. That's been more amazing this year than in any year in MFW for us (and as you know, I've used mfw all the way.. so at 11th grade having it be this level of wow connect... ). on the other hand (as Julie in MN says).. I sometimes struggle with expectations in the writing assignments. I was thankful mfw had a small answer key for some stuff. and I just looked to make sure there weren't major spelling errors or huge grammar issues. She writes. Liked doing Scarlett Letter together in PP guide. She enjoyed LIttle Women (one of two options during a student selects reading book weeks).

 

I don't know if you could build it together to match the Comp II class. If it doesn't have to match exactly in English... maybe getting the pieces of MFW you need would work.

 

Can you have that teacher be a paid grader for you for some of the longer assignments in this year? It's not the same style of writing assessment that AHL or WHL is. It's different. You're not always writing 5 paragraph essay answers.

 

hmmm

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Thanks for responding, Crystal!

 

Why couldn't you use the rest of US1 for the other subjects you need? If you sold off, or didn't buy the "english" books that year.... could that work and still be in your price range?

 

Thought about this... but the Comp II class is something like $450 and MFW would run around $375 or so without the lit books. Not sure... will MFW break the package and leave out the books for the English credit? Even if we left the English out of MFW, would the history and Bible flow well? Seems like leaving the English credit out would cripple the rest of the program.

 

Crystal, I added a question to my OP before seeing your reply.... I am curious about using BJU history text independently of MFW. I would like to know the difference between using BJU with the MFW plans vs. using BJU alone. Does MFW make modifications to assignments or changes to the BJU schedule? If we used BJU history on our own in 11th grade, at least we would have the opportunity to jump back in with MFW in 12th.

 

 

mixed feelings on the English class. I know I'm not the best writer. I know we probably could have done more. Readings... the Stobaugh based supplement... we've liked how it has connected to everything else we're doing. That's been more amazing this year than in any year in MFW for us (and as you know, I've used mfw all the way.. so at 11th grade having it be this level of wow connect... ). on the other hand (as Julie in MN says).. I sometimes struggle with expectations in the writing assignments. I was thankful mfw had a small answer key for some stuff. and I just looked to make sure there weren't major spelling errors or huge grammar issues. She writes. Liked doing Scarlett Letter together in PP guide. She enjoyed LIttle Women (one of two options during a student selects reading book weeks).

 

I understand misgivings with grading. Of all school subjects, I feel most comfortable with English and comp, but I feel like a "real" English/comp teacher would do a better job than I do. I think my grading is adequate, yet the Comp II teacher simply has more experience.

 

Besides the grading, do you feel like the quality of the English credit is college prep? Just want to make sure your mixed feelings don't include the program itself.

 

I don't know if you could build it together to match the Comp II class. If it doesn't have to match exactly in English... maybe getting the pieces of MFW you need would work.

 

I'm not sure matching the Comp II class is possible??? A primary focus is reading lit books, writing answers to lit journal questions (like comprehension/analysis questions), and writing essays. Each essay is required to have 3 resources: the Bible and two other sources. The students write a variety of essay types and learn how to use MLA format for documentation. They write a good many of these essays. The students are held accountable for all punctuation/organization issues. The class is not an entry-level class. Even if I could match the books and requirements, somehow I don't think I could offer the caliber of class the teacher offers.

 

 

Can you have that teacher be a paid grader for you for some of the longer assignments in this year? It's not the same style of writing assessment that AHL or WHL is. It's different. You're not always writing 5 paragraph essay answers.

 

She might consider helping with a paper or two during the year, but she has told me that her commitment is to her class.

 

Thank you for thinking through this with me. I have plenty of time to make a decision, yet, if we don't use MFW, I have quite a bit of planning to do.

 

hmmm

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I'm open to other avenues of doing history...

 

WTM method, Teaching Company, and Open Courseware come to mind. Dd enjoys history and has enjoyed the format of MFW. I definitely want her to feel engaged and not just checking a box. I don't think she would enjoy something as intense as AP history, though.

 

Any other history, government, and Biblical Worldview ideas???

[cbollin]

let me keep thinking... you can buy individual items from mfw to leave out the English. it would take some clicking on your point.

 

using BJU: not all of the student activities were scheduled. many were....but the advantage with the us1 plans is that you get the idea of how to go through, read chapter, do exercises, test.. even MFW says that if someone is doings US1 as 12th grader and needs to get full year of history, that they can follow the same pattern to complete the rest of the book on their own. so it might not be that big of a difference. I don't know without looking it up if mfw includes everything that BJU would include in that course.

 

wow.. that's a big fee for a comp class. I just fainted. I can see the problem now.

 

on the mixed feelings with English comp: it's college prep level. my mixed feelings are in my insecurities with grading, and honestly, a personal beef against Stobaugh. The Am. Lit Supplement in US1 is adapted from Stobaugh American Lit.. and he's very big into strong college prep and wants homeschoolers to be ready to tackle harvard. So it's me... not the program. It's doable, or I can hand it over to my dh and say "I'm rather be exercising".

 

yeah.. the more I think on it... I'd lean in favor of doing MFW, but I'm bias that way because it is what I'm doing. I'm struggling to describe the feeling in US1 with it connected. But we'll read something in the worldview course, and then boom... something shows up in history book that reinforces it. Or something in English will ask you to think on certain stuff...

 

I guess it kinda comes down to which way meets more of your goals?

[Sweet Home Alabama]

let me keep thinking... you can buy individual items from mfw to leave out the English. it would take some clicking on your point.

 

using BJU: not all of the student activities were scheduled. many were....but the advantage with the us1 plans is that you get the idea of how to go through, read chapter, do exercises, test.. even MFW says that if someone is doings US1 as 12th grader and needs to get full year of history, that they can follow the same pattern to complete the rest of the book on their own. so it might not be that big of a difference. I don't know without looking it up if mfw includes everything that BJU would include in that course.

 

wow.. that's a big fee for a comp class. I just fainted. I can see the problem now.

 

on the mixed feelings with English comp: it's college prep level. my mixed feelings are in my insecurities with grading, and honestly, a personal beef against Stobaugh. The Am. Lit Supplement in US1 is adapted from Stobaugh American Lit.. and he's very big into strong college prep and wants homeschoolers to be ready to tackle harvard. So it's me... not the program. It's doable, or I can hand it over to my dh and say "I'm rather be exercising".

 

yeah.. the more I think on it... I'd lean in favor of doing MFW, but I'm bias that way because it is what I'm doing. I'm struggling to describe the feeling in US1 with it connected. But we'll read something in the worldview course, and then boom... something shows up in history book that reinforces it. Or something in English will ask you to think on certain stuff...

 

I guess it kinda comes down to which way meets more of your goals?

 

Thanks, again, Crystal! I really appreciate your help!

 

Glad to hear that the English credit in MFW is college prep level. Thought it was. The biggest differences I can see is that our Comp II teacher is going to require a LOT of documentation (MLA) for her essays where as MFW doesn't. I think she also requires that the essays increase in length over the course of the year. MFW assigns shorter, more focused assignments targeting a certain point so that worldview and an author's opinion can be analyzed.... (from what I understand). You've been so kind to discuss the MLA part with me.

 

Our Comp II class is also another opportunity for dd to follow someone else's syllabus and turn in assignments.... generally, be responsible to someone other than me. I think this kind of experience is valuable.

 

You are right... the decision will come down to which course meets more of our goals. I'm going to have to chew on that one. Both courses are very desirable. It would be helpful to see in one place what my options are for American history.... might need a new thread for that.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Bumping back up...

Is there anyone else using MFW American history to 1877?

[cbollin]

I know one of my cyber friend is, but she doesn't post much here anymore... maybe I can email her and see if she can drop in.....if she's able and has time...... (no pressure to friend to whom I linked this thread!)

[Julie in MN]

Hello,

Crystal is worried about you and found me and asked if I'd have anything to say that might help you.

 

After reading through your conversation, I think you are still asking these questions?

 

First, I would like to know how thorough MFW Am History 1877 is and how you like it. (If we don't use the Comp II class, dd and I are both all for going with MFW!)

Second, I would like to know what you would use for history and Biblical worldview- the two credits left if substituting for MFW credits.

 

[3] Obviously, the history, English, Bible integration of MFW is a pro. The most obvious con for me is that I have to grade the compositions.... not so bad, yet I do confess that I'd like to hand this over to a more experienced teacher.

 

[4] Editing to ask: How is using the BJU Am hist. text with the MFW lesson plans vs. using the BJU text alone? I don't know how BJU is scheduled, what kind of assignments are given, etc. If we just used the BJU text on our own, at least we might be able to jump back into MFW 12 th grade if we went that route.

 

Oooh, i have a hard time typing in these little boxes.

Let me see... okay, that's better.

Warning, I type fast and tend to go longer than I should.

 

Okay, here's where we're at at my house. I have a youngest son doing US1. He's used MFW since 3rd grade. But he's way behind this year. And, I admit, I sub things in and out whenever I feel like it. And when I don't feel like it, I don't have to, which is good, too. He's also doing 2 college courses each semester this year (Math and an elective), and at least he's caught up on those.

 

(1) The US history credit itself is pretty much BJU. Remember, it's a HALF credit this year, and the other half is government, which fits nicely in when we are forming our government. So, the first 11 weeks of US1 history are straight BJU textbook, which my son likes well enough, it's much more meaty than Notgrass was, and yet it's very Christian, e.g. a recent chapter on the different denominations and where they ended up settling here, etc. Students also review the material using some of the different BJU pages, which include maps and "worksheets." Not all of them are assigned. Marie adds a very simple timeline book where you pencil in dates whenever BJU gives you a series of timeline dates. My son does not like some of the worksheet type pages or the testing every week, but I have had mixed feelings about his needs to really absorb material vs. his wants to relax and enjoy, so we've reached a compromise for now. I won't go into those details because you apparently have an oldest daughter like Crystal and won't have my particular woes in this department.

 

HOWEVER, as you've mentioned, the history is interwoven with the literature. So, over in the Literature credit, you are reading a LOT of original documents & first-person accounts of different things in history, some quite short and some quite lengthy. As you have already chatted about, Stobaugh wrote this part. And Crystal's dd is keeping up some pretty college-level writing, it sounds like. My ds -- dear dear son -- is not writing a whole lot for most of his assignments, but the assignments are pretty consistent so he's "doing something" with the information pretty much every day, which helps with retention. Mr. S's overall theme is Worldview, which again ties in with the Worldview focus for the Bible credit this year. The student is reading about worldview from two quite different breakdowns so I like that ds sees it's not about the breakdown but about how to look deeper.

 

Anyways, along with Stobaugh, he's already read the entire bio of Ben Franklin and apparently coming up is reading the entire Of Plymouth Plantation. There's also the Early American Lit book, which again is original writing. Each piece in there has a paragraph or two about the author, plus several questions at the end. It's easy enough, I think, and again some of the readings are very short such as of course Paul Revere's Ride, while others are more lengthy such as the entire Declaration of Independence. This is a side-by-side book, with the original older English and then the modern English. It's thinner than the British Lit one in WHL, but very much the same style, if you've done WHL.

 

So IMHO, the American History is quite thorough.

Not sure what you plan for the government semester?

 

(2) My oldest dd used everything that was available back then, and I definitely choose MFW as the core for ds, if only because it tells me when to stop every day (which I didn't know when working with my dd!).

 

(3) I can see the draw of a writing teacher. Writing is very important. Although for myself, after having kids in public school and not being happy with the amount or quality of writing input, I do prefer teaching writing myself. My son enrolled in an outside homeschool writing class back in 7th, a very well-thought-of teacher but it turned out to be IEW which was really the opposite of what he needed, so I do it at home now.

 

One option would be to have an elective in writing.

 

Another option would be to cut and splice, subbing here and there. It wouldn't have to be micro-management. For instance, you could sub out all the Pride and Prejudice weeks, or all the weeks reading Of Plymouth Plantation, or something. You could do the Early American Lit book and skip Stobaugh during that time. Not sure if these would work, since you said the writing course was intense but usually a high school credit needs to have literature as well. Or maybe they're reading, too.

 

As for MLA, MFW does the research project with MLA in 10th and in 12th. My son did "MLA-light" on his 10th grade research, and I figure I'll tighten the ropes in 12th. In 10th, he did a ton of interviewing and wrote a lengthy paper. Original interviews, to me, are higher level research that college professors can only dream of LOL. I'm not seeing a ton of focus in US1, but as I mentioned Crystal's family does it differently. I do see an emphasis in US1 of having something in-depth to say and knowing how to say it. My son right now is to write a letter to someone about an issue. I am focusing on the fact that he's to make the move from having an opinion to being able to persuade someone of that opinion, which is a big leap for some of these opinionated young folks. But yes, he's my only kid at home so maybe I have more time to work on writing. I'll say that even when my oldest was in public high school, I spent a lot of time working on writing with him. At that time, I didn't even know what an adverb was (I do now that I homeschool), but I did know if I could understand what he was saying, or not.

 

(4) Using BJU on your own is certainly possible. Without the MFW manual, you'd have to research how to schedule it out, and decide whether to skip anything, decide whether change the worksheet order at all, etc. But it should be doable.

 

Hope I said something understandable in there,

Julie

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Hello,

Crystal is worried about you and found me and asked if I'd have anything to say that might help you.

 

You two are wonderful to help me. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Julie!

 

After reading through your conversation, I think you are still asking these questions?

 

Yes I am. Dd and I are truly loving MFW. She's doing AHL this year, and I have WHL ready for next year.

The question concerns her 11th grade year when she would do American History to 1877.

 

 

As for MLA, MFW does the research project with MLA in 10th and in 12th. My son did "MLA-light" on his 10th grade research, and I figure I'll tighten the ropes in 12th. In 10th, he did a ton of interviewing and wrote a lengthy paper. Original interviews, to me, are higher level research that college professors can only dream of LOL. I'm not seeing a ton of focus in US1, but as I mentioned Crystal's family does it differently. Julie, I'm not sure what you mean...not seeing a ton of focus in US1... I do see an emphasis in US1 of having something in-depth to say and knowing how to say it. My son right now is to write a letter to someone about an issue. I am focusing on the fact that he's to make the move from having an opinion to being able to persuade someone of that opinion, which is a big leap for some of these opinionated young folks. But yes, he's my only kid at home so maybe I have more time to work on writing. I'll say that even when my oldest was in public high school, I spent a lot of time working on writing with him. At that time, I didn't even know what an adverb was (I do now that I homeschool), but I did know if I could understand what he was saying, or not.

 

Dd and I have to decide between MFW or Comp II (taught locally.)

 

 

I think MFW's US History would be a stronger choice for worldview and knowing how to persuade with in-depth arguments as you mentioned above. I don't think Comp II has this as an objective.

 

Comp II's strength is probably in teaching composition skills: primarily MLA documentation. Comp II will include several books of American literature... (not sure which ones)... but they will be of similar quality compared to MFW. The class will read each lit book and answer lit journal questions. There are usually ten multi-question, comprehension-type questions that are answered in paragraph form. I'll guess that the class will cover between 7-9 books in a school year. In addition to this, the class will be required to write several essays (a variety of types). Each essay will be required to have at least three sources: the Bible and two other sources. The class will learn MLA documentation and will use MLA in the essays. I'll guess there will be around 7-8 essays that will increase in length requirements throughout the school year. The students in Comp II will be held responsible for all grammar and punctuation mistakes. (They were taught grammar and mechanics skills in their Comp I class.) The class is NOT an entry level class. Dd LOVES the teacher. It would be one of those tough classes that you love....that hurts so good! So, you can see, there is both literature and writing combined in the class....... but no history.

 

I'm not sure which is more "important": writing to persuade with in-depth arguments with world view in mind OR perfecting the skill of essay writing with proper documentation. MFW's focus is more spiritually oriented while Comp II is more college-prep skill oriented. (And this is not to say MFW isn't college prep.... they just come across with a different focus.) Maybe if I could figure out which one of these "philosophies of thought" is more important, I could more easily decide between MFW or Comp II. Do you have an opinion about this????

 

If dd takes Comp II, (a $450 class), it would be hard to afford MFW. Even if we used it, dd would not need to have the lit part at all. In fact, I'm concerned that MFW is so integrated, that the year would feel disjointed if we left the lit part out. So, I'm just trying to find a substitute for history, government, and Biblical studies if we go with Comp II. As long as we returned to MFW for 12th grade, it would make sense to use BJU. I am a tad concerned that the text alone would seem dull to her.... At the same time, I'm all for her gaining experience using a text, so it could be a very worthwhile experience.

 

If we were to do something other than BJU, I'm not sure what we would use.... thus my original post.

 

 

 

(4) Using BJU on your own is certainly possible. Without the MFW manual, you'd have to research how to schedule it out, and decide whether to skip anything, decide whether change the worksheet order at all, etc. But it should be doable.

 

If we used BJU and covered half of it in 11th grade like MFW schedules, we could take all year to do it as well as studying government. Again, this way, we could just pick up with BJU in 12th with MFW.

 

In a different post, I asked for suggestions for US history, government, and economics. Several have answered, and I've been going through the choices for history..... haven't gotten to government and econ yet as history seems most pressing.

 

Dd has done very well with the MFW format, so I'm taking that into consideration. I LOVE that MFW is fully integrated. It is a daunting task for me to try to put something together like that, but if Comp II takes care of lit and writing, it would seem like I could find something for history and government....

 

Thank you for giving me such a great picture of MFW US History 1877 in general. I'll read that several times to let it sink in. If you have reflections on my comments, I would treasure your thoughts. Thanks again for taking the time to consider my dilemma!

 

Hope I said something understandable in there,

Julie

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Crystal,

Thank you for searching out Julie! I can remember when she used to post, and it means so much to have her opinion too. I am certainly grateful for the help!

[Julie in MN]

Well, you've got a lot of thoughts spinning, and it's over a year away! You must be my twin.

 

The course you describe, along with your description of your dd, seem like a good match and if I were that satisfied, then I'd probably continue. Of course, some time next year, things could change completely with your dd or with the teacher, so I'd remain somewhat flexible.

 

As for an Econ course, you could probably save that until 12th grade, right? MFW sells Economics in a Box, with or without the extra books they recommend, so you can do that separately or wait until you see if you get the MFW package for 12th grade.

 

As for giving you other ideas for history and Bible, it sounds like you have another thread going for that, so I hope that's going well because I don't feel very helpful on that. I used a lot of things with my older dd (Sonlight for US history), but I can't say they were less expensive in the long run or otherwise better than working with the MFW manual, at least for me. As I mentioned, I had such trouble knowing how much to expect, and balancing that with my kids' needs, so I just get along better by starting with a MFW manual, MFW support, and working it out from there.

 

But basically, you could use MFW materials for History and Government, and just go thru them on your own without having the MFW manual, as one History option (among the many others I hope you are getting on the other thread). Or you could get the manual and parts of the MFW package. I think leaving out the English portion would save over $100, which takes it down to maybe $350 for 2.5 credits (Bible, Government, and history books for 2 semesters, one of which is in 12th grade), most of which is nonconsumable. And maybe there are other things in the package that you wouldn't need? I don't think it would be devastating to separate out the credits in US1, since you are doing some similar American literature in the class, and you would have the MFW manual to look through any intriguing assignments you might want to throw in. I look at the US1 overlaps between credits as more reinforcement, rather than lining up in exact rows.

 

Hope you find some peace. I don't like when I'm torn about things - that's the way I feel about my son's science next year - our science woes go back to the 7th grade transition, and sometimes you try so hard to make everything perfect and nothing goes 100% perfectly but you just do something, eh?

Julie

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Well, you've got a lot of thoughts spinning, and it's over a year away! You must be my twin.

 

The course you describe, along with your description of your dd, seem like a good match and if I were that satisfied, then I'd probably continue. Of course, some time next year, things could change completely with your dd or with the teacher, so I'd remain somewhat flexible.

 

As for an Econ course, you could probably save that until 12th grade, right? MFW sells Economics in a Box, with or without the extra books they recommend, so you can do that separately or wait until you see if you get the MFW package for 12th grade.

 

You are right about this..... thought I would go ahead and throw that class in with my search for history and government since they are related required credits. If we were back with MFW in 12th, I wouldn't have to worry about that.

 

As for giving you other ideas for history and Bible, it sounds like you have another thread going for that, so I hope that's going well because I don't feel very helpful on that. I used a lot of things with my older dd (Sonlight for US history), but I can't say they were less expensive in the long run or otherwise better than working with the MFW manual, at least for me. As I mentioned, I had such trouble knowing how much to expect, and balancing that with my kids' needs, so I just get along better by starting with a MFW manual, MFW support, and working it out from there.

 

I have this concern as well. MFW simply takes this concern away.

 

But basically, you could use MFW materials for History and Government, and just go thru them on your own without having the MFW manual, as one History option (among the many others I hope you are getting on the other thread). Or you could get the manual and parts of the MFW package. I think leaving out the English portion would save over $100, which takes it down to maybe $350 for 2.5 credits (Bible, Government, and history books for 2 semesters, one of which is in 12th grade), most of which is nonconsumable. And maybe there are other things in the package that you wouldn't need? I don't think it would be devastating to separate out the credits in US1, since you are doing some similar American literature in the class, and you would have the MFW manual to look through any intriguing assignments you might want to throw in. I look at the US1 overlaps between credits as more reinforcement, rather than lining up in exact rows.

 

I really appreciate this comment. It would be nice if I could use MFW package and know that the program wouldn't feel disjointed.... that is if I can stomach the cost of doing both MFW with Comp II. I'm going to leave this option open.

 

Didn't intend not to include the Bible portion of MFW... Bible worldview is a requirement of our homeschool covering and would be another credit I would have to fulfill. Since MFW includes worldview, this is another reason to do MFW.

 

 

Hope you find some peace. I don't like when I'm torn about things - that's the way I feel about my son's science next year - our science woes go back to the 7th grade transition, and sometimes you try so hard to make everything perfect and nothing goes 100% perfectly but you just do something, eh?

Julie

 

Julie, hope you'll frequent the forum more. Your help and experience is much appreciated!

 

[cbollin]

I didn't see Julie answer your one question about "focus"... from the context of what she wrote, I think she meant "not a lot of focus on dwelling on MLA". If that is someone of value, you'd have to keep those pages from Writers' Inc open for every assignment and require it until the need is not there.

 

and yeah.. good to see julie here. :)

[1Togo]

Another option would be Bibliplan Year 3 and 4 for the last two years of high school. It would cover geography, history, and Bible reading. BP makes suggestions for literature and guides, but since they aren't included in the package, you can use something else. BP is flexible, and that is one of the reasons it works for us. We followed the ancient lit suggestions for the most part, but we've going a different route for Year 2 and 3. Also, we used a separate writing curriculum, which works well since the history writing for BP isn't overwhelming.

 

Sorry, I don't want to hijack the thread. MFW is an excellent curriculum, but we went with BP because I wanted more flexibility.

[cbollin]

I see you're getting lots of good stuff on the other thread to look at....

 

another line of thought in this?

1. if taking another class from this teacher is that important to your child, maybe she could get some kind of paid work (or saving grandparent gift money, or ask grandparents to help pay for this course that she really really really wants to take....) and begin to save for taking the class in order to off set expenses. Then, you can list the course as an English elective... and if the workload in US is too much, or things overlap.. you can adjust for US1 stuff. There are some weeks in US1 in English where they aren't doing tons of writing or tons of formal lit analysis. So, over the year, it can balance out. You can do a lot of Stobaugh lit guide as out loud discussion.

 

but I keep hearing your heart that you don't want to stop doing MFW just yet.. and that integration of topics and worldview is very important to you. not to mention easy and all set out for you.

but that money is the issue and a little bit of time. I know with my oldest daughter, she really loves to go on church trips, and uncle/aunt and grandparents have all chipped in to make that possible as part of her birthday and Christmas presents.

 

maybe that's a route to consider.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I see you're getting lots of good stuff on the other thread to look at....

 

another line of thought in this?

1. if taking another class from this teacher is that important to your child, maybe she could get some kind of paid work (or saving grandparent gift money, or ask grandparents to help pay for this course that she really really really wants to take....) and begin to save for taking the class in order to off set expenses. Then, you can list the course as an English elective... and if the workload in US is too much, or things overlap.. you can adjust for US1 stuff. There are some weeks in US1 in English where they aren't doing tons of writing or tons of formal lit analysis. So, over the year, it can balance out. You can do a lot of Stobaugh lit guide as out loud discussion.

 

but I keep hearing your heart that you don't want to stop doing MFW just yet.. and that integration of topics and worldview is very important to you. not to mention easy and all set out for you.

but that money is the issue and a little bit of time. I know with my oldest daughter, she really loves to go on church trips, and uncle/aunt and grandparents have all chipped in to make that possible as part of her birthday and Christmas presents.

 

maybe that's a route to consider.

 

 

Crystal, thanks for truly understanding and for your suggestion!

 

I have gotten SO many wonderful suggestions on these two threads, and I need them. It really helps me to read/understand the big picture so that ideas can "cook" over a long period of time. I know it's insane that I've started asking questions a year in advance, but I need to pray, think, and talk through the situation.

 

MFW has been just great this year, and I can see the possibility of just using BJU US history for history (not sure about government, and worldview yet) until we get back on track in 12th. Otherwise, if we go with something else, I have the opportunity to take dd's desires into consideration.... learning style, etc. She would appreciate history taught as a story... she loves history... I have no idea what resource does that. She isn't crazy about text books.... but then there is reason abundant to learn how to read/study from them.

 

TOG comes close to the way MFW teaches and integrates history, lit, govt, etc... I think if I had known about it from the beginning of home schooling, I might have chosen it.... seems so well organized, and students can stay together the whole time. But at this point, I'm not sure it's worth it. We're already into one year of MFW and have WHL here ready to go for next year.

 

I think this whole dilemma will resolve itself in time... as it "cooks" during the year.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your help in thinking this through and with ideas/suggestions!

[cbollin]

by the way.. I don't think it is insane to plan 1.5 years down the road. But I'm the same way. get big picture. let it cook/simmer for longer... I understand.