Does MFW include enough literature on its own?

[Homemama2]

Does MFW include enough literature on its own (for the grades 4-8th rotation) or do you need to supplement? I'm looking for a rising 4th and 6th grader and was especially wondering if it includes things like vocab, lit. analysis etc. enough for 6th grade on its own. (My computer has had some glitch lately and I am not able to bring up the samples!) I typically don't mind adding in here and there where needed, but this coming year will be stressful as we will be moving in the fall, so I'm trying to choose something as streamlined as possible. Sonlight looks like it does this, but I think My Father's World appeals to me more.... We would be using the Modern level, if that matters.

[Mommy22alyns]

I add in my own lit work. LA is generally not included in the 2-8th levels of the program. They do assign read alouds, but I do those during school and have other literature read to them before bed. Some books are suggested in the book basket list, so you can also pick from those. But there's no analysis.

[Donna A.]

I add in my own lit work. LA is generally not included in the 2-8th levels of the program. They do assign read alouds, but I do those during school and have other literature read to them before bed. Some books are suggested in the book basket list, so you can also pick from those. But there's no analysis.

 

 

Well, it's not accurate to say that "LA is generally not included in the 2-8th levels of the program." LA Charlotte Mason style is scheduled on the grid all the way through the MFW curriculum. This would be things like copywork, dictation, narrations (oral and written), memory work... a LOT of memory work. Notebooking is done all the way throughout, as well. (Notebook pages are included in the student sheet sets.) Then they recommend PLL and ILL in 2nd-6th grades, and Writing Strands beginning in approximately 3rd-4th grade. These are scheduled on the grid, although PLL and ILL appear simply as "English" on the grid, and then Marie explains in the teacher notes at the front of the TM how to use those resources. But you can easily swap those out for your favorite English curriculum if you prefer something else. There's room on the grid to write in your substitutions.

 

In addition to the scheduled read-aloud each week......

 

They recommend you begin using Progeny Press lit study guides in about 7th grade, I think? Or maybe it's 6th, I don't remember. They also recommend you begin a more "formal" grammar study at about the same time.

 

There are also boxes on the grid labeled "Reading" and "Book Basket". That's where you either use your favorite Reading curriculum, the lit study guides, and/or the optional, very extensive list of books and videos from the back of the TM. This list includes about 300-400 titles, depending on the year, and it includes every genre, for every age range from Preschool-Adult. The list is broken down by week # and topic so that you can easily find what you're looking for ahead of time. You can use Book Basket in a lot of different ways: free reading, a set "book basket" time for browsing, an additional read-aloud, or additional assigned reading to any or all of your children. You can either require that they orally narrate the books to you, do written summaries or book reports, do lit analysis/vocab Charlotte Mason (and WTM) style, or nothing at all if you're letting your kids use it for free reading. For any movie titles, we would usually watch those together as a family.

 

A more formal vocab study is done in CTG and RTR using English from the Roots Up. That's scheduled on the grid.

 

And of course "Spelling" is on the grid, too. They recommend Spelling Power, and like PLL and ILL, Marie has given instructions at the front of the manual on how to use Spelling Power. But again, you can swap it out for your favorite spelling program if you like something else better.

 

Writing in some form is scheduled every single week in MFW.

 

So whether you use MFW's recommends for the different LA components or not, they ARE scheduled on the grid so that you remember to do them, and to also give you a guide for how often to incorporate the different skills. It would be difficult to schedule, for example, "Lesson 24 of PLL" or "Lesson 24 of R&S English" if you have children of multiple ages doing the same program, as MFW is designed for. That's why it's just listed as "English". You have permission to photocopy the grid for recordkeeping purposes only, so I would usually make a copy for each child and write their individual assignments in the 3 R's on their own copy of the grid, and then it would go right into their own 3-ring binders that serve as our required portfolio for the state.

 

Ditto all of the above for math.... they recommend Singapore through 6th grade, and then Saxon from 7th and up, but you can use whatever you like. It appears simply as "Math" on the grid.

[Homemama2]

Wow! Thanks so much! That really helps me a get a picture of it, and it sounds exactly like what I'm looking for. :) I could continue with Rod and Staff grammar and our math, and then use MFW for all the rest. I keep forgetting about the book basket with MFW, :001_rolleyes: so I was comparing the amount of "books" in Sonlight to MFW. Not sure why I keep forgetting about that since that was one of the things that appealed to me about it initially.

[Donna A.]

Wow! Thanks so much! That really helps me a get a picture of it, and it sounds exactly like what I'm looking for. :) I could continue with Rod and Staff grammar and our math, and then use MFW for all the rest. I keep forgetting about the book basket with MFW, :001_rolleyes: so I was comparing the amount of "books" in Sonlight to MFW. Not sure why I keep forgetting about that since that was one of the things that appealed to me about it initially.

 

 

I do wish they'd find a way to make Book Basket more obvious on the website. A couple of sample pages would be nice, showing that Marie also asterisks some titles that she recommends for purchase ... along with a total # of how many titles are on the list, including the fact it includes some videos. Or something.

[Mommy22alyns]

Donna, what I was thinking of was more like HOD's rigid scheduling in of grammar, etc. when I said that MFW didn't really have LA included. OCD me feels a little more free with the MFW grid to use a different curriculum.

[FriedClams]

If you dont supplement with the book basket, I would say no, there's not enough literature.

[Donna A.]

If you dont supplement with the book basket, I would say no, there's not enough literature.

 

Except that the verb "supplement" in this context makes it sounds like something you have to come up with completely on your own, which isn't the case. Book Basket is *included*. It's a huge part of the work Marie did when writing the curriculum, which is why it's part of the copyrighted TM. Book Basket is also on the schedule, usually listed immediately after the history assignment. The only thing you have to do to make it part of your daily workload is to pick which titles off the list you want to either buy or get from the library. I liked having the *options*. I liked not feeling like every single book I paid good money for HAS to be read or it's been a waste of money.... especially when I'm teaching multiple ages (which would otherwise meaning buying multiple cores/packages of books). The list is very broad for a wide range of ages and reading styles/preferences, and they're scheduled both topically and chronologically for not only history, but also science, Bible, art, and music, as well as a general list of classics.

 

Book Basket can be a burden for some moms, certainly. But it can also a breath of fresh air, providing freedom and flexibility (and a budget saver!) for other moms. :)

[cjgrubbs]

We will be doing 1850-Modern this year with an 8th, 5th and 2nd grader. I'm going to add in reading for my older 2. I'm coordinating some of it with good books from history (I use guesthollow.com as a resource for my 5th grader) and some TWTM rec's for 8th grade as well. I will use at least 2 lit guides with 8th grader but probably 3 and will probably use 1 with my 5th grader towards the end of the year just to get him familiar with the process; I will stagger these so I'm not doing 2 at once for my own sanity. I'm also going to be using IEW's Narnia writing program for the older two. My oldest needs to continue working on his writing as it's a weak spot for him and my 5th grader loves writing and Narnia so they will both do the program. I might use IEW's Bible Heroes program for the 2nd grader....not sure yet and he'll be doing the Supplement of MFW since some of the topics might be too intense for him.