My Father's World (MFW) for a no-extras, anti-planning type? :)

[alisoncooks]

We started off with MFW K three years ago ... and made it half a year.  It was just ... too much.  Too much extra stuff that I felt I had to add/make/do/find/organize.  The book basket ideas were good ... but I'd get too many and we'd be overwhelmed (my fault).  The themes were fun ... but I felt like we didn't do enough if we didn't add crafts and projects (again:  my fault).

 

We're doing well with our current open-and-go, do-the-next-thing type of schooling.  Everything we use is independent of the other subjects, nothing tied together (which helps for my bright DD who struggles with reading).  I think this is part of the reason why MFWK fell apart for us -- everything was tied to the reading and we couldn't handle that.

 

And yet ... here I am, considering MFW's Adventures next year (mainly b/c I'm frustrated with our history options).  I also really like the idea of the Jesus name study.

 

If I go with Adventures ... how much extra/outside planning is required of me to "do it right?"  I don't want to be searching for lapbooks and crafts and books to fill in the gaps.  Anyone use it right "out the box" and not add to it?

[alisoncooks]

Or maybe to clarify my original post:

 

What craftsy things are included in the program/student pages?  Is there a timeline? 

 

Is everything included or am I going to be told to "find a picture of Columbus for ____ craft" or some such thing?

[Mommy22alyns]

The things you'll need are fairly straightforward - construction paper, foil, yeast, etc.   Nothing crazy.

 

There is a timeline, but they provide all the figures.

[Mom2TheTeam]

Personally, I think the history is light if you don't bulk up on the book basket books. I'm not able to do that very well.  Without them scheduled in, I tend to struggle to get them in.  So, we are a little light on the history this year, IMHO, but it's fine for us for 2nd grade. However, that said, we are skipping most of the projects and still enjoying it.  Most of the things needed are pretty easy to find.  The projects we have done have been fairly easy to do. 

 

Hope that helps!

[joyfulhomeschooler]

We did Adventures when my kids were those ages and it went really well. I felt it was pleanty as is and there was very little planning. You do have to cut out the timeline pics and prepare your timeline upfront. It was an enjoyable year even though we really tired of the state sheets.

[FriedClams]

One of my friends used MFW like that. In lieu of the library she went through the TM and picked out a book every week or so and bought them on amazon. It was cheaper than Sonlight, had the MFW worldview, and was much easier for her to manage.

[Amy M]

I used SOTW 1 this year, and I'm debating between using ADV (as I'd planned) this year (starting in February) or waiting one more year and using SOTW 2 this year. So I've been looking at the ADV manual and readings extensively.

 

This year with SOTW1 we read about 3 times a week and maybe do a project (or not). ADV is a step up from that with readings or state sheets (which are read, but not as much words on a page as the readings scheduled for history) usually 4 days a week plus a project. So to me, it doesn't feel light. It would be a step up for us, and I know many people on these boards love SOTW and find that a good standard, so you can take that for what it's worth.

 

I also liked that the crafts and lists of what you need for them are already chosen and listed out by material and day. I'm creatively-challenged.

 

Just so you know, I'm a missionary in Africa and don't have a library, and can only get out for supplies about once every 6 weeks. So supplies have to be common household items, and books were bought ahead and shipped here. That's how I'm handling it. Otherwise, if money's tight and you don't want to use your library, just use a reading program with readers. When I look at ABeka or other traditional programs with their one history textbook per year (with tests of course :)), that looks light. When I do ADV, I plan to take one day before the year begins to look for any special things for the projects in town (half hour away). If we can't find some supply, I'm probably not going to search on the internet to sub projects. :) All that to say, that I don't really think there are lots of gaps to fill. JMO. :)

[Donna A.]

At the risk of getting into trouble for posting in a MFW thread, I'll try to remain as unopinionated as possible while offering a suggestion or two.

 

This is JUST a suggestion... you don't HAVE to do it this way..... But if you don't want to deal with the library at all, you can either buy a-book-a-week from Amazon or other book sellers like HOD and SL (Book Basket is listed by week # or topic in Adventures), as someone above suggested, OR you can go through the Book Basket list as soon as you get your manual and make a list of the titles that Marie has asterisked (recommendations for purchase) and just buy those.  This will help make the decision-making easier for you, and then you can still use the library as time and interest allow throughout the year. 

 

Otherwise, it would work very well to simply go right down the grid each day/week and just "do the next thing", skipping Book Basket entirely, and picking and choosing from the activity suggestions each week.... if you prefer to do it that way.  All the bases will get covered, and you can do "more" IF your child shows interest and you have the time (and energy).

 

Curriculum and resources should always be our tools, not our master. :) 

[Mom2TheTeam]

At the risk of getting into trouble for posting in a MFW thread, I'll try to remain as unopinionated as possible while offering a suggestion or two.

 

Curriculum and resources should always be our tools, not our master. :)

 

To the bolded: :lol:

 

And to the last sentence, absolutely!  It took me K and most of 1st grade to start to be able to do my own thing without feeling guilty.  I still struggle with feeling like I have to do what the manual says sometimes.  I have to remind myself that I am the teacher, not the manual.  I use the manual, not the other way around.  ;)

 

I started to make a list for books to buy from the book basket list.  I think that is a great plan and if we use MFW again, I'm going to do that and factor that cost in.  For this year, I decided not to because I can use the library.  I really don't have a problem doing that.  But, it is still easier to have them.  I will get them ahead of time and then actually schedule them in by book/page number.  That way it will get done more consistently.  :)

[Meadowlark]

To the bolded: :lol:

 

And to the last sentence, absolutely! It took me K and most of 1st grade to start to be able to do my own thing without feeling guilty. I still struggle with feeling like I have to do what the manual says sometimes. I have to remind myself that I am the teacher, not the manual. I use the manual, not the other way around. ;)

 

I started to make a list for books to buy from the book basket list. I think that is a great plan and if we use MFW again, I'm going to do that and factor that cost in. For this year, I decided not to because I can use the library. I really don't have a problem doing that. But, it is still easier to have them. I will get them ahead of time and then actually schedule them in by book/page number. That way it will get done more consistently. :)

What do you mean by the last few sentences? For Adventures, you would recommend buying the asterisked books, but how do you know when each book should be read, and what part? I too, know things have a better chance of getting done when they're right there in front of me, scheduled. Any advice for how to do that?

[alisoncooks]

Update:  I did buy an Adventures teacher's guide.  I'll give myself a few months to go through it and feel it out.

 

Re: the art and science.  We use Atelier and we already have a science we like, so don't know that we'll follow the guide for those.
  I'll probably use the Adventures guide for history schedule + read-alouds.  And the Jesus names study (we'll add this to our own Bible that we do.)

 

LOL, the more I type it out, the more I think maybe I shouldn't use Adventures since I'm only interested in a tiny portion of it (the history).  IS THE HISTORY ALONE WORTH USING THE GUIDE?  (FWIW, I bought it used at a good price. :P)

[Amy M]

Well...you already bought the guide, so why not just get the history texts that go with it and use that portion? done. :)

 

ETA: I'm actually not sure if I would use MFW for ONLY the history portion. It'd be a toss up for me. It would be nice to have the planning and book lists and projects all done.

[Mom2TheTeam]

What do you mean by the last few sentences? For Adventures, you would recommend buying the asterisked books, but how do you know when each book should be read, and what part? I too, know things have a better chance of getting done when they're right there in front of me, scheduled. Any advice for how to do that?

 

The books in the book basket list are listed by week/unit.  It's very easy to know which books to schedule in which weeks and for which topics.  So, I would suggest picking one or two titles from the list and buying those.  Then, write the book into the grid.  I usually read most children's books cover to cover in one sitting, but if it is a long book or more appropriate to read over a few days, I would quickly scan the book and write the page numbers in each day on the grid as well.  Hopefully, that makes sense...oh, grid is an overview of the week and has each day on it.  :)

 

 

ETA - I also sometimes combine MFW scheduled history readings from 2 days.  So, I may scan those and make a note to combine shorter readings and put a book basket book in the place of one of those days. 

 

 

Update:  I did buy an Adventures teacher's guide.  I'll give myself a few months to go through it and feel it out.

 

Re: the art and science.  We use Atelier and we already have a science we like, so don't know that we'll follow the guide for those.

  I'll probably use the Adventures guide for history schedule + read-alouds.  And the Jesus names study (we'll add this to our own Bible that we do.)

 

LOL, the more I type it out, the more I think maybe I shouldn't use Adventures since I'm only interested in a tiny portion of it (the history).  IS THE HISTORY ALONE WORTH USING THE GUIDE?  (FWIW, I bought it used at a good price. :p)

 

Since you already have the guide, I would use what you want and leave the rest.  We only use the history and Bible portion.  I still like it and have no problem using it.  I do sometimes use the science.  It depends on the topic and the books used for it...and the projects involved.  ;)  I don't use the art or music, but I do want to and intend to start the art portion after Christmas. 

 

I would have no problem using only the history and don't see why it would be a problem at all.  I think I would even buy the program for just the history and Bible...and I pretty much did.  Not sure I would buy just for the history, but I probably would and since you already own it, I see zero reason not to use whatever portion of it you like.  It's a tool.  Use it the way it works for you.  :D

[alisoncooks]

Well...you already bought the guide, so why not just get the history texts that go with it and use that portion? done. :)

 

Yes, this is what I meant I'd probably do:  use the history program in its entirety (history texts & guide) and add the chapter book/read-alouds (Farmer Boy, Mountain Born, etc...)

 

Then add my own science (unless I particularly liked something) and art and music.

[gratitude]

I did add, but I also subtracted. Over all, I think we had a good year and a thorough introduction to American history for 2nd grade that has helped later on. The Jesus study was good.

 

I had an advanced reader who liked reading history so I added:

Extension package from HOD Bigger that he read on his own.

Sonlight Core D readers he read on his own.

Beautiful Feet Primary pack books - some he read & some I read aloud.

The rest of the Laura Ingalls books I read aloud.

Apologia Astronomy with Notebook

 

I subtracted:

ADV science

Half the history projects. We did enjoy the half we did and I don't remember shopping for it & I don't have many items considered common. The other half probably had some items I didn't own or didn't interest me to do.

 

It was a good year over all, and I would recommend it.

[gratitude]

P.S. I did think ADV was easier to implement than MFWK.

[lea_lpz]

I haven't done ADV but we did mfw k & 1st.

 

I can relate to what your are saying because when I decide to add more stuff- as many read alouds as I can get through my library, all these extra crafts, etc, but....when I just follow the tm and keep it simple, it's perfect. Read for 15 minutes a day, not 30. Do the project a simply as it's put, not making it elaborate or making a relatively simple topic in depth. Basically I re-peat the mantra "keep it simple, stupid!" over and over.

[lea_lpz]

To the bolded: :lol:

 

And to the last sentence, absolutely! It took me K and most of 1st grade to start to be able to do my own thing without feeling guilty. I still struggle with feeling like I have to do what the manual says sometimes. I have to remind myself that I am the teacher, not the manual. I use the manual, not the other way

I feel the same way. We our in 6 week break from mfw and will pick up with week 12 and start the Bible Reader and Notebook. This year I decided to also use the Wee Folk Art companion guides, which are awesome :), but it means I spent this year doubling up on areas like science, narration, read alouds and crafts. I did all the math every day- a hands on math project, a math lit book, and worksheets from CBOM. I added, added, added and did mfw 1st to a tee and wondered why I felt burnt out!?!

 

AHG....breathe... get centered and realize I am in the drivers seat and not God. I realized I needed to give Him control and seek his wisdom. Though it seemed insignificant in my eyes to the create of the universe what we were doing in homeschool it was. Although nothing I was doing was inherently wrong, taking on too much was damaging what the character and vision our homeschool needed to be and taking the focus off why we wanted to homeschool.

 

So, as I planned through our next 12 weeks, I was ok with going at a pace of 3 days a week doing mfw, I was ok with scrapping science, art appreciation, and some of the Bible History stuff because I knew that I was duplicating with our WFA stuff, and that was ok. It's ok to do less with math. They were still getting the science and art. The goal should be to cover the classical Ed areas while still having a Charlotte Mason approach.

[gratitude]

Curriculum and resources should always be our tools, not our master. :)

Wise words given to us by a mom with a senior and more than a decade homeschooling. Thank you Donna!

 

I only add to this wisdom to teach your kids what they don't know & need to know & with that old knowledge that mom knows them best.

 

Curriculum can make a good servant, but a very poor master.

 

Blessings,

[marylandhsmom]

A somewhat related question: If I plan on using Adventures for only History/Bible/Read alouds (I got the TM and US History books for really cheap) -- do I need the Student Sheets??  What else is in there besides the state studies (which I think we'd like to do)?  TIA!!  :)

[Mom2TheTeam]

I would get them.  There are sheets that relate to the Bible portion.  There are notebooking pages for the history topics and people studied.  There is also a sheet for each state and state stickers...though I can't remember without looking, the stickers might be separate from the student sheets now...you'll have to double check on that because it is changing just a little in January.  Anyway, I do think the student sheets are important, especially if you want to do the state study.  But, in theory, you could get away without them if you are good at making or finding your own to use instead.  For me, I wouldn't want to bother...and I actually did sort of try for the youngers.

 

I will say, MFW and many users recommend having a set for any child who is 3 and over.  I got a set for my twin K'ers.  They really don't use them. They did at first, but they aren't really interested most of what we do.  It was a waste for us.  However, if you require your younger children to be involved with Adv, then you would want them for them too.  I let sitting in with Adv be optional for everyone other than my actual Adv student who is in 2nd.  Even though I found the extra sets to be unnecessary for us, many people get them and use them with younger siblings.

 

(And, just to note, there are also sheets related to the music and projects.  But, since we are talking about mostly the history and Bible, that was what I mentioned.  :))

[Guest blessingx4]

We're just getting ready to begin Adventures and I'm appreciating your ideas on how you've made it work.