SL, HOD, MFW for Disoganized Mom

[SpicyPeanut]

Hi.  This is my first post :-)

 

For a first time HS mom... who is a classroom teacher currently... who has ADD herself (but is medicated) and does better with structure/a schedule than without.  Which of these 3 do you recommend?  I've downloaded every sample.  I've narrowed it down to these three for their "open and go" quality.  I need something that is truly open and go so that when I'm not organized I can just well... open and go.  My child does not appear to have ADD and seems to enjoy hands-on stuff but I worry about my ability to pull that together unless it's all right there for me.  KWIM?

 

Anyway... I'm realizing that this is the most important part of my decision because regardless of how I feel about a curriculum, it has to get done ya know? 

 

Thanks in advance :-)

[roanna]

I have done both SL and MFW.  The biggest thing to decide between those two is SL is a TON of reading on your part on the younger elementary years.  If that's something you really like doing good. If you don't want to read for 1/2 your day to your child I would do MFW.  I am not saying that is bad, I love the books in SL, and it's something they don't hide, it's a lot of reading.  You may like the (scheduled) variety more in MFW.  ???

[PentecostalMom]

I love SL and have used it for years.  It does have a lot of quality literature but you don't just sit and read for hours on end.  There is much more to it.  MFW is light in comparison, I have ordered and returned it.

[hands-on-mama]

Out of those three, I would say HOD is way more open and go. I have used MFW and HOD. The craft activities and having to get library books makes MFW a bit more needing of prep time. With HOD, I have been able to open up e manual and just go. I don't think I have ever come across an activity in the manual that I didn't have supplies on hand before. Most of the time, I don't read ahead in the manual at all.

[SpicyPeanut]

I have done both SL and MFW.  The biggest thing to decide between those two is SL is a TON of reading on your part on the younger elementary years.  If that's something you really like doing good. If you don't want to read for 1/2 your day to your child I would do MFW.  I am not saying that is bad, I love the books in SL, and it's something they don't hide, it's a lot of reading.  You may like the (scheduled) variety more in MFW.  ???

Thank you.  I don't think we'd mind the reading so much.  I do worry about the multiple guides however.

 

I love SL and have used it for years.  It does have a lot of quality literature but you don't just sit and read for hours on end.  There is much more to it.  MFW is light in comparison, I have ordered and returned it.

When you say "more to it" can you elaborate?  Part of me likes the idea that my daughter would be inspired to create her "own" project or activity without me telling her what to do... part of me worries that with mostly reading and not much else, that there would be application missing.  I also know you can look up activities... but when things get busy I just know I won't be able to keep up.

 

Out of those three, I would say HOD is way more open and go. I have used MFW and HOD. The craft activities and having to get library books makes MFW a bit more needing of prep time. With HOD, I have been able to open up e manual and just go. I don't think I have ever come across an activity in the manual that I didn't have supplies on hand before. Most of the time, I don't read ahead in the manual at all.

 

I'm leaning towards HOD because what you say here seems to be true based on the samples.  However, I'm drawn to SL as well.... which I worry about feeling like I missed something (which I will no matter what I choose I suppose).  I do have good days/weeks and I'm okay with a little advance prep, but I just worry that if I choose a curriculum with too many moving parts, I'll end up having to quit HS because I can't hack it. 

 

[mohsmom23]

Out of those three, I would say HOD is way more open and go. I have used MFW and HOD. The craft activities and having to get library books makes MFW a bit more needing of prep time. With HOD, I have been able to open up e manual and just go. I don't think I have ever come across an activity in the manual that I didn't have supplies on hand before. Most of the time, I don't read ahead in the manual at all.

I completely agree with this.

[Mommy22alyns]

See, I felt that SL was rather light and MFW more substantial.

[SpicyPeanut]

See, I felt that SL was rather light and MFW more substantial.

 

That's why I'm taking opinions with a grain of salt.  I know that for some things it will be trial and error, however, mostly I just want to know about ease of use and lack of prep-time.  I'm really okay with lot's of parent time, it's the prep-time, running to the library, gathering materials etc.. that worry me.

[jengjohnson]

I've only used HOD and SL, so I can't compare them to MFW.  I prefer HOD and will be using it again next year.  I like the simple activities and projects included.  With SL, I loved the books, but felt like there wasn't enough output.  I like the way the kids interact with HOD better.  I do have a ton of SL readers and also look to their lists when I want more read-alouds.  I like the lay-out of each day.  When I try to schedule things myself I worry about doing enough, go overboard, and burn out.  It seems like HOD has just enough planned.

[Tenaj]

I've used all three.

 

They are all very easy to "open-and go".  MFW involves more trips to the library but you can avoid that by purchasing books for the book basket.  Essentially, they are all basically the same in ease of use if you purchase all the books up front.  If you like the books all in one box than HOD and SL have the advantage because you can buy them all at once.  MFW either requires purchasing more books on your own or making those trips to the library.

 

SL science kits are very inclusive.  With HOD I've only run into problems a few times with needed supplies not being in my house at the right time but usually I have all the needed science supplies without too much trouble.  I don't remember what I did for MFW - I think I always gathered the science supplies before the school year but I really can't remember.

 

 

[SpicyPeanut]

Thank you! 

[Bree]

I'm an ADD mom with 1 ADHD kid and we have done SL and HOD. It is easier for me to complete and stick with HOD because of the layout of the guide, I just have 1 day before me and when it's done I don't have to see it again. I want to love SL and do but there are so many flipping of pages in the guide and books and it has the whole week ahead of me that I tend to struggle with it. HOD truthfully has a lot of the great books SL carries also so we don't feel like we are missing out on that too much :)

[Susie in MS]

I agree with the ease of using HOD. Plus you said your kids like hands on...again HOD. Books all in one package and no library (or extra buying) needed. HOD. Of the 3 you mentioned I feel HOD fits the most. 

[Stphoebe]

I really wanted Sonlight to work for my kids, but I agree with the above poster,I struggle with it. I find it disjointed, it did not flow for me. I tried P4/5 & core A only. Maybe upper cores are better? We just read the read aloud books & Bible now and I don't open the binder or LA at all. The catalog looks so tempting but reality is different, for our family anyway.

 

I am also looking at MFW & HOD, I am leaning towards MFW because you can combine grades if you need that. I want to love HOD book choices but the younger years are not exciting me. I like that MFW uses SOTW Vol 2-4 and looks like this will be a fun way to implement it.

 

Have you looked at Memoria Press packages?

[birchbark]

Heart of Dakota.

[HeartatHome]

I've only tried HOD so can't compare but one of the reasons I went with HOD is that I struggle with organization. I'm not ADD I'm just not organized and am not great at planning. I have NOT been disappointed it is truly open and go! Very easy for me to implement and flexible at the same time.

[SpicyPeanut]

Thank you everyone!  You helped me finalize what I think I already knew. I love the idea of sonlight and perhaps without the ADD I could pull it off, adding stuff here and there.  However, when I go through the samples, I get "glazed over" from the overstimulation.  I like that HOD has only one day at a time so that what we're supposed to do tomorrow won't distract me.  I really do love what I've seen in HOD, but those Sonlight books... sigh, I guess I could always add them in as a "just for fun reading".  We'll see.  Thanks again!

[AngelBee]

I am a mama with severe ADHD and have all three programs. :)

 

I think it depends on if you are able to follow and check off the boxes or if you will change stuff up on your own anyway.

 

HOD has one full week samples. Try one out :)

 

I am "thinking" HOD and supplimenting with SL books may be your best fit.

 

I can't do any of them fully cause I have a horrible habit of adding and tweaking things. :D

[hands-on-mama]

I am a mama with severe ADHD and have all three programs. :)

 

I think it depends on if you are able to follow and check off the boxes or if you will change stuff up on your own anyway.

 

HOD has one full week samples. Try one out :)

 

I am "thinking" HOD and supplimenting with SL books may be your best fit.

 

I can't do any of them fully cause I have a horrible habit of adding and tweaking things. :D

This would be a great option. I've thought of doing it myself. U say start with HOD and get a routine down. Then, you can start adding SL books.

[IceFairy]

HOD is open and go....until you need to tweak it. We used two guides with children at the younger end of the recommendations and it was still not challenging enough....so I had to supplement greatly. If you need some flexibility in your schedule, HOD can drive you nuts. Each day is laid out and each subject is interwined. You cannot skip history one day and pick up where you left the next day because it may not correlate to that days science...and vice versa. I was going batty!!! Eventually, I kept the science and used it in order, kept the read-alouds and the math and sold everything else. 

[lea_lpz]

I haven't used HOD or SL. I initially wanted to do SL but was deterred because of the cost and reading load. My dd at the time had a short attention span and I felt more than 15 min of reading a day would likely cause her to space out. She was / is a hands on learner and leans ADHD, and was a struggling learner, so mfw k was a natural fit. We've continued with mfw for 1st and have been really happy with mfw. Getting books at the library hasn't been a big issue. I generally reserve a months worth of books online and just pick them up at the front of the library hold section, and then 1x a month we make a library trip to do story time, pick up holds, return books and let my kids pick some books / dvd's of their own choice. As far as extras, they are listed for you in the tm at the beginning of each weeks teacher notes. I look ahead usually on Friday and plan to buy anything out of the ordinary over the weekend. They are never super costly or difficult to find. In the beginning if the tm you will find a getting ready section that lists basic supplies to have in hand all year / prep. I just follow that as my back to school shopping list.

 

We will be continuing with mfw long term. I like the mix of hands on learning with classical education and its easy to combine my kids. So far my preschooler had been able to tag along for k & 1st as his core doing all but Lang + math and has learned a ton!

[brla]

Having used all 3...Heart of Dakota is your easiest to implement as far as it being all there for you.  I didn't use their math and ended up using different/extra language arts and more bible (just because we have a series we really like).  Overall, my kids liked HOD better than Sonlight.  I also added a list of books for them to read thru the year that were the sonlight readers for their age/ability level - these were the "if you are bored and want to do something" books. 

 

My Father's world.  I really like the flexibility of this program and the ease of use with multiple children.  I don't like needing to go to the library so much as ours is 30 minutes away, but I have pk-8th grade, so this program just simplifies life for me.  It's pretty well laid out as far as the weekly things you do.

 

BUT, if I only had 1-3 kids, I would have stayed with Heart of Dakota.  Love their book choices, love their notebooking, love their activities, love their extras.  AND I absolutely loved the fact I could open the book and do what it said every day without worrying.  The only thing to look ahead for with them is supplies for the projects and science.  Lots of great resources on their yahoo group as well. 

 

Sonlight, I tried over and over to love this program.  I love the books.  But FOR ME, this program wasn't as open and go.  With just one child (or even 2 close together), it would have been much more doable.  With my ages, I had 3 cores at the same time and not enough of me to go around.  My independent children chafed at the program as written, so I ended up tweaking it to death.  There are MANY that don't have this experience though.  This was just mine.  I, personally, liked the science program though.  It was laid out and gave us plenty of introduction to various areas of science. 

 

As far as my children's perspective:

7th/8th grade - favorite program is Heart of Dakota.  Like MFW ok but not favorite.  Sonlight- just give them the books and let them read them, don't like their schedule

4th grader - Heart of Dakota is favorite.  MFW close second.  Sonlight- only like science books and readers.

2nd grade - Heart of Dakota.  MFW equally.  Sonlight- only science books.

PK/K - Likes both MFW  K and Sonlight 4/5 program equally (and I am using both currently)

 

It's really up to how you and your child work together and how your child learns.  Also, the time you have to spend with the "extras".

[Guest]

Calvert School

[quietchapel]

Build Your Library

[SpicyPeanut]

I feel like I keep going in circles :-) I wish I had the focus to effectively combine elements of multiple programs to create my own.  It's funny, I'm currently a classroom teacher and I'm constantly designing unit studies and what not... but I know that at home, I will fall terribly behind without a "boss" or "curriculum map" to keep me on schedule.  Sigh.

 

So when I first thought about homeschooling (I had no kids at the time lol) I found SL and WP.  I loved WP... but then I heard a lot of negative reviews.  Their website also bothered me (However, I logged in today and it's revamped).  How easy is WP?  It seems to have everything I want.  I like all the books, I like getting all the books, I need a plan/schedule, and I want my dc to know that there is more to this world than the US.  Some of the projects in WP seem intimidating.  I don't mind doing a big project each week... just not every day kwim?

 

[jer2911mom]

I can't answer your WP questions, but I've used HOD and SL.  I prefer to keep HOD as my base, but I have been able to add SL P3/4 to HOD LHTH and P3/4 and P4/5 to LHFHG (lately I am having my dh read those to my kids at night).  I used Core K (now A) after LHFHG so that my dd would know there was more to this world than the U.S. : )  HOD has a "gap" year, so I used SL to fill it.  There is some crossover in the Core B and Beyond and Bigger read-alouds.  I have used the Core B notes when I do those read-alouds so that I have the vocabulary, mapwork, and questions.  I plan to pull in more of Core B with Preparing next year and use the CHOW notes from SL.  I have used the SL readers 1 in 1st grade, readers 2 with Beyond, and readers 3 this year with Bigger.  I plan to add the readers 4/5 next year with Preparing.  I like the SL books a lot, but my dd is creative and very hands-on and she kept asking where the projects were while we were doing Core K.  HOD just helps me get those done as painlessly as possible.  HOD uses things you have around your house, so there aren't a lot of supplies popping up that you have to run out for before you can continue (I'm not organized enough to get everything ahead of time).  We have used some SL science on the side, and while I have the kits and love the books, there are always things that are needed for it that we don't have, especially with Science K.  In the future I will probably just provide the science books as a book basket and not try to do the experiments, although I do like the dvds, so we may still watch those.  I like that HOD gets done here.  I also like that it gives you something to show for your year and to look back on.  With SL, there was a lot of reading, but not really any output to look back on for the year.  HOD has a lot of notebooking, written narrations, projects, artwork, etc., and I like that HOD really uses a lot of variety in its teaching to help the kids retain the information.  HOD feels like a slower, more intentional pace to really absorb the information.  I have come to the realization that I prefer my own LA (we use BJU Eng and Spelling, which includes dictation) and math (we use MM but do the Singapore workbooks for review), but HOD is a great base for the other areas.  So I prefer to add SL to HOD wherever I can, but keep HOD as my base.

 

HTH,

Kathy

[mommaklee]

MFW is open and go.  You don't NEED the library to do the lesson plans.  The library is for extras and enrichment.  Seriously, unless you have a terrible library (I know some small towns or rural areas don't have close or well stocked libraries), you should be going to the library at least some of the time.

 

MFW allows you to combine more grades if you need to. 

 

I found the HOD manuals did not go with my personality at all nor did their organization work for me.  MFW has a grid format where you can check off what you've done.  It doesn't matter when you do it, you can just check it off when you are done. 

[SpicyPeanut]

I think I'm going to try HOD.. and see what happens.  Thanks everyone.

[amazzie]

I see you've decided on HOD, and after using all three, it was what I was going to recommend to you! One thing I have noticed about HOD at the earlier levels is that there are less books, so it's easier to keep track of them! Also, with MFW you have the constant need for the library and sometimes it's just hard to get things back on time. I must admit I like the science supplies that SL sells, but haven't had an issue with our HOD experiments or art projects.

 

Good luck and give yourself and your child time to get used to HOD. I found it to have a bit of a learning curve at first. Firstly because it was hard to get used to the daily boxes rather than a grid schedule, and secondly because the type of work required was different than what my son was used to. He is used to it now and so am I and I find it easy to teach!

[teeniebeenie6]

I personally did not find MFW open and go. There was often a craft that needed specific items. I often found myself completely stuck because I had not looked far enough in advance and then had days that resolved around a certain craft. I don't drive so running out and getting things is not an option for me. The book basket is also huge and very expensive if you do not want to do many trips to the library.

[MyLittleBears]

MFW is open and go.  You don't NEED the library to do the lesson plans.  The library is for extras and enrichment.  Seriously, unless you have a terrible library (I know some small towns or rural areas don't have close or well stocked libraries), you should be going to the library at least some of the time.

 

MFW allows you to combine more grades if you need to. 

 

 

 

Exactly!   We used MFW this year specifically because we moved to an area where the library system is very lacking. We have not used more that a few audio books for enrichment because we *wanted* them, not because the program is at all lacking.  The only thing we are using the library for this year is to do the state report, which is not required every year. Also, the activities are optional and the manual gives you a list of what supplies are needed. I just look them on Friday and at them to my Saturday shopping list. Easy peasy.

[walkermamaof4]

I've used HOD, SL, and MFW (1850-Mod). I own 6 SL cores. We use and love HOD. Next year will be our 3rd year with it. It has just the right amount of reading for us. SL had too much lit for us. I struggled to get it done with my dd who didn't enjoy reading. I didn't like the MFW book choices as much. And we love the extras in HOD. We love owning all of the books and not using the library. It has been a great fit for us.