WP's Animals and Their Worlds....

[Another Lynn]

I know lots of people love this curriculum, but if it didn't work for you I'd love to know why.

 

I need to buy a curriculum like I need a hole in my head, but I'm contemplating it anyway. I really need to spend some *special* time with my dd who is 5 (K) and I need something that will be incentive for *me* so that we will really do it. (Sorry, I know that sounds terrible!) I think she would love an animals related "unit" (did I just say "unit study???":eek:), but I want to like it too ;)

 

So, give me the good, bad and ugly.... crafts? are they "good?" even for Moms who cringe at the word "crafts?" Are they easy? What did you like/dislike, etc....

 

(And if this has been discussed before, I'm sorry! I can never get search to cooperate for me.... feel free to link me to other threads if that's easier than typing a post!)

 

Thanks!!!

 

ETA: (Feel free to give me your .02 on MFW K as well)

[siloam]

Lynn,

 

We adored it here, but I would be hesitant to recommend it for just a 5yo. The spine book is geared to older children. You can see the ages of my kids in my sig line, and they all did it. Took us about a year and we finished last March.

 

Most of the people who I have seen use it with younger children only (and not following along with older kids) have modified it. Many have substituted the First book of animals, some have combined it with Galloping the Globe and spread it over two years.

 

The crafts aren't horrendous, but they are going to get old, if you don't like them. They do use several books, so if you get sick of one type you can usually skip it and do something else or just repeat a favorite. To be honest by the time we finished they were on a kick of just printing out heart animals that you can get for free off line and they made whole families of cats, owls, bunnies, ect.. :rolleyes:

 

What I loved about the program is having a new animal every day to look up. We always do a Google image search, and would look at several up close. For my oldest it was also nice that they arrange things by habitat, so I just added the Hands of A Child Habitat lapbooks.

 

I am not sure what I would recommend instead. I think some of the books in Journeys of Imagination program are a little advanced and the I'm Ready To Learn program looks to be almost completely hands on. (I would go nuts with that much hands on.) Actually I think the World Around Me science program might be the best fit of both books and hands on. Yep I think that is what I would recommend this year and consider AW next year.

 

I haven't used MFW at all, so I am of no help there. Quite a few people who use WP also use MFW so you might want to ask on the WP forums, if you haven't already. :D

 

Heather

 

[Michelle T]

My guy was older when we gave it a try and gave it up. DS got so tired of studying animals and biomes, he made me promise we would never study them again! He also didn't like the One Small Square books, and those are used very heavily.

 

You would probably have to do a lot of adapting for a 5 year old. The DK animal book is pretty advanced.

Michelle T

[Murphy101]

There's really not that many crafts in it. The one's there are are very simple to do - a plus for us. I would think a 7/8 yr old would be bored with the crafts. Paperplate animals or letter of the week type of activities woud be a "BTDT" thing for my 7yr old+ kids. (NOT being critical of anyone else, just saying that's my situation.:))

 

The other "crafts" are actually drawing animals, either from the Draw Write Now books or Emberley's stamp creations. We are enjoying both of these and again, it's simple and that's a plus for us.

 

There's just enough to choose from without feeling bogged down.

 

My just turned 6 yr old is not quite reading on his own yet, so we just huddle on the sofa and read it together. The spine is DK's animal encyclopedia. I read the snippets about the animal and we discuss it and move on. No stress at all. And he seems to retain it and enjoy it. We've been going to the zoo alot because the weather is beautiful right now and we have a 1 year member pass and he is really noticing and saying things that are carrying over from the WP stuff.

 

We're really enjoying it so far. My only disappointment is that we don't want to do american history next year and I think the plight of the world's children is a bit much too. So once again, when we finish this we'll have to hunt for something else for him. I'm thinking of just doing SotW V1.

 

Oh wait one other minor quibble, but it's not exclusive to WP. It's a problem with lots of premade plans, imho. The websites referenced in the plans almost never work. I really dislike websites listed as references in plans. The internet just changes way too much too quickly for them to be relevant for long. I will say that at least WP does not rely on website references very much. Maybe one for extra fun a week. I've had other plans that listed them constantly and as the entire point of paying for someone else's plans is partly to save time - it irks me to spend heaven only knows how much time searching the internet.

 

All and all, I'm really glad to be doing WP animal worlds this year and my son is really enjoying it.:)

[sagira]

I haven't used it myself, but one complain voiced was that kids sometimes get bored with "too many animals". I can't see that happening with my ds, who loves animals, but hey, you never know how much is too much :)

 

Something to be aware of.

[Kisa in CA]

I tried it with a K and 3rd grader using the expansion pack. That was a few years back and they have changed the program, but at least the general outline is the same. We just got tired of studying animals. We used it for half a year then went to MFW Adventures.

 

We liked the Small Square books and there are plenty of crafts to choose from, so if one doesn't fit your fancy you can pick another.

 

HTH!

[woolybear]

We did part of AW last year. What we really liked: covering a single habitat for a period of time and learning about the animals just in that habitat, the read alouds (by far our favorite part--WP really picks great books). What we didn't love: the crafts (not interesting enough for my crew), covering animals for a whole year(we will, however, go back to this program a bit this year).

 

My reccomendation for just a 5 yo, is one of my new favorites--Elizabeth Foss www.elizabethfoss.com She has several programs (free, by the way, if you use the books from the library). I would reccomend the Alphabet Path, even if your dd already knows her letters. Also consider the Sugar and Spice unit study from www.marmeedearest.com . I'm not a big unit study fan myself but I think it would be a good choice. I am going to do it with my two ds.

 

Hth, Wooly

[SnowWhite]

One option you may not have considered. WP's I'm Ready To Learn program, while it's billed for ages 3-4, is actually appropriate for many 5 yos. The Math Play book would be a bit low level, but the Science Play, Wow! I'm Reading, Sing-Play-Create, Art Starts and Bible story books fit nicely. Check them out at your library. It is just as nice a program as Hands on Homeschooling K was which I used with my oldest. My 4 yo loves it and parts are too hard for him yet. It has units on Farm, Pond, Zoo and Garden, so plenty of animals in there too. It's fairly crafty though, so if you're dead set against crafts you might not want to consider it.

[Lovedtodeath]

MFW K-- I have a love/hate relationship. I had DD reading and doing basic math at age 3. When she was 3 and a half I bought MFW K. I was very dissapointed. I thought it was way too slow for us and below her. She needed more advanced phonics and math. I started it up again with only the science/ bible/ activity portion. The one month of this that we got through is the best homeschooling memory I have. I had to quit homeschooling due to very poor health, then baby, etc. I packed it away, forgot it and started on some traditional 1st grade curriculum. (After all MFW 1st teaches phonics... that's still below us right?) I just pulled K back out. We are going to finish the science/ bible/ activity portion. I also ordered the MFW 1st Bible reader, and am trying to piece together the Bible portion on my own.

 

When you first start MFW most people think it is not enough, especially with math. I wish I had just stuck it out with MFW for K and 1st and I will for DS. I have not found anything else that integrates the Bible in a way that I enjoy, and the 1st grade phonics program is very good. Most of the math is integrated with activities and after people have stuck to it they find out is was enough after all.

 

Okay, that said... MFW K is more like a how-to manual than a full curriculum. You are required to supply your own information on the subject of the week (sun, moon, turtle, leaves) from an encyclopedia or another source. The book suggestions are to be picked up at the library. No supplies are included for activities or crafts. It is best to go in knowing this.

 

I have seen people who have used FIAR say that it reminds them of MFW but it is more pulled together for you. I still drool over WP IRL because it looks very similar to what DD did in her preschool. The hands on unit studies sound great. I am kinda hoping that DS and I can somehow get to both.

 

HTH!

[Another Lynn]

Wow! Thanks all for your great advice and recommendations! :hurray: Sorry I can't rep you!!!

[Mom0012]

I used a lot of the WP Animals books when it first came out. I have to say that while my children enjoyed the books, they didn't capture my attention the way the Sonlight books often do.

 

Lisa

[Michelle My Bell]

Did you try putting something together using a spine and your library? I personally would choose a good animal encyclopedia (if that is what you want to study) and then choose good literature to go with it. If you want animal crafts, just type that into your library's search engine. You could even use the Winterpromise booklist as a jumping off point.

 

That way when you get tired of it, you can move onto the next topic. This is what we have been doing this year with my kindergarten daughter. The only difference is that we are studying fairy tales.

 

Michelle

[SnowWhite]

Oooo, Oooo, Galloping the Globe also has an animal study portion. We are doing GTG once per week with a 6 and 7 yo, and it's FUN. It's also more of a "smorgasboard" and less of a checklist than AW. You'd have a touch of prep though.

[Lovedtodeath]

If you want to do animals and habitats, I would could go with WP, just cut it down. WP does have resources specific to Kindergarten. There are some good suggestions on cutting it down here. Animal Worlds "light"

[Annie Laurie]

I have owned AW for over a year and never been able to get into it. The books just aren't that interesting to us. I can't stand the OSS books, they make Usborne books look calm. My kids listen quite well to complex chapter books but their eyes would glaze over when I read these books.

 

We do like the animal encyclopedia, but just use it to look up animals and my kids do like the notebook pages. We have done most of this program in a very random way.

 

The crafts drive me bonkers- I can't tell you how much I dislike sitting there telling my kids how to make something, I strongly prefer process art and have a lot more fun doing open-ended arts and crafts with my kids. That said, my dd recently made a deer from one of the craft books and she plays with it constantly- it's name is Brownie and it even comes to school with her. So while I don't enjoy that part, my kids do!

 

Anyway, it didn't feel tied together enough for me. I think because two of my kids are 6 and 7 and my 4 yr old is very advanced, that we would have enjoyed it more with the older learner resource AIG book to tie it together. But I won't support AIG so I didn't buy it.

 

For a 5 yr old, you may like it fine the way it's written. I am thinking about trying it again for my little guy's K year next year.

 

MFW K is appealing to me more for his K year though. Although, everything is tied together there, (as far as reading, writing, and math), and my guy is already reading well. In my mind, K should be fun, with no pressure though, so it's okay if it's stuff my guy already knows- I think he would enjoy the little units.

 

Anyway, that's something to consider too, you can separate the LA more with WP.

Edited October 10, 2008 by Annie Laurie
typos

[Annie Laurie]

One more thing I thought of is, consider what kind of books your child enjoys most.

 

My kids love stories and so AW was fun to skim through now and then, especially when we had specific animal questions, but it didn't really engage my kids. They have enjoyed a different curriculum with lots of imaginative stories more. The adventure reading in AW was a dissapointment to us for the most part- The Tarantula in My Purse would have made my dd cry, with all the animals that get lost or die; Coyote Autumn did not engage them, and then there were so few left after that, some are picture books. They did like The Flying Flea and Ereth's Brithday a lot though.

 

For a kid who doesn't like to sit through a lot of fiction, AW is probably a great fit.

[bigdogs29906]

I'm currently using WP Animal Worlds, and I think the jury is still out. I really, really, really want to like this program. I do. But I am struggling. I'm not really sure why? :confused1:

 

I don't know if it is b/c we do it in the afternoon, and by the time we get to this portion I'm running out of steam? Maybe it is b/c I've tweaked it so much that it doesn't seem like the program it was intended to be?

 

Overall, I do like the books. The kids do as well. But I notice that my 5yr old sort of starts to lose focus by the time we are nearing the end of all of our reading. We don't do many of the crafts. The kids don't seem interested, and I prefer crafts that aren't the cut & assemble style.

 

We don't have the "make your own" animal books. They are doing an animal notebook of sorts but it is our own. Each week I let them pick their favorite animal that they learned about and they draw/ write about them.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions, you might have though.

[djsmom]

We used Animals and Their Worlds for science in 1st grade. My son loved learning about animals and has retained a lot of what he learned. We did skip most of the crafts and he didn't enjoy the Make-Your-Own Animal Book so we dropped it after a couple of weeks.

 

My son was very interested in animals so I think that is why he enjoyed it so much. If he hadn't had that interest I could see where it could have gotten "old" after a time.

[happyWImom]

I haven't used it myself, but one complain voiced was that kids sometimes get bored with "too many animals". I can't see that happening with my ds, who loves animals, but hey, you never know how much is too much :)

 

Something to be aware of.

 

If you could see how much my sign line has changed SINCE AUGUST, you would know we have something in common!!:lol: My dd absolutely loves animals and nature, but.... it is a little to much by itself. The books are fantastic, and I find myself drooling everytime I look at them sitting on my shelf, but.... We are totally modifying it, and adding parts of it in to other curriculums. The website info is good, and we are doing 1 new animal per month, instead of per week, so dd still gets her fix, but it's not the only thing we do. Believe it or not, I actually recently bought WP The World Around Me too, and while it is very low key and good, I'm holding off doing that!! I am gravitating back to Sonlight for a lot now. I like that there science has worksheets to do to go along with the reading and experiments, where as WP didn't. I think I'm going to wait & do the WP World Around Me in the summer so it won't be wasted.

 

Not to confuse you or anything, but have you checked out Living Books Curriculum? It's very non-threatening, yet Charlotte Mason based, and what's nice is there is a weekly schedule, not daily, so you aren't forced to rush things. But you do get a very comprehensive curriculum, and she really stresses the whole nature thing.

 

Sorry this is so long, but you know how us curriculum junkies can be.:D

 

Good luck, and hope I've helped.