Katiebug1976 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Ok, so here's our story in a nutshell...we have been fulltime Rvers for the last year (meaning space is extremely limited, we don't have access to a library, & internet is not always reliable). I am looking to simplify our curriculum as much as possible without sacrificing education. This next year my kids will be 15, 11, 8, & 4...I am wanting to combine my 11 & 8 yo kids as much as possible & probably have the 4 yo tag along when he wants. I am starting to get overwhelmed with all of the different options & price tags! 😱 I'm torn between something like MFW or SL that has everything all planned out or something simple like STOW or MOH...please help me brainstorm and figure this out! We love reading aloud together, mapping/timelines etc...probably not so much on the hands on arts/crafts this year as we don't have the space to keep everything...and everything that is made is precious to my kids! Lol!! Anyway, I would love to hear what works & doesn't work for you!! Thank you for any help you can offer this worn out overwhelmed momma! 😜 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagoshannon Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 We love Sonlight but it is a lot of books so would take up a significant amount of space. There aren't any arts/crafts so that's nice. We enjoy the timeline book and stickers they provide. Which history topic are you looking to do? We also really like Veritas Press which still has a lot of books but maybe not quite as many. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 (edited) My advice: check out Pandia Press--I think it may be that happy middle ground for you. The 4&8 yos could read History of Mankind only. Your 11 yo could do the program as written. There are 4-5 additional books, but none of them are necessary. The 15yo could do History of the ____World by Susan Wise Bauer. All of it could be a digital download, or all of it could be paper, or you could hybrid. Your choice. http://www.pandiapress.com/store-5/ Edited June 7, 2017 by kbeal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 ELTL and Wayfarers with literature on tablets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiebug1976 Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 Thank you, I will check those out! Okbud, what is ELTL? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Thank you, I will check those out! Okbud, what is ELTL? English languages through literature. It's integrated with Wayfarers! http://barefootmeandering.com/site/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage81 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 You could check out Build Your Library. http://buildyourlibrary.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Beautiful Feet Books 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 No thoughts about which lit-based program would work best for you, but if space and cost is still an issue, perhaps compare the booklists of the different programs you're interested in and go with the one that has the most books available on kindle or an e-reader. Then when you're in a reliable download location, get all your books onto your device, and away you go. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 ELTL and Wayfarers with literature on tablets. ELTL literature uses books that are available as free public domain eBooks. Wayfarers makes special attempts to choose books also available as eBooks whenever possible. And there is always something available in each weekly schedule as free public domain eBooks if you are not picky about grade level. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiebug1976 Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 We love Sonlight but it is a lot of books so would take up a significant amount of space. There aren't any arts/crafts so that's nice. We enjoy the timeline book and stickers they provide. Which history topic are you looking to do? We also really like Veritas Press which still has a lot of books but maybe not quite as many. We just finished up 2 years of American history so I am thinking some kind of Ancient or world history. I was actually looking through my Sonlight catalog and wondering if I could beef up core B to work or if that would be too much work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 My middle kids are using MFW this year. Anyway, I don't think MFW works well without access to a good library. A big chunk of time is spent with the Book Basket, which is basically a big stack of books you pick up from the library based on the topic you're covering. Also, MFW + their math/language arts/French/etc is taking up 2 full (overflowing) bookshelves in my bedroom (it's a lot of stuff). And there are a bunch of projects scheduled... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 Trail Guide? https://home-school-curriculum.com/pages/trail-guide-to-learning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 We just finished up 2 years of American history so I am thinking some kind of Ancient or world history. I was actually looking through my Sonlight catalog and wondering if I could beef up core B to work or if that would be too much work... What about the sonlight core that starts with story of the world? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiebug1976 Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 I looked at Sonlights core G, but I'm afraid it is going to be to advanced for my 8yo...😕 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 (edited) Beautiful Feet BooksWe went full-time RV last fall and switched from Sonlight to BF. It has been great! The books are a better fit for more grade levels and we supplement with Overdrive, which is an app the library uses for downloadable books. The benefits of the library but we don't have to worry about late fees, lost books, or extra space. One of my favorite things about BF is that you are not trying to read more than one book at a time. We use a membership from Notebooking Pages that my 5yo, 7yo, 11yo, & 13yo all enjoy which helps fill that hands-on portion. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited June 9, 2017 by PentecostalMom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagoshannon Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 I looked at Sonlights core G, but I'm afraid it is going to be to advanced for my 8yo...😕 I actually think core G might be ok. Core B would also be ok if you maybe use some of the books from G, especially the readers, for your older DS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 We went full-time RV last fall and switched from Sonlight to BF. It has been great! The books are a better fit for more grade levels and we supplement with Overdrive, which is an app the library uses for downloadable books. The benefits of the library but we don't have to worry about late fees, lost books, or extra space. One of my favorite things about BF is that you are not trying to read more than one book at a time. We use a membership from Notebooking Pages that my 5yo, 7yo, 11yo, & 13yo all enjoy which helps fill that hands-on portion. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I have been looking at the Notebooking membership but have been hesitant to part with almost 100 bucks. Is there alot of choices? Do they add to it regularly? Can you do any customizing? It is really tempting but I have not been sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 I have been looking at the Notebooking membership but have been hesitant to part with almost 100 bucks. Is there alot of choices? Do they add to it regularly? Can you do any customizing? It is really tempting but I have not been sure. She has a rather expansive free selection, I did not spend $100! I am fairly certain she offers deals quite often. There are more than I will use will all of my children from now until the end of time! If you can use the free ones and then imagine that times 1000, you'll get the idea. You can subscribe to her and get the deals when she sends them out. It's still a little while away, but she will have a deal on Black Friday or Cyber Monday I am certain, but she does offer them at other times throughout the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 She has a rather expansive free selection, I did not spend $100! I am fairly certain she offers deals quite often. There are more than I will use will all of my children from now until the end of time! If you can use the free ones and then imagine that times 1000, you'll get the idea. You can subscribe to her and get the deals when she sends them out. It's still a little while away, but she will have a deal on Black Friday or Cyber Monday I am certain, but she does offer them at other times throughout the year. Such great info to have! Thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 (edited) Last night, I just realized how dependent my library is becoming on Hoopla. Instead of buying certain books for Overdrive, they are relying on patrons borrowing them from Hoopla. I had only been searching Hoopla for videos of Bill Nye and Great Courses. I really hadn't NEEDED to use up my 10 downloads on eBooks. Now I do. Hoopla has a ton of books not available for MY library at Overdrive. I didn't understand why almost all my requests for an eBook purchase were being ignored when almost all of them used to be purchased. This is a really important discovery for me, as I was able to find what I needed at Overdrive less and less. It is also a sad discovery, because I only get 10 items a month at Hoopla, but have unlimited at Overdrive. At overdrive, we have no lack of male/male werewolf romance novels, but don't have even many of the current best sellers. I'm not sure who is responsible for that. :confused1: Hoopla has a huge selection of the same books that are sold by Christian Book Distributers, both fiction and nonfiction. Edited June 10, 2017 by Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitgrl Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 She has a rather expansive free selection, I did not spend $100! I am fairly certain she offers deals quite often. There are more than I will use will all of my children from now until the end of time! If you can use the free ones and then imagine that times 1000, you'll get the idea. You can subscribe to her and get the deals when she sends them out. It's still a little while away, but she will have a deal on Black Friday or Cyber Monday I am certain, but she does offer them at other times throughout the year. She very infrequently has a 50% off sale. I purchased my membership three years ago at that price, and I don't remember seeing another one until a month or two ago. I am cheap, so I wouldn't want to pay more than that. That said, I am very pleased to have that resource available. More often, she has a 20-25% sale. We use a lot of her sheets for SOTW, but sometimes she doesn't have the topic covered. In that instance, I can usually find what I need at homeschoolhelperonline.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastalfam Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 We are what a lot of people would consider minimalist due to some health issues that are helped when we keep our house uncluttered and sparse, and Wayfarers with ELTL for english, and RLTL for reading/spelling, has worked fabulous for us to keep the kiddos together in content studies, and be able to have a great deal of our curriculum, through Barefoot Ragamuffin Curricula and other sources listed in Wayfarers, as pdf's on our iPad. It's been a very good fit to have a huge amount of curricula all organized in this fashion. We used Medieval this year, and moving on to Revolutions next year, which has a fantastic program by BRC called "50 States and Where to Find Them", also available as PDF's. I think it would fit the bill for RVing and needing to keep physical possessions to a minimum. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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