MFW VS WP

[mom2agang]

I was going to place my order today and I'm debating exactly which one to get. Can someone compare them? I have 9 children.my oldest is 11.I'm looking for my 2 2nd graders and a 6th grader. I tried weaver because someday I could do all my kids at once. But found it hard to teach. Either it was way over my 2nd graders or too easy with my 6th grader.Will I have the same problem with MFW? I know the activities are grade based but teaching it to several grades is hard. But for WP will it be like sonlight and I will eventually teach several cores or can I combine like my 1st graders and 3rd graders. Also it seems pretty new and I am not finding reviews. Can you give me your review on WP or MFW

[Lovedtodeath]

For those that have used both: Is one more structured than the other? Is there more reading, teacher prep, activities in one over the other? Is one considered more non-denominational? Is it easier to combine multiple grade levels? (5 years apart). I think I will end up using some of both.

 

I asked this on the WP boards. I will update with the link when there are some responses.

[Cornerstone Classical]

We are doing MFW Adventures this year and we really like it.

 

MFW covers bible (non-denominational), history, science, music and art in the deluxe package. I don't know what time period you want to start in history, but MFW strongly recommends that you start with ECC Exploring Countries and Cultures, before you go into the other levels. ECC is for grades 3-6 and 2nd graders who have an older sibling in the program . So, sounds like to me this would be a good fit, age wise. ECC takes you around the world to explore diverse countries while learning geography and being challenged by true stories of missionaries. It incorporates the classical timeline, with Charlotte Mason shorter lessons. Fridays usually will be core subjects with nature walks. The TM is pick-up-and-go. In the back of the TM will give you a reading list for book basket for each week. Book basket is a great way to tailor books more to the level of your dc. If you thought that your oldest needed to be beefed up you could choose books from your library that would be more on the reading/comprehension level, and likewise for the 2nd graders.

 

As for core subjects, you will be able to stick with what you are already doing, or you could go with their recommendations.

 

In other years, like in science for grades 7 and up you add in Apologia science, so it's more on their grade level and then in Years 4 Exploration-1850 and Year 5 1850-Present, you can choose the lower elementary(2nd and 3rd grade) books for supplements.

 

The only planning I have to do is go to the library for books once a week, and look at the supply list for the project. The supplies are usually schools/kitchen supplies I already have on hand, or something I can pick up at WalMart on grocery day. I've never had a hard time finding what I needed.

 

HTH

Edited December 29, 2008 by Cornerstone Classical

[momsquared]

Can I throw another wrench in for my personal info? How do these compare with Sonlight?

[Cornerstone Classical]

Can I throw another wrench in for my personal info? How do these compare with Sonlight?

 

I've never used SL although I have researched them. I would think that you would have to invest a lot of time reading aloud, especially considering the size of your family. But, I'm sure someone that has used SL will be able to pin down your ? more specifically.

[momsquared]

The TM is pick-up-and-go. In the back of the TM will give you a reading list for book basket for each week. Book basket is a great way to tailor books more to the level of your dc.

The only planning I have to do is go to the library for books once a week, and look at the supply list for the project. The supplies are usually schools/kitchen supplies I already have on hand, or something I can pick up at WalMart on grocery day. I've never had a hard time finding what I needed.

 

HTH

 

Have you had a hard time finding the books? I use FIAR right now and bought most of the books for ease of planning. However, I plan to start K with DD in the summer when I am off and will have more time. I have considered MFW because it looks user friendly and seems to follow our philosophies.

 

Also, does it cover math? You might have mentioned and I missed it. I ask because DD is using Saxon and really likes it. I doubt I would change that.

 

TIA,

Jessica

[momsquared]

I've never used SL although I have researched them. I would think that you would have to invest a lot of time reading aloud, especially considering the size of your family. But, I'm sure someone that has used SL will be able to pin down your ? more specifically.

 

Oh she does have 9 kids. I only have 2. I guess part of it is having all the books right there, but I also heard it is sort of disjointed how you read a little bit from several books a day. Not sure DD would go for that, and then I would have to tweak and then it would not be easy or necessarily worth it. Ho hum....:confused:

[jenn&charles]

I've never used MFW, but I have used WP.

 

I LOVE WP. It's easier than anything else I've found to combine my kids and it's FUN.

WP has a very nice balance of activities and reading. I would also say that WP would be considered more non denominational (or even secular for some programs with the exclusion of a few books) than MFW (which I've only looked at).

WP's bible items and/or books are not integrated in the programs (except maybe the programs that use The Mystery of History as a main spine).

I like this personally because it's more flexible.

As for combining...

My kids are 7 years apart from the oldest to the youngest. So far they are all doing CAtW together and next year the boys will be doing Sea & Sky. I could have easily combined them in the other programs (if I had known about WP then). I wish I had.

There are lots of other families I've seen that have successfully combined multiple ages. WP is set up to do this and even have combined packages that mix the books for the different age groups.

 

Also, I think the WP guide is super easy to follow as compared to the MFW guide (which again - I've only looked at it).

It's much more flexible and you can follow the schedule either day by day or do it in chunks horizontally (look at the samples and you'll know what I mean).

As for it being new - WP is kind of new...but they have been around for a few years at least with a huge explosion in growth in the last 2 years or so.

 

I wrote a review (initial thoughts) awhile back here:

http://www.ourlosbanos.com/homeschool/reviewwinterpromise.html

 

Since that time I have finished 2 of their programs and am halfway through another one.

I've also put in my order already for next year's materials (which we will start this summer).

 

If you have any specific questions, please let me know.

 

Also this might help - it's a post I made at WP about WP vs. Sonlight. It highlights some of the things I like about WP.

 

I've used both Sonlight and WP.

 

They are both good programs and while there are some similarities (they are literature based)... they are also pretty different.

Here are some break downs for how it went for my family with each:

 

SL:

Cons:

* Very demanding and heavy reading schedule with many books that were often "advanced" emotionally or content wise for my children (Some of the books scheduled for K-2 are only NOW being appreciated by my 4th grader )

* Very few visual books

* Not enough background that tied everything together. While we did a LOT of reading, we didn't get enough of the "big picture".

* Not enough (or any) activities, movies, etc.

* My kids didn't retain as much as I would have liked them to. This was a BIG disappointment that I partially attribute to the lack of extra activities (we are hands on learners) and material that was over their heads.

Pros:

* I personally loved most of the book selections / stories in the lower cores, so it was fun for me as a mom

* Core 5 got my daughter interested in missions (this year she is taking her 1st college course towards being a nurse with the mission field in mind)

* There are discussion questions and extra comments that help bring out more depth to what you are reading

* Some of the materials caused us to have to stretch mentally and/or spiritually

* The Leading Your Little Ones to God book was instrumental in my littlest one accepting Christ (so thank-you very much SL)

* Super customer service every time, except for what I call the forum fiasco from a couple(?) years back

* The provided and continue to provide a private, monitored safe place for my teens to post (even though they are not using SL anymore).

 

 

WP:

Cons:

* Sometimes it takes awhile to get items

* I've run into some typos (especially with the book I'm using now written by the Brooks called Children of Many Lands)

* Some of the notebooking pages I used last year from AS2 could use some jazzing up / changes to make them more "interactive" and fun

* Some of the worksheets and/or exclusives were, in my opinion, of a lower quality than I would have expected/desired

 

Pros:

* Terrific selection of books with a good mix, especially visual books with illustrations/photographs

* Hands on stuff and extras like notebooking, crafts, recipes, movies, websites and more!! I have a foundation for all the cool and fun stuff each week and if I don't feel like it, I don't have to go searching all over the web or library for more. I've already got lots in the IG for me.

* A very manageable 4-day schedule that has never overwhelmed us, even after the boys got pneumonia and missed out on lots of school this past spring

* WP is gentle but deep

* Otter retained SO much more from WP than SL. I think this is because WP is much more age appropriate material(s) wise. The only exception (in my personal opinion) are the readers (which I find to be quite advanced) and some elements of the Children Around the World program

* WP's guide is easier for me to use than SL's. I'm not sure why this is, but it is.

* It's easier to combine different ages in WP!!

* WP has more unique programs. We LOVE this and it's a huge draw for us.

 

WP is just a better fit for my family. It's more fun, interesting, manageable, etc. Otter learned so much more from less work.

For us it's much easier to use WP and then, if I want extras, I can always plug in SL books.

Having said all this...I think SL was great for my oldest (daughter) until the older cores.

For Otter though, SL was a disaster (overstated).

Every family is unique!

 

I hope this helps a little. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

Oh, and for SL I used these levels: K, 1, 2, 3+4, 5, 6+7, 100, 200

For WP I've used AW, AS2 and am currently using CAW.

[Cornerstone Classical]

Oh she does have 9 kids. I only have 2. I guess part of it is having all the books right there, but I also heard it is sort of disjointed how you read a little bit from several books a day. Not sure DD would go for that, and then I would have to tweak and then it would not be easy or necessarily worth it. Ho hum....:confused:

 

I remember someone on this board making the "disjointed" comment too!

[Cornerstone Classical]

Have you had a hard time finding the books? I use FIAR right now and bought most of the books for ease of planning. However, I plan to start K with DD in the summer when I am off and will have more time. I have considered MFW because it looks user friendly and seems to follow our philosophies.

 

Also, does it cover math? You might have mentioned and I missed it. I ask because DD is using Saxon and really likes it. I doubt I would change that.

 

TIA,

Jessica

 

I have always found most of the books at my local library. There are even DVD's recommended some week and I've found those too. I always try to find atleast one DVD/VHS on the subject each week.

 

We are doing Saxon too. In MFW you choose your Math, grammar, spelling,writing on your own, or you can choose what MFW recommends and make it a whole boxed curriculum.

 

We are doing our own thing, Saxon Math, FLL, WWE, and SWO.

[Tiffani]

I have used MFW and am currently using WP.

 

They are both wonderful!

 

But,

I had a few reasons for not continuing w/ MFW. My library did not have a good selection of books. I like ordering my curriculum and having it all sitting pretty on the shelf for when I need it. (I also used SL many years ago and got spoiled to that :D)

 

The other reason I did not stay w/ MFW is *I* personally don't care for the books they use. It's a personal preference, I admit.

 

About the "disjointed" comment. I like that WP uses a "spine" in the older programs. I felt that MFW was disjointed. We are using Animals and Their Worlds and yes, there are days that we read about one animal and may not read again for a week or so. That persoanlly doesn't bother me or my boys. We just read. I'd have to say it's also no different than using SL in the sense that w/ SL you read from a variety of books each day.

 

We are using Quest for the Middle Ages. It uses Mystery of History as the spine. We love it!!

[Tiffani]

Hi Christina,

After posting I realized that in my hastened state I made an error.

 

*I* felt SL was disjointed in cores 3 & 4. But that's b/c I didn't care for their choice of a "spine".

 

We used MFW's ECC. I enjoyed it, but I just didn't like spending an entire year on geography. There were aspects of it that we really liked, but after the year was over I decided not to spend a whole year on geography. I like to add it as we go. Why did I call it disjointed? We started CTG and it's just a *very personal* opinion about SOTW. You're right, MFW uses a spine, I just don't like how SOTW starts the Ancients. I didn't like Streams of Civilizations either. (again, it's just a matter of preference :))

 

I mainly had problems finding books for the bookbasket. Not to mention that I live 30 minutes from my library (another inconvenience). So w/ all that you may see why buying a program like SL or WP that comes w/ all the books is a better fit for our family.

 

HTH. I hate that I wasn't clearer. The "disjointed" comment probably comes from my dislike of SOTW vol.1 I teach Ancients using Mystery of History-which starts w/ Creation and devotes more time to a biblical view of the Ancients time period. (sorry if this is disjointed, my ds is putting my chihuahua on my back :D)

 

Tiffani

[Tiffani]

Those are really good ideas.

 

My best friend has used MFW for 5 years and LOVES it. That's why I try to express opinions as just that, opinions. What works for one family may or may not work for another.

 

I think MFW is great! It just didn't work for us.

 

Thanks for sharing (and asking). It's so hard sometimes to really "voice" what you're trying to say through typing.

 

Blessings!

Tiffani

[Lovedtodeath]

I got one reply. MFW vs WP

[LoveBaby]

I've used MFW K, 1st and Adventures. I have MFW ECC sitting on my shelf for next year and WP A&W as well.

 

I'm going to use parts of WP A&W (mostly the books) as bookbasket books for MFW ECC science since we'll be studying habitats as we study the different countries.

 

A few reasons why I *love* MFW:

 

I like that it's cost effective. For those families that want a shelf full of books then you can purchase them, but the programs is written to be complete w/out them. I don't like having to purchase a bunch of books that may or may not work for my family.

 

I like that I can easily incorporate all of my children on one cycle. The authors have used this for their own family of 6 children so they intimately know what works and what doesn't in a houseful of kids!

 

I like that the author pilots a program for 1 year w/ real homeschooling families and then listens to the feedback and makes changes/corrections as needed *before* they sell it to the general public. The WP A&W program that I have has a *lot* of errors which is really bothersome to me.

 

I like that the grid (in Adventures & up) tells me what to do, what supplies I need all in one place. I don't have to jump all over different parts of the manual to figure out I need an egg carton in wk. 6. It's right there in the notes for wk. 6.

[Lovedtodeath]

I Understand now. Just to clarify for others though MFW uses the Bible as the spine for Ancients, not SOTW. I know what you mean about ECC. I did it, we liked it, but I think I will just incorporate some of ECC into the other years unless I need a year to bridge a gap with one of my kids for some reason. I just skip book basket and purchase some of the recommended books to have on my shelf so I know how you feel about that.

 

S MFW ancients uses the bible as a spine and then adds in SOTW? Does SOTW 1 get done in its entirety, or bits and pieces? How many civilizations are studied? Is this on the MFW website? Why would I choose this over Bibliopan? Okay, I think I am done now.:D

[Cornerstone Classical]

S MFW ancients uses the bible as a spine and then adds in SOTW? Does SOTW 1 get done in its entirety, or bits and pieces? How many civilizations are studied? Is this on the MFW website? Why would I choose this over Bibliopan? Okay, I think I am done now.:D

 

MFW Creation to Greeks does not use SOTW 1 as a spine. It uses the Bible.

 

Here is a link to the author explaination as to why she used the bible instead of SOTW 1

 

http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?t=365

[jojomojo]

I think I may have been the one who made the disjointed comment a while back. All I have used is MFW ECC (never used WP or SL, etc). I think a lot of it for us has to do with the fact that I am using it with only a 5th grader (and a 5th grader reading a few grade levels ahead at that). I'm not sure how to describe what didn't work for us (well, except for the disjointed comment lol). It felt like everything was only vaguely connected. And maybe that had to do with my dds age; she needed more in depth material to connect everything. She's strong in science, so I never bothered with the little bit that MFW offered and went with our own (we did read the few pages here and there they scheduled though).

 

It's not a bad program at all. I just had a hard time making it flow while filling in gaps for my 5th grader. I can see my 4 yr old really enjoying it in a few years. Also, it could just be ME. Teaching is NOT one of my gifts :tongue_smilie:

[Sweetpetunia]

I've never tried WP but I'm currently using MFW ECC and I used the MFW K program with DD#2. We love it. I'm sure this is a preference thing though. I don't know about you but I just wish someone could tell me what exactly is going to work for my children.;) I so wish we'd known about MFW when we began homeschooling. Like others have said, MFW is just pick up and go no monstrous SL instructor's guide to worry about. I know I could've put the pages I needed into a small binder, but the MFW TM is much easier. You can buy the basic or deluxe package so you have all the books that are absolutely necessary, then you find the book basket books at your library or you can purchase them elsewhere. I love that the bible/missionary theme is integrated into the curriculum or at least ties in somehow elsewhere.

 

When I originally began using MFW, I got frustrated because I couldn't find the exact books listed but it doesn't really matter, just find a similar book at the library and you're set.

 

I tried SL very briefly last year but it didn't work for us. Don't get me wrong, SL is a lovely program and honestly their slogan "The way you wish you'd been homeschooled..." is right on but my girls are different. They need hands on stuff while I OTOH, could have spent the whole day reading books as a kid... which is very difficult to do now that I have small children to attend to. Another thing I didn't like about SL is some of their read-alouds are very advanced and some contain content I don't want my children exposed to just yet. I just read one of the books from the SL K program to my 10 year old and she loved it. My 5 year old however could not have followed it at all. Yes, he has speech delays, but I still don't know if he could follow the book if he didn't. When we were trying to use SL, we were spending the entire day on the couch reading. It was very difficult. My kiddos can't handle that. One of the reader books from SL contained lots of cursing and I honestly don't want my children reading something like that, especially on their own. MFW warns you if there's something questionable in one of their books. I really appreciate that because it means I have the choice to omit that part or I can choose to read and discuss it instead of having no warning and being caught off guard.

 

Oh, and yes, you choose your own math, LA, spelling and cursive handwriting for MFW. MFW does make suggestions for these and you can purchase from them if you like or purchase whatever you want elsewhere. MFW now suggests Singapore for math. I belive they used to suggest Saxon. We are currently using Singapore for one child and MUS for the other. Singapore is not working for us so we are going to switch to either Math Mammoth or Rod & Staff next year. I personally did not like their suggested cursive instruction so I used Christian Liberty Press, then Peterson handwriting. I used Emma Serl language lessons for my oldest but didn't like using it without a teacher's manual. I don't know if I'd like it now that someone has published a TM but I've fallen in love with Queen Homeschool's language lessons which has a similar feel but was written in modern times. I think we'll stick with Queen Homeschool rather than MFW's suggested language arts.

 

One thing to keep in mind with MFW is that they suggest you use a separate year for K and first grade. That means you're still teaching more than one curriculum if you have children in that age range. Personally that won't bother me because I only have 4 children and I've taught the K year before and we loved it. ETA: You could split up the group and teach the K or first grade curriculum to your littles and teach the older ones from the MFW 5 year cycle. But I don't think you'd ever be teaching more than two levels at a time. I actually stumbled upon a blog where the whole family, 5 or 6 children, was using MFW K and I think the kiddos were as old as 10. Honestly due to some hard knocks in life and my DD#2 not being ready for school at 5, we used MFW K from the time she was 7 till she turned 10 last summer. She finally started to get slightly bored with it at the end but became much more enthusiastic when we started including her brother. She liked teaching him. :) I do get the idea that the K year is better than the first grade year but I haven't used the first grade year myself, so I can't say that for sure.

 

It is very helpful to participate on the MFW BB. There are some very experienced users there who can answer your questions. One in particular is named Crystal and she's been a terrific help. I wish I'd begun participating there sooner. It's not very busy so it's not a big chore.

 

Whew! Sorry that was so long. :)

 

 

Julie

Edited December 30, 2008 by Sweetpetunia

[inashoe]

I'm still trying to imagine homschooling 9 kids 11 and under. Wow ! that is a handful.

[Lovedtodeath]

Thanks Julie! We used about half of K, and I am thinking I will use it with DS, but separate the phonics so that we can do that first.

 

I am really trying to decide on ancients (for 6th grade LOL). My plan was to add SOTW to WP, which uses MOH, and use MFW 1 with DS at the same time. It seems this is still my plan.:tongue_smilie:

[momsquared]

Well, you made one sale over here. :) I definitely plan to purchase MFW K now. I think price wise it is a steal, sounds easy to use and right up our alley - especially since we already have a math and phonics program we are working with. I think I will order it and then I will have time to implement. I don't plan to start for at least a couple months since I want DD to get more phonics under her belt.

 

Thanks!

[Sweetpetunia]

Oh, yes, I forgot to say that we used 100EL to teach DD how to read before using MFW K. We're doing the same with DS. I think 100 EL works way to well for my children and me to do it any other way. MFW K's reading instruction was a great review. I just wish I'd done the tactile letter activities with DD#2 instead of skipping them. I think she'd have picked up handwriting better if we had.

 

I think it's good that you want to have your child do more phonics first. It'll help I think. :)

 

I've never used the K program while using another MFW year so it's good to hear they help you integrate. That'll make life even easier. :)

 

 

Julie

[Tami]

In middle school, I like WP much better. Now, this is only what I have seen on their websites because I haven't actually USED either. I am looking at Ancients for next year, 7th grade.

 

*I don't care for MFW's Ancients spine: Streams of Civ. I prefer the booklist in WP

 

*I like the research focus and choices provided for middle school in WP

 

*Like the WP's booklist better

 

*Like WP's notebooking ideas

 

Now, for grade school, I wouldn't do either of these.

[momsquared]

The K and first programs are full packages that integrate math and phonics. Kids are reading cvc words at the end of K and the math is all practical and hands on. The complaints I have heard are that K moves a little slow and first moves a little fast in the phonics instruction. K is set up to take about 1/2 hr a day a first about an hour so they assume you will also be doing a full main program at the same time and plan accordingly. There are also suggestions for how to mesh the younger programs in with your main program so it's not overwhelming.

 

 

Interesting - do you think if DD does K and the 1st the phonics is enough? I would love to not have 3 programs going at the same time. I am not going to change her math, but if phonics was integrated that would be great! I think it would work better for her too.

 

I ask because the post after you said to do the separate phonics first. However, I have read plenty of information that demonstrates students who have learned to read with MFW. DD is young so I am not terribly concerned about it, but just would like things as streamlined and simple as possible.

 

I already ordered - so excited.

[momsquared]

Sounds good. I would be happy to have a more all in one solution.

[Lovedtodeath]

Oh, yes, I forgot to say that we used 100EL to teach DD how to read before using MFW K. We're doing the same with DS. I think 100 EL works way to well for my children and me to do it any other way. MFW K's reading instruction was a great review. I just wish I'd done the tactile letter activities with DD#2 instead of skipping them. I think she'd have picked up handwriting better if we had.

 

I think it's good that you want to have your child do more phonics first. It'll help I think. :)

 

I've never used the K program while using another MFW year so it's good to hear they help you integrate. That'll make life even easier. :)

 

 

Julie

 

MFW K does a very thorough job on phonics from the beginning. At the end of K you are still on CVC words with a few sight words. Very slow. That is why my plan is to use MFW K phonics when DS is 4, and the rest of the program when he is 5-6 along with the phonics portion of MFW 1. Then we will do the full MFW 1 when he is 6-7, finishing up the phonics. The math is plenty. I might add MUS primer... we will see. This is what I would do if I had it to do over with DD. I hope that my opinion helps someone.

[mom2agang]

Thanks ladies but I couldn't make up my mind. So I bought the books I liked from both and added some from RR and I am going to make my own plans.It works out better for us. I also like 100EL insted of buying a whole phonics program. Plus with 9 kids it is the cheap way to go.

Thanks

Erika