Can I post another poll, please?... :D GTG, HOD, WP, MFW, or SL

[MitchellMom]

Oh my that is dangerous ground! It is like talking about grade level on SL. :lol::lol::lol:

 

I accidentally forgot and made a round of polls over there grade level instead of age, and did I hear about it!! I even heard about it when I made polls this time and did it right (I was congratulated n getting it right :D ). Well core names is another hot topic.

 

Here is my theory, but I have no proof, so it is all just conjuncture, but here it is anyway.

 

For every person who is online there is probalby 3 that just buy the products out of a catalog and use it. That means they buy grade levels because they don't know to think any other way.

 

Obviously if I (as an adult) can enjoy a pre-K or K book it is great literature, and will work for a range of grades. Core K is no exception. Good literature is just good, plus there are a variety of maturity issues with each child, so you really should choose based what your child is ready for. I actually bought Core K for my dd when she was 4.5, luckily I was about 8 months pg and was too tired and grouchy to pull off hs, because it would have been a disaster. I actually didn't get back to it for a year and then everything was a perfect fit. Back then SL didn't have a pre-K program, so I just bought the first level they did have.

 

Anyway long story short the forum users have wanted the core names changed for years. It is almost a yearly conversation and something that is repeated as a mantra on the choosing forum.

 

Now for my conjuncture. I think because of the sales from non-online people that the owners are very content to leave it as grade level. It is easy and clear cut (and I know a gal a church who uses SL is never online and sees it this way). The last time a thread on the issue came up two alternatives were posted. I suggested going to something that sounded fun and sold the program: For K try Touches of culture and History. For Core 1 try Traveling Egypt, Greece and Rome. A lot of people liked that idea. Another idea was floated to use letters instead. Well next thing I knew John himself (if I remember right) made a poll, but the only two options were keeping core designations or using letter designations. Nothing about using descriptive names and listing a ranges of ages that can use the program. Long story story that is how the lower cores became letter names for a year, it flopped and now they are back to Core names. :001_smile:

 

I can't really blame them, in the end. I would prefer descriptions that sold the program (WP's Adventures in the Sky and Sea makes you want to do it just by the title!), but I also get that it would be a pain to always be trying to explain to customers who aren't online what level to use. Then there are those who just wouldn't bother to call, but would use something more clear cut-that is what I think really keeps things the way they are, so Core K continues to be called Core K.

 

Make sense?

 

Heather

 

 

 

 

 

It does make sense - thank you for this info!

 

You said you prefer living books. Have you looked at Living Books Curriculum? I think it looks wonderful.

 

Michelle

 

Michelle, I have heard very little about it....

 

Hmmm...I'm having a hard time voting! I think Sonlight books are top notch, but I think Core K is a bit much for a 5 year old. What about Sonlight P4/5 with Singapore math and one of their LA programs(or a a different LA)?

 

I wouldn't do MFW K is your dd is an emerging reader.... MFW K teaches letter sounds and beginning cvc words which she already knows, right? I also wouldn't do MFW 1st with a 5 year old... too much writing, although the phonics is probably right on her level.

 

You could do GTG with Singapore math and I would add a separate LA program if it were me. That would make for a fun Kindergarten year. :)

 

I have no experience with HOD or WP. Little Hearts for His Glory is probably more appropiate for Kindergarten than Beyond and even then it looks best for 1st grade and not K.

 

Good luck deciding! :)

 

Thank you!

 

:iagree:My DDs reading level kept going up with NO school for 9 months. You should always err on the side of too easy. Picture books and projects will be way fun on the too easy side. Books that are too long or arduous with projects that are too complicated will ruin everything. You won't ruin anything by going too easy. I promise!

 

Remember I was the one who kept comparing my DD to 2nd graders when she had just turned 6. Well... she was reading at 3 so she should be at 2nd grade level right? NONONO she is just now at 1st grade level (six and a half) for schoolwork even though her reading level is way up there... (okay, 2nd grade level for spelling, but not anything else.) You need to consider your DD a K'er until she is at least 5 and a half or 6.

 

You are right! That's why I am holding off on SL K for next fall. She will be 5.5 then. Will that be okay? I truly think she will be ready for the subjects. At least, I hope!

[Lovedtodeath]

Well.... five and a half might work for you.:) You might still have to skip some of the RA... but I think we all prepared you for that. I made that comment because of the other curriculum. Sounds good. You still don't know what you are doing before that though? I thought you already had phonics and math. Do you have handwriting? Are you mainly looking for the history/science portion? I think MFW K would be great in that case... and only buy the TM. If you need help implementing, I have the full program and would be glad to describe some of the pieces you might be missing.

Edited January 7, 2009 by Lovedtodeath

[MitchellMom]

Well.... five and a half might work for you.:) You might still have to skip some of the RA... but I think we all prepared you for that. I made that comment because of the other curriculum. Sounds good. You still don't know what you are doing before that though?

 

 

I went ahead and ordered MFW K. I figure if my dd does not gain from it, I think my 3 yo will. However, if she will gain from it, too, then it will be wonderful. I'm thisclose (LOL) to ordering the GTG set. I know it is not completely open and go, since I will have to find many books at the library, but I really want to study geography with my dd now, and my dh, who is a history professor, believes students should know geography before they study history. (That is just his personal opinion, of course; others doubtlessly may feel differently!)

:)

[Lovedtodeath]

Okay, I will say it:

 

 

Curriculum Junkie!!!

 

But you are right of course, you can use MFW K with your little guy when he is ready for it too! So it won't go to waste even if you don't use it with DD.

[MitchellMom]

Okay, I will say it:

 

 

Curriculum Junkie!!!

 

But you are right of course, you can use MFW K with your little guy when he is ready for it too! So it won't go to waste even if you don't use it with DD.

 

 

LOL! What is a curriculum junkie?...

[Lovedtodeath]

Someone who buys more curriculum than they can possibly use. Almost everyone on these boards is one at some level. :)

[LadyAberlin]

A curriculum junkie is someone who is addicted to curriculum. I'm a self professed curriculum junkie or addict LOL

[MitchellMom]

Someone who buys more curriculum than they can possibly use. Almost everyone on these boards is one at some level. :)

 

A curriculum junkie is someone who is addicted to curriculum. I'm a self professed curriculum junkie or addict LOL

 

 

Wow, put a picture of me next to that definition!! LOL

[love2read]

I stumbled upon this while searching for something and am wondering how many of you stayed with your choice in this poll?

[ChicoryChick]

We used HOD this year and have stayed with our choice as well as ordered the next levels for next year.

Edited April 27, 2009 by kayinpa
mispelling

[SnowWhite]

Oh, yes, we're still very much a WinterPromise family.

[Mom0012]

I voted SL because we've used that since the Pre-K level and love it. We did do GTG as well one year though and totally enjoyed it. My son and I have great memories from it.

 

Lisa

[momof8]

Sonlight hands down. It is by far the best curriculum I have ever used. :)

[Donna A.]

MFW :)

[luvnlattes]

We love WinterPromise and plan to stick with it for the long haul.

 

Kelli in WA

[Lovedtodeath]

Well, I think I voted for GTG, I don't really remember. But I planned my own without it. :)

 

I vote for me. :tongue_smilie: But with those choices, I vote for WP.

[Donna T.]

I voted for HOD. I've used all the things that you have included in your poll. I wish I had found HOD from the beginning, way back when my now ten year old was five. As for placement, I'd send an email to Carrie Austin and do whatever she suggested. Your first post said you wanted a living books curriculum and HOD is definately that. I love SL and it would be my first choice, other than HOD, except that we are getting bored with SL. Hard to admit, because I truly love it. But, I disagree with SL's philosophies in the areas of character development and variety in learning experiences. HOD actively teaches the child about Christian virtue and how to develop virtue and good character in their own lives through the literature. I think it does a better job of this than even MFW which is also strong in that area. HOD is more fun and age appropriate than MFW, in my opinion. Really, with HOD, you really focus on the heart of the child and you lay a solid foundation there before going on to study about missionaries, lost people groups, pagan civilizations. A couple of years ago, I would have scoffed at the idea that it matters when these things are covered with our children... but looking back, I wish I had spent more time on the important, foundational, heart level learning that needs to take place early in a child's life. And, I love that HOD does that through the Bible and literature.

[Shannon C]

I chose HOD. I'd go with LHFHG with emerging readers. You can probably use GTG with it if you wanted more geography. I tried to do GTG for K year last year and it didn't go so well--mainly the planning on my part. I have a geography degree so it was important to me too. Now we are taking a different approach(geography exploration days, geography centers, Highlights country packets--I forget what they are called, and lots of reading). I also used MFW K and hated it. Too preschooly for our taste. We finished MFW 1st in December. It helped my dd's reading skills, but the program itself was not well rounded, IMO. It is mainly Bible history which we didn't need b/c I have a Bible program that I love. The best part was the Bible reader. I liked that my child was learning to read with the Bible. We didn't like their science either. So in the end I was only using it for reading and it actually was too fast paced for dd so we ended up dragging it out and supplementing with other reading programs. We started HOD LHFHG for ds and Beyond for dd in February and we are all happy with school now. It helped to implement workboxes with it too. My dd is almost 7 now and after getting her through all my curriculum mistakes, I think we are in a good place now with HOD--we add in FLL and WWE and Latin too to make it more classical.

[Jen S in Va]

same vote as last time. HOD, Little Hearts for His Glory. :D

 

:iagree: I used Little Hearts with my 6 yo son this past year. We wrapped it up a few weeks ago--when we started according to the placement chart on the HOD site, he was ready for Beyond for math and language arts (right side of the HOD guide), but I didn't feel like he had the attention span/listening comprehension for Beyond. I was right. Little Hearts was the perfect fit. I supplemented the math since we had completed most of EB 2A when we started--we did some of the Kumon wkbks--Money and Telling Time. I also continued with Ordinary Parent's Guide for reading, along with Little Patriot readers. In January I started getting easy readers at the library for his reading along with phonics. We've started Beyond with the emerging readers--on unit 2--we're doing it at a modified pace so that he will be finishing it up in Sept 2010, right around the time he turns 8--I didn't want him going into Bigger too soon. This is the issue with doing Beyond too early...sets the kid up for Bigger way too early.

 

I've taken a long and winding path to HOD. I'm an old timer when it comes to home education. My 20 yo son who is in college was hsed from the time he was 4 yo, and I have the original TWTM book on my shelf, still with all kinds of post-its sticking out. We've been the Sonlight route (pre-WTM), TOG, TruthQuest, making my own, textbook, etc., but since finding HOD I am totally and absolutely at peace about the coming years of school for my son. HOD could not have matched my family any better had I sat down with Carrie and asked her to design a curriculum for me. Everything included, open and go, but not overwhelming in choices of resources to use (we did this with TOG for 5 years--totally burned me and the older two kids out), and leaves plenty of time for any add ons we want. IMHO, there is no better out there, but I'm more than a little partial. ;)

[Donna A.]

HOD is more fun and age appropriate than MFW, in my opinion. Really, with HOD, you really focus on the heart of the child and you lay a solid foundation there before going on to study about missionaries, lost people groups, pagan civilizations.

 

Well, except those things are true about MFW, as well. ;) That's the crux of their whole philosophy and the very reason that a lot of classical schoolers DON'T like MFW, or they try to add to it in those early years... they don't feel it's classical "enough" because the emphasis is more on a biblical foundation than early classical. HOD and MFW are very similar in a lot of ways... they're just a different style as far as format. MFW comes from the heart of missionaries; HOD comes from the heart of a teacher (even though the author of MFW was a classroom teacher at one time, too). :001_smile: