I'm in the same place right now, Michelle. I've had two children go through MFW high school, the most recent being four years ago, and next year I'll have another high schooler! Possibly two high schoolers, if the friends that we're homeschooling this year come back and school with us for 9th & 6th ...

I highly recommend reading it aloud together. For one thing, *I* enjoyed it, too! ;) But it also gave my daughters and I the opportunity to discuss it well. Since this is the one of the first pieces of literature assigned for the year, reading and discussing it aloud together also helps with acclima...

Yes, definitely in the 3 R's, and occasionally in some of the activities, too. Older siblings can help younger siblings with certain things, too, which gives those older kids a feeling of independence and responsibility. If you have one older child who really gets into science, he or she can do the ...

In the ECC manual, both in the teacher prep pages at the front of the manual, and here and there throughout the notes during the weekly lessons, Marie tells you how to adapt Properties of Ecosystems for younger children. You can summarize for the student, or use books and videos from Book Basket tha...

(Although, i think i recall that the Bible and History in RTR are not quite as closely intertwined as they are in CTG.) They're actually *very* intertwined in RTR. There's a whole lot more history in the New Testament than a lot of people realize, and the geography of the NT is significant, too. Ex...

One thing to keep in mind with MFW is that in the elementary years, they purposely don't schedule some of the more "graphic" passages, or long, potentially boring (for little kids) passages such as geneologies because of the fact that we're reading and discussing with younger children. But when you ...

Instead of doing the matchbox project for the books of the Bible this time with my youngest daughter, I bought this wooden Bible Bookcase Puzzle (see link). Every piece is different, so it's impossible to put the books on the shelves out of order. But if you do try to put a book in the wrong spot, t...

You are doing fine, Kathy! :) They will look back at the notebooks in years to come and remember so much more than you realize! I think of these learning methods as sort of a "timed-release capsule" in which the lessons take time to slowly work through the system, which unfortunately means that you ...

I found some wonderful DVDs at the library last week... The title of the web-site is Families of the World. They have done 28 DVDs in 28 different countries. In the library I found them in the children's section. [original post http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=178&start=175 ] We watch...

Missy gave some great suggestions. Don't stress over it... Enjoy the process! :) Keep in mind that MFW elementary programs were written for multiple ages, so an older child might/should be able to do and retain more than a younger child. This is normal and okay. As Missy said, they will get more on ...

When all my kids were in elementary, well, even when I just had two in elementary, I photocopied the grid so that I could write in their individual specifics and keep it in their portfolios as part of their permanent record. In our state, we had to have a portfolio showing their work and progress, a...

In AHL (9th grade), you get all the poetry from the Bible (when those sections of the Bible are studied as literature), and the version of Gilgamesh that MFW uses is a form of poetry, as well.

Well, I would vote for ECC, then RTR, and then 1850-Modern, but if you're really leaning toward RTR first, then how about this.... RTR, 1850-Modern, and then ECC using the junior high supplement with the oldest. :) RTR was our favorite year, so it's hard for me personally to argue with what sounds l...

As we move through the geography game I find that it really does work and my children are remembering and learning their geography through it. It has made me wonder though if they will remember it, or how much of it they will remember. My DH and I both see value to them learning geography prior to ...

I am looking over next year's curriculum for both my 1st graders and my 5th graders (CtG). It looks like alot of their Bible will be similar. Is that correct or is it just temporarily for the first few weeks I looked through. They both start with creation, they both will be drawing and summarizing ...

Julie, thanks for this reminder. I don't know why my mind was blocking and thinking that the student would be finished with ILL before 6th grade. But you're right, the last 1/3 of the book is for 6th grade! :) Schlee, there are two different ways to approach the study of grammar -- whole to parts, a...

My dd with be in 6th next fall. She has been in public school, We will be doing ECC in the fall. She needs a big change of pace to embrace homeschooling, so I'd like to make it as 'fun' as possible.. (but can you make grammar fun?) Well, I don't know, but the year I taught both of my older girls to...

I have learned FAR more as a homeschooling mom than I ever did in public school! I am so thankful we have the opportunity to teach (and learn with) our kids. Even my friend with English Lit and French degrees, who admires all things Shakespeare, says she wishes she would've learned literature in con...

Absolutely! Summer is a great time to do extra science. :) You can plug some nature walks in there, as well, and even combine that with some additional artwork. I wouldn't try to do 1st grade science with ECC next year because, even though you already have pretty short lessons most of the time (and ...

There is much info he can gain from ECC and if we go with it, I need to be sure to incorporate the skills he gained in our current curriculum so he will be prepared after ECC. Then just continue with whatever you're using now for the 3 R's, and he'll be in good shape since MFW includes all those 'o...

Note: Rod and Staff Spelling switches to cursive for 3rd grade, so your dc needs to be able to read cursive or will require help with each lesson. Also, the blanks change as if the child is able to write cursive in the workbook. This was the reason I opted not to go with R&S for spelling. My older ...

It is somewhat repetitive because of the very nature of studying countries and world cultures... a country is a country is a country. They all have a flag, a bird or some other symbol, a president or dictator of some sort, a population, borders that sometimes change after a conflict with another cou...

Mara is scheduled in CTG as it goes along with the study of Egypt.

One thing that MFW teaches throughout the curriculum is how to research and determine individual beliefs about things like this... with the Bible as one of our main history spines all the way through. This is one reason that MFW has parents working directly with their children in the elementary year...

I think it works for all ages because of the variety of books and assignments in the manual. Because it's a multi-level program, Marie has cleverly included something for every age, from the junior high supplement package and Exploring World Geography (for additional research) for older/advanced kid...