From one whose daughter has read the book, it seemed to make a positive impact on her. I think it was maybe the first time she had thought about the difference of growing up in a Christian home and going to church vs how Christianity affects her personally. I try to stear clear of the controversies ...

Next year, so I will have a 14 yr old not ready for the writing and level of thinking required for high school. We already figure she won't graduate until age 19 or 20 as she needs more time for things to sink in. I guess I need some wise words from those who have been there, done that before I jum...

I had a 6 year old go through ECC with older sibs. He had completed his reading program at 5, and was already reading at a pretty high level. He really enjoyed ECC and CTG. My son was able to use all the resources except the World Geography book. He even did a few pages from that, at his request. By...

I have 3 levels at my home this year, one in high school, 3 in 1850-mod., and 1 in MFW 1st. If your child is in high school, they will need a high school program. We are in our second year of MFW high school and it is extremely light on the workload for the parent. I follow the recommendation in the...

When we hit a wall with 1st grade, we would supplement with Explode the Code for a little while and then go back to the MFW program. Also, reading games are helpful. There are some explained in the teacher's manual. We also have games from Happy Phonics and games I still have left from when we used ...

I use the list in the back of the teacher's manuals to help the kids make selections for their own reading time on the MFW grid. I also use Honey for a Child's Heart and Books Children Love.

I haven't read all posts, but I will. I can always use suggestions on teaching writing. As far as Writing Strands goes, after deciding that the "grass isn't greener" really applied to this particular school subject for me, we have stuck with Writing Strands these past 5-6 years. I do believe that WS...

My daughter still talks about me making her read Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I figure one bad book in all of her elementary schooling isn't so bad. I read Farmer Boy aloud to the middle kids this year. The thing that impressed them the most was all the pie and donuts that Almanzo got to eat. I love ...

There are parts of the curriculum we don't always get to. It kind of varies from year to year. If you find you are needing or wanting to skip things, I wouldn't order the deluxe packages. We have kids in various levels of learning. So, for my first grader, we only do phonics, bible and math. Usually...

We didn't start using MFW until my daughter (oldest) was 10. Up until then, we just used a hodge-podge of materials in addition to math and language arts. The year or so before that I was starting to feel like we weren't covering enough subjects, that Bible wasn't integrated into our schooling, and ...

My 2 older kids did SOTW by themselves listening to Jim Weiss read it aloud. They enjoyed having a break from Mom's voice, and Mom's voice enjoyed the break! This year, we have 3 listening in, so we are doing it together. I was not even aware that there was any controversy over SOTW. I've been very ...

We've done a variety of things. 1. Read to everyone. 2. Read to youngers, older kids read to themselves 3. We've used cd's for SOTW for 3 years running. The first 2 years the kids listened independently. This year we all listen, then I go over the review questions, and do the outline on the whiteboa...

Sorry to say our AG days are over here. We read a fair share of books together, and she read many alone. I must say that when we read together, I was always wanting to get to the end of the story to see how it turned out! I can't say the books are perfect, but certainly more wholesome than other ent...

With the streaming option, you do pretty much see what has been viewed recently, so that is somewhat of a safeguard. It certainly comes in handy on sick days-no more runs to the video store!

If I'm feeling well, I still try to organize the kids independent work, and maybe work independently with a well child on things we need to catch up on- like Writing Strands. ;) Sometimes, if everyone is a little off, we will skip the math and language arts and huddle up on comfy couches in the fami...

I would hate to miss ECC or CTG. The other 3 would be easier for me to give up if I had to. ECC was such a fun, learning experience and the feasts in CTG were so special to the whole family. If the feasts are something you are interested in at all, I would definitely not pass up CTG. We do ECC again...

Postby tiffany » Tue Oct 12, 2010 2:36 pm I only read the original post, so forgive if I'm repeating information. I really like Explode the Code for review work. Also, I enjoy Happy Phonics as a games approach to learning to read or cement concepts. I have used MFW 1st grade for 2 of my kids so far...

I did look up requirements for a few colleges that would be a possibility. One is a state school and only required 2 years of science. The other are private schools and they did not give specific credit requirements for each area of study. More of a general guideline with total number of "well-round...

My 3 year old is my most active toddler to date. So school has been interesting for us. Sitting down does not seem to be something he is interested in. :) I am thankful he is still napping! My kids take turns playing with him. (translate- protecting him from harm and keeping our house from destructi...

We just completed those last year with ages 12, 10 and 8. We did them together mostly, but it was hard for the 8 year old to keep up with everyone. I shared with him and helped him along. Given your boys ages, I'd try doing the first lesson together to show them the ropes and then give them the opti...

If it were me, I would be highly motivated to keep them together. I mean, keep them in the same basic program at the same pace, so they will be finishing together. My new readers have always liked having Mom to themselves especially if they are self conscious about a new skill or their abilities. I'...

This post makes my head spin! :-) I will be dealing with 4 sets of student sheets next year, and I am determined to improve our system from last year- which was basically no system- which meant many or should I say MANY student sheets were left unused. I definitely want something where the kids can ...

I've just been looking for a spelling program for my 12 year old also. We settled on espindle. It is an online program. They do offer a free 10 day trial. After that it costs $10 monthly for one student, with discounts for additional family members. We will be trying it out over the summer. We decid...

I love Big Backyard for that age. We have gotten it for years. It is put out by the National Wildlife Federation. The photographs are beautiful, and I've never noticed any evolutionary content. It is full color with LOTS of pictures. There is always a Little Book in the middle you can cut out and st...

I did that the 1st year with MFW. I thought it worked out great. Especially when baby still napped frequently. Works out well to do group reading while you're nursing. Nice snuggle time for everyone, and an opportunity to sit down for a minute. It was such a great year for us. Really helped to have ...