nagada wrote:What a title, huh?
I'm just going to put it all out here and hope it makes some sense to someone who can direct me.
We are using MFWK now. Have been working on it slowly for a year. I think it's the whole unit thing that has
me frustrated. Because all the subjects are grouped together in one unit. I feel like everything has to stay together. Does that make sense?
I'm thinking ahead to next year. If I think about how I would like things to go it would be to go at whatever pace we needed to in whatever subject needed. Does that mean the MFW will or won't work for our family? I don't want to seem as if I don't like MFW but who better to ask than the people who use it.
Nicole,
Kindy is different from the other years. 1st grade is different from Kindy and other years. very good questions in my opinion.
My kindy child last year didn't color anything in those picture cards or other stuff either.
day 6 stuff --- from the point of view of someone who used MFW K with youngest...... read a book, talk about the book..... go outside and play.
sound like you did that! good job!
There were times where we didn't do all of the activities in Kindy either. In my situation, I had older kids to teach too. I would spend very focused time with youngest and we did the minimum basics in Kindy.
I don't know how it will work for you if you do separate subjects. I only know how it worked for me with my oldest. I ended up not really liking that approach. Bible wasn't connected to what we were using for reading. Writing wasn't done to learn or process Bible.... history was random topics based on literature unit study.... Then in 2nd grade God put MFW in my path. Please take the parts of my answer that apply to you. Not all of it will. Pray and do what God tells you.
Once you get them reading, the concerns you have will be less of an issue in MFW. So like in ADV, ECC, etc.... you begin to teach language arts as a skill subject at their own pace and it'll be easier. It's just during these learning to read stages that it might have times of frustration. But there is a fairly easy solution to that without losing the Biblical worldview that MFW offers.
during K and 1st --- you are teaching more in a style of focus on language arts/ reading, and then history/science whatever is secondary to it. so you have the option of doing exactly what you are thinking ---- use K and 1st at the phonics paced needed for your child, and when you have to slow down --- just add in some other topics in history/social studies/science or play outside more. Then after a few days of some other topics, and your child is ready to absorb more phonics, set aside the library books on other topics and go back to MFW 1st. You have the option on the light/independent day to let your child keep studying the other fun things they are interested in. Concerned about not having Bible during those phonics review/slow down days? Well, in first grade, you can review all of the Proverbs verses you have learned and keep discussions on that; you can go back and keep reviewing the names of the books of the Bible and what they are about. You're going to have a Bible knowledgeable child who probably will know more about those books and what they are about than my old brain remembers.
One of the really nice things about how MFW 1st grade integrates all of this stuff has to do with helping our children to process the Bible stories and hear them in order. They get to learn how to read and how to write and learn about God, who really loves them.
So, if the pace of the phonics in 1st gets frustration, try this:
for a few days, review and review and play the reading games in 1st without fret or worry about the next day's lesson in 1st
during those days, add in library books that you want to read, and any kind of fun topic in science or social studies or building forts
return to the next day's lesson in a few days and move forward.
what to do about math? you can press on, or review and play more of the games listed in the manual. drill on number bonds/math facts......
The last part of 1st grade (from days 126-160) can be done in early part of 2nd grade year if really need to be. MFW 1st is program paced quickly for phonics and approaches to classical writing and composition.
Then, by ADV, ECC, etc........ you'll have language arts and math separate from the units in Bible/history/science/art/art history/music/ etc.
One thing that I have really liked about MFW is the charlotte mason idea of allowing afternoons for those delight directed learning things. and of course "light and independent fridays". I guess I just see it as the best of both of those options. follow a sequence and still have time for other stuff.
-crystal
