Schedule - Starting MFW in the middle of RTR?

[momofsix]

We are currently on week 22 or RtR. We had read most of SoTW vol 1 before starting this. I think RtR is so much better that I didn't feel like things were repeated ... but we didn't read to the very end so I don't know how much would have been redundant.
I wouldn't worry about not doing God/hist of art. My children aren't super thrilled about it, but we do most of the lessons. It is an optional componant to the RtR program that enhances the study of history, but is not vital to the program by any means.

Would it be crazy to just start from the beginning even if we have studied some of those things in history? SIGH big SIGH I want to simplify and have school go smoothly. We could do extra science and more Bible for a while if needed.

I think things would go smoothly if you start at the beginning rather than always second guessing "what if" or "should I have started then" and you also won't need to worry about tweeking the schedule or playing catch up from skipping too many things. After a few weeks if you don't like how it's going maybe you could decide then to skip around, pick up the pace or whatever.
I don't know if this made sense or is helpful ... but anyway I hope you get it all figured out & enjoy RtR.

[ncmom2boys]

Thank you all for the responses. I am so excited and nervous to start RtR! I received the TM today. I am hoping to begin on Monday. I've already looked online for our library Book Basket books & I'm looking ahead to see what I need for our crafts and experiments. I am not at all crafty thus my concern.

We were using SL core 6 and I think that RtR will be a welcome change. I have decided that it would be best just to start at the beginning. I want the year to flow well for us. I am undecided about what we'll do for the fall. I don't know if we'll try to finish RtR this summer or if we'll continue with RtR in the fall. I guess I just need to get started first and worry about the rest later. I just need to breathe! (and pray more!)

I really appreciate all of the helpful advice. This board seems like a lovely place to be.

Blessings!

[4Truth]

Kim, never fear about your needed supplies. There's a long list of non-consumables at the front of the TM that you'll need for the whole year, things like crayons, markers, posterboard, etc. that come up more than once -- at least I think that list is in the RTR TM? I can't remember if it's in all of them. Then there's a short list of consumables that you'll need each week at the beginning of week's lesson plans. Easy peasy. Once you have the manual in your hands, you'll see what I mean.

[Julie in MN]

Boy, have I had a rough year! Just a little background on my situation. We studied Ancient Greece & Rome last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. My boys both LOVE history. This year I am tutoring a class. With this new responsibility, I decided that I wanted lesson plans for my 4th & 2nd grader all laid out for me. When I discovered the CM/Classical approach of MFW I ordered it. Wanting to stick with our chronological history studies at home, I decided to use RtoR this year. We began another semester of Rome studies, this time with MFW, and and it went well. My boys were challenged by "Augustus Caesar's World", but they enjoyed it. It was fun to learn about Rome at a little deeper level.

Then . . . by about week 9, I began to feel bogged down. By week 12 I was substituting something more simple for art, skipping the read alouds, skipping the Bible Memory work (since we do other memory work), and substituting my own science because we had just finished the human body. You're probably getting the picture. I was altering/skipping too much!

This winter, I went on yet another curricula hunt, with no luck of finding THE perfect thing. So . . . long story short--I wrote my own plans for history. I spent LOTS of time on this, but I simply cannot continue on this path. I find that I'm always second guessing myself. I also speed too much time thinking about what books we should get at the library, what books I should buy, what projects we should do, etc. It's driving me insane and taking up too much of my time!!

I need a plan that I know is thorough and successful. I love that MFW has map work, time lines, hands-on activities, art, music and so much more. I've always appreciated the Bible lessons that are interwoven into the whole day and these last few weeks, I've really missed that!

Here's my question--where do I resume MFW? Should I begin where we left of in MFW this winter or should we begin our studies according to where we are in our history studies right now? Soon CC will be over and the science shifts to astronomy, so we'll be able to join in on the Bible memory work and science lessons. Yeah!

Any advice you can give me about how I can make RtoR successful for my 10 yr. old and 8 yr. old ds will be MUCH appreciated. Blessings!
Angela

Hi Angela,
I feel for you with that overwhelmed feeling. I don't like being that way, and I know sometimes it sneaks up on me and I realize I've been doing it to myself!

What I might do is find the spot where you think you've totally "finished" the lessons and draw a line down the grid right there. Then start looking over what's on the other side of that line -- what you haven't done. Some of it you decide want to skip over. Maybe you feel done with Rome. But how about the classical music or the lessons about the art of early Christianity or the trip through the Bible? Maybe it's time to take those nature walks that MFW usually schedules in. Need to catch up on the great read-alouds? Keep moving through the grid until you find some things you want to work on, and do those for the day. That way, you can start back up together but maybe you won't be overwhelmed by doing *everything* in the beginning. Eventually you'll reach a point where you want to do everything on the grid, and hopefully your family will be in a position to do that at that point.

Does that seem do-able to you?

The other thing on my mind is how young your kids are. I know history cycles can be the cornerstone in some home schools, but I'm a "better late than early" gal and I think kids understand history better at a little older age. We just finished the history cycle in the middle of 8th grade and are enjoying doing ECC again right now because it's just enjoying the uniqueness of the world without all the drama and trauma. I'm sure you can do the history years in a "light" way for your young students, but I'd just like to vote for a year off at some point to spend time enjoying and praying for the world, as well as really understanding maps and how they represent where things are in the world, using ECC

Well, hopefully you'll get lots of ideas to help you get where you want to be,
Julie

[Pylegang]

Julie,

Thank you SO MUCH for the advice! I read through a few old MFW posts and found encouragement, but have found sweet inspiration and comfort from your words.

I love the visual picture you gave me of drawing a line in my TG so I can truly see what we've truly finished and get a clear picture of the things we need to cover. There are too many things in the lesson plans that I don't want to miss out on, such as art, music, New Testament lessons, etc!

This morning, I thought, "I wish I wouldn't have changed gears mid-year. I wish I would have kept up with the things that were working. So . . . I decided that the Bible was the best place to start. My boys and I had a terrific morning. We filled our cereal bowls and I began reading previously assigned passages aloud. In the interest of time, I had decided to just read aloud, but the boys asked if they could please get their Bibles and follow along. How could I say "NO" to that? We dove into several Bible readings and browsed through "Victor Journey Through the Bible" too. After about an hour (with a little break in the middle) we'd covered 5 Bible lessons. I praise God, not for "getting us through those lessons", but for the spirit of encouragement and new meaning that was poured into us as we read through parts of I Corinthians and Luke.

Next, we covered some of our "usual" subjects like math, spelling, handwriting, and grammar and now w'e're taking a lunch break. This afternoon, I plan to soak up some past history lessons that go along with those Bible passages that we've already covered.

Thank you again for the "line in the sand" visual!

I agree that some of these history/Bible lessons can become complex for a 2nd & 4th grader. If I had to do it all over again, I would choose ECC for this school year. I do feel that I need to finish what I've started and then I'll be able to start fresh this fall. I do love this message board and the encouragement that is so willingly given.

Blessings,
Angela

[Julie in MN]

My boys and I had a terrific morning. We filled our cereal bowls and I began reading previously assigned passages aloud. In the interest of time, I had decided to just read aloud, but the boys asked if they could please get their Bibles and follow along. How could I say "NO" to that?

Angela,
What a wonderful post to read! Thanks for sharing that encouragement. God is good
Julie

[Julie in MN]

I am wondering if anyone has switched to MFW Rome To the Reformation after using The Mystery Of History Volume I ? We have found that many of the supplemental books recommended are never at my library, so enhancing the one author's narrative has been difficult. MOH Volume I ends with Christ's life, death, and resurrection so it seems we will review quite a bit for the first 13 weeks, at least, if we make the switch. I have read that MFW is so much richer, so I was wondering if it might still be worth it to make the switch even having somewhat of a double-up on that time frame. Any comments? Thank You!

I think a LOT of programs go from creation through Rome in one year, so it probably comes up a lot. (I *love* that MFW gives the OT a whole year and the NT a whole year, by the way!)

I know there were a couple of families who did just this type of switch last year. Maybe start combing thru this thread and see if some of those folks' conversations will help:
http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=8515

Julie

[Sheila in OK]

We did this, for many of the same reasons you mentioned. Yes, there is some overlap in the beginning and I considered skipping some of RtR but I ended up starting at the beginning, and I'm glad I did. MoH just 'scratches the surface' when it comes to covering Ancient Rome as compared to MFW. I felt like we got a much broader picture by using all the different resources that MFW schedules. With MoH you really need to add in those extras to make it complete and I wasn't always consistent about doing that.

Hope you enjoy RtR--it's been a great year for us!!

[Julie in MN]

We started our first week in MFW RtoR this week, and I am torn because of the Timeline we started last year from MOH using Homeschool in the Woods figures. I am ok with repeating some of what we have already covered last year...like all of Rome, for example, but it looks like MFW does things a little differently chronologically. I am mostly struggling with the very small number of timeline figures in the student sheets for the year compared to MOH. If you made the switch, was it tricky to keep the timeline going with the switch to MFW? Did you feel like some of the flow of your timeline was a little choppy after doing the switch or does it all fall into place the same way it would if I would have continued MOH?

To give you an idea of what I am struggling with, So far, MFW has us doing these timeline figures: "The Foundation of Rome," then "Rome Becomes a Republic." Next week, we use the "Julius Caesar" timeline figure. With the MOH, we placed all of these figures in between those: Foundation of Rome, Isaiah, Micah, Israel's Captivity, Hosea, King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, The Ancient Native Americans, The Rise of Athens and Sparta, Mannasseh, The Powers of Mesopotamia, King Josiah, Nahum, Sephaniah, Jeremiah, the Destruction of Nineveh, Habakkuk, Hulda, Judah's Captivity by Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar II, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Daniel, Aesop, Ezekiel, Shadrachm, Meshach, and Abed-nego, Buddha, Pythagoras, Temple of Diana, Confucius, Belshazzar and the Fall of Babylon, Cyrus' Proclamation, Darius I, Return of the Jews, Temple Rebuilt, Haggai and Zechariah, then...The Roman Republic and so many others before we get to Julius Caesar! Whew! This is why I am wondering where all the timeline figures are in MFW?!! There's only about 2 1/2 pages of timeline figures. Do I need to just breathe...will we cover all of the prophets and several of the others still?

If I were to decide to do MOH 2...would it transition ok into MFW Exploration...has anybody done that switch? I really liked the timeline flow of MOH, so I guess I am just panicking with my decision to make the switch.
Any thoughts?
Raisingupboys

Hi RaisingUpBoys,
I don't quite fit your criteria of "for anyone that has also used the Mystery of History and the MFW 5 year cycle," but I've used the 5-year cycle, and I own a MOH-1 manual (that I tried to use with CTG and/or AHL but didn't). And... I've used the Homeschool In The Woods timelines twice (once on my own and once via MFW high school).

Here are some misc. thoughts on the timeline differences:

* MFW separates out Old Testament history and gives it a whole year, so none of it (Isaiah, etc.) really needs to be in RTR since they've been covered and there are so many other things to study in RTR.

* Yes, MFW is generally chronological. However, often times Marie "groups" country studies together, so kids aren't bouncing around constantly. There are lots of ways to study chronological history. Basically, no one attempts to teach what happened in each country each day of history; that would just be too much bouncing from place to place. So folks tend to choose "significant world events" and then place them in chronological order, but other folks might choose other "significant events" and end up with a different order. I mean, it gets complicated. Do you put George Washington's timeline piece at his birth, in the French-Indian War, in the Revolutionary War, or after the Constitution as the first US president? So, MFW could have included the foundation of Rome back in CTG, where it fits chronologically, but Marie Hazell kind of chose "significant events in early Rome" and grouped them together when you begin to study Rome, so the founding of Rome is studied as a quick "back in time" study at the beginning of RTR (the most significant "event" being that Rome ruled where Jesus was born, of course).

* I'm not sure how much of the Homeschool In The Woods timeline you used with MOH, but their timeline is huge. MFW saves it for high school. I believe there are over 250 timeline pieces just in the ancients set, and that was more than enough for my 9th grader. In 10th grade, MFW uses two of those sets, and thus well over 500 pieces (not every piece was used but over 500, I'm sure). Even if *I* would have thought that was cool in elementary school, I doubt it would have been enjoyed or retained by my particular kids. With my older dd in high school, I used those sets on my own (before MFW high school was written), and I really feel on looking back that I "timelined her to death," but again not sure how MOH uses them. To me the MFW timelines were sufficient in elementary. But It wouldn't be too hard to add the longer timeline to RTR, you could even purchase the MFW 10th grade timeline book.

Does that help at all? Maybe someone who's actually made the transition will chime in, too, since I know there are a few around.
Julie

[raisingupboys]

Sounds like it was covered in Creation to the Greeks?

My boys are in 5th grade and 8th grade, so the extensive timeline was great for them...their retention was high. I could see how it would have been too much in younger elementary grades, though.

Thank you for your input.

[Julie in MN]

My kids would love how you are able to say what I said in so many fewer words

If they loved the longer one, then 2 possibilities are that you could either do a longer one with RTR (Homeschool in the Woods or homemade), or tell them they can look forward to getting back to it in high school. At my house, I tended to add to the notebook rather than the timeline, but we've been a notebooking family. It's nice we can tailor things and a timelining family can add to the timeline

[jhagberg]

Last year, we started with CtG but after the first semester, we dropped it. My special needs son needed extra attention and since my oldest is very independent, we put her into a different program (also lit rich and follows the history cycle). She did amazingly well with it. My son was able to get some extra help although he still needs a little more.

This year we're simply reading through The Mystery of History Vols 2 and 3 with their dad in the evenings.

We plan to return to MFW next year for Exp to 1850. We got our books in today and it really makes me miss the family togetherness of MFW. Yes, we made the right move last year when we shelved CtG for the remainder of the year. This year we're following a very basic schedule but I'm having a difficult time pulling it all together. One of the best things about MFW is the TM that has EVERYONE laid out on one page, so I can see where they're supposed to be each day.

I'm seriously considering ordering the RtR basic package for our school year. But the clincher is that we're expecting another baby in March. The plan (at least ideally) is to focus on the basics so that they'll be done with the school year by the baby's birth, and then we can all have a nice, long break before we begin the next school year in July (with Exp to 1850). They'll continue history/Bible as story time in the evenings.

That's the plan, but the reality is that school feels very scattered right now. I don't want to shoot myself in the foot, especially with the baby coming, and wondering if I'm simply longing for structure. Thoughts? WWYD? Would you move forward with the current plan or see about adding in another full MFW program this late in the year? (While I write that, there's no way I could've started it earlier with all the morning sickness and exhaustion, etc.)

Wow, tough question! I love MFW a whole lot, and I really enjoyed the years when we did MOH, too. My gut feeling is that you should stick to one thing right now. The grass is always greener on the other side (especially for me when my hormones are crazy with a baby on the way). I believe your kiddos will benefit as much from stability as anything. Anytime I have switched something mid-stream, it has caused more anxiety for everyone!

After years of switching back and forth, this and that, I finally had to teach myself this mantra: "We finish what we start." (repeat after me)

Trust Him to guide you. He will direct your paths.

[far above rubies]

Haha, I think you're right. I really miss the structure and the family togetherness of MFW. But I do know that shelving it last year was an excellent move and helped my son quite a bit. I think I'm just ready to jump back in but in reality, could set myself up for stress. With our current plan, if things go according to plan, our school year will be done before the baby's birth, and I won't have to even think about school for those first few weeks. If I start a new program, even if it's next week, we won't be finished until July and that's if we don't take off for the holidays or around the birth.

But I just wanted to run it by other experienced MFW moms, because it really is such a flexible curriculum.

I must say I think finishing up the school year in March, enjoying a nice break, and then getting back into the MFW cycle refreshed and renewed will likely yield a more productive "next year."

[Julie in MN]

I found the structure of MFW very reassuring when my life was difficult. I especially valued that God was in our days, every day, never set aside, always progressing. And I felt that having that Bible in there covered a lot of ground -- folks were educated with only the Bible in some years gone by. And we like reading directly from the Bible, rather than a summary.

In addition, because every subject was laid out on the grid, I never would "forget" important things, but instead would make intentional choices about what I was leaving out, what I had already covered, etc.

However, I was working with my youngest child and found it easy to look at the whole picture and see what I wanted to cross off. I think with an oldest child, most of us tend to want to do too much. Therefore, I'd evaluate *myself* and how well I could X-out the things I didn't need to do, even use a big black marker on things I REALLY didn't need to do (advanced assignments etc)! Maybe print out a sample grid and see if you can envision yourself going thru that week, making priorities, choosing areas of family togetherness vs. independence, etc.

[sandi]

I always do better when I stay with MFW. I am thankful that it tells me what to do everyday. It really helps me when I have alot going on and just can't think. I say go for MFW. I think it will help give you structure until the baby.

[DS4home]

If you do decided to get RTR, I wouldn't think you need to start at the beginning. If you have been reading through MOH this fall, then you have already covered that time frame. Even if it wasn't totally fleshed out Unit Study style (aka: MFW), I still wouldn't bother with redoing those years of history.
You could go ahead and get RTR for the structure of the TM, start in the middle somewhere, and still hit your goal of finishing early this year before baby comes!
How's that for a plan?

Dawn

[far above rubies]

You could go ahead and get RTR for the structure of the TM, start in the middle somewhere, and still hit your goal of finishing early this year before baby comes!

And this is EXACTLY what I was considering, if I do move forward! If wondered how well that would work. But yes, I wouldn't want to repeat those times of history and wondered about starting in the middle. We already have our own science this year, so it's really just to flesh out the history more. My biggest thing is that I want to make sure that the tail end of this year connects well with the beginning of EXP to 1850. Since MOH takes it from its own unique angle, I just wanted to make sure it all made sense.

[ark2003]

Have you considered picking up where you left off with CTG?

[far above rubies]

No, we ended up reading through SOTW 1 and my oldest completed the entire year of HOD's CtG, so we're definitely ready to move on.