DELUXE - Do you recommend this for MFW-1?

[TurnOurHearts]

DELUXE - Do you recommend this for MFW-1 if we're also doing ECC?

Should I get the basic or deluxe MFW 1? I am planning on using MFW 1st grade and ECC this fall. I would like to let my ds sit in on as much of ECC as possible but I'm wondering how much of the art and music in ECC he'll be able to participate in and enjoy. He will be a young 6. Even though his sister is 9, they do like to do things together.

I have to say that I really like the looks of the deluxe MFW 1, particularly the Come Look With Me books (I was an art minor in college) and the Honey For a Child's Heart. The Intro to the Orchestra looks nice too! I'm not sure about the things for math in the deluxe. Please let me know what experiences you had with this. Thanks!

Hi Angie :)

We are currently doing ECC with an 8 year old & a 6 year old. I got the Deluxe items because I wanted the CBoM, the pattern blocks/animals book, and the Come Look with Me books (already had Honey). I have found plenty of uses for the Come Look with Me books this year, and my daughter does the pattern animals on our light Fridays.

That said, Halle does ALL our music, art & science in ECC. Now, she doesn't write the summaries for science, but she draws a picture nearly each time & writes a title. If you have a child who enjoys drawing like mine does, you won't have any problem including them in science. We don't do any of the 1st science, art or music at this point. I began the year trying to do it all & I felt it was just more than necessary.

HTH ~

PS - Just FYI, I used the MFW1 science the first time around and those books are still favorites in my house.

[cbollin]

About the Animal Pattern Book and the wooden blocks in the math... just this morning I was realizing how nice those items had helped to prepare my 2nd dd for the geometry that she is doing Singapore 2B. I was concerned about teaching her geometry in 2B (she has some special needs) but she zipped through it this week.

And we like the Complete Book of Math too.

When we did 1st and RTR together, we did the extras in the 1st grade deluxe on the light and independent day in RTR. Even my older child liked them. My older child would set up the 1st grade science experiments and all of that.

Don't overspend your budget. :)
-crystal

[sarascott7]

I was wondering if it would be pretty easy to use the materials from the deluxe packages from the library? Specifically, Honey for a Child's Heart...

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 12:45 am
IMHO, Honey for a Child's Heart is an absolute keeper and one that I give for baby shower gifts. Can you tell we love books? Every year or two, I reread the first half of the book as it is so inspiring about great books and the value of reading wonderful books, and I find the second half of the book (the book list) to be priceless.

- Sara

[Cyndi (AZ)]

Do you all recommend the Deluxe package?

Yes, I recommend the Deluxe Package. The Classical CD is wonderful. The Cuisenaire Rods and book are great - it looks so simple, but does a great job of introducing logical thinking. I think the Lauri letters are a must for the blend ladder, and that's where you can really expand the program a bit to use extra letters to make words, introduce spelling, and really enforce the phonics. Great stuff! And you don't want to miss the Ant Hill and Butterfly Garden! Those are too fun! If your budget allows, I would definitely get the Deluxe.

So, {{{HUGS}}} Relax. Smile. It's normal to have nervous jitters, but you will make it just fine.

[hollybygolly]

If you used this w/MFW1, what did you think? I'm on the fence about buying it for my son who is 6.

Hi Marcee~
This is a nice, gentle intro. to musical instruments. We used it on Exploration Day. We'd read about one of the instruments in the coloring book, and then I'd play the CD while they colored, pointing out when that instrument was being played. Very low key, but they loved that CD! Hope that helps...Holly

[cbollin]

Hi All!
Last year was my 1st year using MFW and we loved it!

I'm starting 1st grade curriculum with my 6 year old soon (yes, we are a bit delayed because we moved out of country during the month of September!). Because we are a missionary family on a budget, I purchased the Basic Curriculum set. I also have Drawing with Children and Honey for a Child's Heart.

Are there any other titles from the Deluxe set that those of you who have 'been there, done that', would say I should definitely purchase as well because you used it a lot or realized it was such a great resource to have? If so, please let me know which and why. Thanks!

Holly in Puerto Rico

Hi again Holly and still welcome along!

same advice as I said on RTR... don't overspend.. answers will vary.

I really liked the Peter and the Wolf CD. Great intro to orchestra. I didn't worry about lesson planning with it. Just pop it in and enjoy.

You already have DWC and Honey.

Come Look with Me: I liked those and think it's great for art appreciation meets a form of language arts. They are not specifically scheduled in the manual to do this page or that page on certain days. So, if you don't get those books, it's ok.

Complete Book of Math: all of that is supplementary if you like to have a workbook after you have done the daily math activities in the basic program.

Pattern Animals and Blocks: if you have the funds, or grandparents to get as gifts - those are nice for critical thinking skills.

Looking forward to hearing what was best of best for others

-crystal

[TriciaMR]

I think the pattern blocks and pattern book are an especially nice "deluxe" item. You might be able to get Peter and the Wolf from the library - if that's going to be available to you. We never even opened the coloring book.

Complete Book of Math... hmmm... Here's how we did Math in 1st... The first time through the topics (the topics are repeated twice through the year) we just did the hands on activities and read the recommended library books. The second time through I had my boys do a page from the Complete Book of Math. So, it isn't required, but it is something you could wait on until the 2nd half of the year.

-Trish
'

[MelissaM]

Like Crystal, we really like the Come Look with Me books and the Peter & the Wolf cd. But, if you have access to a library, maybe you could get them there. Or get a reasonable substitute. Since they are not scheduled in, you can sub out for something else easily. Also, if you are doing all the art and music from RtR and doing Drawing with Children, your 1st grader could maybe listen in on those things with the bigger kids and save some $ that way?

I would NOT skip the pattern blocks and pattern animal book - they are very good and scheduled 1x/week. We like them. The CBoM, we like, but we don't always use it - might use it more, later in the year, though. Hm. If I were trying to save money, that book would not be a top priority for me; you can probably find free worksheets online if/when you need them for a specific topic. But it's a good book, not saying it's not.

I don't know. This doesn't seem very helpful when I read it back. The truth is, everything is good and I always want to do it ALL. But I'm finding it very difficult (okay, impossible) to do all of the 1st grade deluxe package this year, with an "older" program as well - so I'm in the combining/streamlining mindset right now.

[gratitude]

My first favorite you have which is the Drawing book.

My second favorite would be the pattern blocks with animal sheets. This would be my kids favorite deluxe item. They ask to pull these out and do them both with the sheets and build without the sheets. At this point all 3 of my oldest can do the sheets on their own which teaches a lot of spatial abilities.

Blessings,

[hdressel]

Thanks Everyone!!! That was really helpful! I agree with whomever of you said that if you could do all of the options, you would, b/c they are ALL great! I feel that same way too! Also, whomever is doing 1st grade WITH an older program - I agree with your recommendation to streamline/combine where you can - for everyone's sanity!

Anyway, I think I'll do combined music appreciation, since we'll be doing classical stuff in R to R and will look for free online resources or create my own to make music study applicable to my 1st grader. I am going to talk with hubs about getting the pattern blocks and animal sheets. I KNOW my 1st grader would love it...we had the Cuisenaire Rods and Alphabet book for Kindergarten and she loved that!

Again, I greatly appreciate your feedback!!!

[cbollin]

I have been "hemming and hawing" as they say around here about whether or not to get the Deluxe package for First. We did for K and were very pleased, but there was little in the 1st grade deluxe offerings that had me saying, "Yes, I must get that." I mean, the orchestra CD sounded nice, and the Complete Book of Math sounded useful, but we are sort of doing our own thing for art here, and we already have a set of pattern blocks and pattern cards. I can borrow the Honey for a Child's Heart book. So I was thinking of ordering Basic anyway, and just adding the CD and math book.

I guess I'm just wondering if I will be missing out on something with the Basic, even if I add the CD and math book. For K, I can unquestionably say that I feel like I would have missed out if we had not gotten Deluxe, as we have enjoyed the extras immensely. But the extra art books (including Drawing With Children) don't really appeal to me, and as I said we have pattern blocks.

I figure that if I am going to be spending an additional $100, then this would be better spent choosing things that really suit us instead of taking a pre-packaged deal that is less than ideal for us. That makes sense, right?

I liked the Come Look with Me Books - those are both "art appreciation" and "language arts" in my opinion. The books are Picture Studies with questions and very Charlotte Mason approach. I remember using them about once a week (on the exploration day) as "language arts time".

you mentioned the pattern blocks. I don't know what kind of cards you have. Let me try to ramble about the book in 1st grade deluxe. Ohh... I'll work hard for this zero % commission and no salary to sell this.... The book in 1st grade deluxe for patterns is not just patterns to build. There are 26 patterns in the book - one per alphabet letter, but with an animal theme. Then, you have about 20 pages that can be used with any of the patterns to build math, science and critical thinking skills. The book has various charts and graphs you can build. Thinking skills after you build the pattern and before you build. So you get to mix and match skills with the book. I like that this particular book and blocks aren't just squares and circles. You get trapezoids and some other shapes to introduce. I like that set
I don't know how it compares to what you have, but that's what's there.

a long time ago, in a lifetime away... my oldest had a pattern building set from usborne or discovery toys or one of those direct sales companies. So I used those.... I've used the stuff in MFW. I still use the MFW stuff and the other things are long donated to other people. Even now with the wooden blocks, my middle gal will get them out and design tessellations and patterns and even use the blocks in some things in Saxon to help see the lesson.

Peter and the Wolf CD... we enjoyed that. I need to replace my copy, it broke. ouch. sniff....

honey for child's heart - yes you can borrow from library. it is a resource book for read alouds and literature.
some libraries even have some of the Come Look with Me series.

not sure that helps. you have to spend within your means and all of that.

-crystal

[gratitude]

I completely agree with Crystal about the Wooden pattern blocks. They are my favorite item from the deluxe package. We had some already from another company, but they long ago (when MFWs arrived) were donated to some one else. The ones from the other company were plastic, and like Crystal said basic shapes and basic pictures. The wooden pattern block includes trapezoid, hexagon, pentagon, and the basic shapes. The pictures are animals that the kids really enjoy doing. My children pull these blocks out all the time to do designs on their own, or the pattern block pictures. Great for puzzle building and math building skills because of the level of complexity in the shapes, and the wood is wonderful.

I did like Honey for A Child's Heart. I liked reading the chapters in the beginning on reading. We already read aloud as a family, but I still really liked reading what she had to say. A handy book list to have around. I have referenced it here and there for grade appropriate reading.

The Complete Book of Math is very hands on. The complete book of math would complement MFW1 Math very well. Singapore is the first curriculum I ever found as a home school mom, and I just can never fully shake it for 1st.

Come Look With Me Books: Wonderful art books with questions. I agree with Crystal that they are introducing picture study and Language Arts in MFW1, which will continue in PLL in ADV.

Drawing with Children: We LOVE LOVE this book. I have heard others not Love this book, but I think it is wonderful. My children learned to draw with this book, and now draw far better than I. We have done it twice now.

Introduction to Orchestra: Coloring book and CD.

So your decision?? Well, I guess I would pick what you think you really want from the deluxe package and see which way costs less. If you pick all of it then you know to go that way, and if you pick none the other way; of course then there is the middle. Like MFWK though I am glad that I bought the deluxe package. To me the deluxe packages make MFW the well rounded program that I appreciate so much about their company. It is where the art, music, math skill building, Charlotte Mason language arts, and reading aloud come in for MFW1.

[♥nbamaboyz]

I don't think you'll regret the deluxe once it's in your hands!
It really is more "meaty" than the catolog picture captures lol
dunno why but K & ADV just looked so much FUN even in the catolog whereas
I wasn't sure about 1st. but we are SO glad we got it!
It's ALL put together wonderfully ~ ashamed &) I had doubts

[asheslawson]

Another question:
Would you order the deluxe for ECC and the basic for K and 1st?

That would be my choice if you needed to shave off some $$'s! (I always have to count those pennies super careful!) ECC deluxe would be my choice - mainly because of the Christian Heroes books (priceless - we still talk about them all the time) and the Kingdom Tales books (we've discussed this many times as well). Often these moving stories come up when we study scripture and one of my kids says something like, "Hey - George Muller really honored that scripture, " or, "remember when we read about the dangers lurking in the city, that sounds just like the scripture we just read." So great to have these stories encourage them, and stick with them...not to mention how wonderful it has been that they are more committed to serving God because of the bond they got with the characters in these stories.

As far as K & 1st, I ordered deluxe, I enjoyed the Insect Lore kits in K & "For the Children's Sake" and the Cuisenaire Rods, but truthfully - we stay so busy I haven't been able to use those items as much as I would have liked. Definitely ok without them - they were nice, but not critical. I really did get a lot out of the book "For the Children's Sake", but the guides detail many of the great ideas in a Charlotte Mason education so you'll pick up much of it there.

For 1st, I had great intentions. I used DWC for a while, but teaching CTG & babysitting 2 toddlers didn't permit much time, the other materials are not used as much as I would have liked. Although - I will say that if you can get the math book - it has been wonderful to accompany the math pages in the book. However - the math pages offer great ideas for teaching math.

I would say if you bought ECC deluxe, K basic, & 1st basic, and only had money to add one extra item...my vote would be for "The Complete Book of Math" that is listed in the 1st list. Hope that helps!

[kw4blessings]

What a fantastic resource! I got this book about this time last year when I purchased the 1st grade deluxe pkg, but must admit that I only skimmed through it at the time. Now that I'm planning for our summer and lots of reading, I wanted to see what this book has to offer. Wow! I've been missing out! I have been avoiding the library within the past 6 months for several reasons, a new baby being one. But, the main reason was frustration. We have exhausted our library's stock of good classic children's books and a lot of the ones my kiddos started picking out didn't impress me. Where do they come up with some of this stuff? So, today I sat down and started going through HFACH's suggestions one by one and checking our library's inter-library loan (ILL) website. Woo hoo! Can't wait for lots of summer reading with quality books. The best thing about ILL is that the books are all waiting for me on a shelf when I pick them up. Winning! I also ordered several from Amazon that I wanted to have for keeps.

Just wanted to share my excitement. Happy summer reading!

[hsm]

I was going to post the same thing about For the Children's Sake that comes with the K package! I have been reading it and it is so wonderful. I feel so blessed by this book! I almost ordered Honey for a Child's Heart because it looks so good but I decided to "hold my horses" and wait until next year when I get the 1st package What a blessing the Hazell's are for putting such great material together for us. These are books I otherwise wouldn't have known about. I am also going to attempt to get a bunch of books from ILL but our library is not great . Not sure what kind of luck I will have. Was thinking of purchasing some but I am afraid I won't know where to draw the line Thanks for sharing and enjoy your summer reading!!

[lea_lpz]

I was also thinking of making a similar post

Last March when are box arrived, I received and read For the Sake of the Children, which was included in the deluxe mfw k kit. As a total newbie, I read it during the 6 weeks I prepped for K, and it was great in giving me confidence and giving me a frame of reference to begin formulating a homeschool vision. Well, I got my mfw 1st box about a month ago, and again I am trying to read my way through the materials and organize to begin 1st. I felt called to really reread For the Sake of the Children. Oh my goodness! It was almost a compeletely different experince having nearly 15 months of homeschooling under my belt! I just could really see in retrospect just all the detail and research went into the creation of mfw k by Marie to apply the principles of Charlotte Mason into the k program and why it was simple yet successfull. It also helped lead my spirit to remember somethings I had done faithfully after reading the book for a couple of months which fell to the way side as we got caught up in the business of life and why it is important to create balance, not overcommiting to too much as far as academic, extra-curricular, and church commitments because unstructured, imaginative play and outside time should be a daily thing, scheduled into our day and as important as say doing AWANA or Scouts or gymnastics.

In addition, reading Honey for a Child's Heart, not just the book list, but her chapters on the philosphy behind reading was just such a perfect match to the Charlotte Mason approach to chosing living books and making a tradition of a family reading time. We are having nightly reading fairly regularily now with daddy most evenings for about 15 minutes in addition to reading many of the mfw k books on the unit study theme in mornings, and we'll also read for about 15 minutes before their nap many days if time permits! It's such a blessing. Some the stuff they learn about science and just the world from reading fictional picture books really amazes me; months can pass and yet they'll randomly tell me something we covered in unit

Also, reading both of these books as I am reading through and mapping out the teacher manuel, I really get why it is layed out the way it is. From the nature walks, to the hands on approach to practical, every day math, to the math literature, to read alouds, to reading the science on Monday and re-reading Friday before doing the experiments, to book list to enrich science, to why Drawing with Children, or why the introduction to orchestra and art appreciation. It just so flows from the Charolotte Mason approach.

Drawing with Children is my newest read and I am just so excited to give this a try. I've read the first 2 chapters and I am really just impressed with the carefull selection that went into chosing the Monart art method to teach beginning drawing. Even this book really reflects the Charlotte Mason approach.

I just can't say enough for how impressed I am with the carefull selection that went into putting 1st together!

[hsm]

I am so excited, we just got our tax refund back and I get to order our 1st grade curriculum. Just wanting to make sure I am ordering correctly, so I was hoping for a little guidance.

I have two children who will be using 1st. We are finishing up K next month and I want to go straight into 1st as they are both beyond ready for it, I believe. Tabitha just turned 7 and is reading at a 2nd grade level and is already doing some 1st grade math. Amelia is 5 1/2 and is doing really well with her reading, she has already been starting to read the 1st grade Abeka books that I have. She has had no trouble with CVC words and is now working on words with long vowels.

Would you recommend the deluxe package?
And I would be needing to buy two of the Student Materials and the Big Book of Math, correct?

I didn't buy the deluxe package but this is why...I already own Drawing with Children. I also have older children that will be using CtG and I am going to order a set of marker cards for my 1st grader.

I *would* have bought the deluxe had I not already had most of the items that we wanted. I only needed to purchase one of the books to get the pieces I wanted. I ordered Honey for a Child's Heart as an add on. I like the deluxe packages and have gotten them in the other purchases I have made. So, I guess it depends on your child's interest and what you already have on hand.

Yes, I think you need 2 sets of Student materials and the Big Book of Math. I am pretty sure you cannot make copies of the student sheets (copyright) and I wouldn't want the hassle of copying the math book personally (not sure about copyright with this one). Plus, my kids like to have their own workbooks

[kw4blessings]

I would recommend the deluxe package. Drawing With Children is an incredible book. Both my 6yo and 4yo (at the time) went through that book and we really enjoyed it! The unifix cubes are so great to have for the math activities if you don't already own some of these. Peter and the Wolf, flashcards...it's all so good. And yes, like Lori said, get 2 of the student sheets and CBOM. CBOM is also an amazing resource. We are still using it some this year with my 2nd grader for enrichment. Have a blast!

I've found that the deluxe package prices are so good that it's often best to go that route even if you own several of the books/elements already. You could have double resources or sell your duplicates!

[hsm]

I wholeheartedly agree with Kelly that the deluxe is worth it. She is correct that the deluxe pricing is really really great. Even if you don't use all of it, I think you still come out ahead.