Compare CTG to earlier MFW programs - A big transition?

[GoodCat]

Compare CTG to ECC - Will it be harder to do with babies?

I am doing ECC with my 4th and 5th graders. We really like it and love the missions emphasis. Well I have a 20 mo. old and am due in June. Will I be able to handle next year with the toddler and nursing a newborn? I usually feel disorganized as it is.

I just wanted to encourage you that you can do it!!! I have been homeschooling for about 7 years now, and during that time I have either been pregnant or nursing a baby, or pregnant while nursing a toddler :>) I can be hard at times, and some years we only did the basics, but school always got done and my children have learned and are learning. In the beginning I always questioned myself and our situation, but know I just take each day and do what we can and catch up (when needed) on other days, and just try not to stress :>)

We are doing CtG this year and we are loving it. Because we are in a co-op this year, we are only doing 4 day weeks (but getting a weeks worth done). I started with a 17m. dd and a 4yr.dd in the mix. It can be challenging some days, but still very doable and enjoyable :>)

In Christ,
Cathy

[lyntley]

Great replies here...I just wanted to add that little ones getting used to regular nap times are wonderful and so helpful for either mom to take a breather or to do those things that couldn't get done otherwise.

[kellybell]

Yes, great replies!

When I had a second grader and a kindergartner, I also had two little ones (toddler and preschooler). The older two were at a private school full time which means no bus service. I was very busy with carpools, volunteering at school (everyone was expected to help a little), drilling spelling words, etc. Add on top of this I was packing lunches, cleaning out backpacks and lunch boxes (yes, they "cleaned" their own, but often I would have to redo their efforts), filling out forms, signing report cards, driving for field trips, etc. Yikes, I was busy! And, I was one of the LEAST involved moms around. And, since they went to school, they tended to lose gloves, catch colds, learn bad words (yes, at a Christian school), and beg for the latest toys and such.

The next year, we homeschooled (and I had a 4 year old, a 2 year old, a second grader and a fourth grader) and must say that homeschooling via MFW (we did ECC that year) was actually easier than dealing with kids going to school.

CTG is a little more demanding than ECC, but just a little! If you can do ECC, you can do CTG. It's really an easy to teach (but meaty) program.

On those rough days, remember that God didn't create you to be Superwoman, nor is He surprised by your circumstances. Just lean on Him and if you don't get the day's work done or if you find you are skipping some of the work, well, that's fine. Do your best and then rest!

Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:53 pm

Yes, I like the deluxe packages BUT not if they induce guilt (ie "Oh, I bought these deluxe books and CDs but am not using them -- I'm a bad mom."). We don't get to all of it.

The music study is pretty easy to do "independently" (or while mom nurses or folds laundry, etc.) as a lot of it is listening to a bioraphical CD. You can challenge the kids to find 10 facts about Bach that they didn't know before. Just have them take a few notes while the CD plays.

And, the art book is neat, but for our family it "falls off the end" when we get busy with our orchestra practice or Science Olympiad studies. So, we do it when we get to it, skip it when we don't. My plan is to have the kids finish up the art books (okay, two volumes if you bought it recently and one if you bought it a few years back!) in "high school." I'm going to call it "art history" and keep track of the hours that they spend on it and we'll do the tests in the book for each section.

Do what you can; do what you want. Yes, you can catch up later!

[scmlg]

We are doing CtG this year, and really it's still boils down to teach them to read, write and do math. You'll be fine. I had a newborn last year and a toddler this year. May I just say, the toddler is harder! LOL Really, at least while he was an infant he was sleeping or nursing, quiet for both. Now he's making messes and yelling.

:) You'll be fine!

Misty

[Julie in MN]

Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:10 pm
There are quite a few posts in the Preschool Archives about scheduling with new babies & such. Maybe one of those ideas will be helpful to you?

Also, know that MFW is written by a mom of 6 kids, so she is very familiar with your situation. She very much has a heart for families like yours.

And finally, doing the Bible in the evenings with Dad would be a HUGE help in CTG, since Bible is a CORE book that year and a big weight would be taken off your shoulders. In addition, it is a wonderful year to experience as a family. My husband treasured it & looks back fondly to when he was "the pharaoh" and ds put the 10 plagues upon him, or he was eating with us in our little Sukkah made with blankets in our living room.

Enjoy your year,
Julie

[mgardenh]

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:05 pm

One suggestion. Get a sling a great tool to help you clean, teach, cook, and whatever else (well you should not cook with a sling). As a sling carring stay at home dad it is great! Find someone who knows how to use a sling. It can take some getting used to.

Mike

[Toni@homezcool4us]

ECC: We LOVED the missionary stories and the kids had a blast (and learned a lot) playing the geography game. We loved Windows on the World too. However, ECC is a year that is rich in skills building; mapping, the geography packets, knowing how to use an atlas, dictionary, etc. As such, it felt "heavy" or technical to us compared with CTG.

CTG: We LOVE LOVE LOVE CTG so far. Each year has a different feel to it. The biblical feasts in CTG are FUN and the historical content is soooo interesting.

[Julie in MN]

I'm still so uncertain of whether to cram through ECC this summer to get it all done and start CTG in the fall or just totally relax and get there when we get there. The more I read other people's comments, the more difficult of a year it sounds and it makes me nervous.

Cyndi,
Did you read Toni's thread back a few months when she shared what a refreshing change CTG was in her family?
http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7366

Thought that might help you with your jitters
Julie

[my3boys]

I just wanted to jump in here to say that we have not found CTG hard AT ALL. I have read several negative posts about CtG and really I think it just comes down to how interested in history you are. After reading some of these posts I almost didn't even attempt 'A Children's Homer', but I'm glad I did because we are three weeks into it and really enjoying it. My ds and I are big history buffs and we love myths and fairy tales and the like - he has wanted to study ancients for a long time. Doing the biblical feasts has been really interesting - it gets a little time consuming in the fall but it is very worthwhile. We have thoroughly enjoyed our year.

[cbollin]

tagging on about Children's Homer

my kids loved it! My library has a free audio download of the book. Made it very easy!


-crystal

[IdahoGrown]

So we'll be using CTG next year for 4th grade. Some of you may remember that we did things a little backwards and went with ECC for 2nd grade and then we've been doing Adventures this year for 3rd grade. We have finally found our groove with things and I think it will be relatively smooth(er) sailing through the rest of this school year.
<some may remember my struggle with learning that my DD is dyslexic>

So, I'm already planning for next school year. Yes I know I'm kinda crazy, but I love this stuff. I've been browsing through all the CTG stuff on the website and reading through some of the CTG section of the forum. I'm a little overwhelmed with it all. It seems like a huge jump in work load. I'm wondering if it's anything like ECC where there are assignments that the youngers can "ignore" or if they are supposed to try to do everything assigned. I'm probably also looking for someone to tell me that it's all gonna work out just fine and it's not as much as it looks like.

Any words of wisdom out there?
Brooke

PS--I'll also have one in K, one in PreK and one under a year old when we begin next year.

We are using CTG this year (for 6th) and are really enjoying it!

The only thing I could think of that *might* be difficult is comprehending Streams of Civilization. You may need to paraphrase some of the reading. It is a highschool level text. I would just be sure to choose books from the bookbasket that fit her age and comprehension level. There are a lot of books recommended so it shouldn't be hard.

Other than that, I don't recall running into anything overly difficult or complicated...

[RB]

In many ways I find CtG easier to do than ECC! Not sure why.
We are doing CtG this year with 2nd, 4th and 5th graders. I was scared of Streams of Civ, but my kids actually like it, I like it, and sometimes I can't find it because dh has been reading it
There have been a few advanced assignments/readings for 5th and up, so i do not require my 4th grader to do them.
All in all, this has been one of our favorite years, and I feel like we are all learning bible history in a way that is really opening our eyes and hearts.

[IdahoGrown]

I was worried about our first feast too. But it wasn't nearly the amount of extra work that I was expecting!

And you mentioned time...between Bible reading, the history reading, and any timeline figures or notebook pages, we spend maybe 45 minutes a day on it. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. This also includes memory verses, reciting the books of the Bible and the Ten Commandments etc...

[Amy C.]

In many ways I find CtG easier to do than ECC!

I feel the same way. I don't know if it is because last year with ECC was our first year with MFW and was a whole new way of learning for us. So therefore we had to deprogram from our previous curriculum and adjust to not only a new curriculum but a new way of learning. This year feels more comfortable. Maybe we are now getting used to it all.

The feasts for us were definitely busy. We had a newborn and started school 2 weeks after he was born so the extra work of the feasts were just that -extra work. However, I really wanted us to do them. I am very interested in the Biblical feasts and how they tie in with Jesus as our Saviour, and I really wanted my kids to learn that as well. We tried to follow the first feast as close to the instructions as possible but found that we needed to tweak the other feasts for various reasons. We still learned so much with each feast, and even though they were extra work, I was sooo glad we took the extra time and energy to do them! We even all bundled up and did the Feast of Booths outside in the cold weather in my boys' fort. It was really special.

After the first few weeks after the feasts, things really did slow down and now we are in a good routine and groove. Last week with building the tabernacle model was pretty busy, but that is another thing I really wanted my boys to do, and it was so worth it. All in all, for us, CTG has been easier - just as full and rich as ECC - but easier for us. That is just our experience.

Amy C.

[sojen]

The feasts were not too hard. I had a neighbor interested in going through them with us so we divided up the workload. I like Streams of Civilization.

I can't say I like CTG better than ECC, though. I've been enjoying most of it, but two things hold me back. The 1st I was prepared for, the 2nd- not so much.

1) We have watched quite a few of the Genesis for Kids experiments online (at Lani's or youtube) and we still try to keep up with the book, but so many experiments is exhausting! I can actually say most of our science is now coming from the book basket list.

2) Since I started MFW, the unit approach has even found its way into my own quiet time. I love diving deeper in the scriptures that we are learning in school. So I have been reading through the Old Testament during my quiet time and praying God would reveal himself to me. I have to honestly admit, it's been a struggle. I love many parts of the OT, but there are sections that I finish reading and feel completely lost. But I think that's the way it should be. The mysteries of God should continue to boggle our minds.

Would I change anything? No way! MFW is still an amazing fit for our family, and I know this year just has its struggles because I am being challenged in learning right along with the kiddos.

[RachelT]

I felt that ECC took more time than ADV, so I am thinking you might feel a "jump" in the amount of what is listed on the grid each day as you move from ADV to CtG. I have loved different parts of each year! ECC had a lot of variety about different cultures and people around the world, but I was taking more time to keep up with changing units so often, getting different books for the books basket, etc. I think that CtG seems more simple for the teacher because we are really taking our time to study through the Bible and through ancient history. We settle on one culture and group of people for weeks. It was nice to have different ideas of books in the book lists, but there just aren't as many to have to go find every 2 or 3 weeks like in ECC.

There are still assignments labeled "Advanced" in the grid that we don't do this year. I also agree with the others that after the feasts, we were able to settle into more of a routine. We did do partial celebrations of most of the feasts in the fall, but couldn't fit every single thing in and that is okay.We are trying to keep it simple and stick with the MFW Genesis for Kids science. I also find books or videos at the library about the science topics from time to time, but the kids do enjoy the science experiments and funny anecdotes in the book.

My oldest is dyslexic and dysgraphic and I think last year was also harder because we were working through some really challenges with our reading and spelling curriculum. His 3rd grade year was a big year for changes in that area. This year, in 4th grade, he is still learning so much, but now he can actually read more. He is not an independent reader, but what I am saying is that with children that have these challenges we can look back at a year and see that some of the most challenging parts were not really with the MFW curriculum, but in the areas of learning challenges. So it sounds like now you have found something that is really working for spelling and that will only make things easier for you! Anyway, each year has it's own blend of challenges and I am sure your dd will rise to the occasion!

[BHelf]

thanks for the responses. I am super excited about what we'll be learning. I think it will be awesome to learn history this way and see how everything ties in together. I am also excited about the feasts and hope that I have my act together enough to do them.

Rachel, Yes I think that is it. The jump from Adv to CTG. But I know that's the way we want to go. I don't want to go back to ECC next year. I really want to wait and do that again in middle school.

I have been looking forward to the Feasts for 2 years now so in excited about that part; just nervous that I'll drop the ball on doing them and just get lazy and say, "forget it!"

I have decided to just give my daughter a little more in the schedule for the rest of the year. Adding in things a little at a time so that the jump in work load doesn't totally set her off. So we're trying to memorize state capitals and abbreviations using the state cards as flash cards by writing that info on the back. This is actually something she enjoys. I also added in a copybook on 1john 4. She needs work on her handwriting anyways. And then we'll see how it goes from there. We are also really starting to work on memorizing the math facts. This is semi difficult for her so I've never pushed it but she seems to be rebelling less on it so i am hoping she'll get it soon.

I think the biggest thing is for me to just quit freaking out about the fact that shes about to be in 4th grade (even though shes not at 4th grade level with spelling and math, which honestly DOES freak me out) which just sounds like such a big girl!! I keep wondering what on earth happened to my baby girl!
Brooke

[Julie in MN]

We just finished ECC with my 3rd grade boy and 1st grade girl. I was thinking about a different American History program, then coming back to C to G when my boy is in 5th grade. These are my thoughts, and I always like to get points of view that aren't mine for something I may be missing... thanks! The reasons:

1. My boy loves American History, and the other program uses different books than Adventures did.
2. My girl missed out on American History in Adventures since she was only in K at the time.
3. I can experience another curriculum.
4. The other program is economical as MFW is.
5. We can start C to G in 5th grade and still finish the cycle.

Any thoughts are appreciated!
Anna

Hi Anna,
Okay, I'm going to be biased towards CTG, just so you know I'm not saying that trying something else isn't a good thing -- it may well lead you to know what a treasure MFW is even more!

But reasons to do CTG:
- First of all, CTG is one of my favorite years because you go thru so much of the Bible, and yet get to really enjoy it & do things with it, like making 10 commandment tablets and reenacting the plagues.
- It gives kids a foundation or a reason for history, before they study things like wars and slavery. I think it gives them the right "attitude" towards history, or something like that.
- It will give you some wiggle room if life does not happen as you expect. My ds did CTG in 4th grade, and barely finished the cycle in the middle of 8th, due to things we couldn't have anticipated.
- If life does move along smoothly, then repeating ECC in 8th is a great opportunity & a nice family time before the oldest breaks away on his own. (If you don't do that, I'd consider doing some of the 7-8th ECC stuff in other years, such as the advanced biographies & the current events.)
- You do get to experience something different. Each year of MFW is quite unique, in my opinion!
- Repeating American history in 2nd, in 4th, in 7-8th, in 11-12th, and maybe more if I missed one in there? I hope your kids will still like those great books after all of that

Julie

[cbollin]

agreeing with Julie. I'm bias too. You can switch if you want to. You can stick with ctg if you want to. and by the way.... welcome to the board! you just joined today it looks like.

Couple of things...
Don't worry too much about the younger child missing "xyz" along the way in homeschooling. They pick up stuff along the way.... you naturally review and they get it again. With US history we tend to give it to them in small bites at 4th of July and holidays. and with US history, she'd get it in 4th and 5th, and many group schools don't do US history until then anyway. That'll be fine.

One idea to think about.... if you decide to do CTG next year,.... what if for "reading time" on the grid for the 2nd grader, she gets to read some of the package books from Adventures if you still have them? Yes, it's nice and neat when things match more with history, but it doesn't "have" to.
and then in book basket for your US history loving son, toss in some books in basket in CTG on what he likes about history. Maybe he likes a certain part of it and it could be fun to compare and contrast it with ancient life.

I know during CTG, we didn't have tons of library options for ancients, so we had book basket with other things that the children were interested in.

-crystal

[RB]

We did something similar to what you are considering...ECC with 2nd and 3rd graders and then a year away while deciding whether we were a HOD family or a MFW family. Then CtG with 2nd, 4th, 5th. Turns out we are a MFW family and CtG was our favorite homeschool year ever.

We changed for multiple reasons, including wanting age specific programs and wanting to do more American History before Ancients (especially to align with our co-op). The main reason I'm glad we switched for a year is that I no longer feel torn between two different curriculum companies. The main reason I'm sorry we switched for a year is that it interrupted our flow of learning and we changed language arts choices (and then back again). There was a definite learning curve when making the change, and then another learning curve coming back. I am glad that, Lord-willing, we will still finish the complete 5-year family cycle with all 3 before high school.

You can do it either way. Just come back for CtG because it's too good to miss
Praying that you find the best choice for your family next year.
P.S. Your other program also repeats quite a lot from Adventures for more than half of the year, though it is taught differently.

[Caryn]

It looks like we are going to be starting CtG next month! I'm so excited, though a bit nervous. A part of me is downright at finishing ECC - we are enjoying it so much.

Anyway. I have really struggled this year with getting a schedule into place that will work for us, and I feel like I have finally done that. I'm a little concerned that it's going to all fall apart again when we start CtG. Can anyone tell me what is/was your daily schedule (or routine) like during CtG? Did/do you find the days quite a bit longer than your ECC days?

If it helps, I have a 10 yo dd, a 6 yo ds - he's doing MFW1 phonics and math, but sitting in with big sis for most everything else - and a needy and social 2yo who has PT 1x/wk and ST 2x/wk (at our house, though, so we don't have to pack up our schooling or anything).

Melissa, sounds like we're going to be starting on a very similar journey!

We just finished ECC (welll, before the Summer) and are starting C2G when our curriculum arrives. I have a 9 yr old (turning 10 in a month) an 8 yr old (with auditory processing issues, so this limits what he can join in with) and a 3 yr old (turning 4 in 3 weeks) that has ST twice a week (away from the house). Soooooo..... join the club? LOL! I'm thankful to be walking this journey with other women!

Unfortunately I can't answer your question, not having done CtG yet, but I am confident that if you continue what you were doing, and make the curriculum fit with you, that CtG is going to be just great. The Hazels have written the curriculum and the schedules with such wisdom, implementing everything according to the ability and maturity of the target age of the year. They operate on the fundamental belief that school should be done by lunch time, so if you continue with what you're doing, and just substitute the new resources, you should do well!

[Cyndi (AZ)]

I had some people tell me, and I found it hard to believe, that CTG takes less time than ECC - day for day. I have found that to be true! I'm not sure if it's because Bible is History is Bible much of the time, or if we're just getting better at a routine, but our day seems to flow better and go more quickly. Depending on dc's ages, certain subjects are going to take longer, but the core itself is not too time-consuming. It's just right.

[asheslawson]

Hi Melissa,
I have a fairly similar situation...I have a 10 year old, who will be 11 soon, and a 7 yr old doing MFW 1 & sitting in on much of CTG. They just basically do their own language arts & math. I babysit a 19 month old & a 2 year old plus another 7 yr old arrives on the bus when she gets out of school that I watch till her parents get home from work.

I have found that CTG really seems easier to me than ECC - maybe it's from all the practice I got with ECC - maybe it's because the children are older and have grown a bit more disciplined - maybe it's extreme necessity since much of the individualized work is having to be done while the tots are napping (and one is a short napper). However - I find it to be going smoothly - but last year seemed a bit tough for me to get it together probably because it was my first year to homeschool my older son - he had been public schooled until 3rd grade. I think you will enjoy CTG - we are studying tomb paintings this week and discussing Jacob & Esau. My children had lentil soup for dinner - which we lovingly called 'birthright soup' and laughed and shared the story with my husband. He seemed to really enjoy and said he'd never really learned the story that well before. It was a nice meal we shared together and we really enjoyed it.

As for my daughter with MFW 1 - things are going well there too - and she is finally starting to show more interest in reading - she's always loved math but has really resisted learning to read well - and she is starting to really pick up the pace and read more smoothly with less struggle! YAY!!! Hope this helps.

[momma2boys]

I wanted to chime in and say that CTG takes us way less time than ECC did, at least on most days. We are only on week 7 though so that could change as the year progresses. We are usually done within a couple of hours.

[marsha617]

CTG is not taking so much time for us either. The activities are short and simple. I appreciate that!! One thing we do that speeds things up a bit is after vocabulary we read any history selections together. We go over the notebook page so the kids are clear on what to do. Notebook appears on the independent white board and they get it done on their own. Same goes for copywork. This has worked out so far. There have been a couple of notebook pages we did together but all in all they can get done independently. I hope this helps schedule things for your new start.