Anybody wanna talk high school plans?

We too used MFW Ancient History & Lit last year for 9th grade.  Both our dd and I really liked it.  It does use the Notgrass Exploring World History & Lit as the spine.  Originally, I planned to stick with MFW World History this year for 10th grade, however, in looking at the lesson plans, it’s very dependent on the Notgrass and Usborne books for history, which I’m not thrilled about.  So I dug out my Beautiful Feet guides and will be pulling in lesson plans and books recommended from that company primarily for studying the history of Rome through Middle Ages.  They actually recommend using The Story of Liberty by Charles C. Coffin as a spine.  I started reading this book a couple of days ago and can’t put it down.  It was reprinted from the original 1876 manuscript and is so interesting!  I read in a biographical sketch that the author actually met Abraham Lincoln a couple of times throughout his life.  I thought this was so neat in that we read and think about history and this author was actually living it!  

Here’s a link regarding the Coffin books…

http://www.christianbook.com/charles-coffin-volume-history-book-pack/charles-coffin/pd/674012?item_code=WW&netp_id=274219&event=ESRCN&view=details

There’s also an endorsement at that link by Karen Andreola.  

Some other books we’ll use with this are:

Augustus Caesar’s World by Genevieve Foster

Caesar’s Gallic Wars by Olivia Coolidge

The Bronze Bow

City by David Macauley

Quo Vadis? by Henryk Sienkiewicz

The Magna Charta by James Daugherty

Castle by Macauley

Cathedral by Macauley

Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Gay

In Freedom’s Cause by Henty

The Morning Star of the Reformation by Andy Thompson

The World of Columbus and Sons by Foster

Fine Print by Joann Burch

The Hawk the Dare Not Hunt by Day by Scott O’Dell

The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly

Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb

The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg

I’m in the process of pulling this all together, but I’m feeling better about it this week compared to last.  I am still planning to use the MFW especially for Literature and Bible.  The World History and Lit focuses on writing a research paper.  The Ancient History and Lit focused on an argumentative paper.  I did notice our dd’s writing improved a great deal last year with the MFW program.  I also like the Biblical Worldview they present.  

On another note, have you looked at the Ambleside lists for the period you want to study?  

Don’t worry about high school.  It’s really just an extension of what you’ve already been doing.  Our oldest dd graduated from public high school and she didn’t get half the education our homeschool children are getting.  They only read 1-2 novels per year in addition to the text.  I do feel guilty about this on a regular basis.  However, the timing and circumstances were different for her education.  Thank God for His grace and mercy.

Sorry if this seems like rambling, but my kiddos are waiting for me to read aloud before bed.  Blessings to you in your decision,

Melissa