Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Tagged: MFW, My Father's World, SCM

This topic has 18 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 1 month ago by Regan.

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March 22, 2012 at 2:28 pm
mtnmama
Participant
I know that My Father’s World is CM based and I have seen that through the K and 1st grade books. However, I always get the books and then need to modify. 1st grade felt like it was too light. Great on the reading but I added more living history books, science books, etc.
It ended up being a little bit of a hassle each time because I paid for a complete curriculum but then needed to plan additional lessons.
Is that likely to happen in 2nd grade with Adventures in My Father’s World? If I decide not to go with MFW, what other CM options are available without stressing myself out with lesson planning?
Thanks!
March 22, 2012 at 3:09 pm
amandajhilburn
Participant
I started off using MFW too. It is a good start to help you see how to put things together 🙂 And just fyi, I felt Adventures was too light and ended up changing after spending all that money. ;(
It has been my experience that if you try to use a premade curriculum package you will be tweaking! However, the way SCM has put things together helps you tweak before you buy 😉 Have you looked at the SCM curriculum guide? It would help you choose what to use for each subject and their planning guide is a huge help with planning. Here are the links:
http://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/scmguide/
http://simplycharlottemason.com/books/planning-your-charlotte-mason-education/
March 22, 2012 at 3:24 pm
ibkim2
Participant
I have spent months bouncing back and forth b/n Ambleside Online, SCM, and MFW!!!!!! I’m anxious to read responses to your question. I ended up planning out 1st grade for next fall as an SCM/AO combo, minus the history in both (instead going through Genesis slowly until I can decide on a history plan). I’m looking seriously at Adventures for my ds when he is in 2nd grade. What I really want longterm is to cover everything on the MFW history schedule in the order they cover it, but like you I question if I will feel the need to modify or add too much (as I LOVE the literature, composer/artist study, nature study, handicrafts, and much more that SCM or AO recommends). I think if I purchased Adventures I would only do their history, so don’t think its worth spending b/n $100-$150 for a TM and student sheets to modify all the other subjects. But, I think we would enjoy a more structured American history program complete with applications, hands on projects, recipes, and fun worksheets to go along with the history study without me having to plan it out. If I come across a TM used for a great discount, I would probably buy it and just use the parts I like.
March 22, 2012 at 3:25 pm
MonikaNC
Participant
We were in the eXACt situation you are now, last year. We chose not to put the money into Adventures afterall and used the SCM curriculum guide fully for 2nd grade. It was really hard to make the break, it was comfortable. We really liked MFW but I can tell you all of the tweaking and re-planning all year long was super stressful for me. We all really love our SCM curriculum now! My girls couldn’t be happier, I have done very little tweaking since we picked it all out ahead of time, and I have to say, this has been our best homeschool year yet. I was also pleasantly surprised at how planning was not as huge of a mess that I thought it would be LOL! I bought the Planning Your CM Education book to help me get it organized and it was the best investment I made! I hope this helps, good luck with whatever you choose to do! 🙂
March 22, 2012 at 4:38 pm
momto2blessings
Participant
Funny, I just got a catalog from MFW and sat up last night looking through it. I’m really drawn to having something laid out for me. It looks wonderful, but my feelings afterwards were that I’d rather take the time to plan and just try not to stress over it:) They use many of the books I would use, some I’m not sure I want to use (older) plus I like the freedom to add books and not be a slave to a schedule. When I bought Sonlight’s schedules, it was stressful to keep all those darn boxes checked:)
I second “Planning Your CM Education” sold here. I use it for my scheduling and live by their downloadable schedule sheets. I pick my books mainly from SCM and AO, and get wonderful advice from ladies here with older kids to help round things out. It really does seem to work best for my family if I plan our own schedule. I just take some time over the summer to plan, and then don’t really do much except some minor tweaking throughout the year. I’d probably go with something like MFW if organization and follow-through was an issue. Or the SCM module guides would be very helpful, too, if you want something planned out (but much cheaper:) HTH some! Gina
March 22, 2012 at 4:38 pm
sbkrjulie
Participant
We are using MFW-ECC this year and I am not thrilled with it at all. Yes, the planning out is great but it just feels so light in the material and heavy on worksheet work. I will not be using MFW next year but giving SCM modules a try.
It is our third going on fourth year of homeschooling so I am done with “boxed curriculum”. It costs too much money for us and just needs too much tweaking to hold the kids’ interests. I know it works for a lot of folks out there, but just not us.
March 23, 2012 at 12:22 am
Des
Participant
We will be finishing up MFW Adventures this year and my ds has done ok with it. I did not find the program to be light for US, but I know others have. That being said we will not return to MFW next year. I’ve debated about moving on to ECC, but for some reason can’t make myself go that route. I’ve decided to use something that we already have on hand and then change later if I find something I like better.
March 23, 2012 at 2:06 am
TailorMade
Participant
I have friends using MFW that like it for kinder. I got the MFW catalog yday, flipped through it, and put it in the give away stack. I think the SCM curriculum Guide even without SCM handbooks seems so much more CM and natural to me…not to mention less costly. I have a couple of the handbooks now and like the way they flow. After studying this site, it feels like home after so many years of back and forth to CM. After looking through a handbook we’ll use in the fall, I could actually see how the CMO is such a great tool for this type of learning. I’d rather budget for CMO and books than MFW. But, that’s just me. It seems like it’s basically spelled out. I’m sure MFW is, but it just didn’t see as comfy to me. ;0)
Just an opinion.
Becca<><
March 23, 2012 at 3:01 am
NJcountrygal
Participant
I bought MFW 1st grade and used it for the last several months of 1st grade. A friend let me borrow the Adventures Set and we used some of those books in 2nd grade. I decided not to follow the teachers guide because we had already been learning many of the adventures topics the year before. For 2nd Grade, I really did my own planning for History, Science, Geography and Bible. As I began planning for 3rd a month or so ago, I was really leaning towards ECC with only having to get math and language items after that. I too went back and forth on this until I really decided to sit down and write things out. I found it would be much cheaper to do SCM History and Science. Many of the resources are optional or can be found or substituted at a library. You only buy what you want!!! Another thing that changed my thinking was when I looked up each of the books for ECC on Amazon (Look Inside Feature) and found very few of them to be living books. Part of our goal when purchasing resources is to spend our money for living books, so the thought of spending $275. on a “boxed Cirriculum” with little to no living books was a great deterrent. One thing that I found to be the case when we were doing MFW 1st grade for several months is that the activities and reviews became very repetitive. My Daughter got tired of doing the same thing all the time. I’m afraid that it would still be that way unless I use something that offers alot more flexability. We have decided to use the SCM History Module 1 and Outdoor Secrets Companion this year. Hopefully, they will be a good fit!!!
March 23, 2012 at 9:46 am
pjssully
Participant
i have used-or should i say, “tried” to use MFW several times. ECC several times!! Another history cycle year, and then the high school 9th grade. I LOVE the idea of having everything planned-or so i thought. After not succeeding with it this year, again, i am now planning my own. It was hard to stop and begin on my own in the middle of the year, even after homeschooling for 8 years. But as each week goes by, i am so much happier with planning myself. I can pick the living books and adjust to the child, not adjust the child to the curriculum! This has been especially important with twins-now each can do their own reading book, or even a different activity on the same topic and it meets their individual need. That is one reason why i choose to homeschool. I also like doing my own bible-and again, adjust when we want to delve deeper, or move faster when we are ready. It’s been so very freeing, after giving up to God. I truly imagined myself handing over all my books, curriculum, pens, pencils etc to God and trusting Him -not someone who doesn’t know my child or doesn’t care about my child.
I think after you prayfully ask God for His wisdom, He will instruct you. MFW works for many families and your family may be one of them. But God will help you make that determination if you let HIm!
Best of luck
pam
March 23, 2012 at 4:49 pm
Des
Participant
NJcountrygal, I totally agree with you about the cost. I was just writing out how much it would cost to use ECC and then just doing my own planning. I found that even getting a used version of ECC would still use up most of my budget and that’s not including getting our math and latin programs.
March 24, 2012 at 2:44 am
Sherri Barth
Participant
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the original poster of the thread!!!
I am going thru very nearly the same situation. This is our 2nd year using MFW… and my kids are craving more science… we haven’t been able to keep up the pace of read alouds… and Singapore Math is just NOT working for my oldest.
We’re using 1st & ECC this year. I’ll admit to being pretty happy with MFW-K (which we used last year) & even MFW-1st for the most part… MFW-Adv. was okay but this year with ECC I’ve just had more guilt than enjoyment in our schooling. I feel like we’re always “behind” & don’t understand the pacing… just a week on some coutries & 3-4 on others. ::Sigh:: I have to admit to loving the “put it together for me” part of MFW, but I’m not seeing the investment as paying off really, if I’m pulling in a whole new science & the kids feel more like their work is all about checking off sheets as being “done.”
I really enjoyed reading all the comments on this thread & I think you all just helped me to make up MY mind!
March 24, 2012 at 5:41 am
Sherri Barth
Participant
Oh… also forgot to mention that I purchased the Genesis thru Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt last weekend while at the Teach Them Diligently Convention in Spartanburg, SC!
March 24, 2012 at 7:14 pm
SueinMN
Participant
Encouraging you all to look at the samples of the SCM History modules. $10.95 for a download of a guide that schedules Bible, History, Geography and extra books the student reads for the whole family for a year. It also has them do maps and narrate either orally or written. So all you need to schedule in addition is Math, Spelling, & maybe Grammar, & Science. & extracurriculars. Best $11 buy anywhere.
March 25, 2012 at 12:20 pm
ibkim2
Participant
Sue, just wanted you to know that I did dowload a sample of a couple of the samples from the module guide. For several months while comparing AO, MFW, and SCM history cycles I have only viewed the “details” under history topics off the free curriculum guides and I thought it was just a booklist with little guidance of what to do when. Also, I thought the Bible was a stand alone subject. But yesterday after I spent time looking over the samples from the guides and looking over the link to the suggested activities for the history modules it looks WONDERFUL. What I liked about MFW concepts was that the history is supposed to mesh with biblical history, there are hands on applications, it isn’t heavy on mythology, and it doesn’t just use literature written from just one era. But like others, I had reservations about much money on a full curriculum that I already knew I would tweak. I see from looking at the SCM Ancient Egypt/Gen-Deut. guide why 3 years are spent on ancients (mainly to go though Bible history at the same pace), and I love that the first lessons consist of just the 1st part of Genesis up to the tower of Babel. My dh is relieved that I’m finally at rest with a long term history plan for our dc, as he’s heard all my agonizing as to why I do and don’t want to use “x” text or “x’ plan. And I keep going back and forth with him on how much I’m planning to spend on history….from free (with AO) with reservations about their selections and cycle….to expensive with MFW with reservations as stated in all the prior posts. Last week I highly considered SOTW with activity guides for a 4 year history cycle, but after researching SOTW closely had several reservations of that too. I’m glad to have finally looked more into SCM.