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Help me Choose…..please
- This topic has 7 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 5 months ago by
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Every year I start out using My Fathers World and every year I get bogged down and want to switch. Most of the time I end up back with MFW because it is all laid out and I feel like I am accomplishing something. At the same time there is too much busywork and much of the reading is very dry. One year we started with SCM Middle Ages, but switched to MFW because SCM did not seem like enough (then it took two years to do the MFW because it was too much) This year my oldest is in 9th and has aged out of the MFW family cycle. I had hoped he could use Notgrass and still sit in on the family stuff, but Notgrass goes at a headspinning pace. Impossible for us to retain anything because we arent spending time with any of the interesting people or events. So I dumped Notgrass and got SCM Early Modern, thinking I would have him use the older readings in that and still do the MFW family readings. This is making me crazy because it doesnt line up quite right and that stresses me out, which is totally my own hang up I know. Also, I feel compelled to add the SCM Bible and Geography because it is so good. Oh and of course I want my youngers to read all books for their ages as well. So now I am doing two complete history, geography, Bible curriculums. Aaaaaagh. So after that super long intro to my problem help me decide how to make this work. I paid a small fortune for MFW so I cannot totally chuck it. I also have most of the SCM resources. I would only need Stories of America 1. So here are my main questions.
1. Which do you all like better, Story of the World or Stories of America/Nations
2. Should I stay with MFW and just ignore all the good SCM books or
3 should I basically use SCM and pull in the MFW resources we like
4. Does some very wise and experienced homeschooler have the perfect plan which I havent considered.
you would think after 9 years of homeschooling I would know what I am doing….
Thanks for the help,
Crystal
Crystal,
I am not a seasoned homeschooling Mom.. BUT, I am very much in the headspace of thinking through best options for curriculum.. and streamlining as much as possible with 6 little ones. I can totally relate to the head spinning pace of certain curriculums and things not lining up perfectly being really hard to deal with. (I really want everything to line up nice and tidy ;)) I have recently made a switch to mostly SCM curriculum and was feeling frustrated that being 12 weeks into my year nothing would line up perfectly. In the end simplifying is winning out for me. SCM does such a beautiful job of keeping the integrity of what is being taught in a simple way. My hope is that I can lean into it and place my creative energy into other activities (hopefully with my kids). I am going to use SCM as my core for History, Bible, Geography, Science, Grammar/Spelling, Art, Poetry, hymns.. even Math for my K/1 student!.. and pull in other books and things I already have on hand as extras. I was exhausting myself trying to think through piecing together a bunch of resources. So, simplifying and streamlining is winning out for me.
I know this doesn’t exactly answer your questions.. but, I do hope that you hear that you are not alone! It may help you to do as I just decided to do and commit (even though it doesn’t line up perfectly) and keep it simple.
It sounds like going with SCM and pulling in other resources as needed might be a good option for you.. you seem to know what is really working and what’s not. Go with your gut! ;).
Blessings to you! (will be praying you find clarity and peace!)
Katrina
I would stick with SCM and add in what you’d like to include. That is what I do with BF. And if you stick with MFW, it’s ok to skip some of the lessons. I don’t do everything BF has and I add somethings that they don’t focus enough on. Feel free to come off the lesson plans, skip things, add things, or just slow down.
Paula
Thanks for all your input. I made a decision. Drumroll please… I am going to commit to the SCM Early Modern. I will go through My Fathers World and use any resources, worksheet, craft ideas I like and then put it away. And come summer I will gather ALL my unused or grown out of curriculum and sell it on Ebay. I should be able to take the while family on a cruise with the proceeds. The SCM 6 year cycle will get both my boys the highschool credits they need, but my daughter will need an American history since she wont cycle back through Early Modern/Modern. Any ideas on how to do that. Should I have her read through the booklists over four years alongside the Ancient stuff? Any ideas?
I would not worry about the highschool American History credit yet, wait until it gets closer. I have realized I can plan years a head but sometimes things change or we want to study something else.
We love SCM history guides in our house!
Here’s the thing. There are a LOT of absolutely awesome options. The more you look, the more you’ll feel like your kids will be missing out if you don’t add something. It’s not true.
Given what you’ve said about your style and family, I’d go with SCM and just read a few of the MFW books that you love. That keeps everyone together and isn’t an overwhelming amount of material that you can’t get through in a year.
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