Name: Spreading the Feast Gathering
Start: 2025-07-11T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-07-12T23:59:59-05:00
Location: LaGrange, KY

This topic has 9 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 3 months ago by Suzq.

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

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February 22, 2011 at 3:52 pm
csmamma
Participant
Its that time of year again (cabin fever here in Michigan) & I’ve been contemplating my oldest ds’s highschool schedule. He’s in 9th grade now; I can’t believe how fast the year is flying by. My ds loves to be independant in his studies & I’ve been looking at two curriculums that he might enjoy – Notgrass Exploring World/America and My Fathers World Highschool. Both of these include Bible, History & English credits and are designed to be done independantly by the student, even including lots of living books. This would save me lots of planning time to focus on my younger dc and prepare my highschooler for college. All I would need to add is Math, Science & Foreign Language to these programs. I’d love to hear your thoughts and/or experience with either of these for highschool. Thanks~ Heather
February 22, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Betty Dickerson
Participant
I’ve been considering Notgrass’s World history for my soon to be 10th grader. I have not looked at the MFW for high school. I will take a look at it. I do like the book choices for Notgrass’s class. I can’t wait to hear from others!
Blessings, Betty
February 22, 2011 at 3:59 pm
csmamma
Participant
Betty, please do look at MFW Highschool and tell me what you think. They seem to have many similarities, infact MFW uses Notgrass in their World History program designed for 10th grade. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts once you take a look.
February 22, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Betty Dickerson
Participant
I hopped over to MFW and noticed that price is a big difference between the two. I also don’t care for some of the book choices in the MFW. I think with just the Notgrass and then adding in any other books from AO, that my daughter’s 10th grade will be full enough. The MFW seems like it’s got too much, and quite a bit of busywork. Although I really like the World History Map Activities book (I might add that to Notgrass).
That said, we will be doing either an IEW co-op next year or maybe a different writing class online. We hope to do Notgrass, along with some AO selections, Apologia Chemistry, and Spanish, and Driver’s Ed so I think our schedule will be full enough. I hope this is helpful in some way.

February 22, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Suzq
Participant
My son is using the MFW first year high school right now. It includes the Notgrass but MFW does not schedule every book that Notgrass does. It has been nice to just give the guide to my son and let him go. He has enjoyed the independence of that as well. As with all curriculums there are things to like and dislike. This first year is focused on reading the whole Old Testament. It has a schedule for the parent to do it along with the student if you can keep up. 🙂 He also had to read some of Bullfinch’s Greek Mytholgy and right now is in the midst of reading the Iliad. There is not a lot of other literature scheduled because of all that reading. The schedule enters the Notgrass where appropriate to coincide with the Bible reading the student is doing. The first year focuses on the argumentative essay. We have used and liked IEW so my son has been able to use his knowledge from that to write his essays. I didn’t really care for the way the guide taught the essay so we intertwined our knowledge from IEW with it. I can’t really speak to the 2nd year high school of MFW but it also includes the Notgrass. I don’t believe we will be even half way in that text at the end of this year. All in all, it has been a good year for us. I am not certain that we would have accomplished as much as we are if it was me figuring out the assignments. We need the guide to push us along. Some people don’t need that and that’s ok too.
Let me know if you have other questions and Heather– you are welcome to look at our guide sometime. We could meet or something. I know we live across the county from each other.

Blessings,
Suzq
February 22, 2011 at 8:59 pm
csmamma
Participant
Thanks Betty. Its not the norm for us to use an all-in-one curriculum package, but these seem like a nice approach for those last few years of highschool. In looking further I, too, think Notgrass would be enough. What draws me to MFW Highschool, are all the Biblical Worldview resources in the curriculum, particularly in 11th grade. Guess I’ll contine to weigh pro-s and con-s of each. Thanks again!
Another question – We’ve only read a few of the literature selections in Notgrass recommended for 10th & 11th grade. Has anyone read the following and like to share your thoughts on any these titles – why you would or would not recommend them?
Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis)
The Cat of Bubastes (G.A. Henty)
Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare)
The Imitation of Christ (Thomas à Kempis)
Here I Stand (Roland Bainton)
Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan)
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
Eric Liddell: Pure Gold (David McCasland)
The Hiding Place (Corrie Ten Boom)
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
The Abolition of Man (C.S. Lewis)
The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne)
Narrative of the Life of David Crockett (Crockett)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Douglass)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Stowe)
Co. Aytch (Watkins)
Little Women (Alcott)
Humorous Stories and Sketches (Twain)
In His Steps (Sheldon)
Up From Slavery (Washington)
Mama’s Bank Account (Forbes)
Christy (Marshall)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)
The Giver (Lowry)
I appreciate any feedback!
Thanks,Heather
February 22, 2011 at 9:06 pm
csmamma
Participant
Suzq, thanks for your response. I had not seen it before I posted the last one. A couple questions…
- Is your son enjoying MfW and able to keep up with the schedule. Approximatly how long does it take him each day?
- Is there much on your part, that you need to do?
- Why do you prefer to use MFW over just Notgrass alone?
I’m sure I’ll have many more questions. It sounds like a great idea for us to meet sometime. ~ Heather
February 23, 2011 at 9:38 pm
Suzq
Participant
Is your son enjoying MfW and able to keep up with the schedule. Approximatly how long does it take him each day?
My son would say “He doesn’t usually enjoy school.” That’s my boy. He is, however, able to keep up with schedule. He likes to read in the am. So He spends the first couple of hours of his day reading all that is assigned and answering any of the questions that are assigned. I would say he works on MFW stuff for 2-3 hours each day except Wednesday. After that he works on math and chemistry. Wednesday is band and choir day. He does catch-up work on Wed. afternoon.
Is there much on your part, that you need to do?
No there is not that much that I need to do. It is expected that the parent have a meeting time once a week to go over the answers to the questions in the Bible Study and any other assignments of the week. I use Home school Tracker and go over that once a week too. I do try to keep up with the Bible readings that he is doing. MFW makes a schedule for the parent. Sadly I am behind right now,maybe by a week or so. My friend, who is also using MFW AHL, has her husband doing the Bible Study with her son. I think that is a neat thing for father and son to do together.
Why do you prefer to use MFW over just Notgrass alone?
Well I really hadn’t studied up on the Notgrass before I purchased MFW AHL. So it wasn’t a matter of preferring one over the other. We have been using MFW for several years now and I wanted to try out this high school material. I have enjoyed not having to plan out everything for my son. There are times that I think it would be better if we didn’t have the guide but I really think we do better in our family with someone else telling us what to do. I have to say that when reading this forum I think it is wonderful how the other families seem so organized and able to accomplish and decide what to read, write, narrate, and how much of everything each child should do. But I am weak in decision making and often want to do it all. Then we quickly become overwhelmed. The MFW guide keeps us grounded and we move forward. We have had our rabbit trails in the past too.
You could use just the Notgrass and then their guide for literature, etc. It is just different. You would have to plan more yourself then. I do have a friend that does it this way and it seems to work well for their family. I just like the way MFW put it altogether for us. Last summer I started figuring out what we would read and it looked so similar to MFW, I thought I may as well try their plan. MFW does not use every lit. book that Notgrass does. They have the student do the Bible Study question and the review questions but not the quiz and exam book. They add some other historical reading from other textbooks as well. I suppose that is why it costs so much more.
From that list of lit that you wrote up — my son had to read The Cat of Bubastes this year. Last year when we were studying 1850-Modern times he read The Hiding Place, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and To Kill a Mockingbird
We decided against Up From Slavery — too difficult at the time and Christi — mature theme he wasn’t ready for at that time.
He has also read Pilgrim’s Progress, Little Women, and Eric Liddell(a differnt author though) in other years.
It looks like a great high school reading list though. I pray God will guide you as you make decisons for the fall. I hope I have been some help to you. I feel like I rambled on a bit too much.
Blessings
Suzq

February 23, 2011 at 9:52 pm
csmamma
Participant
Dear Suzq, you did not ramble, but were of much help! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions so thoroughly. I’m very interested and would still be happy to visit sometime :). If you don’t mind, I may PM if further questions arise. Appreciative, Heather
February 24, 2011 at 3:22 am
Suzq
Participant
Certainly Heather, PM me anytime with questions.

Suzq