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Hi all! I'm new here and very confused! I have been browsing the forums like a mad woman trying to absorb everything everyone has said and yet I remain confused.

First, I have been doing AdvMFW with my son this year. There is a lot I like about MFW but there is also a lot that just didn't "flow" as I'd like for my curriculum to do. Over the past year I seem to have had an inner struggle with MFW just not blending with our personalities. (Almost as if I've been trying to fit a square peg into a circle.) Anyway so I've begun researching alternatives and found HOD!! After reading the information on the website...I instantly felt a positive pull towards this curriculum.

So...my son has done very well and honestly has retained quite a bit more than what I expected this past year in doing MFW. He does surprisingly well in math and reading and is an exceptional speller. However, he does not write cursive. As a matter of fact, he hates to write at all...but this could be due to an eye condition which causes him to see doubles. He's had some very basic grammar (nouns, verbs, adjectives) but nothing formal. My original thought was to put him in Preparing but then after reading the boards found the suggestion to go into Bigger instead?? I'm not oppossed to doing another year of American History however my concern is that after reading several posts it seems a lot of the hands-on activities in Bigger are very similiar to those we did in Adventures. Can anyone shed some light on this?? I've read where someone said, Bigger is like "expanding rather than overlapping" with Adv but if the majority of the topics are the same and the activities are similiar wouldn't that be sort of boring for my son??

I appreciate your all of your thoughts...I have been pondering this for almost 2 weeks now. Oh and I have looked at the placement charts but still can't seem to figure which to go with.

Blessings,
Natreez

Natreez,
'If your child enjoyed American history, then by all means do it again. It will be presented to him in a fresh new way. While the basic story line obviously stays the same, different characters and places will be read about and taught.
The readers and read alouds are going to give such a realness to the time period.

I used MFW for three years and enjoyed it but, I feel HOD does a better job of making the time period come alive and real....and that is just from reading the teacher's guide and looking over the books! I cant wait to use it in the fall!!

Even though we finished Creation to Greeks last month, I intend on doing "Preparing" with her in two years for the same reason....a fresher, more real presentation of the time period.

Ruth

I am in the same boat here. We did MFW K, 1st, Adventures, also SL K and Core 1. I love all the books in SL, but I feel Bible is just tacked on, and the schedule makes me nuts, it is too hectic and too much. I don't want to do SL again, and I don't want to do ECC, CTG or RTR of MFW either. There is Biblical reading that coincides with the historical time period in MFW, but what seems missing is the application of God's word to OUR lives, getting to our children's hearts (and did I mention mine?). This is what draws me to HOD. Also, it is a true unit study, linking history, Bible, character, science, art all together, and all to recognizing how God's word is meant to touch our hearts, a personalization. I digress.

My question is this. We have covered the time period of creation to the greeks, several times (using SL 1, MFW 1st and Mystery of History). We just completed that, and I would like to move on.....but the options in HOD for us are either BIGGER (american history) or PREPARING. Preparing would be a better fit, I don't mind going over the ancients again and continuing on in a broad overview. But to stop where we have, and then go into American history again seems really odd to me.
What should I do? I want to start now, and I have most of BIGGER ready to go. If Preparing were out, I would buy it and start that and it would be PERFECT. So....should I bide my time and wait until aug for preparing, or should I dive in with Bigger since it is available and I can start now?
My son could really fit in either. As far as the math and LA, I would say he is closer to the Preparing level. He is advanced.
Does Carrie ever release her new products in stages? I know TOG did this....so I could begin Preparing even if it isnt finished?
What to do?!?!

Natreez wrote:Anyway so I've begun researching alternatives and found HOD!! After reading the information on the website...I instantly felt a positive pull towards this curriculum.

So...my son has done very well and honestly has retained quite a bit more than what I expected this past year in doing MFW. He does surprisingly well in math and reading and is an exceptional speller. However, he does not write cursive. As a matter of fact, he hates to write at all...but this could be due to an eye condition which causes him to see doubles. He's had some very basic grammar (nouns, verbs, adjectives) but nothing formal. My original thought was to put him in Preparing but then after reading the boards found the suggestion to go into Bigger instead?? I'm not oppossed to doing another year of American History however my concern is that after reading several posts it seems a lot of the hands-on activities in Bigger are very similiar to those we did in Adventures. Can anyone shed some light on this?? I've read where someone said, Bigger is like "expanding rather than overlapping" with Adv but if the majority of the topics are the same and the activities are similiar wouldn't that be sort of boring for my son??

Blessings,
Natreez

Welcome to the board Natreez! I'm so glad you have felt the positive pull of HOD, and I know that you are going to love it no matter where your child places. Could I ask you a few questions?
1. How old is your son?
2. Does your son print well - is cursive the concern, or just writing in general?

After you get a bit to share your thoughts on those 2 questions, I'll be sure to get back to you - and I know others will too!

As far as the math and reading, HOD offers many choices there, and I'm confident either program would work well with that. As far as the spelling, that will be harder in Preparing than in Bigger... A spelling list is given in Bigger..., and then the harder level of spelling is covered with dictation and copywork. We've done the dictation and copywork this year with Bigger..., and it has done more to further my son's spelling level than anything else we have done. In Preparing..., there will be 2 levels of dictation (and copywork of Robert Louis Stevenson's poetry), so that would be a higher level of difficulty than Bigger...

As far as repeating the time period, I wouldn't worry about it. I agree with what the pp's have said - it will be done in an engaging and exciting new way. I'll check back later - can't wait to here more from you!

In Christ,
Julie

lovetobehome wrote:I love all the books in SL, but I feel Bible is just tacked on, and the schedule makes me nuts, it is too hectic and too much. There is Biblical reading that coincides with the historical time period in MFW, but what seems missing is the application of God's word to OUR lives, getting to our children's hearts (and did I mention mine?). This is what draws me to HOD. Also, it is a true unit study, linking history, Bible, character, science, art all together, and all to recognizing how God's word is meant to touch our hearts, a personalization.

Good morning! I just wanted to comment on this portion of your post - I COMPLETELY agree with you!!! HOD is cultivating a love for the Lord in my dc's hearts, and mine as well! I love that Bible is a natural part of so many facets of HOD's programs. It's not tacked on - it's woven through it all, and because of it, it's not a "tacked on" part of my children's lives either - it's woven through their entire approach to their day. Thanks for sharing, and I'm pondering the rest of your post. I'll think on it a bit and post later. Have a wonderful day!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you for the welcome. Julie, to answer your questions my son is 8yrs old. This past year has been our first year homeschooling- second grade. As for writing...basically, he's very sloppy. The difficulty he has is that because he basically has blurred/double vision--- the lines jump all over the page. We've just begun vision therapy but in the meantime, I've tried to adjust his lessons to minimize the amount of writing he has. I do require some minimal writing daily but not to much that it would overwhelm him. We do a lot orally especially if he's having a bad day.

I guess I didn't clarify my thoughts to well so hopefully I'l do a better job this time...I'm not really concerned about "doing" Am. History again however my concern is more about the scheduled "activities" for Bigger compared to AdvMFW. After looking around on the boards, it appears that many of the activities are the same. I think I'm looking to hear from someone who has actual experience doing AdvMFW that has switched to Bigger to tell me whether there is enough of a difference in Bigger's activities so that it doesn't seem to my son as if we are doing basically the same thing over again.

Also, correct me if I'm misunderstanding but Bigger is a "biographical" view of Am History and Adv MFW was more a biographical overview and this is what it was like during this time period or this is what happened in this event. I think my son would enjoy getting to dig deeper into the biographical aspect of various characters from history.

I'm not to concerned at this point about spelling and reading as he seems to be a natural speller/reader, or with writing as I have to alter this to fit his vision situation. Also, if I understand correctly, I think I can do DITHOR 2/3 with either Bigger or Preparing so that won't matter either. For math we began the year in Singapore but he just coudn't do the mental portion of it, so we slowed things down and started over in Horizons giving lots of focus to addition and subtraction math facts. (According to the PS he knew these but I came to realize he did not.) However, recently I've noticed him actually "getting it" and doing the mental math so we recently have ventured back into Singapore 2A which I intend to continue through the summer and hopefully be able to pick up in either 2B or 3A in the Fall. (Math has been his weakest area.)

So I guess what it boils down to is by doing Bigger will I have to come up with my own activities to keep Am History fresh for him or are the activities varied enough from Adventures that I won't have to worry about it??

Also, I agree with everyone else about the Biblical application of HOD. I absolutely love that it seems to speak to me and I believe will speak to my son's heart as well.

Whew! Sorry this is so long...but hopefully it gives enough information that you wonderful ladies will be able to help me. Thank you all so much for trying to help me work through this...it can be sooooo frustrating!!

Blessings,
Natreez ;-D

Hi there! Well, I used MFW Adv a couple years ago, and I have looked through BIGGER over the past week. I don't think anyone would be bored, and I don't think they are similar in terms of activities. What I remember most of Adv was the states....doing those worksheets each day for every state. I have our portfolio from Adv and I think it looks a lot different than Bigger. I don't think it will be a problem at all for you! Especially if you are content to do that time period again, I see no problem. The readings are different, and I see character traits being highlighted in Bigger. So you look at the accomplishments of the various players, their character and motivations, and how that matches up with how God would have us be. I love that so much!

Hi, Natreez! Welcome! I can speak to this issue somewhat. We did MFW ADV before doing MFW ECC. We are planning to use Bigger this summer with my twin 8 yos and using the Extension Pack with my 10 yo. I have not actually used Bigger yet, but I do have the manual and have looked through it quite a bit. I'm not at all concerned about duplicate activities or books or anything else. I feel that this will be a totally fresh look at American History. We really can't wait to get started! It does sound like Bigger is a perfect fit for your son. I hope to see you around!

Hi Natreez!

I'm no help in answering your questions...but I do have an 8 y/o that will be doing Bigger this year. I am really excited about our school year! Sorry that I can't help, but I did want to welcome you to the board. I have learned a lot from the ladies here!

Kathleen

Natreez wrote:Thank you for the welcome. Julie, to answer your questions my son is 8yrs old. This past year has been our first year homeschooling- second grade. As for writing...basically, he's very sloppy. The difficulty he has is that because he basically has blurred/double vision--- the lines jump all over the page. We've just begun vision therapy but in the meantime, I've tried to adjust his lessons to minimize the amount of writing he has. I do require some minimal writing daily but not to much that it would overwhelm him. We do a lot orally especially if he's having a bad day.

I guess I didn't clarify my thoughts to well so hopefully I'l do a better job this time...I'm not really concerned about "doing" Am. History again however my concern is more about the scheduled "activities" for Bigger compared to AdvMFW. After looking around on the boards, it appears that many of the activities are the same. I think I'm looking to hear from someone who has actual experience doing AdvMFW that has switched to Bigger to tell me whether there is enough of a difference in Bigger's activities so that it doesn't seem to my son as if we are doing basically the same thing over again.

Also, correct me if I'm misunderstanding but Bigger is a "biographical" view of Am History and Adv MFW was more a biographical overview and this is what it was like during this time period or this is what happened in this event. I think my son would enjoy getting to dig deeper into the biographical aspect of various characters from history.

I'm not to concerned at this point about spelling and reading as he seems to be a natural speller/reader, or with writing as I have to alter this to fit his vision situation. Also, if I understand correctly, I think I can do DITHOR 2/3 with either Bigger or Preparing so that won't matter either. For math we began the year in Singapore but he just coudn't do the mental portion of it, so we slowed things down and started over in Horizons giving lots of focus to addition and subtraction math facts. (According to the PS he knew these but I came to realize he did not.) However, recently I've noticed him actually "getting it" and doing the mental math so we recently have ventured back into Singapore 2A which I intend to continue through the summer and hopefully be able to pick up in either 2B or 3A in the Fall. (Math has been his weakest area.)

So I guess what it boils down to is by doing Bigger will I have to come up with my own activities to keep Am History fresh for him or are the activities varied enough from Adventures that I won't have to worry about it??

Also, I agree with everyone else about the Biblical application of HOD. I absolutely love that it seems to speak to me and I believe will speak to my son's heart as well.

Whew! Sorry this is so long...but hopefully it gives enough information that you wonderful ladies will be able to help me. Thank you all so much for trying to help me work through this...it can be sooooo frustrating!!

Blessings,
Natreez ;-D

Thanks for explaining that Natreez, and I agree with the pp's that Bigger... sounds like a great fit! They did such a nice job of comparing MFW and Bigger... I haven't used MFW, but it's been a topic of many threads as of late, and I'll post some of those links here for you to read:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=606

http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/forums ... x?id=29960

http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=578 <http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/view ... ht=hod+mfw>

http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=242

http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=250

I think that these posts show that Bigger... will offer fresh ideas for your ds, and that he will most certainly enjoy it and find it new and exciting!

You can use DITHR Level 2/3 and whatever Singapore Levels you feel are appropriate with either Bigger... or Preparing... There is more writing in Preparing though, so I feel in my heart that you'd be happiest with Bigger... for a fit. You can easily make whatever parts of Bigger... you need to be more oral. For example, we do almost all of R & S English 2 orally and choose just a small part to write.

You could just copy as much of the poetry as you felt you wanted to have him do - or none and just have him learning to appreciate poetry, and he could just put his writing into his notebooking. Carrie has great suggestions for altering the notebooking to contain less writing in the guide already though too (such as photocopying portions of it and gluing it, etc.). I believe Preparing... will have more writing in it since the goal is to continue moving children to be more independent.

I think that Bigger... does an excellent job of getting children ready for Preparing..., and many of the skills taught there are built upon. Due to your child being 8 yo, I really think you'd be thrilled with Bigger... We did it with our son this year, and he's 8. He's had just an awesome year, and I'm sure you and your ds would too.

So glad you are here, and praying your ds's vision continues to improve! My oldest ds had speech difficulties (having been born very premature), but he really does well now overall. Still some things he mispronounces, but the Lord does wonders I'm so thankful for! I know He'll hold your son's hand through his training too.

In Christ,
Julie

lovetobehome wrote: My question is this. We have covered the time period of creation to the greeks, several times (using SL 1, MFW 1st and Mystery of History). We just completed that, and I would like to move on.....but the options in HOD for us are either BIGGER (american history) or PREPARING. Preparing would be a better fit, I don't mind going over the ancients again and continuing on in a broad overview. But to stop where we have, and then go into American history again seems really odd to me.
What should I do? I want to start now, and I have most of BIGGER ready to go. If Preparing were out, I would buy it and start that and it would be PERFECT. So....should I bide my time and wait until aug for preparing, or should I dive in with Bigger since it is available and I can start now?
My son could really fit in either. As far as the math and LA, I would say he is closer to the Preparing level. He is advanced.
Does Carrie ever release her new products in stages? I know TOG did this....so I could begin Preparing even if it isnt finished?
What to do?!?!

Hi there! O.k - got a few questions for you:
1. How old is your son?
2. How badly do you want to begin now?
3. If you began Bigger... now, would you be doing it through the summer, and then begin Preparing... after that? Would you be doing Bigger... 5 days a week if you started it now? It is a 5 day a week plan, and Preparing... is a 4 day a week plan.
4. Estimating how long you think it would take you to complete Bigger..., are you o.k. starting Preparing... after that?

The LA and math is very flexible, either way. The programs are intentionally written to let you make these the right level for your dc. So, you could have your ds do whatever level of DITHR was appropriate for reading, and choose whatever books are advanced enough to comfortably fit his reading level. You could also choose to do any Level of R & S English for the grammar. R & S English 2 is planned out in the Bigger... guide at about a lesson a day, for 5 days a week, so doing that with R & S English 3 or 4 at that pace would probably work just fine as well. You'd want him to do the dictation level of spelling. The classic poetry lessons in Bigger... are wonderful and would be advanced enough.

As far as the math, both Singapore 2A/2B and 3A/3B are scheduled out in the Bigger... guide. 2A/2B is in the boxed daily math part, and has some great hands-on lessons with it. 3A/3B is scheduled in the Appendix. Either would work just fine!

Does this help at all? What other questions do you have? What are your thoughts now?

In Christ,
Julie

Hi Julie, first let me just say how sweet you are to answer so personally and take the time to try to get the details to really help me evaluate!
My son is 8. He is a first child, and advanced as I guess a lot of our firsts are! He is reading the Narnia books, he reads one a day or more if I would let him. He loves, loves to read, begs to get at my bookshelves! His spelling is very advanced, too---I give him 25 new words from Sequential Spelling each day, and he rarely misses any. He is done with LLATL Yellow for LA. He is halfway through Saxon 3, we have used BJU math, MUS, and now Saxon, just for variety and learning the basics really well from different angles. His comprehension is a whole lot better than mine, he is pretty bright. He has nice handwriting, and can do cursive, just learning it but no problems writing any words I give him in beautiful cursive. He is very artistically gifted. But, I have never really worked on writing/composition a lot. I want to develop that, but I never wanted to push as I read boys are slow and to just let that wait a bit.

I plan to keep using Saxon. I am open to using R&S, and just ordered levels 3 and 4 to see where he falls.

I don't think I can wait until fall to start! So I think I have to start with Bigger now, and go through the summer.....I want to write more, but I have to get off the computer, so I will continue this post later....
THANKS!!!

lovetobehome wrote:Hi Julie, first let me just say how sweet you are to answer so personally and take the time to try to get the details to really help me evaluate!
My son is 8. He is a first child, and advanced as I guess a lot of our firsts are! He is reading the Narnia books, he reads one a day or more if I would let him. He loves, loves to read, begs to get at my bookshelves! His spelling is very advanced, too---I give him 25 new words from Sequential Spelling each day, and he rarely misses any. He is done with LLATL Yellow for LA. He is halfway through Saxon 3, we have used BJU math, MUS, and now Saxon, just for variety and learning the basics really well from different angles. His comprehension is a whole lot better than mine, he is pretty bright. He has nice handwriting, and can do cursive, just learning it but no problems writing any words I give him in beautiful cursive. He is very artistically gifted. But, I have never really worked on writing/composition a lot. I want to develop that, but I never wanted to push as I read boys are slow and to just let that wait a bit.

I plan to keep using Saxon. I am open to using R&S, and just ordered levels 3 and 4 to see where he falls.

I don't think I can wait until fall to start! So I think I have to start with Bigger now, and go through the summer.....I want to write more, but I have to get off the computer, so I will continue this post later....
THANKS!!!

Glad to help, and you have one amazing 8 yo!!! That's very exciting, and he sounds like he loves learning so much - what a gift! I think you'll have a wonderful time with Bigger..., and he sounds ready for Preparing... too. I know how it is when you are wanting to start... there's just no waiting then - it's like going to a pet store just to "look" into buying a dog - there's no way you're walking out of that pet store without a dog! I'm so glad you've decided to begin. Why wait and tread water when you've got what you need to jump in?

I'm sure you're planning on skipping the introductory cursive in Bigger... You may want to have him copy his classic poetry in cursive instead of print, since that's a way to expand upon his already lovely cursive writing. Also, I think the 2 of you will LOVE doing DITHR together! I always feel like I'm at a wonderful book club with my ds doing DITHR, and the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy questions are a nice touch. Reading from all of the genres is so important too, and the kick-offs and projects teach a lot more about the genres and are just plain fun too! Please be sure to share your journey with us - love to celebrate successes together!

In Christ,
Julie

Hello!

I am in the same boat as you. We have just wrapped up our year using MFW Adventures this year. I, like you, have decided that HOD will be a much better fit for our family than MFW. I will be using Bigger next year with some of the extension pkg. for my soon-to-be 9yo rising 3rd grade ds.

There are a couple of reasons I chose to go with Bigger. First of all, MFW Adventures was a very broad overview of American history without going into much depth. And I feel that the resources used in Adventures and its scope and sequence seemed to more closely line up with Beyond Little Hearts than Bigger Hearts. For us, Bigger seemed like a logical next step to expand and go deeper into American History. I have read through the manual extensively, and I did not notice repeat activities from Adventures. Quite the opposite! There are many, many fun, purposeful and engaging activities scheduled. (I really felt like some of the MFW activities were a bit "twaddly.") As I read the manual, I got very excited seeing all of the new people we are going to learn about and how everything ties together so beautifully in this program! I am glad I chose to go with Bigger b/c I would not want my ds to miss out on this great program!

I also chose Bigger b/c my son also complains about writing (must be a boy thing ), and there is a fair amount of writing in Bigger. I want him to get used to writing more each day in order to get him ready for the work required in Preparing.

And lastly, starting with Bigger allows Carrie to stay a year ahead of you with her writing and you know that Preparing will be ready and waiting for you the following year. Think of all those moms who use Preparing this year, and how they will be drooling all next spring and summer having to wait for the next manual!

So all that to say that I think MFW Adventures is more comparable to Beyond Little Hearts than it is to Bigger Hearts, and I think you will like what you see!

Good luck!

Just wanted to say thank you all for taking the time to actually go through your portfolios and teacher guides to help answer my questions. I really appreciate everyone's help. I think we are going to go ahead with Bigger. Now I have to figure out what to order!

Thanks again!!
Natreez