Posted by Donna T. on 19:27 Jul 4
In Reply to: sonlight vs. my father's world posted by Jennifer
My oldest son used SL K (now called C) for K. I supplemented this with some of MFW K but ended up dropping MFW K. We finished all of SL K and loved it. He then started Core 1, we only made it a few weeks, and I switched back to MFW for First Grade. For second grade, I tried Core 1 again, and switched back to MFW for Adventures in MFW.
For my youngest, we started out with MFW K. He has used about half of it. I recently started him with SL K and he greatly prefers it to MFW K, as did my first son. I do plan to continue the phonics and math from MFW K. We will do some of the activities but we're full speed ahead with SL K now, so I don't know what we will be able to fit in. I do plan to use MFW First Grade with him in the future.
Some things to consider:
With MFW, there is not as much content in the package. You add content to your lessons with library books (or you could of course make purchases elsewhere) that are referenced in the book lists in the TM. The book lists, especially starting in Adventures (2nd or 3rd grade) are quite lengthy. You don't have to use the books they list as long as you can find something else on the topics being covered. There is alot of flexibility here as you make your own choices. With MFW, you are reading to your child alot at this age, but not as much as SL. And, the lessons are not just centered on the books. The TMs contains lessons written by Marie Hazell and you mostly use your books to flesh out the lessons. Some of the lessons are hands-on but they are simple and not at all tedious.
With SL, you get so many books, you won't need anymore unless you just can't help yourself. No trips to the library are necessary. The lessons are focused on the content within the books themselves. The main "mode" of instruction is dialogue with the student... reading, discussing, reading some more. Not as many activities with SL but the books at the K and First Grade levels do have alot of activities in them... so, no activities in your Instructor's Guide, really, but you won't have any problem coming up with things to do it you want to.
MFW is a unit study. The packages are fairly complete other than the supplemental reading that you get through the library books. As much as possible, the science, bible, and history lessons are quite integrated. This gives the overall program a nice feeling of cohesiveness. Though you do have the flexibility with choosing your own extra books to read, there is a structured feeling to the program.
SL is more of a component program. None of the components (Bible, History, Science) are really dependent on one another. If we want to read a week's worth of history in one sitting and skip science for the day, it still works fine. With MFW, there is more of a "schoolish" feeling to it... you really need to stick to the schedule more closely than with SL... atleast that has been my impression.
The science in MFW is very light, in my opinion. And, because my oldest son is accelerated in this area, he hasn't learned anything from any of the science we have done with MFW. We enjoy it and we do most of it, but he hasn't really learned anything. It's fine though because he makes up for it on his own. It is nice to have a curriculum that does not burn him out so that he takes alot of inituitive in this area. The science lessons so far have been very basic and easy to do.
SL science is alot more fun for us. We enjoy the DVDs, the science kits, and the experiments. It's a heavier program and I get tired of keeping up with it sometimes. I could see myself burning out quicker with it but my boys can not get enough of it. They wake up asking to get started and we are supposed to be taking a short summer break.
I may try a SL Core again with my older son. He will complete Adventures this fall since we got a late start last year. He is also doing the SL Science in addition to MFW. I don't plan to start him in another MFW "year" in January. I found out that I really prefer to start in August. So, we will have this spring to do some other things... and, I will most likely have him pick up where he left off with Core 1.
For me, it has come down to the scope and sequence. My son didn't do well with learning Ancient History at six or seven. He LOVED the read alouds and the Bible readings. We ended up doing most of Core 1 anyways, so we just have the history to pick back up. Now, he is ready and I know it won't be a problem. He needed those tender years to be nourished in God's Word and learn more about Jesus. MFW is all about God, His Word, and His Only Begotten Son.
I'm glad he has a basic understanding of American History and has had ALOT of Biblical instruction. Now, I feel like he can move ahead with SL, should we choose to do that, without a problem. But, it just wasn't the time before.