MFW or HOD???

[mammabear5]

I am looking for a curriculum to use with my third grader next year. I am torn between MFW and HOD. I have looked at the sample lessons for both and I don't know which would be better for her. Has anyone who has used both give me their opinion on them? Also has anyone bought two curriculums to see them in person before they decided on one? I am thinking this may be the best way to see which will work better. Thanks

[holyhart]

This is an old thread that might help you.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1331

[wcoffey]

I have the same question too! Right now I am torn between HOD and MFW. I actually have seen both and I like both. But i was talking to a friend today and she reminded me that MFW does not use all Bible based books. Where HOD is very Bible based and is a more put together unit study. After looking at MFW I noticed that i can take out most of what they suggest to teach that is not related to eachother like a unit study. But I am left with less then half of what they suggest. Where HOD is all incorporated and does not take that much time so if you want to add something you can. I compared them and HOD is worth every penny and MFW is worth less than what you will pay for. Also HOD is much cheaper. I guess the questions we should ask ourselves is... What do I want my children to know and in what order? (I say this because HOD goes from American History backwards to Creation, and MFW starts with creation and moves forward. Many people say that children do better in American History for their early stages of learning and then you can move into different eras.) Do I want all subjects to relate to eachother?(i.e. unit study) And how much do I want to invest in it? I am very interested in what others will say. Great question!

[Mom2Monkeys]

I've used both! I've used MFW Pre-K, K, 1st, ECC...I'm am a forever HODie now! LOL I've used LHTH and Beyond, started Little Hearts today and will start Bigger next week.

I've got several reasons why...
I will just say that I burned out quickly with MFW with the way it's laid out, and the fact there is so much tweaking for the younger crowd since the aim is for older students once you get past 1st/2nd grade and into the "cycle" even though it says it's for 2nd - 8th grades...no leading to independence and math and LA are not scheduled for you (they only say do math or do english or do spelling, etc.) I am so much happier with the content, planning, design, and everythign about HOD that I'm planning on staying with HOD all the way! If HOD doesn't do high school, I'll probably use MFW high school then. That's when MFW kids start their independent learning, but HOD kids will transition easily b/c they've been working up to it more and more each year.
Oh, the guide is labeled as "Week #, Day #" and in ECC, it had Monday, Tues...Friday at the top and is in a grid format, all teaching notes on separate pages...HOD is labeled as "Unit #, Day #" and is laid out with a day's worth of plans in a 2 page spread....all notes and even the learning objective is laid out for you! I always felt behind in MFW b/c I might be on Day 4 on Monday but it says it's Thursday. The flow was messed up if I didnt' start Day 1 of each week on Monday. In HOD, I'm never on Day 1 of a unit on Monday and the flow is always still flowing just fine

I personally like the book choices better in HOD as well as the grammar, writing, and math choices for all levels in HOD compared to MFW. I prefer the activities in HOD b/c they really do call for things I have on hand! MFW many times called for unusual things...a certain size pipe or board or even a special kind of bees wax. Needless to say, many hands on things were skipped!

I do think MFW is pretty solid and a great fit for some families, but all in all, I have to say I think HOD is PERFECT! LOL I'm trying my best to not be too biased. I think everyone should use HOD! hehehehehehehe I dont' want to sound like I'm bad mouthing MFW, but it wasn't a good fit for us at all.

Are you considering Adventures or ECC for your 3rd grader? My very advanced 2nd grader strongly disliked ECC It is so aimed for 5th and higher, maybe 4th...it bored her to tears. We could never finish 1 days work in 1 day and then I had to plan my math, spelling , and english! Plus take all those trips to the library to find all the books! We have LOVED HOD and how everything is just there, planned and laid out for me, with no need to go to the library other than for pleasure reading.

Me and my long, incoherent posts...I can never find a good straight stretch of time to post uninterrupted! LOL Hope it's at least a little clear to you

[MamaMary]

I started off with MFW and also made the switch. God calls each of our families differently. For our home, I found HOD easier to implement and it just clicked with my teaching style. I like the way it's laid out in the instructor's guide. I feel like each box is a small bite and at the end of each day I'm comfortably full. I also love how it's written to teach my children how to transition from parent led learning to independent led. It was very difficult figuring this out with my oldest. We adore HOD!

[deltagal]

We made the switch, as well. Enough said

[Patience]

I'll add my voice to the choir of switchers. I thought I loved MFW, but I love HOD 100 times more. In my opinion, HOD is far superior in every way and makes homeschooling such a positive experience. I love the thoughtfulness and attention to detail, the consistent routine, the checkboxes, the well selected literature for children's reading material, the way it brings our family together through discussion, the scripture memory selections, the fact that I don't need the library or need to plan my materials in advance, storytime & questions, the flexibility with making it work in different situations...I could go on and on! Don't delay...switch at once. HOD is more than meets the eye (when you are looking at one week online).

[Tiffini]

I, too, made the switch last fall to HOD. We had used 1st Grade, ADV, and ECC with MFW. I really did enjoy it and I think MFW is a wonderful company. However, there is really no comparison to me as far as how well HOD works for us. It has blessed us tremendously. If you do a search for MFW in the search function box, you will find several posts on this topic. Many are mine from last fall when I was trying to decide what to use. I know many people use MFW and enjoy it a lot. HOD just suits us and what we are wanting for our school and our family. We have not been disappointed at all! I can't wait for next year already!

[Kathleen]

I just wanted to pop in here and say welcome to the board. I've not used MFW, but my one of my best friends does. It was the other curriculum that I was really considering last year at this time. I have to say that I'm so glad we went with HOD. It fits our family's goals for teaching our kids perfectly. Plus it provides all the "fun" mixed in that is a must-have! I abslutely LOVE it! I am content and with HOD for the long-haul.

Here's a past thread that I thought compared the 2 curriculums fairly and gives a good picture of them.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1446

Kathleen

[gestep]

We tried MFW Adventures last year for 2nd and 3rd grade and it just felt lacking to us. MFW has more of missions focus while I think HOD deals more with character. I think missions are important , but at a young age I feel the focus needs to be on character. How can any of us be good missionaries to those around us if we lack character and understanding of God? This was probably the main reason I like HOD better.
I did stop using MFW after several months because there just did not seem to be much there. A new state every day but doing the same thing-color a picture and fill out the bird/flower, etc., we did not use Spelling Power so the lengthy lesson on that was irrelevant to us, and we did not do the deluxe (music and art)so much of the lesson pages were not used which left us with little from MFW guide. We did enjoy Pioneer's and Patriots and some of the other books but only as read alouds, not within the program. I did not feel as if the guide added much to the readings for history or science. HOD ties everything together so much better in my opinion. We have only just started Bigger in the last week but I see a big difference in the content. I can't really explain it well in words but there is something that just feels right finally with HOD

Gina

[MamaMary]

MFW has more of missions focus while I think HOD deals more with character.

That's IT! I couldn't figure out the difference I had noticed. I do love to add missionary biographies, but character is life changing;-)

[mammabear5]

Thanks everyone! My husband looked through the HOD catalog last night and he said that is what he would like me to use. So I ordered the teachers manual and am going to read through it and make sure it is a good fit for us. I also got the reading program. That looks like a good program too.

[Carrie]

mammabear5,

It sounds like you and your husband have a good plan. I will say it makes quite a bit of difference to read the Teacher's Manual along with the resources that are scheduled to go along with it, so you can see how the Key Ideas actually work within the context of the readings. So, if you bear that in mind as you're perusing the guide that will really help you understand it better. Also, much of the Biblical lessons and all of the activities for the day are tied to the readings and won't make nearly as much sense when just reading through the guide. This is because the readings are the spine around which everything else functions, in essence the glue that holds the plans all together. To get a real feel for HOD, you really need at least some of the resources to read along with the guide. I mention this because we've honestly had moms who have read the guide only and judged HOD on that, missing all of the connections that the readings bring to our programs.

Reading through the guide will give you a glimpse of how your day would flow and will show you the daily design of our guides. It will give you a good picture of how the subjects are laid out and allow you to see the Appendix as well (which is a treasure trove for the assignments in the guide). The guide will also give you a look at the rotation of subjects and at the various ways we use a variety of learning styles within our plans. It will help you have a feel for those areas. Happy reading!

Blessings,
Carrie