Pros & Cons MFW Adventures IN U.S. History

As many of you know, we have been using My Father's World since Kindergarten.  We really love them, and can't imagine using other curriculum.  That said, there are always some parts of each year that work for our family, and some that don't.  Please take these as just our experience. Your family may seem of our pros as cons, or vice versa.  


Pros

History We always love the History sections of MFW, and it is usually my favorite part of the teacher's manual. 

•  Story of the U.S. and American Pioneers and Patriots  were great living books, each week my kids asking to read more than assigned for that day.  The books were very age appropriate and kept them engaged. 
• The many other History books, such as North American Indians, were all very kid friendly and informative. 
• The student sheets and sticker books were also fun, and very easy to use.  
•  We still use the map placement in school, almost every day. 

Bible  Learning the names of Jesus was informative, and always tied easily with s science lesson.  For example, when we learned that Jesus was the Bread of Life, we also learned about yeast. The Bible Memory wasn't too daunting this year, like we have seen in later years of the family cycle. 

Science-

• The Book First Encyclopedia of Science was very fun, and kid friendly.  We also printed a list of Magic School bus episodes, found on MFW facebook page. 
• We also enjoy the student sheets and the Bird Nature Study using Birds, Nests, and Eggs because it actually tied to the study of the states.  Each time you study a state bird, you study that bird.  We went on several nature walks, but were never that great about note booking. 
• The Fun with Magnets set was also used a lot, but mostly in just free exploration. 

Language Arts- 

• We like Language Lessons for Today. We really enjoy the gentle introduction to English and grammar.  We tried a traditional approach on recommendation from a friend, and it was way too much repetition for us. 
• Spelling by Sound and Structure has also been a wonderful curriculum that goes perfectly with our second grade workboxes.

Music appreciation lessons that focused on Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker were fun, and went along with our field trip to see the Nutcracker (in the Deluxe Package). We listed to the CDs while we colored the History Student Sheets. In the student sheets & on a CD, you get to learn some simple patriotic songs that were very fun.

Read-Alouds These were almost a Con. The books themselves (The Courage of Sarah, Noble On the Banks of Plum Creek, Sarah Whitcher's Story, In Grandma's Attic, Mountain Born, Farmer Boy) were all great, but we never seemed to get to them during the day, so I started a chapter at bedtime. When that didn't work on a consistent schedule, we got them them in audio book from the library and it turned them into a Pro! Farmer Boy was our favorite, especially if you have young boys.  This was great for along car ride to our in-laws, or for playing while my kids ate their lunch.

Book Basket This year's book basket list was well done and we used at least a few of the books every week. I do not read these books to the kids, they read themselves from the library basket.  The books from each state always helped them go into more depth than I could manage to fit in during our Together Time. Like always, I use it as my jumping off point for my library search. I reserve all my books online, and pick them up once every 2 weeks. 

Cons
 Art I Can Do All Things (in the Deluxe Package) wasn't for us.We did about half of the beginning lessons, and they were interesting, but we just never got that into these lessons.  Granted,m we didn't have the DVDs. We stopped, and switched to Draw Write Now , which my kids LOVED; so much that we ended up using all through third grade Exploring Countries and Cultures.  

Math We have never had great luck with MFW recommend Math. We use Math U See, you can see our review here.

Science  Science in the Kitchen and Science with Air. We also didn't use the Soda Bottle Bird Feeder, and just used Toilet Paper Rolls, with peanut butter and bird seed. These books never connected to the curriclum, and just didn't' seem like they had much meaning or depth.

Add-ons/Supplements
Stack the States App  -Inexpensive app that we used ALL THE TIME.  My husband and I even play on it a lot!

Scrambled States- Simple board game about America, so easy that 2nd graders can play easily without much assistance after first time. 

Liberty's Kids - The Complete Series- Great for sick days, and on those long winter days stuck inside!

Draw Write Now with MFW Adventures

Second Grade Workboxes MFW

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Draw, Write, Now. Adventures In U.S History

 Draw Write Now 

with MFW Adventures in U.S History

While we love My Father's World, we have never used the art that is recommended, and I have found a lot of success using Draw Write Now .  It provides an  independent time of art that ties into history, while I work with another child on other subjects, like Math or Language Arts. 

BOOKS USED

• Draw Write Now Book 2: Christopher Columbus, Autumn Harvest, Weather

• Draw Write Now Book 3: Native Americans, North America, Pilgrims 

• Draw Write Now Book 5: United States, From Sea to Sea, Moving Forward 

SCHEDULE

1. Book 5 – Flag pages 10 & 11
2. Book 2 - Christopher Columbus-All (We turned this into a book.)
3. -
4. Book 3 - Native Americans (We also turned these pages into a book.)

• East Coast Indians pages 12 & 13, 14&15, 16 &17
• Great Plains Indians, pages 18 & 19, 21 &22
• Southwest Indians, pages 24 & 25, 26 & 27
• Northwest Coast, pages 30 &31, 28 & 29

5. Book 3 - The Pilgrims (All)
6. -
7. Book 3 - The Birch Bark Canoe, pages 10 & 11
8. -
9. Book 5 – New Nation, pages 28& 29
10. Book 5 - United We Stand, pages 14 & 15
11. Book 5 – We the People, pages 12 & 13
12. Book 3 - The East pages 36 & 37
13. (Thanksgiving Week) Book 2 - The Autumn Harvest (All)
14. -
15.  Book 5 - New Nation pages 28 & 29 AND Book 5 - Liberty, pages 19 & 19

16. Book 2- Weather
17. Book 2- Weather
18. Book 5- The Frontier, pages 30 & 31
19. Book 5 – Waterways, pages 46 & 47
20. Book 5 - Louisiana Territory, pages 32 733
21. -
22. Book 5 – Trails, pages 48 & 49
23. Book 3 - The Interior, pages 38 & 39
24. Book 5 – Texas, pages 34 & 35
25. Book 5 - The Southwest, pages 38 & 39
26. Book 5 - Oregon Territory, pages 36 & 37
27. -
28. Book 5 - Divided We Fall, pages 16 & 17
29. -
30. Book 5 – Railroads, pages 50 & 51
31. Book 3 The Interior pages 38 & 39
32. Book 3 - The West, pages 40 & 41 AND  Book 5- Roadways, pages 52 & 53
33. Book 5 – Flight, pages 54 7 55  AND Book 3 The South, pages 42 & 43
34. Book 5 - The U.S.A. pages 40 & 41,  Book 5 Cyberspace pages 58 & 59

In second grade, you will only need books 2,3, and 5, but I  bought the  Boxed Set because I knew I would be using it for 2 full years of art, science, history, and writing practice. In 3rd grade it goes perfectly with Exploring Countries and Cultures as you learn how to draw animals from around the world and write a fact about them. They were well worth the investment.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN MY OTHER POSTS 

How to Survive your First Year of Homeschooling

Back to School Season as a Homeschooler

Second Grade Curriculum~ MFW Adventures in U.S History

We are on our third year of using My Father's World.  We still love it just as much as when I first chose it over Sonlight.

You may also be interested in:

• Second Grade Work boxes/ Using Work boxes with Adventures in U.S History
• Organizing our Second Grade Homeschool Room/MFW Adventures in U.S History

Second Grade Curriculum (included in MFW Packages)
I can not say enough how much we love Adventures in U.S History by My Father's World.

• History, Science-My Father's World  Adventures in U.S History Deluxe package 

• Language Arts- Language Lessons for Today, Second grade (MFW Recommended) 

• Spelling- Spelling by Sound and Structure (MFW Recommended) 

• Reading- Book Basket from teacher's manual, personal home library 

2nd Grade Supplements (Not included in MFW packages)

• Math- Math U See, Alpha

MFW recommends Singapore Math.  While Singapore is a great system, it just didn't work for my hands-on learners.  As a teacher, I also appreciate the DVD curriclum, and the mastery approach (as opposed to spiral approach).

• Art- Draw, Write, Now Books
We did some of the beginning pages from the I can Draw book recommended by My Father's World, but just didn't get into the painting and marker pages..  The boys have several opportunities to paint at co-op and during their free time at home.   The Draw Write Now books are a great independent Drawing program that can easily be used when utilizing Homeschool Work boxes. You can find our DRAW WRITE NOW schedule that I used to line this art up with our History Subjects in Adventures.


• Liberty Kids- Historical Video Series

We began watching these in week we started learning about Benjamin Franklin.  They are so well done, that I ended up watching most of them with the kids.  This video series was especially helpful when we had to do homeschool at my in-laws a few hours away during Deer Hunting Season!  

• Music-Free Piano Lessons from Hoffman Academy

We love the music lesson provided in Adventures, especially the Nutcracker study.  

On top of those lessons, we pooled our gift cards from Christmas and bought a small beginner keyboard.  Piano lessons with a teacher are just not in our budget, and the free lessons from Hoffman Academy have been a huge blessing to our family.  At this age, the parent will have to sit with them during each lesson and practice, but we all look forward to watching the lesson video each week. I am amazed at how much the boys have learned through these lessons in just a short time. We spent the $20 on unit printable materials, and it was well worth it.

• Bible- Awana Club 

We usually do the Bible lessons in the manual, but if I miss one, I know my kids are having a great time  and learning a ton in Awana.  The teachers are wonderful volunteers. The boys get spiritual education, time with friends,  and gym time at the end of each meeting.  The bonus for me is I get an hour and half free every week to have coffee with my husband, go to the grocery store by myself, or just sit and read a book in quiet!  Find a local club near you.

 Bible Character Costume at our Awana's Fall Festival...the twins were dressed as Armor of God!

HAVE FUN IN SECOND GRADE!

Homeschool Workboxes, Second Grade My Father's World- Adventures in U.S History

• For more how we use our  Second Grade Curriculum , see this post.
• See more organization tips in this post on how we set up our Homeschool Room.

The biggest change from our first grade routine to second grade routine was the addition of work-boxes.
Workboxes do not necessarily mean all the work is independent , just that the twins work at their own pace.  The staggering of the subjects enables me to teach one-on-one subjects easily; I can work with one child on Math, while the other is independently reading or drawing.

Calendar & Agenda
Our Agenda & Information for calendar (box 1) is written on a Dry Erase board.

Work-boxes
  The first boxes usually stay at the top for both boys, because they have some of our together time subjects (History and Bible). The other subjects move depending on how I need to stagger one-on-one subjects.
We use a 10-Drawer Organizer Cart, and it works great.

I try to fill the boxes for the following day at the end of each school morning, but sometimes I end up doing it the morning before school. The 5 extra minutes it takes to fill the boxes saves me priceless time and headaches later.

Instead of moving numbers to show which box they have finished, the boys know what box they are on by just keeping their current drawer open.  As you can see below, one boy is on box four, and the other on six.

The organizers on top, from Dollar Tree, hold some of the materials they might need throughout the morning. The rest of their materials are in a pencil box at their seat (crayons, markers, pencils, etc). If any subject needs paper, I put it in the box.

Box 1- Calendar
The first box includes Calendar and Days in School pages inside of a plastic (for Dry Erase Markers),  printable from Confessions of  a Homeschooler..

Box 2- Bible

The boys practice or copy their memory verse.  If they have Awana work, they do it then. Again I used a plastic sheets to make the memory verse sheet in a dry erase page.

The only downfall of these drawers is they can barely fit a small 1 inch binder.

Box 3 History
MFW Adventures in US History. We usually do our History together, reading about booked together on the couch before we start workboxes. If there is a student sheet for the day, I put it in the History working. The boys usually do Bible and Calendar at the same time/pace, so we do our student sheets together.

Box 4 English.  
Language Lessons for Today, Grade 2. The twins use the same English book, so instead of putting the actual book in their box, I put a dry erase page that tells them what lesson to do, and if they need to do it with me.  The boys retrieve their  English book from the shelf next to the work-boxes, and work with me if indicated. I also include any materials they may need for that lesson.

Box 5 Break and Snack 
Each boy can get a snack and then take a 10 minute break.  If you are really goo, you can put a snack in this box.  I just have them get one from designated snack cabinet. I love that they have to set their own timer, and get back to work when they are done.

Box 6 Math  
We use Math-U-See DVD curriculum.

Box 7 Spelling
Spelling by Sound and Structure has a few days of independent work in their workbook, then a test at the end of the week.  I included a blank piece of paper at the end of the week in their work box.

Box 8 Reading
 Sometimes the boys must read from the book basket, sometimes it is free reading, and sometimes I put a book I want them to try in their box.

Box 9 Activity
 This box can vary greatly from day to day.  This particular day, one of the boys needed help with some drill practice on top of his regular math page.  Recently we added free piano lessons with Hoffman Academy, so  it has included a note that says "Piano Practice".

Box 10 Art 
At the beginning of the year, we had did all the A-Z "I can Draw" activity pages recommended by My Father's World.  Sometimes we use our 'Draw Write Now' Page for Art or Activity, depending on the amount of handwriting they have already done that day.  Sometimes Art box  is just a  blank piece of paper and a note saying "Have fun!"

A Day In the Life: Our Second Grade Room

My Father's World- 2nd Grade Adventures In  U.S. History

Our schoolroom is very small space in our basement, about 10 feet by 9 feet. We start each day with Together Time at the table, or on the couch (next to the table). 

Together Time is usually reading our devotional and/or History Book on the couch.  If we have a science experiment, we do it in the kitchen before heading downstairs to the homeschool room. 

.

 I store most of our supplies in a spinning organizer  from Hobby Lobby (used 40 % off coupon of course).

The rest of the art supplies are in the pockets of a screen that I bought from a friend, that also doubles as space to hang posters (clips for poster from Dollar Tree). 

Out Pocket Chart is used for calendar.  I made all the numbers and dates out of plain white paper. 

A local Private School was closing and had a sale of their classroom supplies, and I bought this huge cork bulletin board for $3. It is great for our timeline and Names of Jesus Poster.

After Together Time, each boy has Individual Work, which includes workbox time and chores. 

Our Workboxes are based on Sue Patrick System, Instead of moving labels to know what they have done, the boys work from top to bottom and keep the draw open of the drawer they are finishing.  I stagger the subjects that need one-on-one time with me, enabling me to help them individually in Math and Language  arts. 

 You can see inside  each of our work boxes on this here.

I try to make all copies at the beginning of the year, and organize by week using hanging folders File Tote  .