SOW vs MFW

This was a letter written to someone who asked me to compare SOW and MFW. I thought it would be good to post so that others can see.

First let me explain SOW a little. I think SOW is basically a big picture of education in general. It is a really great "skeleton" for a homeschooling family. But, many of the details are left to you. This is such a great bonus, but on the other hand it can be challenging! Although SOW gives you a large list of resources it can be difficult to find the "right" one and you may spend more money than you'd like. The first year is very expensive as you have to find all of the books that would go along with the units. I'm finding that I need time to plan out my year, so we're taking things VERY slow. That's ok with me though, because I'm planning to stick with SOW until the end. If it takes me a few years to get organized (and in the meantime I'm working on our family dynamics and implementing only some of the SOW curriculum...) we're doing just fine.

There are some WONDERFUL parts to SOW that are more than worth the entire price of the curriculum (even if you're not going to do the whole thing!) The bible study/language arts section is amazing! I would highly recommend buying SOW even if it's just for some foundational understanding of discipling your children and keeping the Word first.

It can be frustrating because the outlines are a little unpredictable. For instance in some cases you are reading just one chapter, then a few "weeks" later you are studying 12 chapters or in one case the whole book of Leviticus. This is because the author wanted to keep "stories" together I think. You might take one "week" to study Joseph and another week you are studying Cain. Obviously there are more chapters on Joseph than Cain.

The science kind of relates to what you are studying each week. (I see a correlation at least.) As a whole though it is one subject for four weeks, but each week it is broken into different parts of that subject, with ideas of what to do each week. You could go beyond or even do less. I'm struggling with the projects since we just moved right now.

Now, when I say "week" I mean...something else. Well, they could be a week for some, but I'm finding that they are taking MUCH longer. (That could be what I mentioned earlier about resources though?)

Speaking of resources, SOW really is VERY economical! Really! If you stick with it you don't need to buy anything really after the first year. Again, the first year is the hardest because not only are you buying all of the foundational materials, but it just happens to be the year where you are studying creation science - that stuff is hard to come by! You can't just pick up any book, since there are not THAT many books out there for kids. So, be prepared when you buy it since the resources are important and they can really add up.

I'm working on getting us organized in a way that if someone would be interested in EXACTLY what our home used and how we did it, I could help guide them. I know the author is coming out with something really similar here soon, so that should help newbies out. I suggest you contact them to find out more about that before you buy it.

The pros for SOW would be:
1. That God is leading your home. It keeps you focused on not just school, but on Him.
2. Because your goal is discipling your whole child, you see that there is more to teaching your children than just academics.
3. The foundation of teaching creation from a biblical perspective is AMAZING!!! It guides the rest of their education, since they really understand that God is the maker. They really "get" it, so there is no doubt when all the other books say "millions of years ago...there was a big bang" they are grounded already and it doesn't move them.
4. SOW teaches the student how to think for themselves. You are not teaching them, God is. They draw out from their hearts and minds what THEY think and know. This is such a great part of SOW that not many curriculums can match.

As you can see, the main part of SOW is teaching your children how to have a relationship with our Lord. Nothing compares to that!
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Ok, now for MFW.

Can I begin by saying that I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED MFW?!?!

It was really really really neat! Can I just be honest and say my favorite part was how completely organized it was. I didn't have to think too much and it was laid out in such a way that it was pretty close to perfect! You found yourself studying just enough that it made you want to learn more. You weren't over learning until you were tired of hearing about the subject, but it beautifully made you WANT to do school! We did Adventures and ECC. Both were perfectly tailored to the age of the child. The authors really understand where children are and what they need at every age. Something most of us parents really struggle with. I find myself expecting too much sometimes and other times too little, so I miss that part of mfw. I loved ECC! It really gave you a heart for the mission field.

MFW was just about perfect. No exaggeration here. I really like it a lot. Why then did I change???? Well, because God said to. ;o) Sometimes the harder road is best in the long run. I wanted our focus to be on Christ and I knew SOW would do that. That's the best answer I can really give. Well, the other thing that bothered me with MFW was the study of other gods and religions. It was really bothering me. Some people don't seem to have that conviction, but I want my children to focus on how to serve God not how others served their gods. Oh and some of their choices for books kind of bugged me (like the purpose driven church) among others. That was just personal decisions that made me think a little.

I've been tempted a few times to go back to mfw, but when I pray fervently God always reminds me why I took the path I did. ;o)

Hope that helps!
~Mercy

P.S. If you'd like to see more on "Why SOW" click on "SOW Stuff" under the labels. ;o)

p.p.s. I was in such a hurry (as I always am when writing) so I'm sure I missed things and wrote terribly. If you have any questions, please ask!