MFW with 2 at the same time

[Momto4kids]

In the fall (I know I have plenty of time but...) I am going to start MFW with my (will be these ages by Sept.) 4 and 5 year old. We will be starting Kindergarten.

So my question is, would you teach this to them together or seperate? My dh says together. I am sure that many of you may think I am silly but I have never had to school more than one child.

And now to further embarrass myself..........How do you do it? I mean I am worried that one will "get it" and the other won't.

Oh dear I am afraid I am not being clear.

If you understand at all what I am asking/saying, any replies would be much appreciated. :001_smile:

[Josie]

Four may be a little young, but you can definitely try it.

How do you do it? You just start. MFW is very well organized, so just follow the plan.

Will one child get it faster than the other? Maybe, but that is OK. Just work with them and they will be fine.

If at the end of the year you feel your 4 year old didn't get all they should have, it is really no big deal. Just pick something next year that will work.

Really, it will be OK. Kindergarten is not a make or break year for anyone.

Relax and enjoy your children!

[Momto4kids]

Thanks Josie, I appreciate the response. I really am not uptight about it just a little hesitant as this is my first time schooling 2 at one time doing the same work. My 3 yo actually seems more advanced to me then my 4 yo so I am actually not worried about that.

Anyway thanks again!

[Rebecca]

I am glad I looked at this thread!
I am currently using a modified MFW K (phonics, bible concept, and badge- sometimes one craft per week) with three of my children who are ALL at different levels.

Do you have the same goals for your four and five year old?

For example: I have my almost four joining in... my goal for her is letter recognition and sound recognition... if she gets some blending- wonderful!
She is too young to do the handwriting- I write the letters for her- she traces (sometimes)... with the math worksheet- I draw the amount of pictures- she colors and counts them, etc. FWIW, she does fine with the cutting and pasting!

It is perfect for my just turned five year old- who is learning how to form letters, etc. He is working perfectly with the program.

My six and a half year old is also joining in. He is using Reading Made Easy for phonics and is doing K with us for better sound discrimination and reinforcement. It is easy for him and great reinforcement. He writes words instead of letters, etc.

I taught K before to my oldest who will be 8 in two weeks.
This is my first time using it for multiple students. In this capacity I feel like I have seen the beauty of the system! I think it is nicely designed for a variety of levels learning to work together.

As mentioned above, I am using it in a modified form to meet my goals. We do not do every single item listed every week. I keep the goals in mind as we move through it.

As far as how we do it: we are all at the table together. I guide each student through each activity. I tend to start with the youngest and work my way up. The children finish at their own pace. I am usually working last with my five year old who is learning how to write this year and needs my one on one in this area. My six year old already knows how to write and my daughter is too young.

If I find them looking to one another for their answers- (mainly five and six year old) I encourage them to keep their eyes on their own paper!

We are blending: I do the blend ladder with each one individually- but while we are all at the table.

It has been working very well.
I hope this helps,
Rebecca

[Momto4kids]

I am glad I looked at this thread!
I am currently using a modified MFW K (phonics, bible concept, and badge- sometimes one craft per week) with three of my children who are ALL at different levels.

Do you have the same goals for your four and five year old?

For example: I have my almost four joining in... my goal for her is letter recognition and sound recognition... if she gets some blending- wonderful!
She is too young to do the handwriting- I write the letters for her- she traces (sometimes)... with the math worksheet- I draw the amount of pictures- she colors and counts them, etc. FWIW, she does fine with the cutting and pasting!

It is perfect for my just turned five year old- who is learning how to form letters, etc. He is working perfectly with the program.

My six and a half year old is also joining in. He is using Reading Made Easy for phonics and is doing K with us for better sound discrimination and reinforcement. It is easy for him and great reinforcement. He writes words instead of letters, etc.

I taught K before to my oldest who will be 8 in two weeks.
This is my first time using it for multiple students. In this capacity I feel like I have seen the beauty of the system! I think it is nicely designed for a variety of levels learning to work together.

As mentioned above, I am using it in a modified form to meet my goals. We do not do every single item listed every week. I keep the goals in mind as we move through it.

As far as how we do it: we are all at the table together. I guide each student through each activity. I tend to start with the youngest and work my way up. The children finish at their own pace. I am usually working last with my five year old who is learning how to write this year and needs my one on one in this area. My six year old already knows how to write and my daughter is too young.

If I find them looking to one another for their answers- (mainly five and six year old) I encourage them to keep their eyes on their own paper!

We are blending: I do the blend ladder with each one individually- but while we are all at the table.

It has been working very well.
I hope this helps,
Rebecca

Ok Rebecca this whole post realy helps me. You are giving me a visual that I really need.

I do not have the same goals for each of them. I am going to try and follow the curr. pretty closely and see how each learns and try to decipher how they learn and what works for them individually. They are both young and i want them to enjoy learning. From doing this with my older one I know they will enjoy the curriculum.

[Hillcrest Academy]

I would highly recommend posting this question at the MFW Families support group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MFWFamilies/ - there are many, many families who have dealt with these very scenarios and who would love to answer your questions :)

[Sue G in PA]

I know, 2 seems a bit young, but she is very bright and already knows most of her letters by sight. My ds5 is a late bloomer and is just now starting to recognize letters and some sounds. As previously stated, I have different goals for each child. Ds5 is doing all of the curriculum including handwriting, but his fine motor skills are still a bit lacking. He need more practice than MFW provides so I use ETC primers as well as online handwriting worksheets for him. For dd2, we focus on the letter and sound recognition and she participates in the stories, Bible and some simple science experiments. How much she is "soaking in", I don't know. In a few weeks, I will actually be doing Little Hands to Heaven w/ her. In any case, when she is 4, we will do a full-fledged version of MFW K w/ her (unless she is too far advance by then, which is entirely possible!). You can do it...just evaluate each child by where they are, KWIM?

[cbollin]

One idea for teaching them together at that age with MFW is to read this thread on the MFW message board. It's just about this subject. Here's the link....

http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?t=642

-crystal

[Momto4kids]

Thanks for the link, it is very helpful!

[zeph317]

I used MFWK for all three of mine - they were ages 5, 3.5 and 2.5 - we all sat at the kitchen table, all did the crafts, etc - I made simple "worksheets" or coloring pages for the younger, and it was wonderful! It was SO easy and all 3 girls really enjoyed it.