By Faith In Kentucky

• Aug. 7, 2009 - My Father's World

Every time I read those words, I can't help but sing, at least in my mind, "This is my Father's world....." I really like that hymn. But that's not why I chose to use that curriculum this year. I finished my 4 year cycle using Story of the World while using History Odyssey in year 4 as my activity guide which uses more living literature than SOTW. I discovered my children really loved the living literature HO used to flesh out history. I also found myself wanting more church history incorporated into world history. Who were the people throughout the ages who moved the world according to God's plan? I didn't find enough of them in the SOTW curriculum. So, my search led me to My Father's World, a curriculum that follows the classical model of chronological history while adding living literature, a la Charlotte Mason, with a Biblical worldview. It is designed to be used to teach multi-age groups together, perfect for my 3rd and 5th graders. My Father's World is a 5 year cycle because they start with one year of world geography, called Exploring Countries and Cultures. I am so excited for my children to learn about the people all over the world that God has created and cherishes. Our church is missions-minded and we have many friends serving Christ all over the world. I'm praying this will be a very enriching year for all of us to see the world Jesus loves and wants us to love. So, here's what our curriculum looks like for this coming school year: (Note: the links aren't necessarily where I'd buy; they just had the best info on the books. In fact all italicized titles can be purchased from MFW as a set for the best discounted price. I bought mine as a used set.) Geography: Illustrated World Atlas, Intermediate World Atlas, Maps and Globes, Geography From A to Z, World Geography, A Trip Around the World, Another Trip Around the World. Science: Properties of Ecosystems, Usborne Living World Encyclopedia, Usborne Wild Places. Also, nature walks and journaling. I plan on using the two journals we already have, My Nature Journal and My Nature Book, and NaturExplorers by my friends Cindy and Melissa (thanks ladies!). Art and Music: Global Art and Wee Sing Around the World. Reading: Christian Heroes - Cameron Townsend, Nate Saint, David Livingstone, Amy Carmichael, George Müller, Gladys Aylward. Bible: Hero Tales, Window on theWorld. They'll also be in BSF and will be doing Rod and Staff Bible, God Leads His People 3 and  God Chooses a Family 5. My Father's World doesn't include Math, English, or Foreign language. So for those we'll be using: Math: Math-U-See, levels Gamma and Delta with extra lessons from Math Mammoth. For practical math, we'll be cooking recipes from around the world to go with our geography study and using Grocery Cart Math. English: Rod and Staff, Beginning Wisely 3 and Following the Plan 5. Foreign Language: Spanish and Latin. I'm not especially thrilled with the books we've been using, but until I find something better (and affordable) we'll just keep plugging along. Health: I've pulled together a unit study on the major systems of the human body using various sources. I got tired of my children "learning" a bit here and there every year and not remembering anything about health. So I'll see if an intensive year on one topic helps their memory skills. Whew! It looks like a lot but the great thing about MFW is the Teacher Manual has the lessons planned out for the entire year! Quite do-able. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13.

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