And in Homeschool News....

Here at our little homeschool we are plugging right along.

How is My Father's World? Well, I am sure some of you on the blogroll may be wondering...

WONDERFUL!

LOVE IT!

First:

MFW K

The simplicity of it is just so wonderful. Phonics is going so well. Jenna is my easiest one yet to teach reading....I am 100% sure that has something to do with me....not child 1 or child 2! :)

So here is an updated "Jenna and the A A Apple Song": featuring Janie, the two year old. Got to love that she is learning the sounds!!


On to Exploring Countries and Cultures:
Again, the lesson plans are just a hit with me. The books that are incorporated into this curriculum are great. Most definitely books that I would and have chosen to use. Thankfully, now I do not have to do the planning!

I really wish I could remember to take more pictures of Josh...but, honestly....he is at that age where he would just like for mom to leave him out of the pictures and blog....boys.....

The greatest thing in ECC? The Geography Game, of course! And, he is good at it. Also, the passport is a big hit. I love the map work that is included. I love what I am learning.

And last but not least. My Father's World Ancient History and Literature: Jessie loves it! I really wish I could study more of it with her. Last week we did the reading of Bulfinch's Greek Mythology together and I really did enjoy it. I never learned any of this stuff in school....really.....or I just don't remember. :) She loves her own schedule and checkoff list. She even LOVES writing the essays. Imagine that!

So, we have made it through the holidays and then several snow days, then the passing of a loved one this past week. Now we are trying like mad to get in a groove and plow through some uninteruppted weeks of school. I know that when the weather breaks we will all want to get out of the house and into the yard and woods. I've warned them....work hard now...spring is coming. As it stands we will basically school throughout the year. Taking vacations here and there. We will be ready for our new books in September. I am already looking forward to the upcoming homeschool conference where I can see and feel all of the new books....It is a sickness....I know.

Speaking of next year and new books. If you are doing MFW now are you planning to continue with it?

Happy Homeschooling!

Homeschool Week in Review

Ok, I only have a few minutes to get this post done. But, I have really been wanting to update how we are doing in MFW.

Well, MFW K is going great. We just finished up with week 2, the lesson on M (Moon), and I really like how I feel that I am becoming familiar with the routine of the program. That is a big plus for me. I am also very happy with how I have it organized. I do find that I am not adding a lot of items to the folders to enhance the lesson. But, with 4 kiddos I have not made time to do that very much, but I don't feel that it is in any way compromising the program. Jenna loves it and she can already sing the entire A-A-Apple song. I am trying to get a good video of that because it is just too cute to hear her sing it. It is the favorite part of the lesson for her.

The big excitement was finally getting to start ECC this week. Although Josh is a 10 year old, all boy, let me outside to chop a tree  kind of kid he has loved this week. I mean really, he is so happy. He still loves time with his mom teaching him one on one and that makes me happy. The fact that My Fathers World has made it so easy for me to do this has just been the biggest blessing of all. After the initial set of of the notebooks I have found it to be one of the easiest programs to implement. When I say it is perfect for our homeschool I am not just saying it to be nice, truly it is a prayer answered. Now I can see why so many MFW users are long time users. I am so tired of the curriculum hunt anyway.

I think his favorite part of ECC was the passport application. He just cant wait to get that little book. He also loves the map work and science. We passed on the Wee Sing, because after 3 seconds of that first song, he very respectfully said "Mom, please don't ask me to sing that." I had to agree that perhaps Jenna would like it, but it is not something that I feel he will miss.

We have these Audio Memory Geography Songs and they are pretty catchy and I think we will just use them instead of Wee Sing for Josh.

I am so excited at how things are going. We had a busy week and I almost put off starting the ECC because of 2 homeschool outings, dentist trips and some church commitments. But I did start and I have to say that we checked off all of the boxes! WOW~ You really don't know how good that feels. I know by now that I am not a slave to the teachers manuals but it was things I wanted to accomplish and we did it!

So now I am praying that much grace will be given in a few weeks when my oldest starts high school. We are  using MFW Ancient History and Literature for her. She also is reading Lamplighter books, one a month (we actually fight over the book :)) Currently we are reading The White Gypsy.

The littlest one in my school is just as happy as can be if she has a crayon and a book.

Oh, and one last thing....I don't know what went wrong but we killed *gasp* our earthworms. :o

Getting Organized.....oh, it's so much fun!

05-07-13- I am trying this link again. I have tested it and it should work. If not just let me know via email.
My Father's World K Grid






I have been working on getting ready to begin MFW, using 3 different levels. My little Jenna will be in Kindergarten and she is so excited that it makes me even more excited to teach her. However, the excitement can quickly turn to anxiety when I think of what needs to be accomplished. I know that I need to have my ducks in a row and be able to work as efficiently as possible. I don't have time to start a lesson then have to go traipsing off to find a worksheet or a book. I am as excited about my organized K program as I am actually teaching it. I can't take credit for the ideas, I can just be so thankful for the mothers who freely share them.

I have spent some time on the yahoo groups boards for MFW, there is a different loop for each level and one for MFW families. The one thing that has impressed me about the people using this curriculum is that a good many of them have been using it for years and that they so willingly help others who have questions.  It was there that I found the two main ideas I used to organize my K for Jenna.

Without further rambling I will do some show and tell.

I was impressed with the idea of putting all of the components in a binder. I found the best binder for the job at Staples. The Staples Better Binder is just perfect. Well worth the money! Inside I have it all, student sheets, teacher's manual and a place for other resources as well.

MFW recommends that you have 27 file folders, one for each lesson. I chose to have them in the binder. At first I was looking at using page protectors, but then I found these Avery pocket dividers. They just fit in the 2" binder. I separated each lesson in its appropriate week.

Its hard to see in the picture above, but the dividers came with labels that you can print on and then insert, beautiful! :)

As I go through the weeks I can easily tuck in material that will supplement that lesson.

Speaking of the lessons, the other wonderful idea was a file I found on the Yahoo Group page. Some wonderfully generous homeschool mom laid out every lesson on a grid format and shared it with the group. If you have looked at the MFW K teacher manual then you might understand why this is so helpful. It is a lovely program, but the teacher's manual had me a little confused. The layout in grid format made me feel like I would not overlook something. It really is a blessing. I have printed each week and put it in the divider for that week's lesson.

In the back of the binder I found these 1" Binder Pockets at my favorite place, Amazon, of course. I placed the Alphabet book in one and in the other I put the flash cards and the Teacher's Manual. (See that smiling face, she is so happy about her school stuff!)

There you have it, I also picked up a 1" binder for the student material. I am looking forward to filling it up!

One last thing, we will be doing Exploring Countries and Cultures also and I could not figure out where to put my map. I have had one on the wall and the youngins would pull it off of the wall. I knew it would cost a lot to have it laminated, done that with artwork and almost passed out when the man told me the price....after the work was done. I decided (after asking on the ECC board for suggestions) to put it on the school table and place a clear tablecloth on top. The kids already love it.

Oh, the places she wants to go....

Well, I am quickly organizing myself out of excuses for not getting the work done and that is my goal. I really want to make the most of these days and not live with regrets over what I did not get done. The children are growing so quickly, I mean I am starting high school with my Jessie and if you cant tell that is just really getting to me!

I hope this is a help to someone else.

Blessings!

UPDATE:  I know that a lot of moms who are about to begin K come here and read this post. I'd like to link to the end of our K year and the videos of Jenna actually reading the last K readers! Click HERE: Jenna Reads

A Final Word: August 9, 2014
Did you know that MFW has updated their K teachers manual? Please go to www.mfwbooks.com and check it out. Now it is in grid format and easier to navigate. I upgraded my own manual. Blessings!