My Father’s World: Exploration to 1850

This was our 7th year homeschooling! The years have flown by. This was my first year with 5 full-time students. It was challenging but we persevered and we made many wonderful memories.

This year we were in the 4th year of My Father’s World’s family cycle. It is called “Exploration to 1850.” My youngest was in My Father’s World’s 1st grade curriculum called “Learning God’s Story.” Next year, she will join us in the family cycle. That will make my job much easier for a couple of years until we reach high school with the oldest kids.

In Exploration to 1850, we started at the exploration of America and moved on until 1850.

We started out the year doing the majority of our schoolwork in our living room. Halfway through the year, we moved to the basement. For the last couple of weeks we did our school at the dining room table. I’m not sure which one I like best. They both have their pros and cons. Since my husband works from home, it is best to stay in the basement because the kids can get quite loud. I do like having the flexibility to do our schoolwork anywhere we like.

Science

During the first half of the school year, we studied the animal kingdom then for the last half we studied botany. I thoroughly enjoyed botany! I love plants. Learning about animals was great also but I have a passion for plants.

We dissected our first animal! It was quite fascinating to see the similarities between frogs and humans!

We also dissected owl pellets. We each got our own pellet. Each one had almost a complete mouse skeleton in it.

We loved nature journaling. Sometimes we did it outside and sometimes we did it inside.

We tried starting our own herbs however we didn’t do a great job caring for them so they never made it outside.

History

We had some wonderful history books this year. Our primary history book was the Story of the World. I’m a big fan of this series. This was our second year using it and I love how it is written. All of the additional books were great as well. We really loved Usborne’s The Last 500 Years as well.

Right as we were studying about Christopher Columbus, a replica of the Pinta was docked a short distance from where we live. It was the perfect field trip.

We learned how to play the colonial game of 9 pins.

English

For English we used Language Lessons for Today for grades 5 & 6. We have used it since 2nd grade and we have grown to love it’s slow approach and its Charlotte Mason method.

Bible

This year we studied the book of James. We were challenged to memorize the entire book. This task seem daunting but I was very determined. We did very good memorizing the first chapter and as we moved on to chapter 2 and 3 we continued to try very hard to memorize each verse. However, as it compounded it became very difficult to keep up. I was so sad but we did learn so much from what we did commit to memory. So by the end of the year, we did finish studying the entire book of James but we were only successful in memorizing chapter one completely.

To go along with our memorization, we used the Boy, Have I Got Problems James study book. It is co-written by Kay Arthur. I grew up on her Bible studies and this book was wonderful to help the kids dip deeper into what James is talking about.

We also read the history about many hymns. 

We each had an index card notebook to write our verses in. Even Mila attempted to write the verses.

The Kay Arthur study on James was very good and the kids loved completing the lessons.

Read-Alouds

Like every year before, this year’s read-alouds were so very good. We even read one book twice! All the kids have grown so much in the their love to listen to books being read. I remember when the kids were little this was very hard for them. Most of them hated it. But now their imaginations are ignited as I read and they often beg to read just one more chapter. I love it!! I’m not a big reader myself, so I’m grateful that My Father’s World schedules these books which essentially forces me to complete them. It has fostered a love for books that I don’t naturally have.

Each book went along with the time period we were studying in history.

Each December, we have a tradition of doing our Jesse Tree. Each night, we read a story about one of the members of Jesus’ family tree. Years ago, I complied these stories into a 25 day journey from the creation to the cross. I also made ornaments to go along with each story. The kids love this treasured tradition. We aren’t always consistent with family devotions throughout the year but in December it is certain that we will spend that time together.

Math

We have been using Teaching Textbooks for math for many years now and we LOVE it. It has been a huge blessing for us. The kids are able to work independently in this subject and that helps a lot! It automatically grades their answers and I only intervene if they make below a certain grade.

To save money we have been using the older 2.0 version which is on CD-Roms. It’s great for large families because it can be used over and over again. After a few uses, it does have to be renewed. Renewal is free and it only requires a short call to Teaching Textbooks. It only costs $15 to buy a replacement CD if you damage it or lose it.

Next year, my son who is in the highest grade of math, will start using the newest 4.0 version. It can be done on any device that has internet. The other three older kids will change to it the following year. It will be super convenient to do math anywhere.

Field Trips

We visited the Sylacauga Museum and BlueBell’s ice cream factory.

Music

All of the older kids take music lessons. Three of our kids take piano lessons and one takes guitar lessons. My wish is that all of our children will be accomplished in at least one instrument by the time they graduate.

The four oldest also participated in a children’s choir this year.

Spanish

In January, our entire family started taking Spanish lessons. The kids have a class with a few other friends and there is a separate class for the adults.

Kindergarten/1st grade

Our youngest child was adopted in the summer of 2020. I wanted to give her time to learn some English before diving into school. In November of 2020, I started Kindergarten with her. We worked through the summer and she finished by the following September. We immediately started 1st grade after that.

As I was writing this, she was about 3/4 of the way done with first grade.  Our plan is to finish up this summer. In the fall, she will join the rest of the kids in many subjects but I will be focusing on reading and math with her. I don’t feel that she is ready for 2nd grade yet. So, we’ll call it our 2nd year of 1st grade.

She has come such a long way in less than 2 years and I’m incredibly proud of her!

While not everyone can homeschool, I truly believe that homeschooling is the greatest gift I’ve ever been given as a mother. I have been able to watch all my children, firsthand, learn. I’ve been there through EVERYTHING. I’ve watched the struggles, tears, laughter, excitement and joy that comes with learning and teaching. I’ve watched my kids persevere through tremendous difficulties. I’ve learned that I mess up all the time but my kids have learned that we all struggle with making mistakes, even their mother. I’ve had to ask for forgiveness often for a lost temper. But through it all, I wouldn’t trade these years for any career out there. My children are my greatest responsibility and I don’t take it lightly.