My Father’s World: 1850 to Modern Times

This year we used My Father’s World, 1850 to Modern Times curriculum. We dug deep into more recent world conflicts and we learned about all the amazing inventions created in the last 150 years. I loved watching the kids continue to find out more on their own apart from school. That is when I know, that they are really enjoying the learning process.

This is the last year of the My Father’s World Family Cycle. We started the cycle in 2018 with Countries and Cultures then we did Creation to Greeks, Rome to Reformation, Exploration to 1850 and then we finished up with 1850 to Modern Times this year. With the Family Cycle, the plan is to go back to the beginning and do the themes again in more detail until each child reaches high school. 

My youngest daughter participated in some of the curriculum however my main focus for her was improving her reading and math skills. This year was what I call her 2nd year of 1st grade. I used Explode the Code and the Complete Book of Math for her.

I can’t believe that this was our 8th year to homeschool! My kids were in 1st, 6th and 7th grades this year.

We had a great start in August of 2022 but a few weeks later we had a huge water leak in our house. Three floors of our house were damaged and we spent the next 3 months repairing the damage. Some of that time we had to move out. Then in September, my youngest daughter ended up having to have emergency surgery. It was a hard time for us. We had to take some time off however we only got a couple of weeks behind. 

The struggles continued and in late January my oldest daughter spent a week in the hospital. She was battling a chronic wound. It still isn’t resolved yet. But, she is scheduled to have it surgically repaired next week. It has been a long, weary journey. She has spent months on bedrest so we did some school in her room. Our dear friend came and spent time with her many times and she received so many care packages from other friends.

This year we joined a small homeschool co-op. Co-ops have been hard for us in the past because of our constant medical appointments and hospital stays. I decided to only sign my four oldest kids up for the afternoon enrichment classes. Next year we plan on taking most of the classes offered.

On our first day of school, we dressed up in pioneer hats. I try to do something special on the first day each year.

History, Current World Events & Geography

One of my favorite parts of the My Father’s World curriculum is the read-alouds. We read many wonderful books this year.

These amazing stories of courageous people who have gone before us was so inspiring. I found my son listening to more audiobooks and watching movies about some of the people on his own. This made me so happy.

We used these books for history. The Story of the World was our favorite! We purchased the accompanying activity book and had high hopes of using a lot of it. In reality, we used only the maps and the review questions. Also, some of the kids enjoyed the coloring sheets. I have a couple of kids who struggle with geography and the maps really helped. They were blank and the kids had identify where the countries and cities were.

We kept a timeline of all the historical events we learned about.

After Christmas, we started watching World Watch every morning. It is a 10-minute news show that is from a Christian worldview. It is a subscription service and totally worth the few dollars a month! It is a wonderful way for us to stay in-the-know on world events.

This DVD helped us learn all the states. We also learned the capitals. The songs are a little annoying but they work.

Bible

For Bible study, we used A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God and we also read about the origins of hymns and their scriptural meanings. There were scripture memory verses assigned each week but we weren't successful memorizing them all this year. We are going to try harder next year. 

In January, we started reading through the Bible with Bible Recap. The kids love this! I have received some very deep questions from some of the kids through our study together. Bible Recap is a daily chronological Bible reading that has an accompanying podcast or video commentary by Tara-Leigh Cobble. She does a wonderful job explaining hard concepts.

Science

For Science this year, we did the Young Explorer Series Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics. We started out doing all the experiments but as time went by we got worse about doing them. It was a fun year. We learned a lot. 

The highlight of the year was making the Periodic Table out of cookies. It was a lot of work but so worth it.

Math

We have been using Teaching Textbooks for math for years now. Up until this year, we used the older 2.0 version which was on CD-Rom. It was very inexpensive because I could buy it second-hand and use it for all of my kids. But it is getting harder and harder to find computers with CD-Roms and our only computers with it were aging and acting up. So, we changed to the 4.0 version this year. It is awesome! We can complete math on a computer, tablet or phone. I can review their grades from anywhere. This came in handy when I spent a week in the hospital with my oldest daughter.

Writing

I was so excited to do IEW’s Structure and Style this year. It is such a wonderful writing program. It is very involved but it has tremendously helped my struggling writers. Andrew Pudewa, who founded the program and teaches the video lessons, is so good at what he does. I had the privilege to hear him speak last year, and I was left with such a great respect for him. He was so encouraging. I was so disappointed that we didn’t finish the entire program. Because it is so in depth, we only made it through Week 17, however each child has lots of wonderful writings to show for it and a wealth of tools to help them with their writing in the future. 

Spelling

We have used Spelling Power for years now. My oldest son was doing so good in it that I decided that he could officially graduate from Spelling this year. My oldest daughter isn’t far behind. I like this program because it is a one-stop shop for spelling from age 8 until mastery. We spend approximately 15 minutes a day on it.

Foreign Language

We started taking Spanish lessons in January of 2022. Our dear friend Adriana teaches us. She is a gifted teacher and makes our lessons challenging yet fun. We are often surprised with impromptu skits to complete and quizzes but we have fun doing it all. One presentation we had to complete was on the Dominican Republic and we cooked plantains to go along with it. We will continue to take lessons as long as she will teach us.

Music

Katy, Callie, Brody and Mila all take piano lessons from Mrs. Beth. She is so good with them all. She makes learning so much fun for them. Although, all of them are improving, Callie has really hit a point where she LOVES piano. She constantly practices and has significantly improved this last year. I was able to play a duet with her at their December recital.

Clark is finishing up his second year taking guitar lessons from Mrs. Yanson. She is a talented musician and he has learned a lot from her. I was able to play a duet with him twice in December. 

Homeschool Co-op

The four oldest kids took two afternoon classes at co-op this year. Both of the classes were taught by Mrs. Dawn. The first class used Campfire Curriculum which is unit studies. The first semester was on Camping and the second semester was on Emergency Medical Services. The second class was a math enrichment class. Mrs. Dawn invited everyone over for a campfire in the fall. It was so nice.

We met so many new friends at co-op. It was such a great experience and we can’t wait to be involved with it next year as well.

For Christmas the kids gathered gifts to send to less fortunate children in Oklahoma.

We ended the first semester with a big Christmas party. It was so much fun. There was cookie decorating, stocking stuffers, wonderful food and the Christmas story was unforgettably told by Mrs. Cheryl. The moms exchanged ornaments also. We had a great time.

Field Trips, Group activities & Celebrations 

U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville AL

I try to be selective on the field trips we go on. I was so excited to find out that our local homeschool group was going to the Space & Rocket center. It fit perfectly into our studies on the International race to space. My husband was able to come with us and we made a day out of it.

Dauphin Island AL

In October, our family took a trip to the beach. We were able to take a ferry to Dauphin Island to visit the aquarium. It was a great day trip. We were able to touch baby hammerhead sharks! We also splurged on a Dolphin Cruise. It was so amazing to see so many dolphins up close.

Roller Skating

We were able to attend one roller skating event with our local homeschool group. Katy had so many kids wheel her around the rink. She was so popular. 

Regency Ball

This event was so outside my comfort zone but I’m so glad we did it. It was an enchanting evening for sure! There was lady there that explained all the dances and told us exactly what to do. We all had so much fun! We felt that we had stepped back in time.

Iliad & Odyssey Play

Ukrainian Day

Every year we celebrate the anniversary of the day we brought our adopted children home. We used to celebrate in September because that is when we brought our oldest adopted kids home but when we adopted our youngest we had to figure something else out. She came home in July. Since Ukraine’s Independence Day is on August 24th, we decided that was a perfect day to celebrate all three. We spend the whole day eating Ukrainian food and dressing up in their patriotic colors. I also try to let the kids watch informational videos about their homeland.

Hard Work

In the fall, I decided to teach the kids how to make a craft to sell. Our plan was to use the proceeds to pay for winter youth camp. We got to work and were able to raise all the money needed for camp plus spending money. We made over 50 pumpkins!

For 2 years, in our limited spare time, we have been building a place for my aging parents to live. During that time, we have been able to teach the kids so much. In a few weeks, we hope to have it completed and move my parents into their new home. I’m excited to have them close and to pour into their lives on a daily basis.  As a child, my parents cared for both of their parents as they aged and I plan to teach my kids by their example.

Games and time spent together

Every once in a while we will sit down and play a game together. I wish we made more time for this. Although the kids often don’t get along with each other, I do sometimes find them in sweet moments together. Like the time my son was teaching my youngest how to draw or the time I found my daughter reading to her younger sister.  

Homeschooling is difficult. There are many times I get overwhelmed and feel like giving up. However, my husband has often reminded me why we do this. We are given precious few years to pour into our children. Before we know it they are grown. I’m seeing that more and more as they get older. I want them to learn in an environment that is free from all the drama of schools. My children don’t have to worry about peer-pressure or the latest fads. They can simply learn. I can pour my heart out to them and they can do the same with me. I have witnessed EVERY moment in all of my children’s learning journeys. I haven’t missed anything. That is a gift. The countless hours of working with a struggling reader may not seem like gift. However, when you watch them read aloud in front of others years later knowing that all the hours you poured into them finally paid off, that my friend is a HUGE gift. I’m not a perfect teacher by a long shot. I lose my temper and raise my voice however that is a wonderful example to show my kids that their mother isn’t perfect and needs God’s grace just as much as them. I will never regret my decision to homeschool but if I hadn’t homeschooled I don’t believe I could have said the same thing.