My Father's World-K -- Share Your Experiences

[Marie]

If you are using (or have used) MFW-K, please share some of your experiences with us. We would all love to hear your stories -- and it will be especially helpful for new people who are trying to determine if MFW is right for their family or school situation.

[Rebecca in Ohio]

We finished MFWK about a month ago and it was such a wonderful, exciting, learning experience for our whole family. It really became a part of our lives, not just a few isolated moments of "school". We all learned about the life cycles of frogs and butterflies, or would watch videos/movies together that related to a particular topic. We sang the alphabet and vowel song at meals, all went on field trips, read the books aloud to everyone, and did many of the arts and crafts activities and science experiments together. The spiritual truthes became a part of our family devotions. As someone else mentioned about ECC, I was sad for MFW K to come to an end - however, I am really looking forward to starting MFW 1G - and am hoping that the same type of thing will happen when we start it.

We did not follow K exactly as written as was suggested by David when we first purchased it. Our ds was just turning 4 and was ready to do something, but I did not want anything too intense or academic. I "happened" to go to one of David's workshops and found that basically everything he was saying about their philosophy of education matched up almost exactly with mine (ie gentle learning in the early years, not too many worksheets, unit studies, biblical perspective, worldwide view, broadening as opposed to accelerating, missions oriented, chronological history - and I'm sure the list goes on, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head). I was literally bouncing out of my seat by the end of the workshop as I realized that both MFW in general and the K program in particular were exactly what I was looking for in a curriculum.

Anyway, back to David's suggestion...He suggested that, since our ds was 4, that we take MFWK slowly, perhaps doing it over 2 years. And that's exactly what we did and it worked perfectly for us. It was a gentle introduction to "homeschool" for both him and me. Doing K slower gave us the freedom to stop and take breaks so we could study other topics that were of interest to us, especially around holidays. We also took long breaks after the birth of a baby and around the time of a move. Because of the way K was set up (meaning the lesson plans), I never felt pressured to have to stick to their schedule since we were only doing it part-time. I also enjoy doing my own research and coming up with my own ideas for various topics, and I found that that was easy to do with MFW. Then at the times when I was extra busy and didn't have the time to do my own preparation, I could follow the manuel exactly and then would have to spend almost no time on preparation.

Math was informal and very foundational. Working with 100s charts and calender helped to give him a great understanding of the number system. By the time we got to Day 100 of the 100s chart he could count well past 100 and understood the gist of the way it worked. When we were about half way finished K, he had bypassed erything that MFW K offered in math, so I purchased a more formal math curriculum for him. In hindsight however, I probably would have purchased MFW 1G then, if only for the math portion at that point, in order to continue with the informal approach before moving on to a more formal approach.

Phonics also, I felt, was foundational and low-pressure. He is off to a great start in reading - and, more importantly, he enjoys it. And he enjoyed doing the drawing etc with the worksheets.

I'm sure it is not to hard to see that I think very highly of this program and that I am very thankful to have found it. It has been perfect for our family and we are looking forward to many more years of "My Father's World".

Rebecca

[MetroMama]

We finished MFW K back in April. My oldest dd (6 now) is my first to home school. It was all so new for both of us. She had taken pre school at our church when she was 3 and 4. She knew all of the letters and most of their sounds when we began. I agree with MFW philosophies of letting children learn to read slowly and not to much "chair time" too early. I absolutely love Charlotte Mason ideas. So this was perfect curriculum for me. I was really nervous about homeschooling but after I heard David Hazell speak I was convinced that MFW was right for me. I remember feeling disillusioned with so many other curriculums because they included way too much work for a 5 yo. On the other hand I wasn't secure enough in my convictions to just read to her as Charlotte Mason suggests for small children. Anyway, I really enjoyed using MFW K. There was basically NO preparation before lessons and she really enjoyed using it too. As another post said my child mastered the math portion too and I purchased a math work book for her...bad idea. She really hated it! I should have gone on and purchased MFW 1 also.

After we finished up with K, I searched all around for another curriculum...don't ask me why. I guess I figured that since I chose MFW K from a total novice home schooling point of view I knew that there must be so much more out there. After all, I had one whole year under my belt and had gained so much confidence! I was seeing so many "neat" things in home schooling mags and websites. Well let me tell you, I looked and I looked and I looked. While I did find some neat things nothing compared to MFW. Finally I took my dh to a home school conference (on the advice of a friend) and he sat thru David Hazell's seminar about combining the best of Charlotte Mason, unit studies etc.. Well my dh said "buy it"! It's the best I've seen out of any of these booths. That sold me (again) hehe.

Anyway I am preparing to use MFW 1 right now...it looks awesome!

[Susan on the Space Coast]

I finished the K program for the second time. Last May I finished with my ds 5.5 and he's reading. It was great not to have to supplement with anything else. (I had done 100 EZ Lessons w/ my dd)

My son is reading--and still enjoys learning to read with books he's picked out over the summer. It is gentle--one letter a week to include the phonics, Bible, science, and writing.

I'm starting it now with my 4.5 dd who will sit and sit because she wants to learn how to read like her older siblings (she's the baby). She's also confident with the one worksheet a day, and is glad to get the attention with the tactile activities (we're on lesson 2 now).

This was also great for my son who had never even picked up a pencil--one worksheet, then "playing" with salt on a cookie sheet or making play-dough letters.

This will be my third time doing MFWK (and w/ a 1st grader) and I look forward to getting ideas (like the quilt and snacks) to make teaching this time the charm.

[kristyn3]

I am using mfwk with my 3rd child-5 going on 6. My two oldest are doing
the textbook/workbook thing because that is how they started in a Christian school. But I get this child from scratch and I am loving it.
I love mfw. All of us are learning sooooo much and having soooo much fun. It was our first sundial for all of us last week. And today we made the sun/moon/earth out of paper and placed them the right distance from each other relatively speaking. We were out in a big field today behind our house counting out 461 feet (1 1/2 football fields long). It is making what they are learning come alive. My two older kids dd-11, ds-9 are really getting into the whole thing too. Is this curriculum this good thru out the grades? It just can't be. I am so glad we found this at our MN homeschool convention this past spring. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

[txmusicmom]

I did this with my 6 and 4 yo-
We made a little notebook ( with page protectors-- so they could flip thru it) I absolutely love the cards! We drilled every day-- quoting the spiritual principle that goes with each..........

We still drill about once a week this year with my 4 yo-- HE LOVES IT!
He can't read--but he does recognize all the letters and can belt out all the spiritual principles!

I love the new topic each week.

These are my 3rd and 4th children--so I've taught reading before.

I like the hands on activities ( cutting and gluing) Towards the end we didn't always do all of these.

The progression was great ~!

Can't say enough good!

Donna

[jangreer]

I finished MFW K with my daughter in February. We weren't ready to stop doing school yet since big brother isn't finished, so I immediately ordered 1st grade.

The most memorable lesson came early in the year a few weeks after doing "L" for leaf. I had a houseplant and a leaf from the plant on the windowsill. My strong-willed daughter was the in the middle of a tantrum, refusing to listen to me. I took her face in my hands and looked in her eyes and said, " I love you so much. I do not want you to be separated from God like that leaf sitting on our windowsill. Let's talk and pray about what just happened." She looked at me and begin to cry and said, "I'm sorry. I don't want to be that leaf. I don't."

She really understood the lesson and immediately connected why it's important to repent and be reunited with our Heavenly Father.

[Laurie]

We are finishing up mfw Kindergarten. From a Teacher/Parent perspective this curriculum was very user friendly. It made sense and was easy to follow. When I was looking for a curriculum I knew that I wanted a curriculum that authentically tied God our creator into the lessons and life. As I evaluated other curriculums I saw them to have Bible teachings and God as a separate subject. I also saw curriculums that had a lot of materials and books, seemed to be difficult to follow, some looked to be more showy. As a former Elementary Teacher I didn't want to be fooled by the 'Fluff'. MFW is practical and hands-on. The activities are very authentic and meaningful in relation to God and life. The projects and activities were special because my little boy did them with his own hands, I wasn't spending a lot of time or money buying additional stuff to make/do them with. When my husband and I attended Marie's talk on Teaching MFW K-1st, It was awesome, my husband finally understood why I wanted to homeschool and exactly what homeschooling is. May God Bless Your Family
Laurie from (MO)

[ls22221]

We are about a month from being done with MFW-K. This has been a great year. I'm so thankful to have been led to this curriculum. The Biblical basis, the simple directions for the parent/teacher, the varied hands-on projects, the repetition of activities through the year -- all have made for a memorable introduction to homeschooling that I wish all parents could enjoy.

We have added a bit of math and have gone in alot of directions in each unit that Marie didn't outline in the TM (such as studying African countries where the animals from the units live -- family connections to some of the countries prompted this). I have faithfully used Marie's phonics instruction; my son has learned so much from the games and gentle instruction -- I'm amazed and greatful for the the ease of teaching reading skills that MFW-K has provided.

My son has the schedule of activities in his head and let's me know what we'll be doing each day! He loves the unit "badge," which we've turned into small banners to hang on a string across his room. He loves to look at them and remember the statements and the things we did in each unit.

I recommend MFW often and wish more people would believe that a quality education doesn't have to look like public school classrooms! Thank you Marie and David!

[LSH in MS]

I just started MFW K last Monday. My two younger boys are enjoying it. My 7 year old has been participating as well. He asked me if he could go back and do kindergarten and Why didn't I do MFW K with him when he was 5? I told him I didn't know about it then. He was upset and very disappointed.

I will try to include him as much as possible in our K experience!

[the loshes]

We absolutely loved MFWK. (Just finished this May.) The Unit Studies were the perfect length (one week); my son was introduced to so many interesting ideas, animals and wonderful books; the phonics and math were just enough to give him confidence that learning is fun--and for me the best part was it only took 1-1 1/2 hours/day. Because I was concerned that he might not get enough math, I started off adding a Horizons Math Workbook which we both grew to despise. Should have followed MFW suggestions completely.

This summer he is reading on about a 3rd grade reading level with no added instruction! I credit that to MFW's less is more approach--instead of bored with tedious repetition, he is flourishing!

I am very thankful that when studying Cathy Duffy's curriculum guide, God just seemed to highlight MFW to me before I knew anything about the Charlotte Mason approach or homeschooling in general. MFWK has been an answer to prayer!

The Loshes

[Margaret Schrock]

I am so thrilled with the kindergarten program! We used it last year for my dd and it was so easy and fun! She didn't even realize she was reading until I told her.Now I'm using it for my ds and he is flying through.I wasn't sure whether to start him or not but went ahead and we are going slowly. Meaning its no big deal if he spends the morning out on the farm sometimes with his Daddy.When it came time to start the blend ladder it seemed too much but I decided to try it.That child ripped through before I said all my lines and he begs for more each day! He is reading three letter words on his own and picking words out of books. Spelling peoples names with real phonics sounds.He turned 5 in July and is ahead of where his sister was last year this time. I know he he picked up a lot from being with her last year and invoved in a lot of what she was doing. My4y-0 son is with us this year and picking up a lot too.Some of my friends cannot understand the joy I get from teaching my children.If only they knew.Thanks to the Hazells for this curriculum.

[Krista]

We are half way through. My daughters(6 and 7) both love MFW K (we are combining it with first). My 6 year old loves school. She likes the different activites and loves to read the words. We love the different activities for each unit. We made our clay horses today the kids love it when school is play time. My kid love the nature walks and want to take one every day. My 7 year old complains that her K was hard and that her little sister is luck to have such easy and fun school. Every one loves it when it is time to do the activities. I will be doing MFW K when my 17 month is old enough. This has been the funnest and least frustrating school year yet in our three years. We love MFW!

[LSH in MS]

We only have 3 more letters to do in K. It has been perfect for my 6 and 4 year olds, but especially my 6 yr old ds. He was having trouble learning to sound out words and was getting discouraged with the other program we were using. During MFW K he finally got it. He was so excited to be able to read simple books. The repetition and simplicity really helped him.
His brothers are reading the Chronicles of Narnia so he has claimed one of them as his own book. He can only read the simplest of words in it and mostly looks at the pictures but I am encouraged by his enthusiasm! I plan to order MFW 1 as soon as we finish K.

[lfloyd]

We are about 2/3 done with K and we've had such a fun time! My son looks forward to school each day and loves sharing what he's learning with his 2 year old sister and everyone else that will listen! He's really into science so the unit studies were perfect and highly motivating for him.

It just occurred to me a few weeks ago that my son is a tactile learner. (I figured this out while wondering why he annoys me so much, always touching, squeeezing, even licking everything! They say what bugs you the most is probably what kind of learner they are!! It is actually a strength, not a weakness...) Anyway, I think that's why he's done so well with this program. Every week, we do a tactile activity for the letter and with the hands-on phonics approach, he's learning so much! At the beginning of the year, we made about 6 cookies for each letter of the alphabet. We kept them in the freezer and took out only the week's letter cookies to decorate with frosting (also kept in the freezer in small containers), sprinkles, and write-on icing. This saved me the headache of having to bake a batch of cookies each week, and then we only had a cookie each to eat instead of a dozen! Needless to say, it was his favorite activity each week! As suggested, I've also had him write the letters in pudding, a salt tray, etc. His handwriting has come a long way as a result! He went from barely being able to hold a pencil or write his name, to WANTING to sit down and write words and draw in his free time! Amazing!

I also love this program because of its simple, gentle learning approach which I believe in wholeheartedly! Children SHOULD spend much of their day playing, exploring, learning what interests them, and not on worksheets and busy work. This has also been a practical help as we have a two year old and a newborn and don't have time for long lessons each day. Thanks, MFW!

[Winkie]

I just wanted to share my experience in case it might be helpful to anyone else out there.

I had always planned on hsing my children & my original plan was to unschool till maybe age 7-8 (when we'd have to register). However, my oldest ds wanted to learn to read at 4 1/2. Because he loved it, we flew through 100 EZ Lessons & he was reading well in just 3-4 mos. I was so surprised! And a little scared! I decided it was time to really research hs options - styles, curricula, etc. When I got the MFW catalog, I felt like it was just what I would want to do if I was writing it myself - but someone else had done all the work for me of pulling it all together. Woohoo!

But the question remained of what year to put ds in - K or 1st? I finally decided to go with K for 2 primary reasons: (1) He didn't have the writing skills & from the 1st grade samples/archives it seemed like there was a fair amount of writing in 1st. (2) Length of time - K is 1-1.5 hrs and 1st is 1.5-2 hrs. Even though he read so well, he was still a wiggly just-5 yo.

We'll finish K next month & I just received my box of MFW 1. (so i've been snuggling up with the TM for my bedtime reading ;-) Looking through it, I am so glad we waited! He would have been frustrated with the writing. He would have been frustrated with the math.

K was so perfect as our introduction to homeschooling. Both for him as a first time student, as well as me as a first time teacher. As an oldest child, he has perfectionist tendencies - so with K he could build confidence, rather than frustration with a too-challenging program.

Also, the themes seem to gel perfectly with his development. At 5, he wanted to know all about the world & how things work. So a year's study of the created world fit just right. Now at 5.75, he's asking questions about the Bible and God and "what does that mean?" I'm so excited that we'll be studying the Word for his next year - I hope it lays a strong spiritual foundation for him at a time that he's naturally interested in it.

Well, I hope someone else can relate to my ramblings!
Blessings,

[Ariasarias]

We are finishing up the school year here. This morning I had my daughter write what she liked best about her school year. The first thing on the list said "When we did My Father's World." I think that says it all. Even though I had considered MFW, we started with a different curriculum at the beginning of the year. We switched in November and have never looked back. We (and I really mean the whole family) have enjoyed the whole program. I thought it looked too simple for my advanced dd, but I found it to be perfect. It was enough to spark lots of curiosity and encourage her love of learning. And we learned about God in so many tangible ways. I can't wait to do it again when my next dd is old enough. Thank you MFW!!

[Kimberly- OK]

I tried a different K4 curriculum with my son last year. That lasted 3-4 frustrating months. There was too much seat work and not enough "fun". This year, I decided to try MFW and am absolutely sold out on this method of learning. We are on D- Dinosaur and he is already asking to write words. "How do I spell -----?" is a common question in my house now. I love the easy lessons and hands on learning. I have very little if any prep work and I don't have to buy or make strange items all the time (compared to the other curriculum). We don't necessarily follow a schedule every day. I may do two days worth in one sitting and then "skip" school for a day or two due to our family schedule (a long vacation, selling and buying a home, a new baby on the way with doctor appointments, and other events have made our schedule flighty). I anticipate all of the wonderful memories we will make in the days and years to come! MFW makes learning fun and applicaple to life!

Happy Schoolin'
Kimberly- OK
Mom of Noah 5, Kaitlynn 3, and one due in June 07

[lisa062797]

We loved MFWK here! All the science/character activities are so fun. Also, I had previously tried some of the phonics workbooks from Sam's/Walmart with my son, and he just wasn't getting it...we would both get frustrated. The method in MFWK worked like a charm. We are now a week into MFW1 and he is doing so well. I love how the bible is integrated into all subjects. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis this past August, and the short lessons are not only good for my son, but for me as well! I have no doubt that I will be able to continue to homeschool my children easily with MFW!

Also just wanted to say that when we finished K, I shopped around a few other curriculums, and could find NONE that compared with MFW as far as completeness, bible integration, FUN, and price!

Lisa in MN

[martinmcash]

We're almost finished with MFW K and we now love it. It was a struggle at first because I was pushing too much (I supplemented math, and other things) with my ds and he was fighting me every step of the way, even though he was excelling, he wasn't loving it. I ultimately blamed MFW for his not liking school, not realizing it was my fault for pressuring him too early.

A friend of mine was using another curriculum and I was looking at what she was doing and was really impressed and started researching doing that for first grade. After bugging everyone around me about which curriculum I should use, I called and spoke to Bret at MFW and I realized that I had tried to make it harder for my son because I felt that he may be behind others. I kept going back and forth on which curriculum I would choose and noticed that MFW was the only curriculum that included God in almost every aspect of the lessons. Once I stopped comparing my ds to other children, and just started teaching MFW as written w/out supplementing a math, etc., my ds started loving school. He now asks to do school even on weekends. He's actually loving it!

We will be doing MFW next year w/out question and are really excited about it. I feel like this is the right choice for our family. I'm so glad that God led us to this curriculum.

[kidswife]

I am absolutely loving MFW-K! We just finished the Elephant Lesson which is Lesson 15. I started the program in Jan when my oldest daughter was 4. She was already reading (completed the 100 EZ Lessons) and did the first volume of Rod & Staff 1st grade before we started MFW-K. Because she could already read, this made teaching her very easy. I also have 2 younger children to attend to at home so I don't have a lot of time to devote to focused "sit-down" teaching. I skipped a lot of the phonics exercises, but at times, when we do have extra time, we do the phonics activities like BINGO, match the sounds to the pictures, etc., and she would love those activities. I just think they are a waste of time and too easy for her, when we could sit down and read a book together instead. But, Hey! It's fun to do easy & fun things with them too even if it isn't challenging, so I do keep that in mind.
It is now Oct, and we just completed Lesson 15, so I'm obviously going very slow with this. She just turned 5 last month. Her handwriting and drawing is at her level (early 5-yr-old) I'm guessing, and her reading is probably at 2nd or 3rd grade. Because of this, I'm planning to focus on handwriting and arts/crafts for a period after we're done with MFW-K and before we begin MFW 1st grade. I see there is a lot of writing and illustrating involved with the 1st grade program, and I'd like her drawing and writing better. I've been looking at Draw Write Now to help accomplish this during our break between K and 1st.
I struggled a lot with choosing MFW over Sonlight, R&S, Veritas Press, and others, and I am very content with my choice. Truly God had to settle me. I haven't regretted the choice. I do check out books from the library that are part of the Sonlight, Veritas Press, and Beautiful Feet catalogs to supplement fun reading time. So I get to have the best of all companies, in a way...
I like the idea of having my younger children being able to read before beginning MFW-K. But I understand that perhaps my oldest is just a dynamo in that area and my others might not be before they turn 5. So, I also feel comfortable with using the Phonics built into MFW-K to actually teach them to read. It seems very thorough... and fun! The EZ Lessons program isn't exactly fun, but I liked how it was just one book (no other props needed) and the lessons were very short. It got the job done on my oldest.
I look forward to spening more time with MFW. I'm so grateful to the Hazells!

[atatemomof5]

We are new to homeschooling this year. I have looked over so many curriculums and always came back to MFW! I love everything about it, the lesson plans, the living books, and most of all, it will take us around this amazing world our heavenly Father made! We will be using ECC and also MFWK for 3 out of 5 of our kids (dd13, ds9, and ds5.) I took dd13 and ds9 to a curriculum fair in Nashville with me yesterday and bought our things for next year. My dd13 has already almost finished one of the books for next year (Amy Cartwright)! I wish I would've taken pictures of them opening up the boxes and looking at all of the curriculum... it was such a blessing to see those precious smiles!

[Dusenkids]

I thought I would share a specific experience that happened last week. I know that MFW-K is working for us and we are only on unit 2! As a teacher, I have very high expectations for curriculum. This is above and beyond what I had hoped for! Everything is so simple and yet there is so much being learned!

I love the simple ways MFW explains Christian concepts. “Jesus is the light of the World.” I closed the curtains in my son’s room (which had not been cleaned), turned out the lights, I cleared a tiny path to his bed, and had him walk to his bed without stepping on anything. It was less than 5 feet and he could not do it. Why do we need a light? To see. If Jesus is the light of the world, what does He do for us? Helps us walk the right way! This was the start of the week!

We ended our sun unit by reading Moon Bear’s Shadow. Bear is trying to get rid of his shadow so that he can go fishing. In the morning, bear’s shadow is in front of him. At the end of the book it is behind him. I asked my son why bear’s shadow moved. He answered, “Because the sun is (thinking) no, we are moving (thinking) our big word rotating! The sun does not move.”

[kaiakai]

I am so glad we chose MFWK!! Yes, I could have done all this myself and put a curriculum together myself, but having the curriculum already there makes my life so much easier. There is a security in knowing that it's been tried and tested and that there is a community of others doing the same things that I can share and bounce ideas off of.

My 4 1/2 year old LOVES school, and my 2 1/2 yr old wants desperately to be a kindergartener, too :D
Here is the link to my blog & the posts I have labeled "kindergarten":

http://thecatinthetree.blogspot.com/sea ... ndergarten

[henryteachers]

I wrote a review on my blog about using My Father's World K. This is our 2nd time using it, so I wanted a place to share all my tips, pros and cons, and printables in using the program. If you're interested, here's the link:
http://alittleinspiration.wordpress.com ... en-review/