Why We Switched to My Father's World Curriculum

[@nvc9060]

We are in our fifth year of using My Father's World. We love it and so do our five daughters.

[@mandy-maltz]

Servant Warrior that’s so great to hear! We really enjoyed it our first year. I think I’m just as excited as they are to start this year.

[@user-bn7dg2km2d]

@Keegan Joaquin no they dont. And fyi... hacking other peoples accounts makes you look like a schmuck. ;)

[@stephaniesotebeer975]

This was so encouraging!! I have three kids ages 4 (she’ll be 5 next month), 3.5, and 21 months and I’ll be starting MFW K with my oldest this year! I’ve watched your videos for a while and I’ve always appreciated your thoughts on different curriculum! It makes me even more excited to start using MFW this year because I already relate SO much to some of your reasons for choosing to go with them even though this is my first official year of homeschooling! Thanks for always being honest and real with your videos! I’ve really enjoyed watching your journey and I can’t wait to hear how this year goes for you guys! ❤️

[@mandy-maltz]

That's great! My youngest and I really enjoyed MFW kinder. The gentle approach is so sweet at that age. He loved kinder, and it was fun for me as well. Thank you so much for your kind words, it means so much to me to see other moms who relate and have the same way of thinking that I do.

[@christinafulkerson6854]

The Handmade Homeschooler - Mandy Maltz I just wanted to double check... did you supplement with Abeka for reading in Kinder? I am a former public elementary school teacher and first time homeschooled and was curious if I should supplement math and reading for kinder just to make sure there is enough rigor in our curriculum. Also, I’m catholic and was wondering if this curriculum would be appropriate for us. I’ve been looking into so many different curriculums. I came across your videos a few days ago and your insight has been helpful. Thank you

[@MoombaMakai]

Thank you for your very informative video. This comforts me as a new homeschooler mom!!!

[@mandy-maltz]

Glock 19GA I’m so happy to hear that. Welcome to the homeschool family- family!

[@tamijoysisemore659]

We start adventures Aug 10th. I’m so excited!

[@orlaspring363]

Tamijoy, Congratulations! Be kind to yourself and remember, there is no perfect family or homeschool, no matter what Facebook and Instagram show you! Enjoy.

[@Babsbakes]

Congrats!! And welcome to the homeschool life! Pouring into the hearts of your children is far more important than any “education” that public school can ever give your children! Be kind to yourself. Take a break when you need one! No you are not ruining your children or their education! God made you for such a time as this! God bless you!

[@DanaK817]

Great review! If I had more than one child I would definitely use it, just not affordable for 1.

[@FTDeBert]

We love love love My Father's World in it house. This is our sixth year with this curriculum.

[@mountainmamashome]

We've been using MFW for 5 years now and love it. I've done a couple reviews on it as well. These last two years I've found that it wasn't working as well as it did when all the kids were in one group, and so this coming year I'll be making some adjustments to how we use it, but even though I need to make adjustments I still believe it is hands down one of the top curriculums out there. For those homeschooling a gaggle of kiddos it's especially homeschool life saving!

[@mandy-maltz]

I totally agree! It's been our absolute favorite.

[@meghoughton562]

@@mandy-maltz Do you feel it's worthwhile for Kindergarten and what bible version do they use?

[@OurHerdOfTurtles]

I love Masterbooks and MFW. We have used every year of the family cycle and the first year of high school with MFW, and a year of America’s Story 1 with Masterbooks. I really like MLFLE and LLFLE so we will continue with those. I think next year I am going to combine the two (MFW CTG and World’s Story 1) for my littles and my oldest will be continuing with MFW high school. 😁

[@nvc9060]

Also, if you need more books for your book basket you can seach for them being read on you tube by someone for free and make a playlist. I also work from home and also live 30 minutes away from the library so going often is not feasible. This way we still get the book, it is being read to my kiddos (meaning I can use that time to teach younger girls or make lunch or drink coffee) and it doesn't cost me time or money 😀

[@mandy-maltz]

Oh really?! That is amazing, thank you! I love audio books. Working from home (even though I work much less now) makes those trips to the library very difficult for my schedule. That's such a great idea! Thank you very much. I'll make a saved list for myself!

[@LearningPlantingGrowing]

Yes! We just did this today with A Beetle is Shy for our Arthropod unit. For book basket I also use the epic app books and read to me and the digital free library programs like Hoopla and Libby. And I've recently found a ton of them on the Amazon Kindle program which is like 1.99 a month.

[@nvc9060]

@@LearningPlantingGrowing yep...use Hoopla also. My library card expired and it is a bit of a process to renew. We live outside of the city limits for the free library card but own business property inside the city limits so I have to take in property tax bill. Also...the whole current situation they were closed. Might be open soon though😀

[@nvc9060]

@@mandy-maltz another thing too, Minno and even Amazon Prime Video has Torchlighters video series that has a lot of missionary people that coincide with stories in thr MFW curriculum. Our girls are watching George Muller right now while I prepare dinner. I try to limit digital learning but having five daughters between 3 and 9 and running a business from home while my husband is gone being our CEO this momma has to do what I can sometimes😁

[@TwinkiesDesigns]

Yes! We also download the ebooks and audiobooks for free from the county library using the Overdrive or Libby app. It’s awesome and just uses our library card, but I don’t have to leave the house!

[@susanmccord8634]

This is a great explanation of the curriculum, and I love your passion for homeschooling and for your family! I'm glad that you've found such a great fit for your family! ☺️

[@mandy-maltz]

Susan McCord thank you! It was wonderful to speak with you yesterday. No other company puts the time, care, and effort into their families like MFW. ❤️

[@meghoughton562]

I REALLY want to homeschool my youngest son (of four) who is 5 and about to enter Kindergarten. I am VERY interested in this curriculum. Discipleship is my #1 goal. I don't have complete support from my family at this time. If you would please pray!

[@meghoughton562]

*Oh, I should add...Organization and time management are NOT my strong suit, so I feel VERY nervous/not confident about homeschooling, even though I have some experience with education/substitute teaching.

[@molliemarissa6189]

I hope you're doing well in your journey!

[@DecemberMom18]

Hello! I am considering homeschooling my kindergarten child this fall. I love what I have been reading about the MFW curriculum. Do you have a video on how to began the process? Thank you 💜

[@ashleylindsey1829]

Mandy, how are you going to organize the student sheets? Binger and 3 hole punch, file folders, probing a book of the sheets? Just curious because we are doing Exploration to 1850 too!

[@mandy-maltz]

Either spiral bind or 3 hold punch, I haven't decided yet. Oh that's fun! Happy to see someone else using Exp to 1850 as well! Most MFW users I meet are in the lower grades.

[@jessicajones611]

Thank you for your sharing. Do you still use MFW?

[@livelifewithpositivity3587]

New homeschool mom here....I want a box curriculum that I don’t have to supplement. Deciding between my father’s world and the good and the beautiful for kindergarten.....any thoughts?

[@mandy-maltz]

Between the two, I'd go with My Father's World

[@michellerosales3977]

Thank you for all of your information! I will be a first time homeschool mom and combed through a bunch of curriculum. Narrowed it down and after watching your video asking abeka to take you back I finally decided to go ahead with it...until now! Which would you recommend for a first timer? I need some structure but not forcefully and a daily plan made for me. My kids finished 1st and 2nd grade from public school. Thank you!!

[@Spanluver]

How do the curriculum work? Are homeschooling parents REQUIRED to teach certain subjects? I wonder about middle school accepting kids that were homeschooled and their requisites

[@smbcook1]

Hello! Thanks for this-I am a new homeschooling mom-We are planning to do MFW with my 3rd grader. Can you tell me exactly what you are getting through Abeka in terms of English/Language Arts? I'm looking at it but it's a little overwhelming.

[@aleesharosa6125]

Would you still recommend this curriculum now that it’s been a few years since you’ve posted this. We are curious to try it out.

[@mandy-maltz]

Yes! Although we use a different brand now, I still really liked this one.

[@nancyhansen7103]

Have you ever used Sonlight?

[@mandy-maltz]

I haven't. I REALLY looked into them the last few years and so many times I almost bought it. My kids had a choice between MFW and Sonlight, and they both wanted MFW.

[@MeganMarie1]

We're a Sonlight family. :) I have heard great things about MFW as well.

[@infunity5]

I'm having a hard time deciding between MFW and sonlight... do you have input for sonlight?

[@PlayAtHomeWife]

Is there away to test out MFW like Sonlight does?

[@mandy-maltz]

Christina Reed they have a free download on their website!

[@faith.and.wonder]

You can try their curriculum and send it back if you don’t like it. You’ll be out the cost of the student sheets though if your student writes on them. They have I believe a 90 day money back guarantee.

[@mamaslittlelambs5845]

Thank you for sharing this.. I really enjoyed this gave me a lot of great information and things to think about.. I don't mind Box curriculum either I used life pack.. By alpha and Mega for 3 years and I did not switch because it was a Box curriculum I switched because I felt God was Leading us in a different direction.. So thank you very much for sharing this awesome video and please stop by and say Hi to my channel I look forward to many more of your videos!!

[@mandy-maltz]

Thank you so much :)

[@meganegan663]

Do you sell your curriculum when you are through with it? Where do you sell it?

[@shannonbolton553]

How project/craft heavy is MFW?

[@capricebachor7632]

We’ve only done the kindergarten program so far, but I haven’t found it overly craft-heavy. It’s not mine or my kids thing, so we pick and chose what we do. I’ve found that what they do suggest is easy and involves things we have on hand, even as a more minimalist family. If you want make it more involved you can!

[@mmv10]

Does this curriculum teach creation science or is it similar to TATB that leaves dating out of its curriculum ?

[@hnj21364]

I might have missed the part about why you switched from Master Books?

[@CrystalsThoughts]

She just posted about switching from Master Books today 🙂

[@jenniferrubel7579]

What are all the curriculums you've used thus far?

[@mandy-maltz]

Jennifer Rubel MFW Good and the Beautiful Abeka Math U See IEW Apologia Teaching Textbooks Story of the world Off the top of my head, I might be missing a couple.

[@absolutemalmaute9592]

Did you switch your entire curriculum to MFW or keep certain ones you were using?

[@Spanluver]

After unenrolling student from school (in CA), how do I homeschool? Do I have to make one? I read that you need to create a school name. Basically, what are the steps? 1. Unenroll with NOI, take récords from school 2. ???? Do I need a teaching certificate? After unenrolling, do I just choose a curriculum and then start teaching? How do I grade child’s work?

[@mandy-maltz]

Check out www.hslda.org and click on CA. They'll give you the state specific regulations that you'll need :)

[@Spanluver]

Thank you. So you mentioned that MFW provided bible, history, science and art curriculum. Then you said abekka provides the math? So to homeschool I would need to purchase curriculum from multiple places? Doesn’t that get incredibly expensive?

[@katie7748]

​​@@Spanluver It doesn't have to be from multiple places and it doesn't necessarily have to be expensive, either. HSLDA has resources to help with all of your questions, even without joining. It can be overwhelming but just take it one step at a time. I know your comment was quite awhile ago so you've probably already figured things out, at least a little bit, but I wanted to say good luck anyway :-) edit: a word

[@caylagerman2369]

Could you explain how you do two different levels? I have a 3rd and 6th grader and they are interested in two different things but I'm concerned how I would stretch myself between them.

[@deborahramsey1291]

Do you order the entire language arts from Abeka? We love Abeka but are looking at doing family style teaching and are interested in MFW, but wondering how to combine with Abeka math and language arts. Does it take a long time to reach the language arts for abeka? Do you use all of it: writing, phonics, reading, etc?

[@mandy-maltz]

We usually order the student and teacher kit. We use it all :)

[@jennylhenry78]

Now that you been using this for a little while, how has it been working? Especially to teach 2 core subjects every day? I've used PreK, MFW K, 1st, Adventures, and now using ECC. I am currently only teaching 2 of my 4 children (but need to add in my 4.5 soon) and I'm having a hard time completing all the things in 1 days column. Because of this I've stopped and used other things but always want to go back to MFW. I need help to make it work! We really should be starting the 3rd in the family cycle this year but are only on the first one. 🙁

[@mandy-maltz]

We love it. This has been our favorite year so far. It hasn’t caused a problem doing 2 cores at all. We’re really enjoying it :)

[@FavuQuad]

You mentioned that Jesus is woven throughout the whole curriculum. Can you clarify how that's done or give some examples. Because in their curriculum for 1st or 2nd grade the only biblical book I see is the Bible. -Cathy

[@jsalas9007]

Trying to decide between masterbooks and mfw. Now that you have tried both do you have any advice. I know it depends on the family style. I have a 2nd and 4th grader.

[@mandy-maltz]

If you like family style, I'd go with MFW and start the family cycle. The value and enrichment in MFW is outstanding. You could add in MB language arts and math if you wanted. There's so many ways to do it!

[@jsalas9007]

Thank you! I’ll do that! I already bought mfw . I just keep bouncing around.

[@susanknelsen4518]

Always like your videos. Did you think masterbooks was to easy f2f or your kids. I have heard so many say its to easy. I am doing countries and cultures for my elementary kiddos from my fathers world. And abeka english and also teaching textbooks. Lol. How ironic.

[@mandy-maltz]

Susan Knelsen MB has a very gentle approach to education. Science was challenging for my oldest, in the middle to lower high school grades. I think the trio of curriculum I have now works best for them, while still keeping them engaged and interested.

[@ginaredrovan9217]

thanks. next time tape with higher volume

[@brookefenwick]

Hi!! So not to be a complete idiot, but I was confused when you mentioned that they give you a warning about evolution ahead of time. It’s a Christian curriculum, so are they bringing evolution up to help make kids aware of other views or are they teaching evolution as truth? I love your videos. They are extremely helpful. I’m a little thrown off now because I was set on Master Books and now I’m like crap! What to do. It will be my first year doing this with my son going into second grade. I have 4 year old twins so I’m nervous and want to start with one curriculum and as I get comfortable piece meal things together.

[@mandy-maltz]

Brooke Newman Hi Brooke! Many curriculums have some (usually very few) books that are suggested as additional reading on a topic that have a line or two about “65 Nikon years ago...”. From our experience, we rarely see it with MFW, and if it’s anywhere, it’s in the additional books that are suggested for book basket. It’s challenging to find creation science books, which is where you’ll typically find any warnings like that. And if you do, just skip over it and that’s that 😊 They absolutely do not teach evolution as truth, it’s just a “heads up, you’ll want to skip this page” type of warning, which I really appreciate as a busy mom! I totally understand, curriculum can be so overwhelming! Especially your first year. MB wasn’t jiving with my kids’ learning styles and preferences, that’s why we made the switch back to MFW.

[@brookefenwick]

Thank you so much for replying!! This is helpful!

[@Elipim80]

Hello thank you for sharing. First time homeschooling 2 teens. One in 9th grade and the other is a senior. My senior has a learning disability(ADHD, intelectual) She learns a lot slower than the average kid. Yet, is a strong reader, but struggles in comprehension. Will this be a good fit for her? I also work, so I will only be checking in daily in the evenings. My 9th grader is usually very independent. Also with a disability(ADHD) but She is a very smart girl and fast learner. This curriculum was recommended. Love the idea that it includes 3 subjects. I’m looking for a curriculum that can be student led, yet, I will be checking in daily. Thanks in advance ❤️

[@FunnyMoments71265]

Why would they even teach evolution if it’s a christian program

[@mandy-maltz]

They teach what the theory is, but don’t teach it as truth.

[@FunnyMoments71265]

@@mandy-maltz ok thanks that makes sense

[@brookefenwick]

Hi!! So not to be a complete idiot, but I was confused when you mentioned that they give you a warning about evolution ahead of time. It’s a Christian curriculum, so are they bringing evolution up to help make kids aware of other views or are they teaching evolution as truth? I love your videos. They are extremely helpful. I’m a little thrown off now because I was set on Master Books and now I’m like crap! What to do. It will be my first year doing this with my son going into second grade. I have 4 year old twins so I’m nervous and want to start with one curriculum and as I get comfortable add in different curriculums for different subjects if I find it necessary.

[@mandy-maltz]

Hi Brooke! The books where they have anything about evolution is usually in the book basket recommendation books, and not really in the books they have assigned for the curriculum. It's for the extra books. It can be REALLY difficult to find creation science books sometimes (and that's where you find the evolution books), so they'll just say "you may want to skip page 3 of this book" in the recommendation area. They do no support evolution, they just give a warning. I really appreciate that too, since sometimes I can't pre-read every single book that I get for the kiddos. Nothing to worry about at all, most if not all curriculum has a book or two each year like this.

[@Michelle-xk9gl]

I have used Masterbooks, Sonlight and MFW and evolution is not taught as truth.