A Review of My Father's World Kindergarten Curriculum

When I first started out on this homeschooling journey, I had little knowledge of what else was out there beyond the typical ABeka & Bob Jones Press curriculums. My mom homeschooled us way back when (using pretty much neither of those publishers & did an amazing job, I think). While some curriculums (Saxon math) are still around, she also used a lot of unit studies & unique curriculums from smaller publishers. And that was before the internet & where you could find YouTube channels devoted to reviewing homeschool curriculum! (I'll have to sing her praises another day...)

So, a friend of mine who had been homeschooling for quite a few years but was wanting to explore the options, invited me along to a curriculum fair. It was overwhelming, but I got introduced to more options that pointed me in the right direction for me & my kids.

When I learned about My Father's World kindergarten curriculum, it just made sense to me! It had a good mix of hands-on activities, living books, & a few worksheets thrown in to give those government reviewers something they recognize.

After going through this curriculum 4 times, I just want to give a little review for all those overwhelmed moms just starting out.

My Favorite Parts of My Father's World Kindergarten

This curriculum takes a gentle pace.

Kindergarten is actually a bit controversial, especially in certain homeschooling circles. Un-schoolers obviously don't like the idea, but they're not the only ones. Charlotte Mason didn't see the need for a child to begin formal schooling until the age of 6. These ideas are relevant, even in "mainstream" schooling. Here in NH, the compulsory school age is 6, but when we were in Maryland, we had to start at 5.

While I loved the idea of this "quiet growing time" that Charlotte Mason-ites preach, I also wasn't an elementary school education expert. I wanted to find a happy medium between all play & all books. My Father's World fit the bill.

The gentle pace of this curriculum is just what I was looking for. The phonics is soft to start & keeps building but never becomes too rigorous. Math concepts are introduced in a variety of ways, but it's not overwhelming. Instead outdoor time & simple activities are the norm.

It was even gentle enough for me to feel comfortable starting it earlier with a few of my kids instead of waiting until they turned 5.

The phonics approach is just right.

The alphabet song that the kids are introduced to includes the letter sounds instead of just the letter names. Again, not being an early-childhood expert, I would never have thought that this was important.

Also, you don't progress through them alphabetically. You work through them based on how they're used in order for the child to be able to start sounding out simple words early on. Yet again, the kindergarten teachers are rolling their eyes at how obvious this is, but I went to school to teach kids Shakespeare not phonics... A whole new world!

There are simple weekly activities that reinforce that week's letter sound & help them practice. (Don't worry about those "blend ladder" pages. You'll see moms overthinking them in the Facebook group. Don't get swept up in the drama.)

The math concepts are a simple introduction.

No kindergartener needs to be able to do complicated math sentences. And MFW recognizes that. It's more about number sense & introduction.

Number sense comes from the tallying of the days. I was never great about doing this consistently, but you're supposed to keep track of the number of days you've done school. You group them in tens and then hundreds. It helps kids understand those place values & gain a familiarity with those ideas.

You also have a weekly math page that seems so simplistic to our adult minds, but these are brand new concepts for our little ones. Tally marks, ordinals, simple addition & subtraction, filling in the missing number--just to name a few!

They pray for you.

At some point during your school year, maybe twice, you will receive a call from someone from MFW. They will ask you how everything is going & try to answer any questions you might have. They will then ask if you'd like them to pray for you. If you miss the call (or don't answer unfamiliar numbers), they'll leave the sweetest voicemail. There's nothing quite like hearing a sweet sister in Christ praying over you & your family as you go through your school day. This has been one of the biggest blessings from this company!

My Least Favorite Parts of My Father's World Kindergarten

The graphics are a little dated.

While the artwork that accompanies the curriculum is fine, some of the elements are probably due for an update. (I've had to explain what some of the illustrations are--telephones, radios, etc.) However, I appreciate that they aren't just updating to compete with the newer, shinier curriculums that have arrived in the market over the past decade. They've done all they can to keep costs down for families by keeping things simple. They were coming out with their second edition just as I was getting started, so I'm sure another edition will be forthcoming.

While I appreciate the slower pace, we could have handled a bit more rigor.

As much as I love that gentle approach, it sometimes seemed too gentle. In our fast-paced, kids-must-read-by-first-grade-or-they're-doomed-for-life world, I tended to feel a bit panicky about the lack of rigor. However, the plus side is that this frees you to do a deep dive with your child if the spirit leads you. Your kid is just lighting up during octopus week? Checkout all the ocean animal books from the library & read them throughout the week, take a field trip to an aquarium (even if it's just Petsmart), sculpt fish out of Play-doh, watch Finding Nemo or Finding Dory while eating ocean-themed snacks. The teacher's manual has great suggestions, and you can find others on Pinterest.

As I close this chapter of our homeschooling journey, I am a little sad. This curriculum has been a sweet little tradition that has bonded my 4 kids together. They recognize the stories. They remember the activities. It's bittersweet for sure!

I hope you found this review helpful as you pick a kindergarten curriculum. It can be a bit overwhelming, so I am always trying to remember the questions that I had.

I've been writing a lot more about our homeschool recently. I wrote a bit about getting started in homeschooling. And I also shared what an ideal homeschool day looks like for our family.

Cheering you on!

{I'm not an affiliate with MFW. I was not asked to write a review for them. This is all my own opinion without strings attached!}