Periodically, I review our homeschooling materials and look over new options, to determine what will best fit our home and family. New stages in life bring about necessary changes! We aren't at a "new" stage per se, except that our once-newborn-baby-girl is now toddling around, chasing after her *big* sister (age 3), who in turn spends her day trying to be included with big brother (7) and big sister (10) activities!

We are following a schedule of chronological World History, on a rotation basis. This means that history is broken into time periods and we go through each period, then start over and do each one again. Basically, each child, then, will learn about each period a few times, age-appropriately, throughout schooling years. Our "spine" has always been books...books...and more books! And this has worked for us, adding in various Language Arts materials, using Math-U-See, and using various books and field guides for Nature Study (science) as well. But it is time-consuming to write my own lesson plans, and I'm not able to faithfully keep up on this. My oldest is heading towards middle school age, and I need to challenge her a bit more.

Enter "My Father's World"! I love their educational philosophy, and I've used many of their recommended resources over the years. Now it's time to purchase their teacher's manual and have those plans written for me. :) The company favors a Charlotte Mason education (living booksnarration, dictation, and so on) with a Christian worldview and they've written lessons with an emphasis on History, which uses a 5-year-rotation plan to chronologically study it. And lots of booksWhoo-hoooo! AND, I can have all my children studying Science, History/Geography, Bible together, adding individual Math and Language Arts.

I'm looking forward to starting this right away. We are jumping into their rotating cycle, right at the time period we're currently ready for (Ancient Rome). As soon as my materials/books arrive, we'll be set. I have a few additional supplies to pick up locally as well. It will offer me relief from the ever present burden of planning and/or not planning, so that I can just open my manual and GO. Freeing up my time and my brain for other aspects of my job; like laundry. And cooking. And menu planning. And being Mom. And sewing. And housework. Etc.

I ordered from Amazon and from Rainbow Resource Center to help my budget, when ordering the suggested books. MFW offers a package deal, but we already own some of the books, so it was better for us to order our needed resources separately.

We school year-round, which offers great flexibility for illness, for zoo days (or enjoying time at the park!), for errand days...for the life which inevitably happens when we school at home. We also have been taking off the months of May and December the past couple of years. I'm not certain if we will do that, or take off a week here and there throughout the year instead. Either way, we have some time to breathe. If we followed the public school scheduling, we'd really lose traction over the Summer, and it would be difficult to start back up and retain what we're learning. As well, I love having the freedom to enjoy beautiful days in the Spring, while everyone else is still IN school. And then in the heat of Summer, when we're indoors avoiding humidity and mosquitoes, we might as well be doing school...to free up some time for those gorgeous Fall days that will be coming when everyone else goes BACK to school!

I am so thankful to have many choices in our schooling materials, and even more grateful to God's faithfulness in leading me to options that work for my family, when I seek His guidance for our homeschool. Answers to prayer!