The My Father's World curriculum is a set of materials combined with a specific instructional philosophy that mimics the Charlotte Mason learning method. My Father's World is marked by a practical and Biblical learning approach that will also gloss over moral and character issues, which keeps this curriculum in line with Charlotte Mason's vision. Ultimately, the goal of My Father's World is to thread ideas and principles of a child's education into the student's worldview such that life itself becomes a constant educational opportunity.
About the My Father's World Curriculum Philosophy
The aforementioned overarching mission of this curriculum may seem like a bit of a mouthful. How can parents make the idea of an education into an interesting and appealing concept? This is a particular struggle for many parents whose children view institutionalized education as somewhat of a prison.
My Father's World seeks to make the educational principles within the curriculum into somewhat of an adventure. The operative behind such a philosophy lies within the ability of a child to apply knowledge. Knowledge that comes in the stale form of symbols and distant theories can sometimes deter a child from learning because the student fails to interact with such concepts and see immediately where this knowledge will become applicable in his daily life.
Moreover, an education that departs from certain moral principles and character issues will often fail in that it does not create an individual worthy of advanced knowledge. Keeping in line with the Charlotte Mason method, My Father's World has created a K through 12th grade curriculum that advances a child both morally and academically.
Things to Bear in Mind
First of all, it should be of interest to all parents that My Father's World is an openly Christian curriculum. The worldview expressed within the reading and workbook materials is in accordance to Christian Scripture. Some secular audiences may not see immediately how this can contradict other worldviews; however, the differences will become apparent when one implements such a curriculum.
Many of the early learning materials will circle around Biblical events, characters and stories. At a preschool level, this is not a curriculum for nursery rhymes and general fiction. Geography will focus around the Biblical lands and nationalities right from the beginning. This knowledge could be considered harmless and exotically interesting, but parents seeking out a lighter Christian curriculum will likely not see the advantage of the deep Biblical education that My Father's World has to offer.
On a high school level, a great amount of attention is placed on Biblical ethics. Economic courses will deal with a child's understanding of money, delivered within the Christian philosophy of not becoming too attached to the things of the world. Parents interested in raising a child to be the next notoriously ambitious CEO may, again, fail to see the advantage of the My Father's World curriculum.
However, for many Christian parents, My Father's World is a gold mine of an integrative curriculum. It is truly a Scripture based program that, even well into the high school levels, prepares Christian children with a solid functional Christian education. This includes SAT prep materials and even the option of a Driver's Ed instructional.
Strengths and Disadvantages
Reading through online reviews and familiarizing yourself with the curriculum layout may raise some questions regarding the overall educational functionality of a child who uses the My Father's World curriculum. No doubt, this curriculum will do a masterful job of preparing a student for seminary, but the functionality of an education is usually determined by how much of the education is applicable to his daily life. Though this concept had the attention of Charlotte Mason, it remains to be seen whether a student trained with the My Father's World resources will be able to compete in the world of modern literature and philosophy and succeed outside a Christian enviroment.
Still, the answer to such parental concern is found within the home schooling environment. Parents who homeschool should not be bound to the letter of a curriculum. Any student utilizing the My Father's World material can always supplement his instruction with other materials. What a child will receive with certainty is a strong Biblical worldview and this may and often will contradict the secular worldview on many accounts.
More information about My Father's World can be found at the official My Father's World website.
