Review: My Father's World-Exploring Countries and Cultures

My Father's World Curriculum has been such a special part of our homeschool journey. Although we have explored other curricula along the way, we always seem to find our way back.

My Father's World uses a Family Learning Cycle so that families can homeschool together in grades 2-8. The cycle begins with Exploring Countries and Cultures and then moves on through world history in chronological order. Because our children were still young when we started Exploring Countries and Cultures, we decided to take our time with geography and enjoy our "trip" around the world.

For almost two homeschool years, we worked through the components of My Father's World: ECC. Through the curriculum, we explored the geography and cultural aspects of multiple countries from around the world. We studied maps, read living books, listened to music, created art, ate a variety of foods, engaged in hands-on activities, and explored the biomes of the different regions.

I used my bucket planning system (coming soon!) to keep us organized, including "buckets" for history, science, creative expression, etc. At the beginning of each term, I'd go through the ECC Teacher's Manual and pull the ideas and activities that I wanted to do with the children. I left out what didn't work for us and added anything else I found along the way. We then dipped into our buckets over the course of the term, using our own timeline and schedule.

Planning it this way allowed us to really enjoy the curriculum without feeling like we were "falling behind." It gave us time to explore new "rabbit trails" and engage in meaningful conversations without having to rush through to check off boxes.

In the video below, you'll find an overview of My Father's World-ECC, along with what worked for us and what didn't.

These were a few of the additional resources we found helpful during our studies.