Status Update: My 10th Grader, My Father's World, and Next Year

I'm due for an update on how My Father's World is working for us and I'll focus on Jordan, my 10th grader, who is using MFW World History and Literature (WHL) High School Package. 

First, a little about him and his day, then I'll share why I decided not to go with MFW for next year.

Jordan's Life


Jordan turns 16 next month and he has a lot going on.  Monday through Friday, he is up early to work on his school so that he can be done by noon. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday he lifts weights and plays noon ball from noon until 1:30. Then he comes home for a snack, changes and goes back to the Y to work from 2-7pm. He sets up the border patrols for floor hockey, coaches 2 teams, refs, and takes down the border patrols after floor hockey is over. (I love that he works with his dad). On Tuesday and Thursday, he's up before 6 am for high school morning soccer practice from 6:30 - 7:30. Tuesday night he plays soccer with some teammates from 7-9 pm at the Y. On Thursday night, he plays pickleball from 7-9 pm at the Y.  On Friday he has Chess Club and on Sunday night he plays on the adult soccer league at the Y.

When soccer starts next week, his schedule will actually ease up a bit. He will have daily practices from 4-6pm and morning practices will end shortly into the season. He will not play noon ball and will be working less (maybe an hour a day).  Thankfully, he has a lot of flexibility in his job.


Jordan still plays a vital role in our home, helps with Bo, makes cookies (today he made peanut butter ones), and still does his regular chores (with some grace extended to him). Today, he helped pick up stuff and vacuumed the living room and my office. He does his room, the living room, entry, and mud room, takes care of the chickens, maintains the vehicles, and shovels snow.


In a way it is good - he is learning to find his place in the world. . . and really, he only has two years before he graduates and leaves home. I think of all my boys, he will be the most ready to venture out on his own after graduation.  When he was 14, he wanted to go through the diesel mechanics program at our local college, and so far that plan is still looking good!

When my oldest moves out, my youngest will be starting preschool. . . seems almost surreal to me.

My Father's World

In the last few months, I realized that MFW was only a stepping stone to get me back into a boxed curriculum - one in which the work, the planning, the choosing and the scheduling has been done for me (something I need in this season of life). But, we will not be continuing on with MFW next year.

We began our homeschooling journey with Sonlight and we are coming back full circle to Sonlight to end our homeschool journey with Jordan. (That's the plan - I won't order until the new catalog comes out in April).

Jordan works independently in his school and MFW is great, but it does not have enough of what I need right now. I have a weekly meeting with Jordan to talk about what he is learning, check his work, etc., but it is hard to discuss what he is learning because I have not read the books he is reading. With Sonlight, I can pick up the study guides and have a discussion with him on ANY book he reads. The student manual is written to the student, like MFW, but SL high school cores ALSO contain a teacher's manual. Jordan can use the student manual only for parent-guided instruction or he can work independently using both.

MFW 11th and 12th appealed to me - I love BJU and BJU's teacher's manuals offer good discussion - but that is the only book I would be able to discuss. SL appealed to Jordan and my husband voted SL, so SL it is!

Plus, I couldn't make it work for Nathan to finish the history cycle before high school - Sonlight Core H picks up where we left off in Rome to Reformation and essentially covers the same material in one year that MFW takes to cover in two (for example, it uses SOTW volumes 3 and 4 in one year, while MFW uses it over 2 years). He will be 8th grade next year, and the thought of skipping a portion of history did not appeal to me.

There's more, but these are the main reason I'm choosing Sonlight (besides the obvious - that it is a literature based curriculum and has high standards). There is a thread on the Choosing Sonlight forum that discusses the differences between the programs if you want to know more.

I've also decided to jump back in with both feet - with ALL the kids. I'll share more soon.

0 comments