Page 5 of 5

First Few Weeks and First Field Trips – MFW Voyage of Discovery

Hoover Academy Leave a comment

We started Voyage of Discovery the last week in September of 2018 because Brother was born. I was able to start with Sister while I was on maternity leave. We had a great seven weeks to start the school year off. It really gave her and I some time just for us, after the adjustment of getting a new little brother.

We where able to take a few field trips while I was on maternity leave. The first one was to County Line Orchard. Nanny was able to come with too! Going to the apple orchard was perfect for “A” week! At County Orchard we picked apples, walked through a corn maze and took a wagon ride.

The second field trip we took was to Cutlers Farm to pick out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. This time it was Dad, Mom, Sister and Brother. They had a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. Sister has so much fun walking in the pumpkin patch picking out our pumpkins. She even got to ride a pony. We had a great time carving and painting the pumpkins. Plus you can’t forget about cooking the pumpkin seeds!!!

I was so sad to have to go back to work, but I knew my little ones were in good hands. Nanny was great and would do her schooling with her at least three days a week. (Sister had dance/tumbling one day a week and Toddler Time at the library one day a week). If they didn’t get to the fourth day of schooling than I did it with her in the evening, weekend…..or some times it rolled into the next week.

This is also why using daily bins for her schooling worked great. I could prep everything they needed (with a few exceptions) and it would be ready for them to work on it each day.

Blog Link: Organizing MFW Voyage of Discovery
Blog Link: My Father’s World – Voyage of Discovery
Blog Link: What We Added to MFW – Voyage of Discovery

Organizing MFW Voyage of Discovery

Hoover Academy 4 Comments

Sister and I were so excited when the box from My Father’s World came in with her new schooling!!! She had been begging to start “school” and here it finally was. I pulled everything out to see how much stuff there was to work with. The teachers manual was were I started because I needed to get an idea on what we would be doing through the year, each week, each day. Thankfully the beginning of the book was helpfully in explaining what to expect and gave me a list of supplies we would need.

So the first step was to get the supplies we needed and then to figure out how I wanted to organize this for use.

I started with two 3-Ring binders. One for the student sheets and one to put her sheets and craft projects in. The Student Sheet binder I had one clear plastic sheet for each day. This made it so easy for each week to take that sheet out and divvy up the sheets in the daily bins.

The binders and books not being used on the bookshelf right below the daily bins.

My Fathers World Voyage of Discovery binders.

I found that using daily plastic storage bins was the easiest way to to keep what was needed each day separate. On Sunday of each week, I would look at the teacher’s manual and see what was needed for the week and each day. So day one would have the teachers manual, Preschoolers Bible, student sheets, letter magnets (Melissa & Doug magnets, letter flash cards, Usborne Books and More Wipe-Clean Letter cards, book suggested that came with deluxe kit, a few books from the library that fit that weeks letter theme, worksheets we added to the curriculum, craft supplies if there was a craft for that day, science supplies if there was a project for that day and educational toy. That sounds like a lot but most of the time everything fit. The exception was if a book was to big to fit in the box.

Daily bins, supply bin and crayon bin.

I hope you find this helpful. If you found some other ways of organizing that worked great for you, feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear what you did.

Blog Link: My Father’s World – Voyage of Discovery
Blog Link: What We Added to MFW Voyage of Discovery

Field Trip – Sunset Hill Farm County Park

Hoover Academy Leave a comment

Saturday we had a family field trip to Sunset Hill Farm County Park. They had a Spring Out event. It included family activities, farm animals, wagon rides, crafts, bounce house, food vendors, guided hikes, archery lessons, and vendor booths (including my Usborne Books and More booth).

Sister with butterfly face paint.

Dad and Sister were able to have some great daddy daughter time together. Sister was able to pet the farm animals, jump in the bounce houses, get a balloon made, paint her face, and watch her cousin fly a kite. She spent a lot of time in the bounce house. She even got her face painted and picked to have a purple sword balloon made.

Turkeys!!!!

We all had a great time! It was a hot day but so nice to finally get to spend a day outside. We finished up right before the storm came rolling in.

What We Added to MFW Voyage of Discovery

Hoover Academy 5 Comments

FIRST DAY OF HOMESCHOOLING!!! I had everything all organized and ready to go. Brother was six days old and I was on maternity leave. Her and I are both excited and we start Unit 1 Day 1 of Creation. We went through the unit in the teachers manual, read everything, did all the crafts, played with the toys and we were done in about 30 minutes. She is three so 30 minutes sounds good. Not for my daughter!!!! We got done and she was still sitting there. She asked if there was more! Um…..there will be more tomorrow!!!!

So that is when I decided that for us we were going to add more to it. A few things I decided to add:

  1. Books! Each week you learn a letter, so we added books that start with that letter. We tried to get a good mix of educational and fun books. I sell Usborne Books and More so I looked up what books I thought would be great for each letter. She goes to the library once a week for Toddler Time. What better time to grab books for each week’s letter then when she is already there?
  2. Letter craft! We found on Pinterest ideas for make a craft out of each letter. See the letter crafts here!
  3. Writing her letters! I purchased the Usborne Books and More Wipe-Clean Capital Letters, , Usborne Books and More Wipe-clean Alphabet Cards and Trace the Alphabet worksheets online.
  4. Math! I purchased the Usborne Books and More Wipe-Clean 123, Preschool worksheets book from our local teachers store and a basic wipe clean math book from the teachers store

We would space these additions out. Depending on how many additional books we had for that week we would put a few in with her schooling and a few I would read at night. The extra worksheets I would put one in each day of schooling unless the curriculum already had her doing a few things that day. The letter craft was usually done on day two or three. Photos to come!

Link to Blog Post: My Father’s World – Voyage of Discovery

My Father’s World – Voyage of Discovery

Hoover Academy 6 Comments
My Father’s World – Voyage of Discovery Deluxe Kit

We made the leap and purchased the My Father’s World – Voyage of Discovery Deluxe Set. It came with everything shown above (minus the 3-Ring binders, but more on organizing the curriculum later). Plus we purchased the Preschoolers Bible, that you do need to go with the curriculum. It was so worth it to have everything in the Deluxe kit (plus the Preschoolers Bible). We have used it all. There is three options for purchasing the curriculum: Deluxe, Basic and A La Carte. You save A LOT by purchasing the kit, plus they do run specials on the kits.

This curriculum is written for four units (days) of “schooling” and one day for a field trip or outdoor activity. The teacher’s manual breaks each day down so is makes the school time go smoothly. Each week has a theme of a letter and number, shape or color. The books, crafts, science projects all tie in with that that weeks theme. The first two pages of each week will have the lesson plans for the week and tell you what items you will need to complete the projects for that week. It also comes with three special units: Creation, Christmas and the 10 Commandments.

At the front of the teachers manual it does give you the list of school supplies you will need through out the year. At the beginning of each unit it will also list anything you may need in addition to those items. The crafts in the individual units can be optional, but we did try to do all of them.

The curriculum is designed so you have everything (except your craft supplies) for the whole school session. It has the hands on kids toys, books, student sheets, flash cards etc. We actually added to the curriculum because I have a very ambitious little girl.

Link to Blog Post: What We Added to MFW Voyage of Discovery

The Start of Our Homeschooling Adventure

Hoover Academy Leave a comment

To backtrack a little, last summer (while I’m feeling very pregnant with Brother) Sister kept telling me she really, really wanted to go to school. Now being a mom that is all about education, we have already been working with her on letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. She is read to during the day and before bed. She goes to Toddler Time at the local library once a week where they sing, dance, do crafts, read and act out stories.

Since she really wants to learn….I most definitely will not say no!!! I looked into local preschools but for age three, it’s only for a few hours twice a week. One of those days would make it so she couldn’t go to Toddler Time at the library anymore. Plus what “schooling” they did with her was very basic. Every child is different and I know those preschools are helping a lot of children. But I know my child and what she already knows and that she would want more. She is getting some social interaction twice a week with Toddler Time and Dance/Tumbling class. So the search on what I could do at home began.

I first heard about My Father’s World from another Usborne Books and More consultant. She was talking about how My Father’s World used the Charlotte Mason Method, was a christian curriculum AND they used some of the Usborne Books and more in the program!!! As an UBAM consultant who LOVES the books (can you really sell something you don’t love?) I did more research!

What is the Charlotte Mason Method? It “is based on Charlotte’s firm belief that the child is a person and we must educate that whole person, not just the mind. So a Charlotte Mason education is three-pronged: in her words, “Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life” Here is a link to read specifically on the Charlotte Mason Method.

My Father’s World is a home school curriculum that uses the combined approach of the Charlotte Mason method, hands on unit studies, classical education with the Bible integrated in the studies. The two MFW packages I looked at were the Preschool for 3s-All Aboard Train and Pre-K for 4-Voyage of Discovery. They both looked great, but since my daughter did know all the basics I did decide to go with Voyage of Discovery.

Hello from the Hoovers!

Hoover Academy Leave a comment
Hoover family photo
Hoover Family

Thank you for joining us on our family adventures! A little about us:

Dad: He works full time as a mechanical engineer. Loves to hunt, fish, garden and go mushroom hunting.

Mom: She works full time in corporate aviation and sells Usborne Books and More. Loves to travel, read and hang out with friends.

Sister: She is three (soon to be four) and is a bundle of energy that never stops. She loves playing outside, playing with other children and loves her dance/tumbling class.

Brother: He is seven months old. He is a very relaxed baby but loves to follow his sister around and is curious about everything

Nanny: She is practically family. She has been with us since Sister was one year old. So she has been with us for almost three years! She has been detrimental in the education and development of our children.