At the beginning of our homeschooling journey, around 7 years ago, I didn't know too many homeschoolers. I knew even fewer suppliers. However what we found and had on hand worked. The children still managed to continue a path of learning and we didn't stress too much about learning styles. If something didn't click, we just kept playing until the idea came through.
Then around 3 years ago, my friend invited me to join her forum. Internet as a whole was new to me, but I met so many other homeschoolers, it was absolute joy!! They had HEAPS of ideas and knew of so many resources that my head was swimming, but I didn't sway away too much from what I had because I've always been one to want to see before I buy.
Well, today may be a bit of a turning point. I received the Sonlight catalogue a few months ago. I'd look at it then put it down. Then I bought a couple of the recommended read-alouds and the children responded beautifully. Today we're visiting a fellow homeschooler and Sonlight user (or should I say advocate). It may just be what we're looking for ....
So, this post is also a bit of a request. If anybody out there is using, or has used, Sonlight, could you please let me know how you've found it? What parts of their curriculum have you employed? Have you used the Eng. Lit and Science too? If you have written posts about it on your blog, let me know and I'll go and soak up all that information too.
Thanking you all in advance!!
7 comments:
I am so glad you did come to the forum Alecat. I have ordered the Sonlight catalogue and am looking forward to reading all about it, so will be following your thread here as well.
Hi Alecat,
We have used Sonlight for about 18 months now and we love it. I chose to purchase core 1/2 World History just before having my 6th baby. I needed to have something concrete in place! Prior to that we'd enjoyed an eclectic approach - unit studies mainly. I'm pleased to say we have maintained our eclectic style. We use Sonlight as our spine, and add to or deviate from it a little at times, for instance I use narrations, notebooking, nature journalling, and Story of the World ( Sonlight uses this too but later on )
The books are lovely! Many of them have become our all time favourites. With children of different ages I have been able to use the one core with varying levels of Language Arts. I love the history rich approach of Sonlight, and the great reading lists. The science cores have been good too (I'm not a science buff). We have completed core 2,and 4 and are soon to begin Science core 5. Sometimes we choose not to do the activity sheets, but to notebook instead, although my 10 yr old son prefers the worksheets. After we complete core 5 I intend to buy Apologia Science from Australia though, as Sonlight recommends this for High school.
I have a few posts on my blog about Sonlight, you can find them by doing a search for 'Sonlight' - the search is located in the column on the left.
Melanie x
YES!!! Yes, yes & yes. Sonlight user. There is a link from MrsCs blog [can link to her from me] at Homeschool&etc to Luke Holtzman who is a direct connect to Sonlight. If you have trouble I'll sort out the links for you. Sonlight uses Apologia for science in the upper grades ~ very academic & what science teachers approve as *proper science*. Ditz has found it difficult. I got it for the books & while Ditz fusses most are excellent & are a really good way to teach history. What would you like to know? I tweak it fairly heavily because it is rigorously academic & a bit too heavy in places for Ditz. I have mentioned it in blogs but you'd have to troll through a fair bit. I can do a separate post if you would like? Anyway I recommend it as super good if rather on the expensive side!
Thank you for your input ladies.
I'll have a look at those links tonight! :)
DS was very happy looking through the Core 5 books today. He's very keen on reading and thinks this approach will be a heap of fun.
Just adding a note to Ganeida:
I know it's expensive. That's what's inhibited my going ahead in the past. However, I'm looking at getting as many of the books as possible secondhand. A number I do have already, too.
The Instruction Guide is probably going to be my greatest expense, esp. if I do go ahead with the Lang. Arts. I don't think I'll get Science just yet as we're quite happy with what we've done already (and what Mariposa is still completing) on Biology/Human Anatomy.
There is a family with 5 children interested in the program too, so we'll pool as many of the books/novels together as possible.
Down the track, I hope it will still have a good resale value if we use it for Mariposa (as she's 3 yrs younger than Maestro).
Academically speaking, this is Maestro's style. I do expect I'll need to tweak it for Mariposa, but I've been having to do that already. :)
So ... long story short, I'm writing up a spreadsheet to track my most frugal buying options. This will probably be a few hours work, but I'll get that done first.
I don't know how you work your language arts but I did not purchase a separate language arts program. I have found that between the worksheets, the notes in the IG & Ditz's learning style I really don't need one. The notes are very thorough. The diagraming on the worksheets gives plenty of grammar practise & I used modeling initially because Ditz had done almost no grammar.
we started with core 5. If you like crafts do get the box of stuff on China. Ditz really enjoyed that & the origami work was awesome as well. She was charmed to be able to do cranes when we read The 1001 Cranes. May have that title wrong. Sharing is a great way to go ~ especially if you can share the IGs which is the most expensive part of the curriculum.
All of our Lang. Arts have been based on Homeschooling Supplies books. While we've found them great, we've also had issue with the fact that the Successful English books are always being written to where Maestro is at that time. When it's printed and we have it, he flies through the work.
** I particularly like how the grade 4 books focused on how to use the library with researching exercises.
Grammar - at his level. A little challenging in part, but still managable.
Comprehension - worked through very interesting write-ups on scientists last year, and now it's history (a bit of an extension on what SOTW) is like.
Creative Writing - uses some literature as a model and then goes through the process of how to write your own.
After seeing the Core 5 and Lang. Arts 5, I think that both of these would suit him, so we'll go with it. (Hubby's just given the go-ahead.)
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