Using SL core 100 for high school-what changes did you make?

[Zoo Keeper]

I know this is a can of worms, I'm opening up, but I just can't help myself. ;)

 

Next year's 9th grader will be using Sonlight's Core 100 for history; he is on the young side for his grade, and is my most  "difficult" student of the bunch.  Using a pre-planned schedule will give both of us some breathing room--he picked Core 100 based on the history portion.  He thought it looked interesting, and I am willing to give some ground here if it something he will do willingly.  

 

But I want to make sure his workload is high school worthy.  His other subjects are fine, I just need some opinions on the SL bits. 

 

I am planning on replacing many of the Literature selections that seem to be more "middle school" in tone.  Any suggestions for which to keep or which should go?

 

I do have Lightning Lit Mid to Late 19th Century that I could add in.

https://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/Materials/mItem.aspx?id=8073

 

How did any of you make this core work for *you* in high school?

 

I'm open to any suggestions.  :bigear:

 

(and yes, I have read John's notes on the Hakim books.  We can read and discuss.  Insert critical thinking exercise, here, folks. :001_cool: )

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2017 by Zoo Keeper

[...................]

So, 

 

We never finished it...(We felt like it was an absolutely overwhelming amount of school-reading)....if this is for your most difficult student of all your kids...

 

My advice?

 

Back away slowly....beep...beep...beep...

 

I find the binders confusing and overwhelming, the program is not user friendly for a teen (IMO), and it is really a metric ton of reading....my dd thought she would love it (she was younger, but still...) when she realized reading 50 books to which you are assigned is rather a different thing than reading 50 books you have chosen yourself. :) On top of it, several of the books were a flop early-on, and we had to read them aloud to get through them.  

 

History of US was a huge hit...but that's not high school level by itself.  

Edited May 25, 2017 by Calming Tea

[MerryAtHope]

Compared to what I've done with some of the other 100 level cores, we actually didn't change 100 a lot! 

 

Yes, there are some younger books woven in--but they often alternate with books that are meatier reads (and frankly, some of those easier books make the subject matter a bit more fun). I wouldn't be anxious to change a lot in that regard for a student who has some challenges--it's a good transition to high school type of course. I did do a little switching and dropped a few books due to time constraints as well. When we did 100, there were 4 lit books from the AP list, and I just added in a couple of others (Red Badge of Courage was one I added). I also continued read-alouds throughout high school, so sometimes I covered a meatier book at that time (I read Scarlet Letter aloud for example--and actually it was more enjoyable that way ironically. My kids thought Pearl was laugh-out-loud funny--surprised me the first time, so then I started reading her that way more--many of their reactions changed how I read that book.) 

 

I did drop some of the Hakim notes (and if I did the core again, I'd drop more--it's not just the content of some, it's the volume throughout the year. Between some of the reading and then discussion, it's easy to spend 1.5-2 hours a day on *just* the history--not even the lit. It's actually what drove me to sub out Notgrass US history for my dd, while still using the lit and a few of the other history books from SL 100--but I think I'd go back to Hakim if I did it again). Anyway, maybe that won't be an issue for you, but if it might be, I'd encourage you to take the time to go through and just mark what you want to make sure to discuss, or the abundance of notes can be overwhelming. (My history lover chose Core 100--the "alternate viewpoints" was the selling point for him, and even he thought it was just "too much" by about halfway through the year.)

[FriedClams]

We did it with an advanced 8th grader as advertised. It was a great core.

 

Now Core 200... We dropped sonlight after that one.

[Bristayl]

We did 400 American Literature instead of the 100 Lit.

[Julie of KY]

We did not do it as scheduled, but we did do most of it.

 

I don't mind at all having some of the younger books interwoven. I would not hesitate to let me child skip the younger books or drop some of the less interesting books. This is a rule I generally have. You can freely drop one or two books for the year and use replacements, but we mostly do it as mom schedules.

[daveswife]

If your son does it as is, there will be plenty of work (my dd did 100 in 8th, my son in 9th). The student guides for history have tons of mapping, comprehension questions, vocabulary, and discussion questions (some of which I used for essay topics). I would suggest that if you're going to add Lightning Literature for the English credit, there's no need to buy the literature module (it will be way too much to do). The only addition I made to 100 was the test packet for History of US from Hewitt Homeschooling (and in hindsight, I can say they are not necessary).

[Zoo Keeper]

Thank you all--I'm unable to reply individually right now, but I do appreciate what you've shared. :)

 

Please, keep it coming! :bigear:

 

 

[Zoo Keeper]

Just to be clear, my dear student is "difficult" emotionally (ADHD, ODD), not a learning difficulty like dyslexia.  He is quite bright, very creative, and could probably handle a heavy workload.  He doesn't want to feel like he's being treated "like a kid."  

 

He hates being pushed, but when he does rise to the challenge, he does very well.   If it is SL doing the pushing (and NOT me), he might be more willing to work….

 

And if we needed to cut some stuff out; I would get cool mom points. ;)  

 

Off to stare at my IG some more...

[Rebecca]

I do use this Core in 9th grade. I also add Notgrass US History and Excellence in Literature. (I choose classic novels for EIL). We work through a writing program. I have used IEW in the past... rising 9th grader will be doing WWS 3. My ninth grader will also complete a research paper. (Required by oversight/diploma program each year).

 

HTH

Rebecca

[merylvdm]

I used this with my oldest as she only started homeschooling in 9th grade and hadn't done it as a middle schooler. She did the American Lit at the same time and the US Government and Civics so that gave her a very American year!

 

I added nothing (well, we did watch various movies but nothing else) - except an AP test prep book 2 weeks before she took the AP exam.

 

Yes - she took the AP exam after SL 100 - and she scored a 5. 

 

So I would definitely say it is high school worthy as stands!