alicai Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 I stumbled across Torchlight today, which is a lit-based secular curriculum. Only K is out so far, and it reminds me of a more modern FIAR or a simpler Bookshark. I'd love to get some user reviews! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 (edited) Neat! :) I am going to comment so I can hang out too and see if anyone has used it. Torchlight is an interesting name for a secular curriculum though. For whatever reason the name feels Christian to me. Looks like it is brand newish since they only seem to have K. Is that correct? It sounds like a solid endeavor though. I like how they describe what they are hoping to achieve. Edited March 21, 2018 by nixpix5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicai Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 It does sort of sound Christian! Definitely secular though. I ended up buying it today since it was PDF and only $30 (bound version will be available soon). I'm never an early adopter so this was out of character for me but . . . affordable. Anyway, I've only started going through it but I like it so far. I joined the Facebook groups as well. The author is very thoughtful and intentional. Levels 1 and 2 will be out before Fall. She has plans to go all the way through 6th at least. She releases updates for free. She has clearly given great thought to removing impediments to getting stuff done. For example, one thing that held me back from Bookshark in the past is that there's just.so.much. She has pared down to the most minimal, great quality resources she can find, but she offers curated lists of additional if you would like more. I really appreciate this stance; if a book is $40, she doesn't shy from it if it's the best (in her opinion). But there's also not 40 books to buy. She has deliberately tried to make the vast majority of the lit available through your library. I went through it all today and I'd say 95-98% of it is available through either my local library or the LINK system. She's also taken pains to make the guide simple and not overwhelming. As someone who gets overwhelmed by guides, I'm a fan. I'll update when I can get into it more. This is a big choice for me because I've got charter money to burn in the next few days, so I *could* buy a ton of these books :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Oh wow this looks REALLY good. I like the use of the Zen~ books, and Ahn's Anger for character. We LOVE those books. And including cooking is all thumbs, way up! Did you use the 60% discount for Be Naturally Curious, Alicai? We love Ahn's Anger books too! I have always wondered why they didn't show up more in curriculum. So good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicai Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Did you use the 60% discount for Be Naturally Curious, Alicai? Where did you see that?? I missed it somehow! I’m not familiar with Be Naturally Curious but I saw that she recommended their science units. Have you tried it? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starrinytes Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 I ended up getting the Torchlight K guide (even though my kids are 1st and 4th), mainly BECAUSE of the booklist. It works great for a variety of ages, and we aren't using solely Torchlight since my kids are older, but we have gone through several of the books so far and I'm picking and choosing certain activities to do, adjusting and adding in some things for my kids (my daughters will read some of the book choices vs me reading aloud as well- all the books that are suggested that we have so far are really lovely- definitely all secular, which is a HUGE plus to us.) Level 1 will be focusing on Ancients, so I'm looking forward to that booklist as we are doing Ancients next year as well. The author is extremely open to suggestions and concerns, and really seems to take everyone's criticism and critique into consideration. I only wish there were higher levels released already, but that isn't anything to really complain about since it's a brand new option out there. So, while I can't use the guide completely as it's meant for, I would still recommend it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 When my bug kids were little kids, we all drew posters of our own anger and wrote what it did to us. We moved those posters from house to house until they tore up. I so wish I'd had them laminated â™¥ï¸ Such a great idea! Funny thing is that I have done something similar with kids I have counseled and hadn't even thought to do that with my own kids. I think I am going to do this ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJVW Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Torchlight LOOKS great and I am seriously considering it for my younger child in a few years. I am slightly turned off by the fact that she "may" go through sixth grade. We use Build Your Library as our main curriculum and that has levels through 10 or 11. What if Torchlight goes to three or four and she quits? And why not go the entire way through? I also think having nearly 100 books for Kindergarten is a bit much. I would rather see fewer on the actual book list and have the rest as optional. That way I can incorporate them and have them as a resource, but I'm not looking at approximately $900 in books for Kindergarten. I am excited to check it out and I hope it is as wonderful as everyone is thinking it will be....but I am skeptical. I wish someone would merge Build Your Library and Torchlight with Beautiful Feet and organize them like Layers of Learning. Too much to ask?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes+Ships+SealingWax Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 The program has only been released for a couple of months - I believe the very first adopters are on Week 6 or so? Things happen - people lose their jobs, medical issues arise, etc. Putting 7yrs of curriculum together is no small feat & I would rather she be upfront about hoping to go that far, but not being certain. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAttachedMama Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Just wanted to bump this up and see if anyone wants to update their review or share a new review. I am especially interested in any torchlight K reviews! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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