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Sonlight Core 100 for 9th grade? Or Notgrass?


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We have been limping along trying to do a SOTW/History of US combo -- it just isn't working for us. Dd LOVES both books -- she just struggles to keep up with two separate "texts" for one subject (we are definitely a textbook/workbook oriented family).

 

I really like the History of US series, and thought that perhaps we would just set it aside (we've only done one volume), finish SOTW 3 this year (7th grade) do SOTW 4 next year (8th grade) and then use Sonlight's Core 100 for 9th grade.

 

Then, I noticed several folks chiming in on a similar question (now I can't find the thread, grrr) and the general consensus seemed to be that H of US was "too light" for high school. Also, I stumbled upon a Hewitt Junior High syllabus that used the entire set of H of US for a one year course (forgot I purchased that, it was on my shelf!) I'm not terribly concerned about "rigor", but I do want to be sure that Core 100 is "worthy" of a high school credit.

 

Also, I am very impressed with what I see of Notgrass American History. What are the pros and cons of that vs. Sonlight Core 100? I definitely want something straightforward, and that dd could work on fairly independently.

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We have been limping along trying to do a SOTW/History of US combo -- it just isn't working for us. Dd LOVES both books -- she just struggles to keep up with two separate "texts" for one subject (we are definitely a textbook/workbook oriented family).

 

I really like the History of US series, and thought that perhaps we would just set it aside (we've only done one volume), finish SOTW 3 this year (7th grade) do SOTW 4 next year (8th grade) and then use Sonlight's Core 100 for 9th grade.

 

Then, I noticed several folks chiming in on a similar question (now I can't find the thread, grrr) and the general consensus seemed to be that H of US was "too light" for high school. Also, I stumbled upon a Hewitt Junior High syllabus that used the entire set of H of US for a one year course (forgot I purchased that, it was on my shelf!) I'm not terribly concerned about "rigor", but I do want to be sure that Core 100 is "worthy" of a high school credit.

 

Also, I am very impressed with what I see of Notgrass American History. What are the pros and cons of that vs. Sonlight Core 100? I definitely want something straightforward, and that dd could work on fairly independently.

 

Just wanted to let you know you are *not* alone! We are doing SOTW-3 this year (7th), and in order to do outlines, narrations, extra reading, and a few fun things, we opted to cut History of US, too. I did read part of one book that went into how each of the colonies was started, but that's all.

 

I have been considering doing Core 100 in 9th grade, too. I do think it's what you do with the material, and what output you expect that makes it "worthy" or "not-worthy". But, as always with a non-standard curriculum, it's hard to know what to expect from any particular grade level.

 

One of my big concerns is that the literature will be some repeats for us, but I'm guessing we could easily find some replacements.

 

I'll be looking forward to reading all your replies!

Rhondabee

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I also added in Critical Thinking in US History for a different twist. My main goal in dividing Core 100 up was to make it sync with Cores 3 & 4 that his younger brother was using, but I think it worked very well.

 

I know that some think the History of the US books aren't high school level, but the Sonlight notes add in more discussion and additional information. Between the Hakim books and the additional history-oriented literature from SL, I felt it was worthy of high school credit.

 

My son is more interested in math/science than history, so I decided that his history program should be more high interest. He was able to work on it independently, except that we discussed the History of the US readings with the Sonlight questions once/week. He did enjoy the Hakim books, and the publisher sells a book of multiple choice tests that I used to easily establish a grade for the course. I did substitute out some of the easier literature, and I used a Lightning Lit guide to supplement in some literature, short stories, and poetry in his 9th grade year.

 

I don't know anything about Notgrass, so can't help you there.

 

Brenda

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