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hsmom10

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Everything posted by hsmom10

  1. Thank you for all the input! I have a list of all of these and will research over the weekend. Has anyone done Writing with Skill? That is one on my list as well, but wonder if it is too teacher intensive? (which I am not opposed to, other than I will have a newborn in the early fall and know how things can get hard with that). I had not looked at the IEW theme based courses, so thanks for the heads up on those. I do like the writing intensives, just wish they weren't quite so pricey. Thanks again!
  2. I feel like writing has been the most difficult for me to find a good fit for my kids. It seems like every year I try something new, and I still feel like my kids are incredibly weak writers. I really want to focus on writing this year and get them both better writers. Part of the problem is that I feel it is the hardest subject for me to teach- so I have trouble helping them write well. It is the easiest subject for us to "skip". I have 2 school aged daughters- one is a rising 6th grader, one is a newly 9 year old rising 4th grader. For the young elementary years with my older we did Sonlight LA and I feel that is where the downhill spiral began- it was hard for me to teach and it was hard for her to get. When she was in 4th grade I bought IEW hoping this would be the solution. She did okay with this, I was thinking this would be all we would need. What I didn't realize was that with just the TWSS I would need to come up with the ideas myself. We had the SWI-A, which was good, but I do not have it in the budget to spend $200 a year on all the continuation courses. So, for 5th grade I went with Hake Grammar and Writing- hoping she could incorporate what she had learned from IEW in to the writing suggestions. I really liked the Grammar portion, but my daughter (and I) were terrible at keeping up with the basic journal writing and once we got past the first couple writing lessons I feel like we hit a road block. She hated the writing portion, she couldn't figure out how to do any of it on her own, and even with my help we struggled to get it done. I want to continue with Hake Grammar, but need something else for writing. My 2nd daughter also started with Sonlight, which was a bust with her as well. This year I went a different route with her, and did FLL 3 and WWE 2. I love FLL for her, and will continue FLL 4 this fall. I just don't know if I should continue and do WWE, or try to get her in the same program my older is doing. I also still have IEW with SWI-A that I could use. I feel like WWE is a bit weak, and while I can tell her narration and dictation has improved, I still think she could be writing more. Does anyone have any recommendations? I am considering Essentials in Writing for both of them, I like the idea of the DVDs, and I like the price. I really would like something that is open and go, or that they can be somewhat independent with. I have a 3 year old and another baby coming in the early fall, so I do not want to choose something that is incredibly teacher intensive (WWE would be fine, if 3 is similar to 2). Anyway- thank you!
  3. We started Saxon last fall- I have a 3rd and 5th grader- a lesson has never taken that long. It is usually an hour tops. My 5th grader sometimes takes a little longer than that, but on average they are always done in an hour. I agree that if it is taking 3-4 hours, something is not working.
  4. I don't mean to bump this up again, because I know it has been talked to death- but I just found my e-mail from Sonlight advertising them at the district fair last year. Again, I know we are pretty much past this, but just another part of the irony since they are still saying they aren't a part of it. Want a close-up look at homeschool curriculum? Want to touch Sonlight materials? Want to talk to an experienced Sonlight mom who can answer your questions? You're invited to a special bookfair in Castle Rock, CO next week. This is a bookfair specifically for a homeschool co-op in Douglas County, but all homeschoolers are invited to come look at curricula. There is no registration and no entrance fee. Just show up! Cloverleaf Homeschool Options Bookfair April 18, 2012 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM 312 Cantril Street Castle Rock, CO 80104 (303) 387-9545 (Names removed by me), two Sonlight representatives, would love to meet you at the Sonlight booth. They've both used Sonlight materials for years and can show you samples of what your family's curriculum would look like with Sonlight! Sonlight and Rosetta Stone will be the only curriculum companies with representatives at their booths, though select curricula from other companies will be set out on display. I know it's late notice, but if you missed the Loveland Convention, this may be your best chance to see Sonlight materials in Colorado. (ETA- I realize this was before the ACLU and other legal issues they may have encountered, which may be part of the reason they are dancing around a solid answer, and had to go with a separate company name)
  5. I am the one who started the other thread, and I am not feeling uptight about Sonlight. When I originally posted, it was due to a local article stating that SONLIGHT was going secular for the homeschool enrichment program, funded by the public school system. Because I live so close to both Sonlight and the enrichment program in the article, I knew that it was Sonlight that was being used by that program this year. I knew that it was Sonlight that went to that district fair last year, because I received flyers in the mail, and an e-mail from Sonlight saying that it would be an opportunity to see the curriculum in person. I never knew how the 2 could work together, and I was shocked when I saw that Sonlight was going secular. The thread evolved in many ways, with Sonlight denying they were a part of the program, to tiptoeing around answers, until more info was found on the net. When they were first saying that it was a parent company and not Sonlight in the school, I have first hand knowledge that it was SONLIGHT in that program, and felt they were being deceitful with their answers. Finally someone finds the Brightflash name and Sonlight finally gives an answer that makes sense. So- do I have a problem with Sonlight (Brightflash) offering a secular curriculum? Not really, I guess. It will be under a separate name, and I know other curriculum companies have done similar things. It does seem counter intuitive to what I believe the Sonlight corp. is about, so that comes as a surprise to me. I realize that it is financial and in order to have public dollars purchase the curriculum it has to be free from religious content. Will I stop using Sonlight because of it? I can't answer that right now. I think our homeschool is moving in a different direction anyway, and while I have loved the years we have spent using Sonlight, it may be time for something new. Partly because that is just where we are, partly because of the bad taste in my mouth from all the bad PR and not just being up front and honest. I mean, the first response to the article in question was that it was wrong, misinformed and Sonlight's name was used when it shouldn't have been. That the man quoted in the article didn't even work for Sonlight. But no further explanation that that, other than it was a parent company issue. Anyway- that thread certainly went through a lot of different "shocks", but I realize that the original statement about the article is kind of old news by now :)
  6. I know, I have never been to that convention, and never plan to. It is unfortunate because it is a HUGE convention. I would love something that was inclusive of most curriculum companies.
  7. Not as of yet. They haven't been since 2008 and are not on the list for this year, either. The only CO convention Sonlight attends (officially) is a small one in Loveland (through Home Instruction Ministries) Last year they were also at the Douglas County district curriculum fair, but they don't full admit to that one apparently. (although on the SL forums under conventions there are questions about the district fair under the CO conference thread from before this article and the other questions about it came up)
  8. I am not sure if CHEC requires its members to adhere to YE as I am not a member (although the members I know in my homeschooling circles do tend to be YE), they do require the vendors at the conference to adhere to it. It is one of the reasons we do not belong to CHEC. Here is one article I found on the SL/CHEC thing: http://planetpreterist.com/news-5589.html I believe this is John H's blog that talks about it: http://johnscorner.blogspot.com/2009/01/change-of-interpretation-on-chec.html
  9. Sonlight has not been invited to the CHEC conference for a few years now (which is ironic since this is their home territory). I think the main thing it boiled down to is to be at CHEC (Christian Home Educators of Colorado) you have to sign something saying that the science offered is young earth, and Sonlight couldn't do that (although even now it leans more YE than it used to) I also think there were issues with someone at CHEC and John H. but my understanding is it came down to the science.
  10. Finally a straight answer that makes sense. Although, too bad they couldn't have said that up front. They never even mentioned the Brightflash name until questioned on it. Then it was "oh yeah, that is one of the sister companies"
  11. We are not YE either, but are trying Apologia Anatomy and Physiology next year. Flipping through the book it all looks great and not many mentions of YE, until the last chapter that talks about evolution (or the lack thereof) I just plan on skipping that all together. The rest looks great and I really like the looks of the notebooks. We have tried so many science programs and have yet to find something we LOVE.
  12. My apologies about the standardized testing. I didn't realize it was different than the schools. Thanks for clarifying. I knew you couldn't enroll at Cloverleaf if you were under CHEC but did not know that about HCCA. Thanks for the info!
  13. It is a program offered by the public school district. I explained it in detail in a few posts up :)
  14. I guess it is somewhat like an umbrella, but that is not how they refer to it. It is confusing, I agree.
  15. This isn't a charter school, or an umbrella, or a co-op. I would call it an enrichment program (they used to just call it "options" but changed the name to Cloverleaf last year). In CO you can file a letter of intent to the district, or to a private umbrella school. We file with the district, and that is that. We are basically free to homeschool how we choose and have to turn standardized test scores (or an evaluation) in every other year. Douglas County offers a one day a week program for that people that choose to go that route. It is not mandatory, it is just there for people that want to use it. They meet one day a week and are taught Language Arts, History, Science, Art and PE. The teachers are public school teachers and they meet in a church. I would say that most of the people that use the program are Christian, but not all. In exchange for this one day a week program, the district receives funding for the homeschooled student. With that funding they are able to pay the teachers, get the supplies for the program, and offer curriculum for the families use in the home. The families can choose if they want to use the curriculum or get their own. The kids that attend this program take the same yearly standardized testing that the public school children take (TCAP, which is not typically something homeschoolers would ever take) The district then uses those test scores toward their district scores. (although I have heard it is possible to opt out of the state testing) I guess it is a popular program, because there is a waiting list for the next year. I have mixed feelings about the program and it wouldn't be something we would do, but I can see how it is appealing to some families. But- it isn't a charter school, and while technically a "public school" it is only one day a week and only for homeschooling families.
  16. If I am understanding correctly, only the IG's and mission statement.
  17. Oh the semantics! When it is convenient (or needed, for legal reasons) they are separate companies, that really have nothing to do with one another. :eyeroll: I think I have figured out that the ONLY thing that they are claiming is "Sonlight" is the IG's and their mission statement, neither of which are being used by Cloverleaf- so therefore, Cloverleaf isn't using Sonlight, even though it is the Sonlight logo plastered all over and the district is advertising it as Sonlight. (Oh, and the CFO is quoted as saying it is Sonlight- while Sonlight denies he even works for them)(Will Sonlight send in a letter to the editor asking them to remove their name from that newspaper article that is full of misinformation and lies?) Sonlight is only taking credit for the IG's. Everything else is just distributed by them, therefore, not really Sonlight. Clear as mud? And, BTW, when I buy a Honda- I don't see the Acura logo plastered all over it.
  18. Haha- I just posted this same thing, didn't realize you had already posted.
  19. Well, since they are denying that Sonlight has any involvement with this, and only a "parent company" does I guess that is how they can stick to thier values and pull the shades over their customers' eyes. It has certainly left a bad taste in my mouth, and has taken a direction completely surprising to me from my first shock over this yesterday. (and on a completely somewhat unrelated note, when googling "BrightFlash" along with "Sonlight" The first thing that comes up is John Holzmann's pinterest page- I guess his username there is "BrightFlash")
  20. I agree that being a homeschooling family on a single income in this area (which I am also) means that the income is typically lower than the average dual income family, and I don't disagree that there aren't people that can use help. My issue is not with the program, or that it offers curriculum assistance to people that choose to go that route. I think my issue has been pretty much talked out at this point- especially because I see Sonlight is falling under a different name at the school for next year, which was not mentioned in the original article I posted about yesterday. I think the resources available in this area (including the fantastic libraries) still put it better off than some districts out there, where children might truly be unable to obtain good literature.
  21. Thanks for the link. That is the first I have ever seen it called BrightFlash. For this school year it was most definitely Sonlight. Good to know it is a different name. ETA- I hadn't looked at the entire PDF when I first opened the link- so, it says BrightFlash but right under it is the Sonlight logo. Oh well.
  22. I don't disagree at all. But Sonlight is not doing this to be inclusive of these groups. They are doing this so the public school will offer (and pay for) their product. It is not for the greater good of the world, or so that all homeschoolers have use for their program. It is a financial move and has nothing to do with being appealing to other religious or non-religious groups. The county that this is being offered to is one of the richest in the nation. They are very few low income families in the district. Sonlight is being offered to the homeschooling families that use the enrichment program. I get the feeling that some people are seeing these poor, impoverished children that would not otherwise have the means to read a good book, or have access to Sonlight. That may be the case in many areas, but this is not one of those areas. Maybe it will expand to that in the future. It may affect me differently because I am seeing both sides of it- the side that Sonlight is telling people, and receiving the flyers in the mail about the Cloverleaf program and the fact that they advertise it as Sonlight curriculum, not Invisicorp.
  23. The response on the Sonlight forums leaves me more confused. Basically it was said that the article is misleading and/or incorrect. Judy says the gentleman quoted in the article is employed by Inquisicorp, not Sonlight. Yet on Sonlight's website he is listed as a Sonlight employee: http://www.sonlight.com/employee-profiles.html I know for a fact that it was Sonlight (not Inquisicorp) that put up a display at the district's homeschool fair last year. And the people in the program are being offered Sonlight, not a different brand name under the same parent company. Honestly that response has me more confused, not feeling better. As far as the inclusion theme going on in this thread- as I have said many times, my issue is more with Sonlight- not the inclusion/exclusion of homeschoolers in general. I am all for people being able to access whatever curriculum is right for their families- whether that is religious or not. Sonlight is not offering a secular version to homeschoolers- they are now backtracking on an article that was published and quoted by their CFO (again, listed on their website as a Sonlight employee) saying that it isn't even Sonlight that is being offered. I can promise that it is being offered as Sonlight. Again- I think this thread has gotten somewhat off track, and now with Sonlight's response, I am left scratching my head even more (although not totally surprised).
  24. In regards to the article, this is only about this one district's homeschool program. So, yes, it changes things for the homeschoolers in the program that will get a revised secular edition, but at this point I do not believe anything is changing with the purchased curriculum.
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