caitlinsmom Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Why did you switch? Was it worth it for you as the teacher? Do you find the cost worth the program? Do you like not learning in the 4 year cycle? How did your kids transition from a WTM approach to the Sonlight program? We used Sonlight breifly for K4 but many things made it so we didnt finish it. I was totally overwhelmed in my life and couldn't function. However DD LOVED it especially all the stories and different books. I am considering going back to it. :D Just wondering others opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I didn't really switch completely to SL, I just mush it together with WTM recommendations and a WTM framework. Core 1 w/SOTW 1, Core 2 w/SOTW II and some of SOTW III, Cores 3 and 4 w/SOTW III and IV. (No, I do not try to complete one whole core in one whole year; more like 1 1/2 to 2 years). I also use FLL and WWE and other WTMish things for Language Arts/grammar, instead of SL language arts/lack of grammar. Though SL science isn't WTM sequence for elementary grades, it is a lot of fun and gives a broad scope of knowledge. SL's literature selection is great, and I like having the instructor's guides to use when I want the convenience of a schedule. All in all, I find it to be a full and satisfying blend for our crew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 i found that i love the SL read-aloud choices in the early years (k-2) but didn't absolutely love the history choices bc/ i really want a history program with more hands-on choices. So, we continue to use SL for book recommendations and to read all of the readers and read-alouds, but not the history choices. I also ended up labeling the edges of all the books by core year and just grabbing the next one off the shelf when we finish one, instead of following the TM. This works for us since we aren't reading the history, just the fun lit. I think I'll be using the Childrens History of the World that I bought with SL this year with SOTW 1 using the schedule on Paulas Archives and still enjoying some great SL recommendations too. So, we just figured out what we did love about SL and what we didn't and made it work for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camibami Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I meshed them together, this will be our last(ish) year with SL until younger DD gets old enough, I guess. I started with SL Core 3 & 4, that was our early modern year. Then we went to modern, used Core 7 and also 2 but not for history, just read alouds and readers for my youngest (they are not historical books). Next year we will finish Core 7/2 and use Core 6 (but not 1,we've read all the read alouds already) and stretch it into the Middle ages time period. Then no more SL for older DD, I am not a huge fan of their upper level cores, but she'll be in mid-7th grade by then. We may revisit some of Core 3-4, 6-7 for younger DD, she hasn't read any of the books, just listened to the read alouds. I used SL LA for both and kind of like it, we just use a seperate grammar, vocab and spelling. Next year my oldest will do IEW, not SL LA, but my youngest will do SL LA still. I love SL's books, I like the way they are scheduled (the WTM list-o-books to read each year is too loosey-goosey for me, I like a plan) with history readings and whatnot. I just wish they had chronological history for upper grades, then I would continue to use it, maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Why did you switch? - A friend was able to loan it to me (it was free:D) Was it worth it for you as the teacher? - All the books were overwhelming to me. We ended up simplifying and using less than 1/4 of the read alouds. We also scrapped everything but CHOW for History. Do you find the cost worth the program? - No. That's why we're not continuing. Since we didn't use all the books, I can't justify spending that much money on the program. Do you like not learning in the 4 year cycle? How did your kids transition from a WTM approach to the Sonlight program? We are still in the cycle, so I guess this doesn't apply to us.:D HTH! Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I did Core 5, which is a lot different from their other core, from what I've heard. So YMMV, but here's my experience.... Why did you switch? I needed something with all the planning done for my 5th grader. Was it worth it for you as the teacher? It's been great for us. Ds is doing Core 5, taking it slowly, so it will take 1.5 years. All the planning is done for me. Ds does most of the work independently. I just do the read-aloud with him and we'll talk about what he's doing in the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer. Do you find the cost worth the program? I got it at 25% discount (for missionaries), and most of the books even cheaper because I scrounged for used books, and it's lasting us 1.5 years, so I think it was worth the money. Do you like not learning in the 4 year cycle? I thought it was a good break for us. I will probably move away from SL after next year, though, and go back to to 4-year cycle for him when my youngers are beginning ancient history. How did your kids transition from a WTM approach to the Sonlight program? He had no problems. There was some adjusting when he had to get used to looking for info on the World Book Encyclopedia, but it was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongo Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Why did you switch? Was it worth it for you as the teacher? Do you find the cost worth the program? Do you like not learning in the 4 year cycle? How did your kids transition from a WTM approach to the Sonlight program? We used Sonlight briefly for K4 but many things made it so we didnt finish it. I was totally overwhelmed in my life and couldn't function. However DD LOVED it especially all the stories and different books. I am considering going back to it. :D Just wondering others opinions. We used it briefly when we first started homeschooling, I disregarded the advice and ordered levels to difficult:glare:, crashed and burned and then moved on. I spent a year doing MFW Adventures and then TOG for several years. I decided I wanted less planning, a more laid out schedule and great readers. I am also in LOVE with Amy Paks stuff and I figured this would be the perfect combination of hands-on and great literature without all the books. I went ahead, took the customer service advice and went with Core 1 for my youngest and Core 3 for the older 2. I would of had to supplement my older dd's reading but she is doing Apologia Science with the Red Wagon Tutorials, and that will give her a TON of reading, so I added a few of really fun books for her:) I also found 1/2 of the RA's on audio at out library. I plan on alternating them between my core 1 and core 3 RA so I don't spend my entire day reading:D I ordered everything a few months ago and I am soooo happy I decided to do this, I have minimal planning this summer, just setting up lapbooks and finalizing the schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Sonlight is a great fit for us. I love the IG and we love all the books, though it overwhelms others. I don't worry about not doing history in a 4 year cycle; we will do it all repeatedly. I change very little about the history core to meet our needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiMom Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I didn't really switch completely to SL, I just mush it together with WTM recommendations and a WTM framework. Core 1 w/SOTW 1, Core 2 w/SOTW II and some of SOTW III, Cores 3 and 4 w/SOTW III and IV. (No, I do not try to complete one whole core in one whole year; more like 1 1/2 to 2 years). I also use FLL and WWE and other WTMish things for Language Arts/grammar, instead of SL language arts/lack of grammar. Though SL science isn't WTM sequence for elementary grades, it is a lot of fun and gives a broad scope of knowledge. SL's literature selection is great, and I like having the instructor's guides to use when I want the convenience of a schedule. All in all, I find it to be a full and satisfying blend for our crew. This is pretty much how we used Sonlight as well. When we did Cores 1-4 I used SOTW but used SL's literature, history and bible reading arranged chronologically according to SOTW. I used WTM's LA/Grammar recommendations instead of SL's LA because I prefer more logical, sequential grammar instruction. I also didn't like SL's writing instruction and felt that it was difficult for a parent to actual teach it, and it expected grammar stage children to be doing writing that just seemed too advanced in my opinion (essays, research reports, lots of "creative" writing). SWB's ideas on teaching writing skills are really much more appropriate. I did like SL Science instead of WTM because I felt too overwhelmed trying to pull the WTM rec's together myself. When I sat down and compared the two I found that they basically covered the same topics, but just in a different order. I chose to use SL Science because it provided an easy schedule to follow, science supplies that I didn't have to hunt for, and a fun DVD to watch to help us with the science experiments. I have been very happy with this blend. Next year we are going to be doing SL's Core 5 just as it is written so we will not be following the WTM sequence for history. We are also going to continue with SL's science. We are still following the WTM suggestions for LA. We also will be doing Latin and Logic. I think what is important to me about the WTM isn't so much the curriculum rec's (even though I really like most of them), but rather the use of the trivium. If you keep that as your starting point you can use SL's wonderful books and other materials... in a WTM way. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimm in WA Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Julie, what is IG? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Julie, what is IG? thanks I'm not Julie, but IG stands for "Instructor Guide," which is the teacher's manual/schedule for Sonlight. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caitlinsmom Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 Julie, what is IG? thanks Instructors guide. :) Thanks everyone for your responses. Alot of you reminded me of why I quit the first time. I somehow need to find the ease of a pre-done IG but without it becoming overwhelming. LOL I had forgotton I felt overwhelmed frequently with SL! I am just not sure what it is I need or want and I feel like I am kinda floating about. Grrrr not a good place for me to be! Thanks again for the responses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimm in WA Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awstgs Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 We switched to SL last year and did core 3/4. Then, we did Core 5 this year. My son loves SL! When we finish a core, he is ready to dive into the next one. We easily finish a core in one school year. We just finished Core 5 a couple of weeks ago, and he's already hounding me about starting back to school! However, he loves to read, which is why it's a great fit for us. The price is high, but it's worth it to me because I don't have to hunt down books or make a schedule. Plus, he rereads the books, and our home library is huge. However, I do not use SL for language arts. I tried that, and after using R&S for so long, there LA program wasn't rigorous enough for us. We did like Science 4, but we really enjoyed Science 5 this year. We are not doing Science 6 next year because we aren't fans of the TOPS books. I do follow the WTM for a lot of things, but I love the ease of SL. With their money back guarantee it's always worth a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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