SL Core 6

[Guest aquiverfull]

Now you all know I'm crazy! :tongue_smilie:

If you've been following my threads you know I've changed my mind about history a dozen times. It's partly trying to worry about the history cycle and part worry about how my youngers will fit in. I had decided to go deeper into the 2nd part of American history next year.

 

However, my dh and I had a long talk a few nights ago and we decided that it would work out best if our dd had another full history cycle before hitting high school. So I'll go into the american for the rest of this year and then want to hit the cycle beginning with ancients in 6th.

 

SL cores 6, 7, and 100 would do exactly what we want to achieve. However, I'm wondering if the books and content covered would be too much for her. Can you tell me how old your children were/will be when they cover core 6? I no longer have access to the SL boards or I'd ask there.

I worry if the readers will be more than she can handle, since she's not an avid reader.

 

Thanks for putting up with me. :)

[MIch elle]

and schedule only HALF or LESS of the readers/read-alouds. I bought SL 6 IG only and then a select group of books from the SL 6 list from Amazon. We also used CLE reading the same school year.

 

I needed the SL 6 SOTW schedule to keep me on task to get SOTW 1 and 2 into one school year.

[Julie of KY]

If you want to ask on the Sonlight boards, then the Choosing Sonlight Curriculum is a public forum - you just can't go ask on the core 6 specific forum.

I'll be doing core 6 next year with an eleven year old.

[swimmermom3]

I used SL Alt. 7 with my then 7th grader the first year he was homeschooled. We added SOTW to it as well as the other readers from SL 6 & 7. My ds maintains it was his favorite year ever.

 

This year, I am using the SL 6 literature with an 11 yo along with some other things because I can't help the tweaking.:D

[melmichigan]

I currently use Core 6 with my DD10. We will use Core 7 next year and then Core 100, either in one year or over 2 with more depth and the Lit from Core 200 for the second year. I think these cores are great for middle school. You may not get the same reaction on the SL board although there are 3 or 4 families on the Core 6/7 board who are just starting DC these ages this month. The move seems to be in this direction again for some. :) We subbed for Trojan War and will skip one or two other books until a later date. You can always tweak as needed. We add in to the core more than take out but my DD is an accelerated learner and an avid reader. Remember the tip in the IG says "Use your Instuctor's Guide as a resource, don't permit it to "use" you.

Edited January 22, 2010 by melmichigan

[jlovebaker]

The 11 yo, who is extremely independent and a great reader, had no problems. For my youngers to get it, I just started reading almost everything aloud - I can read for hours aloud now! I've continued that with Core 7 this year - it'd be too much for my now 10 yos to read on their own but not a problem for my now 12 yo. I love both of these cores!

 

However, I am looking forward to Core 5 next year, where ALL of my kids can do the readers on their own ... I'll be tweeking it some for then 13 yo with some more advanced books but it'll be easier for the youngers. I already bought most of the books for it so I've confirmed that they are definitely easier reads.

[Guest aquiverfull]

Thank you all for your input. I did go to the choosing forum on SL boards and searched. I got the impression that most were using these cores with children who were older. So I think Mel's right. It's good to know that there are some who think its right for middle grades. I will have to look some more into the readers and see if I can get some from my library. That may allow me to judge if they would be too much for my dd or not.

 

I may also go and ask opinions on the SL forum. Again, thank you for sharing your experiences with me. My other option would be doing all 4 Biblioplan years in 3 years time.

[swimmermom3]

FWIW, we thought the reading level was higher in SL 6 & 7 than in Core 100.

[AngieW in Texas]

I spread SL Core 6 over 2 years when I did it with my 6-7yo and my 9-10yo. I did drop some books and I added in a lot from SL Core 1 and Core 2, but I mostly used Core 6 as my spine.

 

I did SL Core 7 over just one year with my 8yo, 11yo, and 13yo (oldest was in ps when I did Core 6). My 13yo did nearly all the nonreligious readers. My 11yo did most of the nonreligious readers. My youngest is dyslexic, so she didn't read any of the readers from Core 7. She did fully partipate in the history and readalouds though.

 

My oldest did Core 100 for 9th grade, but thought it had too many low-level books (even called them baby books). My middle did the first half of Core 100 for 8th grade, but is using Oak Meadow US History this year for 9th grade. I like OM US History much better. Core 100 is really geared more for 7th or 8th graders. There are too many elementary level books in the Core.

[melmichigan]

Core 100 is really geared more for 7th or 8th graders. There are too many elementary level books in the Core.

 

:iagree: This why I think it might work very well in your case. My DD won't be using any of these cores in high school. I do read aloud all but the readers with a few exceptions.

Edited January 23, 2010 by melmichigan

[G5052]

I have a friend who is a LONG-term Sonlight user (i.e. several kids in college who used it all the way through), and she has done this many times in order to combine multiple children and accomodate slow readers. You can look in the Sonlight catalog to see which readers are harder, and just pick the easier ones and/or pace it your own way.

 

I'm also a fan of buying used IG's and borrowing books and buying used. We went pretty much as-is through Cores PK-4, but it would have sunk me financially to buy everything new when we had other priorities at the time. That way you can also just find the books for the first few months to see if it's going to work for you without worrying about Sonlight truly accepting everything back if you return it. I have heard that things have to be in near-perfect condition for them to take them back, and we're just not that way with our books!