Deciding on SL for next year

[Kidlit]

I've been back and forth about this SO MANY times, but I think I've just about decided. (This is with dh's help, of course!) I think we're going to use SL Core 1 next year for dd's 1st grade--history and literature. I had originally planned to simply use SOTW, but dh has encouraged me to purchase something that will require less time for me to plan. We will have a new baby in the house by that time, so my brain will be on overload.

 

My question is this: will SL make this easier?

[freeindeed]

Yes. Each day is planned for you.:001_smile: There is lots of reading, but we enjoy that aspect. If you and your dd like to read, then SL should be a good fit.

[meet me in paris]

Yes! I think Core 1 is pretty open-and-go... as long as you want it to be. ;) If you want life to be easy, I would recommend the LA1, too.

[StartingOver]

I've been back and forth about this SO MANY times, but I think I've just about decided. (This is with dh's help, of course!) I think we're going to use SL Core 1 next year for dd's 1st grade--history and literature. I had originally planned to simply use SOTW, but dh has encouraged me to purchase something that will require less time for me to plan. We will have a new baby in the house by that time, so my brain will be on overload.

 

My question is this: will SL make this easier?

 

I am sure it will, I have all the first grade WTM stuff, and SOTW will take a ton more work than SL. As long as you enjoy reading aloud. Sonlight is all laid our for you. But remember you can make the guide work for you.

[Kidlit]

Thanks, everyone! I have had my heart set on TWTM/SOTW, etc., for a long time, but that was before the reality of homeschooling with a newborn hit me.

 

Now I'm trying to tell myself that it's just first grade, and we can tweak it to be whatever we want it to be! :tongue_smilie:

[Lightly Salted]

We love Sonlight here - the IG makes it very easy to plan my week and add in supplements.

 

One question for you, though, before you order: have you considered combining your two into one Core? Since they are under 18 months apart, they would probably be easy to combine, if you want, but in that case, I'd seriously consider starting them in Core K, rather than Core 1. K is NOT a traditional kindergarten program, despite its name. It is designed for kids ages 5-7, and gives an introduction to world cultures which provides a wonderful framework for understanding world history as presented in Cores 1 and 2. Core 1 is for kids ages 6-8, so your not-quite-five-year-old would probably struggle to grasp some of the deeper emotional content of Core 1 next year, but they'd both fit perfectly into Core K, and be set to progress together through the years.

 

Lots of Moms find they like to go with one core below grade level, for better retention and understanding. And of course, combining is only for the Core (history, literature, geography), not for their academic subjects, but it sure makes life easier for Mom! We've done Core K this year as first grade and kindergarten, and my first grader definitely got more out of it - it was in no way too easy for first grade! Just wanted to throw that out there as food for thought before you purchase. Definitely check out Sonlight's choosing forum if you're interested in other perspectives. I hope you love Sonlight no matter which core you choose!

[Kidlit]

Lightly Salted--Yes, actually this is something I've gone back and forth about, too. My older dd is doing very well with reading, and this has been her true K year. I feel fairly confident ('though I am admittedly ignorant about the program as a whole) that she would do well with Core 1. DD2, though, as you can see from my signature line, will not be 5 until November, so she won't be a true K'er until the next school year. She is wiggly and fun but not really ready to buckle down to do seatwork.

 

I suppose my main concern with starting dd1 in Core K is that if I ever do drop SL and just use TWTM history cycle, she'll be off.

 

Input, anyone? :D

 

ETA: Another hold up on Core K is that we've already read several of the books as read-alouds over the past couple of years. My girls LOVE to be read to, and we've done a lot of it so far.

Edited April 29, 2010 by hopeistheword
I thought of something else.

[StartingOver]

So how much reading is lot? My son will officially be starting grade 1 come September. So assuming I do core 1 as is, how much time a day would be spend reading aloud?

 

Right now all we do for school is listen to read-alouds. Lots of them, on all sorts of subjects, fiction, non-fiction, picture books, chapter books... About 2 to 3 hours of books a day.

 

He also practices reading a little everyday. About 5 min. He is comfortably on about a grade 2 level.

 

 

I think one of the biggest issues I see on Sonlight is people feeling they can't get all the read alouds done.

 

For me it isn't an issue. Now it has been a long time since I did core 1, and some of the books have changed. But it didn't take me over 2 hours to do them. But I enjoy reading aloud, and my kids love it.

 

We are doing K now. We read in the morning, then do our phonics and my son reads to me. Then Sonlight K science and math. Off to nap. When the kids wake up and are eating lunch I read some more, and finish other subjects. If there is more reading to be done we do it at bedtime, or they choose a book if there isn't.

 

Maybe someone else has done Core 1 more recently.

 

( We do not do all of Sonlights subjects, just the Core - history, geography, read alouds and readers. Along with science. I have only seen LA K, and it didn't work for my family. We use WTM along side or for other subjects. )

[Barefoothomeschooler]

I am starting core 1 in the fall with my two ds ages 7 and 6. This will be my second time around with core 1. My two dd ages 12 and 11 did it a while ago. We loved it. We are just finishing up core K and loved it. I think it is important to have your kids on the higher end of the age recomendations. Next year will be my first with 3 cores. But my older girls do all the reading on their own now. I combine WTM with Sonlight. We do SOTW along with cores 1-4 but usually only the audio version. they are in cores 6&7 and I added the test to them too. I am just starting to dabble in doing Sonlight TWTM way for the logic stages. Check out my blog for my new journey.