Holding back with sonlight readers

[mmpmelmack]

I have been contemplating using SL K next year, so I gave him the reading test, and he was almost ready to go to the the readers 2 regular, and thats now, we will continue OPGTR over the summer, so unsure of what to do, I emailed a Sl advisor, and her main comment was that I should slow down his reading cause its important that he core 3 readers go with core 3. how am I supposed to do that? do i tell him no you cant learn anymore reading?

 

We are getting our foster care license in three weeks, and will be taking in 4 kids under 4, making my house have five kids under 4. I need lessons that are already set for me, I am not up to designing it myself, and I really like SL book packages, but what am I supposed to do about his reading? and he wants to do science and history, he asks for it all the time. I am not up to putting it together, and thought that Sl would be a good way to get it all done. but now I am not sure its as flexible as I thought.

 

anyone have any ideas?

[Dmmetler]

Could you do core 2 regular this year with K, then advanced with core 1 or 1/2? I like the Sonlight materials, but I'm pretty convinced that their curriculum counselors simply don't quite "get" the concept of how advanced kids learn to read and how hard it is to hold them back. My DD will be doing core 1/2 with adv 2 readers for this coming year, and for her, it's a good fit-but Sonlight would say she's too young.

[musicianmom]

I am getting ready to order Core K for next year. We will be using Readers 2 regular.

 

If we stick with Sonlight, our schedule will be like this:

 

2010-2011 -- Core K with Readers 2 Regular

2011-2012 -- Core 1 with Readers 2 Intermediate

2012-2013 -- Core 2 with Readers 2 Advanced

2013-2014 -- Core 3 with Readers 3

 

So it does even out, thanks to the 3 different levels of Core 2 Readers.

 

Sonlight advisors always advise to go with a lower reading level because of the way Sonlight's Language Arts program fits together. Level 2 Language Arts, as I understand, requires a lot more writing than even an advanced kindergartner could be expected to handle.

 

If you're not using Sonlight's LA, then the readers are just that -- readers.

[Colleen in SEVA]

I have used bits and pieces of Sonlight in a non-traditional way with my oldest (take what I say with a grain of salt, because I don't do any of it the way you are supposed to), but I don't think the list of a few words on Sonlight's website is where the student is really reading, I think you will know this better based on the types of books he is reading. Has he read some of the books on that level's list? If not, you may want to check them out and see.

Edited May 7, 2010 by Colleen in SEVA
I realized my post wasn't really what the OP was asking about.

[Dinsfamily]

I am getting ready to order Core K for next year. We will be using Readers 2 regular.

 

If we stick with Sonlight, our schedule will be like this:

 

2010-2011 -- Core K with Readers 2 Regular

2011-2012 -- Core 1 with Readers 2 Intermediate

2012-2013 -- Core 2 with Readers 2 Advanced

2013-2014 -- Core 3 with Readers 3

 

So it does even out, thanks to the 3 different levels of Core 2 Readers.

 

Sonlight advisors always advise to go with a lower reading level because of the way Sonlight's Language Arts program fits together. Level 2 Language Arts, as I understand, requires a lot more writing than even an advanced kindergartner could be expected to handle.

 

If you're not using Sonlight's LA, then the readers are just that -- readers.

 

This is what we're doing. I'll probably add the Readers 3 Advanced books when we get to Core 3. My ds is reading at about a 3-4th grade level right now and we're using Readers 2 regular with Core K. He's really enjoying the books. He reads each day's assignment out loud to me. I can't think of any reason to rush him through the readers or to assign more challenging material. He does pick out books with higher reading levels from the library each week that are interesting to him and he reads them on his own.

 

ETA: I'm not using SL's LA so the amount of writing isn't an issue for us.

[Tracy]

Was it the SL test that you used to test him? My dd5 tests at 3rd grade level. And while she can read 3rd grade level material, she does not have the stamina to read the same volume that a 3rd grader would have to read. You also have take into account his vocabulary. Just because he can read at a 3rd grade level doesn't mean he will understand everything that he is reading. Similarly, a lot of 3rd grade topics will not be appropriate for a K-age child to read. You have to make sure the material is at his emotional and interest level. I am not saying you can't place him in a higher core, just trying to give some food for thought.

[Zoo Keeper]

I agree with what some have said so far; just because you child can read at __ level doesn't necessarily mean he should be doing all his reading at that level. Both of my guys read way above "grade level". We have made the SL readers work for us by dropping the LA (too scatterbrained for my taste, I prefer WTM rec's ), and using some of the read-aloud books for readers. And my guys read it all out loud to me, with many pauses for discussion and vocab checks. This has slowed my book devourers down a little bit; we also add in lots of trips to the library. Also try adding in some of the sequels to books, such as the other two books after My Father's Dragon.

[twilkin]

I love SL just because you have the options for the different levels of reading. My 4yr ds will be starting core K with Readers 1 this summer while his younger brother will be doing the K level reading.

[Dinsfamily]

I also wanted to add that you don't really slow down reading level so that it matches up with core 3. In Core 3, they stop reading to improve reading skills and start reading for content. Much of the history content comes from the Core 3 readers. It's a big change from the earlier reader packages which are mix-and-match with the cores. They added in 2-Int and 2-Adv to accomodate older and advanced students. 2-Int contains 3-4 grade readers and 2-Adv contains 3-5 grade readers.

[mmpmelmack]

I am so overthinking this aren't I? of course he could just do the readers 2 now and move on, I think I was seriously thrown off by the slow him down comment. Thanks for bringing me back to reality. He can always read more on his own. I am really excited to see how sonlight goes this coming year. I showed him the pics of the SL K and he was very excited, " we get to read all those books!" Heres to hoping it works out!!

[applesing]

When we first started homeschooling, I spent many hours researching Sonlight hoping that it would work for us. There are so many things I like about it! I ended up not choosing Sonlight, however, partly because of this issue with the readers. I could tell that many of the books in the packages were ones my dds had already read or were books way below their reading level. I could not figure out how to make the readers line up with the cores properly.

 

I ended up choosing to use My Father's World, partly because of its wonderful "book basket" concept. This starts in 2nd grade, so this would not apply to your K year. In a nutshell, MFW includes a huge book list in the back of each TM. The list is organized by week, and the books relate to the history, science and music being studied each week. Each day, the child has a set amount of time (30 minutes in our house) to peruse the "buffet" of books and choose whichever ones he/she wishes to read or look at. I like it that the student gets a choice during this time. I also appreciate the fact that the book basket includes books on a variety of reading levels, making the book basket work well for the entire family. What I like the most, however, is the fact that MFW staff members have previewed each book, and if there is something in a book that might upset a sensitive younger child, they note that in the TM. I have found this to be invaluable with my advanced readers! It really helps me to select books that are appropriate for my early readers. At the end of each week, we choose which book basket books will go to my dds' bedrooms for further reading and which books will be returned to the library. My dds' often choose to keep most of the books so that they can read them during their free time the following week. I then replace these with new book basket books. My dds love "discovering" these new books each week!

 

In MFW 1st, they do not include a book basket list, but they do include a huge list of science and math living books. We used these as our book basket that year, as my children were reading quite fluently already. They learned so much from these books, in addition to the myriad of other books we borrowed from the library that year.

 

I do hope that you will have a successful Sonlight year, but if you find yourself wanting to look at other options in the future, I wanted to let you know how MFW has solved the issue of readers for us. Best of luck to you!

[Bird Girl]

I had a similar issue with my daughter when she was a first grader. Sonlight's Core 1 was a natural choice for history and the read-alouds. DD was reading "ahead" of the Readers 2 Intermediate, but I chose those because we were planning to do Core 2 next year and I wanted both sets of readers to last through the two-year sequence. It worked out fine; I assigned her the 2 Int. readers for language arts work, and she chose her own books to read for free time from the library. The readers include some great stories and fun authors, so I don't think you'll go wrong if you complete the entire Readers 2 series.

 

You won't want to go on to the Core 3 readers before you reach Core 3, but that's just because at that point, the readers become much more tightly interwoven into the history. If you need extra reading material before you finish Core 2, you can always put out the Core K read-alouds at that point, and encourage your son to try them out on his own. My experience has been that my dd gets a lot of benefit out of re-reading books, especially classics, and will get more out of a good book every time she reads it.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Another thing to consider is that your dc may be able to read the words at a particular level but they may or may not be able to read, say, chapter books. I gave my 5.5yo dd the test just for fun and she could read most of the words in all of the levels (I think up to sixth grade) but she is still mostly reading picture books. Granted, she can read almost any picture book she finds, including non-fiction titles with obscure names, but she still doesn't have the stamina to read a chapter book. The number of words on a page are overwhelming and the topics would become inappropriate as well. So, if this is the case I'd recommend finding picture books, either fiction or non-fiction, on topics that your dc was interested in. The FIAR book list is great when looking for story books.

[TKDmom]

I am getting ready to order Core K for next year. We will be using Readers 2 regular.

 

If we stick with Sonlight, our schedule will be like this:

 

2010-2011 -- Core K with Readers 2 Regular

2011-2012 -- Core 1 with Readers 2 Intermediate

2012-2013 -- Core 2 with Readers 2 Advanced

2013-2014 -- Core 3 with Readers 3

 

 

 

I'm going with this schedule, too. When I first started with the SL readers, I tried to keep dd on the IG's schedule. But then I realized that would just make her hate her assigned reading. Now I let dc burn through their readers as fast as they would like. They have to read something every day, and they have to read all their readers during the year, but if they find an interesting book at the library, they can read that instead of an assigned reader. When we get done with all their SL readers for the year, they'll just read whatever library books catch their fancy (or mine ;)) until we start the next level.

[mlktwins]

One of my boys (almost 5) is reading at a 4th-5th grade level. His twin's reading just took off and he tests at 1st-2nd grade level. I've been picking up the books listed in the SL catalog for the various reading levels. My son that is reading at a higher level could read these books and can read chapter books like the A-Z Mystery series and Magic Tree House series. However, I've been reading through some of the Sonlight recommended books and I'm going to hold off for awhile because I don't think they are emotionally ready to read some of the sensitive "stuff" in some of them.

 

Mainly, I'm really trying to remember that he/they are so young and they can still benefit and love all the wonderful picture books out there. So I will have them read some of the content appropriate reading material in the Sonlight curriculm, but am planning to read tons of pictures books too.

[TKDmom]

Mainly, I'm really trying to remember that he/they are so young and they can still benefit and love all the wonderful picture books out there. So I will have them read some of the content appropriate reading material in the Sonlight curriculm, but am planning to read tons of pictures books too.

 

That just reminded me of a time when my dd was still in ps. I think she had just started 2nd grade. We were at the library and she picked up a picture book and shouted, "Oh, I love this book!" I asked her where she'd seen it before. She said they had had read it to her class at the school library, but she wasn't allowed to check it out. She could read chapter books, and they wouldn't let her check out anything below her reading level. I think it's good to challenge kids, but it's still ok to let them read "easy" books that are enjoyable.

[Krissi]

Make it easy on yourself! Do what works for sonlight and add other more challenging reading as neccesary. If the books are interesting, slightly easier won't hurt him. If they are too simple, use one of the other mentioned ideas that coordinate with more challenging readers. Just don't make it too hard on yourself with the upcoming changes-that will be big!!

[Jennay]

We use SL. We are just finishing up Core 1 with 2 boys ages 6 and 7. My oldest is a VERY advanced reader. When he was 6/7 and reading the Reg. and Int. 2 readers they were very easy for him. But he enjoyed them anyway. Plus he would read all the other Core books (the history books, the read-alouds) even though I was reading them to him as well. I supplemented with harder non-Sonlight books for extra reading (Pippi Longstocking, 101 Dalmations, etc.)

[ZooRho]

I do think you need to keep the LA program all together, that means that they need to be able to write at the same level of the reading. So you are going with the lowest common level. If that it writing that is writing. AS other's have said just because they can read at that level doesn't mean they always need that level.

 

AND that is just one part of the program. There is nothing that says don't read other material. But the higher level things I would leave for personal reading at the child's choice.