SOTW and Sonlight

[sewpeaceful]

Has anyone gone from SOTW to Sonlight Core 1 and or Core 2? If so, why? And if you did, are you glad you did?

[Mommamia]

Are you asking if anyone switched from SOTW over to Sonlight core 1 & 2? If so, I'm curious too.

[sewpeaceful]

Yes. Or from SOTW to any core for that matter. I just happen to be at the beginning.

[ally]

I'm using SOTW 1 with Core 1 right now with my 2nd and 3rd graders. I like the way they complement each other and it hasn't been difficult to find the time to do both. so it doesn't need to be an either or situation.

[paula j]

No but I did use sonlight core 1+2 our first year for 2nd grade and added the SOTW AG and we had a wonderful year.

[ArizonaGirl]

We used Core 1 a couple years ago and are near the end of Core 2 with my 3rd and 5th-grade (They were 1st and 3rd when we started Core 1). Core 1 was just right for my struggling 3rd-grader and a little hard for my then-first grader.

 

I am using SOTW with my current first grader simply because his older brother (7th grade) is doing Core 6, which uses SOTW as its core. I just don't have time to do all of Core 1 in addition to all the other things we are doing. His older brother simply reads SOTW to his younger brother and then moves on to do his own work in core 6. I go through the study guide with my first-grader. Following the Core 6 schedule, my first-grader will do books 1 and 2 this year, and books 3 and 4 next year with core 7.

 

I intend to do Core 1 again in a couple of years when my current 1st grader is in 3rd grade and my pre-schooler will be 1st grade. In that case, I will be using Core 1 after SOTW, but we will go through history more slowly and in depth. We will see. We are not there yet. I may decide to just pull my first-grader into Core 3 with us when we get to it in a few months. I would really like to use less than four cores at once as we are currently trying to do.

 

Although SOTW and Core 1 both cover world history, they do it in different ways and from different view points. I don't think there is a lot of duplication at all. Of course, we are only on chapter 7 or 8 of SOTW at this point.

[sewpeaceful]

Although SOTW and Core 1 both cover world history, they do it in different ways and from different view points. I don't think there is a lot of duplication at all. Of course, we are only on chapter 7 or 8 of SOTW at this point.

 

THIS is what I am looking for. Can you elaborate on how Core 1 and SOTW are different? Similar? What you like and dislike, or maybe prefer is a better way to say this, about both?

[StephanieZ]

Yep. I did SOTW 1 & 2 my first time through the grammar stage. . . switched to SL at Core 3 for my olders.

 

This time 'round with dd7, we did Core 1 last year, Core 2 this year.

 

Personally, I prefer SL for these ages. I like having it all pulled together and the many different 'picture' books. SOTW would be a fine spine for 1 & 2, but SL saves it for Cores 6 & 7. So, we use what is in the SL Cores, and it is lovely.

 

I loved SOTW1 with my first child, but I happenned to live in the land-of-the-ultimate-awesome-perfect-library. The AG activities were awesome, the mapping super, the book lists very helpful, and the SOTW spine tied it all together very well.

 

When we moved to land-of-the-crummy-poopy-library around the time we began SOTW2, the world changed. With the super-library, SOTW worked great for us. With the mediocre-terrible library, it was way too much trouble. Since I didn't have a library where I could easily search/request online & then check out dozens of books at a time for weeks/months on end (and sort through them at home). . . I had to be more selective about the books I chose from the AG since I had to buy them. . . It was expensive and time consuming. SL has all the books preselected and they are almost all awesome choices.

 

We switched to SL and haven't looked back. This year (core 7) my olders are finally getting SOTW 3 & 4!

 

If I lived back in my great-library land, I'd have to think hard about which I preferred, but here in crummy-library land, it's a no-brainer.

[sewpeaceful]

First, I LOVE your response. It was very helpful. I love how you referenced the library situation (I've gone from awesome to rural, so I get it). Thank you for reminding me just how much time I spent reviewing books and scheduling them for this year.

 

My kids have enjoyed the mapwork (SL has their own), coloring pages and occassional activities (they would love more but with a toddler at my ankles and VERY clingy these days, well, there is a reality to a homeschool mom's life with little ones. ;)). Did you SL users find coloring pages, activities or anything elsewhere? I don't want busy work, but something to keep them content. :)

[ArizonaGirl]

THIS is what I am looking for. Can you elaborate on how Core 1 and SOTW are different? Similar? What you like and dislike, or maybe prefer is a better way to say this, about both?

 

Story of The World is just stories. There are very few illustrations, and they are in black and white line drawings. The maps are always zoomed in to the area we are studying. I have to get out the globe to show the children where in the world Mesopotamia can be found. The activity guide is usually just a larger zoomed in map to color. My son dislikes coloring, so we just point with fingers and call it good. He will sometimes color the pictures if I let him paint them or do something different from crayons and colored pencils. He enjoys the very few odd activities like crossword puzzles or word searches.

 

I haven't checked out the extra recommended books since we are short on time, and some of them are part of Sonlight's Core 1 anyway. We usually don't do the hands-on activities because I am not creative that way and have little patience for it. However, my ten-year-old loves that kind of art project, and occasionally I will let him take over and do it by himself or with the little ones.

 

Sonlight has very little to no hands-on activities, though we did find a few in the Usborne book used in both Cores 1 and 2. Again, I let my children do only what they chose of those activities. Sonlight has a lot of picture books, and it includes some literature that goes along with the ancient history. My children love the extra stories and read-alouds. Some of them do not coordinate at all, like Charlotte's Web. I consider that to be just literature or reading. Some of the more colorful books were enjoyed by my younger children. The larger chapter books with few pictures often lost the little ones but were appropriate for the targeted age ranges.

 

Sonlight takes us much longer to complete. I can read Story of the World and finish the questions in the activity book much faster than I can finish reading a day's assignments from Sonlight. Sonlight tries to present varied viewpoints. I will read from Child's History of the World, and then cover the same material in Usborne, and the information is totally different in the way it is presented. This duplication helps my children remember the events covered and gives them a fuller, more accurate picture of history.

 

Story of the World is just from the viewpoint of one individual. If you want more variety, you have to seek it out yourself. The recommended additional resources look great, but I just lack the time to really focus on them.

 

I don't feel my son is lacking in his education. He loves books and will read on his own. He sometimes listens in on the cores for the older children, and he loves the pre-school read alouds I do with my younger children. He is learning, even though I'm not really focusing on his level beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic.

 

I hope all my rambling is somewhat helpful.

[sewpeaceful]

YOU are a blessing and a huge help. You have very useful perspective because you have done both curriculums in question. Your answer was very thorough and thought out. Thank you SO much for taking time out of your busy day to help the rest of us out on this matter! :D

[ArizonaGirl]

You are welcome! I'm glad I could help.

[susesmiles]

Very Helpful information for me too, Thanks!!

[JadeOrchidSong]

We actually switched from Core 1 to SOTW 1 half way and now we are doing SOTW 2 happily. I really like the flexibility of SOTW because I can get library books to supplement and if I don't find certain books, I don't stress. It is great. My kids love the CDs. They are really good for car drive or lunch time. We look some of the activities. I love the questions and narrations.