Question to Sonlight Users

[RainbowSprinkles]

If there is a book your dc has absolutely no interest in and finds it boring, do you finish it anyway? Or do you skip it?

[ZooRho]

I think there was only one book in the younger years and we did finish it.

 

really even the harder reading ones are good books in the end.

[StephanieZ]

I occasionally have let ds skip a book. Maybe one or two per year. He is 'stretching' to do the cores, as he does the cores with is big sis that are between his age/level and his older sister's.

 

So, the quantity and challenge level of the reading is generally significant for him, while very easy for his older sister. So, I don't bother giving big sister an 'out' on the reading since she can read the books so quickly & easily. . . But, for ds, it can be quite a bit of time for the longer books. Usually, when he is complaining about a reader, I just push him along, or even read 'pop-corn style' with him (taking turns by page or chapter). . . or even turn it into a read aloud if I have to. . .

 

I have found that sometimes when he 'doesn't like' a book it is b/c the language is more advanced (old fashioned/unusual dialect/etc) and so he is having to work at it. For those books, his enjoyment is usually improved a great deal if I read it popcorn with him, or even turn it into a Read Aloud (which we did a few times back in Cores 4 & 5, when he was in 3rd & 4th grade).

 

That said, once or twice a year, there have been books that I have just said ENOUGH, fine, don't read it! after much handwringing and hassling and tears over a week or more. If I had the time & energy, I'd have read them aloud most of the time. . . But, I don't always have the time & energy to add that to my plate.

 

Oh, I almost forgot to add, the past couple years I have found a handful of the readers & read-alouds on audio. Having the occasional break from SL reading (for me and for the dc) by using a nice audio version can be a lovely interlude. I wouldn't want it all the time, but for 5-10% or so of the reading, it really can be helpful, esp for my ds who is more whiney about reading. It is pricey, but it can be very valuable to us. Getting that break from the daily SL reading demands can be refreshing. . . and can allow you to crank through a book quickly so that you can catch up if behind and/or have more time for the subsequent book(s).

 

HTH

[mom31257]

We've never used SL before this year. DD is using SL Core 100. Most of the literature books and history novels have been boring to my dd, but she has finished every one. I can't let her only read what interests her because she is into science fiction and action as far as her personal tastes. She's currently a huge Hunger Games series fan, for instance.

 

I have let her drop a book or two in the past, but they were just books I was adding in myself. These books are her main program, so I feel they can't be left out.

 

I don't think we'll be using any other cores.

[texasmama]

I let dh stop reading one of the literature read alouds because he and the children both complained about it even when they were halfway through it. (He is responsible for literature read alouds before bedtime so I never had to read this particular book...don't even recall what it was...) We are starting our third year with SL, and that is the only book we have skipped.

[....]

This happened with us and Detectives in Togas. My kids were just way too young to understand that book. I read an "abridged version" - if you get my drift. :glare: I have also skipped a couple of books that got bad reviews - there are 2 books in Core 2 that get awful reviews, so we've skipped those.

[Guest aquiverfull]

We only dropped one book when we used SL Core 1+2. We struggled and struggled to get through White Stallions of Lippizza. We finally gave it up and moved on.

[Guest TheBugsMom]

For the younger ages (like yours) I would stop the book and save it for later. If it was a reader, I would try and read it out loud to see if that helped the interest. If it was a read aloud I would just try again at a later time. There were a few books from the combined cores of K, 3, and 4 that just did not work for my children.

For the older kids, I would ask them why? If they could give me a good reason, then it got shelved. A simple, I don't like it, was not a good reason.

[Joyofsixreboot]

The only thing I've just given up on was Red Sails to Capri. Ds and I both were bored to tears. I always give things a chance. His favorite book ever was Detectives in Togas I didn't think he'd get it but he loved it? I've learned to always try but stop if we don't like it.

[Cynful]

Well, I feel the odd one out, but, yes, we skip it. I always substitute though with another book. There are too many good books out there, imo, to get bogged down on one you aren't enjoying. That being said, I do require that we at least try it first (several chapters at least). I had the not so brilliant idea of combining Core 3 and Core 4 with WP AS1 and AS2 at one time (didn't work), so I have a ton of books on the subjects from which to choose.

[ZooRho]

We only dropped one book when we used SL Core 1+2. We struggled and struggled to get through White Stallions of Lippizza. We finally gave it up and moved on.

And see we loved that book at our house

[Mallory]

We did Alt. 7 last year and skipped a handful of books.

 

The first we skipped was Eagle of the Ninth. After trying to read it aloud for many days and not getting very far, I realized we could skip it. It was so freeing. :lol: We probably skipped 2-4 more over the year and every time it really increased our enjoyment of the rest of the program by freeing us to spend more time on things that we liked instead of trying to cross off every box.

[TKDmom]

I don't think my dc have found any SL books that they don't like yet. I've pre-read a couple that I didn't like (and that I thought would be inappropriate for various reasons), and they're on my shelf waiting to be re-sold. The only times my dc have complained about books being "boring" is when they're over their heads. I'd hate to make them hate a good book, just because they're too young to understand it. So I usually let them stop reading, and hope to reintroduce it in a couple of years.

 

I am currently reading the Witch of Blackbird Pond to DD. I think it's too old for her, but she seems to be enjoying it. I read it to myself last week, and I really liked it, but I hate reading it out loud. This thread just inspired me to check the library for an audio version, and they have it! :D So I can save my voice and move on with my life while DD listens to it on CD.

[The Girls' Mom]

Yes, we've skipped. Especially if it is a read aloud that is boring ME to tears.

 

For instance...we just dropped Ghengis Khan and the Mongol Horde. The first part was interesting, but we have no desire to read about battle after battle. (bunch of girls here) So we are getting our info from other sources.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

.

[Kates]

We skipped some out of Core 5...The Cat Who Went to Heaven was one I didn't even bother picking up (past pre-reading). Instead, ds and I discussed Buddhist culture and beliefs. (Honestly, I couldn't even make it through the book.) There were some others that we skipped from there as well.

 

If ds honestly isn't interested in the book, we skip and find a different resource. I don't think the point of the program is to nail your kids down to those specific books...it's to broaden their horizons WITH terrific books. If the book is putting you to sleep, it's likely not doing a whole lot for them ;)

 

That said, SL didn't work too well for us - the schedule just wasn't something ds liked. I still do pick from their book list from time to time, but I like the elem and ms years a lot better than the high school. Now that ds is in high school, I'm kind of merging Omnibus (for the reading, comprehension, and discussion questions) and Diana Waring (for the projects, mapping, timelines, and audios). I'm not making him do the full program for either one, but taking what works best for him out of both.