Are you using Sonlight successfully for high school?

[imeverywoman]

I must admit that after speaking with a college mate of mine who also homeschools, she informed me that she left SL for another program for several reasons, one of those reasons being that she found herself getting too lazy by just having to pick up the manual and go. That smacked me between the eyes, since I had been feeling the same way, but just could never put it into words.

 

It makes me wonder if I am cheating my student by not being at the top of my game by having to study, plan, research, et al, like I did before employing SL's IG's. That said, there is something to be said for having a schedule to adhere to.

 

I'm flip-flopping. Anyone?

[TexasTea]

My 10th grader is using Sonlight and I am seriously thinking of using something else next year.

Not only have *I* gotten lazy but I think I've allowed my dd to do so as well. I find we are doing less and less discussions and I'm letting the student notes and questions slide. SO basically she is just reading and writing a few papers every now and then. She told me last night she does not remember much of the American history we did with core 100 last year. I am not happy about that.

Now I am wondering if we were doing more with what she reads if it would stick more. I have to educate myself on what she is learning and get more involved.

I am pleased that my dd is an independent learner and can be a self learner but I have to ask myself should my 10th grader be a self learner?! Shouldn't she have someone involved with her learning process while she is still in high school?

 

This post may not be helpful at all. I guess I am in the same boat as you.

[Chris in VA]

Yea, I'm feeling a little like you. I've been disappointed (that's well documented on this board, so I won't continue whining) with Sonlight's 20th Cent course. We've been so caught up in family drama that some of ds' schooling has been "too" independent this year. He is not retaining as much, and I'm not researching or participating as much. I'm not sure that's entirely Sonlight's fault! but I have found the questions in the history portion to be simply recall, and not enough for ds to analyse the history. I recently compared some stuff with the book my other son is using in public school--alot of his stuff is busy work, but he is getting more than simply a day by day account of what happened--he has to compare/contrast, notice patterns, notice causes and effects, and he's learning more vocab, like "imperialism" and such.

 

I'm finding I'm not satisfied and feel bad about my older son's schooling. (Guilty--convicted) Not so much because of Sonlight, but because I haven't done all I can to really be there for my son. I like some independence, but this isn't college (and even college has a prof teaching the material!), and you don't prepare for learning about something by doing it ahead of time, you learn it when you learn it, then practice.

Anyway, I ramble.

[Suzybearybake]

I am planning on using Omnibus for grades 8-10 but did not know what to use for the upper grades. With Omnibus we cover all of history but current history is gone through rather quickly. In Omnibus 3 they cover from the Pilgrims to current history but current history is not covered throughly or well. I decided to use Sonlight's Core 300 to fill that gap . I plan on using core 400 for government the following year. Is this not a good plan? I was hoping to find something similar to Omnibus. I planned on eliminating the non great books from the reading schedule and concentrating on the ones that were at least high school level. What did you not like about the program? Have you used Core 300 or 400? I just ordered this( I order subjects a few at a time so that I have them when I need them) should I send it back? I was somewhat concerned about the lack of tests as a means to evaluate and formulate grades at the upper levels but I thought perhaps I could supplement with BJU and use those tests for evaluation. Was anyone happy with Sonlight at the upper grades or is the general opinion that it is not adequate for high school?

[Laura in VA]

for my ds's freshman year and we really learned a lot. This year he is taking a World History class at our church, but next year we will be doing Core 300.

 

Sonlight is a good fit for my ds. It may be because he enjoys history and reading (though he won't admit it). As for getting lazy with it, in my house that can happen with any curriculum. :)

 

I think SL can be a great program for high school.

[Chris in VA]

Well, they have tweaked Sonlight 300, and I really trust Laura in VA's judgement, so I'm confident in saying it is a good program. You have to DO it, though, and not just let things slide.

I think tests are overrated, unless they are essay-based. I throw in a few here and there (quizzes, really) that are mchoice, just to get an idea of where ds is, but really, when dc get to college, there are far more papers and essay-based tests, and they will need to have those skills. So, the lack of tests in Sonlight doesn't bother me.

 

I found some of the commentary was light. I don't think you should send it back. Read the books and maybe supplement their commentary with SparkNotes or Cliff's.

[imeverywoman]

thinking skills with regard to the reading material?

 

Thanks a bunch! :)

[Laura in VA]

thinking skills with regard to the reading material?

 

Thanks a bunch! :)

 

it is imperative that you and your dc read the IG notes. The IG notes regarding the Hakim books are imho as important as reading the books themselves. It points out discrepancies and biases, which I think helps a student view any text with a more critical eye. I am looking forward to using 100 again with my dd in a couple of years.

[imeverywoman]

and little writing projects. I'm thinking of buying the IG's just to look through and get a better feel for what is and isn't there.

 

Thanks for answering all my questions! :)

[mjmuse04]

I bought Core 5 and started it this year. It wasn't a good fit for us-so after using it for 3 months or so, I sent it back for a full refund. Their return policy is really phenomenal. In other words, you don't have anything to lose to try their stuff.

 

Michelle:lurk5:

[Veronica in VA]

We used Sonlight for my dd's 9th grade year. This year (10th grade) we used Notgrass American History, which I really liked, but my dd wasn't crazy about it. My dd was raised on Sonlight:001_smile: and asked to go back to it for 11th grade. So we are using Core 300 (20th century) with modifications for next year. There are some things I don't like but my dd learns very well with this approach.

 

FWIW,

 

Veronica

[Janice in NJ]

I have decided to let TOG drive our bus because I have decided that it is just easier for me with kids at three different levels, I like the added government and philosophy work, and I want to use the fine arts lessons for my younger two kids. TOG handles the administration of my homeschool well.

 

BUT I really like a LOT of what I see in those Sonlight guides at the upper levels. I really do. They have handled SO much of the administration of your homeschool for you. The lesson plans are ALL there, and they really do teach so many terrific things well.

 

...but that's the rub I guess. I like planning, and hsing has forced me to become an AMAZING planner. It's hard to mooooooooooove out of that mode. When my children were little I did SO MUCH planning, that it became a habit. The teaching was easy then. Let's face it - I already KNEW how to do addition. Lessons were short. No problem! It was the planning that filled up my time.

 

Now that my kids are older, the teaching is just harder! I am SO grateful for programs like TOG and SL. They really do handle the "what to teach when" question. In fact SL nails it down to a daily list! :001_smile: So the administration of our hsing is handled. But it has taken me a while to re-orient myself.

 

Instead of making lesson plans, I am STEPPING to make the MOST of the lesson plans that these programs give me. It's a different kind of work. WAY different. It's so very tempting to hand the plan to the 9th grader and just ask him to work the plan on his own. After all - it LOOKS complete enough; there's a lot of work there. If he just does it, it must be enough. Right?

 

But I have found that high school isn't just more work; it's a different KIND of work. And while I might not be sitting next to then alllllll morning pointing to the next math problem, I still have to be involved. Very involved. Less often, but at a MUCH deeper (and harder for me!!!!) level.

 

So I think that Sonlight offers great tracks to run on. (TOG trumped for me because of the K-Mom aspect. I need to streamline in order to function. But if I only had one student I might be tempted to use SL's American Lit and British Lit programs. LOVE the choices and the booklists! Right now I'm committed to a chronological program, but I can SEE how much fun it would be to do a culture-driven lit program. Too many great choices - not enough years!) But if I was going to use SL - and I might just do that before this hsing journey is over :D, I would want to be ON the train with my student - not waiting in the station at the final destination.

 

Oh - don't get me wrong ------ I'd be tempted - that SL schedule is SO complete. I would WANT to spend my time doing something else and just hop a flight to the destination rather than SIT THERE FOR THE JOURNEY. But then I try to remind myself that I chose this path because I wanted to be there! I really do!

 

I don't know if that helps. And obviously the gals who have used this SL program from weeks 1 to 36 have better advice to offer.

 

Peace,

Janice in NJ

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

[Captivated]

We have used SL all the way up. We aren't going to use 400 because we don't really need an entire year of government. So, for the first time my ds will use something else for his senior year (Notgrass) and he isn't really happy about it. I am still going to do the Literature, but not the history.

 

My ds has been going on college visits these last few weeks and was sitting through a "History of Christianity" class and he took the pop quiz the prof gave the class. He scored 100% on it all b/c of Core 200. :)

[momee]

We're doing SL for the first time ever after the intensive planning required from me with TOG.

I am having so much fun reading the books (never really got around to much of that with TOG because I was either ordering books for next unit, planning for current unit or reading teacher's notes).

We discuss them (although maybe not as critically as TOG discussion time) in a way that adds interest and spiritual commentary to what we're both reading. I love the fact my Saturdays are no longer spent on the computer planning ANYTHING. Not even requesting books from the library anymore.

HOW AWESOME.

I'm sure we're missing out on some things (TOG's geography and philosophy and now that I think of it composition were much more, um, streamlined; but it's working wonderfully for us so far.)

[SheWhoWaits]

It doesn't have to be that way. I read every book my dc read. I really enjoy it.