Loyal Sonlight user now wanting a more classical curriculum... help!

[Swirl]

I've been slowly digging my way through numerous threads, and could use a little organization and direction please! We've now used Sonlight through Core 6, and I think I would like something different for the upper grades. I would like to go in a more classical direction for history and readers. I could really use a list of classical curriculum, so that I can check out websites, catalogs, reviews, etc.

 

Would someone help me make a good list? :)

 

We are Christian, so Christian material is not a problem. Secular is ok too.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I spread Cores 6 and 7 out over four years (5th to 8th grade) and fill in the time with WTM lists and recommendations.

 

You can find the book lists for history and literature in the WTM logic section. Using Cores 6 and 7 at half speed means that you can do one SOTW chapter per week with the associated extra reading, Kingfisher outlining, etc.

 

For more classical studies along with Cores 6 and 7 we have used materials from Memoria Press and the Baldwin Project. We also study Latin (MP), Traditional Logic, and church history (Trial and Triumph).

 

For high school I am going with TOG. It was very, very hard for me to leave SL after using Cores P3/4 through 7, but TOG is much closer to what I want for my kids for the rhetoric level.

[LauraQ]

I'm going to suggest you look into using Veritas Press' Omnibus programs in place of Sonlight Cores. They are similar in that they use great books to teach History, Literature and Religion. Their worldview leans more toward Reformed as opposed to Evangelical/Fundamentalist as Sonlight does, but both are Christian and Protestant, so if you use one without objection, the other is likely also acceptable to you.

 

Though Omnibus I-III are designed for grades 7-9, if you look at the reading list, you can see that many of these books are quite challenging, and even Omnibus I would stand up to scrutiny as rigorous high school level courses in History and Literature. There are plenty of writing assignments including Summas (short essays), Progymnasmatas, etc. sufficient to cover any composition requirement, and many of the writing assignments are flexible enough that you can require that they be longer, include more citations, or involve more research to increase the level of difficulty for older students. Though some of the books in the first year seem rather easy (such as the Narnia books), most of the books are sufficiently challenging, and all of the "easier" books are part of the "secondary" reading list, not the "primary" reading list.

 

The cost of the program is also comparable to Sonlight's upper-level cores. If you are attached to the Sonlight IG's, the Omnibus programs are easy to schedule out over a 5-days-per-week schedule. They are not as open-and-go easy as the SL IGs, but for me, VP's schedules are a perfect happy middle between the IG's easy-to-use scheduling and the greater flexibility we need. (I work full-time so while I need to not spend a lot of time scheduling schoolwork, I also need to have a great deal of flexibility! VP is actually a better fit for me now, while SL was better for me when the kids were younger)

 

If you have just completed Core 6, I'd suggest you go ahead and have your child also do Core 7 since the two are part of a 2-year overview of World History, and then start another cycle through World History with Omnibus I-III for grades 8-10 (this is exactly the course my kiddos follow in fact). This would leave open the option of either choosing 2 of 3 Omnibus courses or returning to SL for grades 11-12. Honestly, I don't yet know what my oldest will do after Omni III next year!

[Swirl]

 

I'm going to suggest you look into using Veritas Press' Omnibus programs in place of Sonlight Cores.

I just left their website to check this tread. :)

[siloam]

I've been slowly digging my way through numerous threads, and could use a little organization and direction please! We've now used Sonlight through Core 6, and I think I would like something different for the upper grades. I would like to go in a more classical direction for history and readers. I could really use a list of classical curriculum, so that I can check out websites, catalogs, reviews, etc.

 

Would someone help me make a good list? :)

 

We are Christian, so Christian material is not a problem. Secular is ok too.

 

Illuminations by Bright Idea Press (uses MOH)

Tapestry of Grace

Trisms

Biblioplan

 

That is all that is coming to mind at the moment.

 

Though I too would recommend you start by reading WTM. The recommendations in there are a lot more doable then you might think.

 

Heather

[Ann.without.an.e]

Omnibus...if you go to the veritas press website there is a sample link, but it takes you to google books where you can see the entire book. Read the intro, etc. It will let you know if it is a potential fit for you.

 

Have you read WTM?

[Swirl]

Use Sonlight, don't use Sonlight, it doesn't matter as much what you use as how you use it.

 

Yes, I have read the TWTM, The Core, and Teaching the Trivium, and we are already following the classical method with Sonlight's books. :) While I like teaching history with a lot of historical fiction type books in the lower grades, I want to distance myself from this in the upper grades. I already have most of the books for Core 7, and I know my son will really enjoy these for pleasure reading. (He's a voracious reader.) For required school use though, I really want to go in a different direction. The reading this year in Core 6 has been very light for DS, and were are constantly supplementing. We really need to step it up a notch next year.

[Swirl]

Omnibus...

 

 

Yes, this one might be what I'm looking for.

[Swirl]

Illuminations by Bright Idea Press (uses MOH)

Tapestry of Grace

Trisms

Biblioplan

 

That is all that is coming to mind at the moment.

 

Though I too would recommend you start by reading WTM. The recommendations in there are a lot more doable then you might think.

 

Heather

 

Will check them out! :)

[Swirl]

Have you seen History Odyssey?

No. Wow! Thanks!

[melmichigan]

We just made the move from SL to Tapestry of Grace, although as you can see in my signature I am still using some of the SL literature. :)

[BlsdMama]

Yes, I have read the TWTM, The Core, and Teaching the Trivium, and we are already following the classical method with Sonlight's books. :) While I like teaching history with a lot of historical fiction type books in the lower grades, I want to distance myself from this in the upper grades. I already have most of the books for Core 7, and I know my son will really enjoy these for pleasure reading. (He's a voracious reader.) For required school use though, I really want to go in a different direction. The reading this year in Core 6 has been very light for DS, and were are constantly supplementing. We really need to step it up a notch next year.

 

You are exactly where I was. We used TWTM for years. Then I wanted something more laid out... Sonlight was the obvious choice. I loved the focus on enjoyable literature, but at the end of the day I felt there was a bit of an unbalance between fiction and non. We made the switch to TOG and I'm not sorry one bit. We're enjoying the more rigorous curriculum and I like the flexibility of planning my weeks.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I've been slowly digging my way through numerous threads, and could use a little organization and direction please! We've now used Sonlight through Core 6, and I think I would like something different for the upper grades. I would like to go in a more classical direction for history and readers. I could really use a list of classical curriculum, so that I can check out websites, catalogs, reviews, etc.

 

Would someone help me make a good list? :)

 

We are Christian, so Christian material is not a problem. Secular is ok too.

 

What I've been doing is alternating between Sonlight and a WTM style on a 4-6 week on and off rotation. So for example, we did Sonlight for 4 weeks on Greece, then did 4 weeks of reading, researching and writing. During this time, we continued doing Sonlight science (though Science 6 hasn't thrilled me the way 5 did, so it may be the next thing to go).

 

I find the Sonlight reading schedule gives us a bare minimum of exposure to the period, then we delve in more deeply. But if we spend a couple weeks researching one battle or just Roman food, I don't feel like we weren't balanced enough. I'm estimating that we'll take about 2.5 years to get through Sonlight 6-7.

 

I'm only using the History, Readers and Read Alouds and some of the readers and Read alouds I've swapped, so that I'm reading the faster, easier story (my older kids are strong readers and my younger son is a tag along on their history).

 

I've also used Veritas Press in the past, but that actually took me more work than just doing things as WTM lays out.

[AngelBee]

What did you decide to go with? :)

[Swirl]

What did you decide to go with? :)

 

Here's the plan. :)

 

We are going to go with TOG for DS and begin in Year 2 Unit 2. I've been slowly buying the books to avoid giving my DH sticker shock. :lol: I do have most of the books for SL Core 7 already, so I plan to work a few of those in too throughout the year.

 

I'm going to stick with Sonlight though for DD. Probably will continue with Sonlight for her through 4th grade. It might be easier on me to just combine them, but I've already got all the Sonlight books and I really like the curriculum for 1st - 4th grade.

[AngelBee]

Here's the plan. :)

 

We are going to go with TOG for DS and begin in Year 2 Unit 2. I've been slowly buying the books to avoid giving my DH sticker shock. :lol: I do have most of the books for SL Core 7 already, so I plan to work a few of those in too throughout the year.

 

I'm going to stick with Sonlight though for DD. Probably will continue with Sonlight for her through 4th grade. It might be easier on me to just combine them, but I've already got all the Sonlight books and I really like the curriculum for 1st - 4th grade.

That sounds like a great plan. :)

[momof8]

I am also a loyal Sonlight user wanting to maybe switch to Veritas Omnibus. Would you recommend this? Who likes Sonlight over Omnibus for high school or the other way around? What are the potential cons for Veritas Omnibus?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I spread Cores 6 and 7 out over four years (5th to 8th grade) and fill in the time with WTM lists and recommendations.

 

You can find the book lists for history and literature in the WTM logic section. Using Cores 6 and 7 at half speed means that you can do one SOTW chapter per week with the associated extra reading, Kingfisher outlining, etc.

 

 

 

I'm doing something very similar. We've been alternating between a few weeks with Sonlight (enough to cover a culture or major historic era) and then several weeks doing more in depth reading, research and writing. When we started my kids were doing a paragraph a week. Recently, I've upped it to a paragraph a day on history or science.

 

They have been able to use the Sonlight schedule as a baseline minimum and then go farther afield as their interests take them. One son tends to want to read lots of literature (with Medieval, this has been fairy tales, Arthur, El Cid, Norse Mythology, etc). The other son seems to be besotted with tech (seige engines and weapons top the list, but I'm trying to add some architecture and navigation/industrialization).

[johnandtinagilbert]

Here's the plan. :)

 

We are going to go with TOG for DS and begin in Year 2 Unit 2. I've been slowly buying the books to avoid giving my DH sticker shock. :lol: I do have most of the books for SL Core 7 already, so I plan to work a few of those in too throughout the year.

 

I'm going to stick with Sonlight though for DD. Probably will continue with Sonlight for her through 4th grade. It might be easier on me to just combine them, but I've already got all the Sonlight books and I really like the curriculum for 1st - 4th grade.

That's a great way to start. I actually sub a lot of the SL books into our learning simply b/c I inherited them. I like using my home library first, then heading outside of the house for the rest. Once you get in the swing of TOG, you may decide you can combine them, simply for ease of time and teaching. Keep us updated. Year 2 was amazing for our family! I can't wait to get there again!