Suzanne115 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hi - I am considering using American Story 2 next year for my daughter who will be in fourth grade. We have previously used Sonlight - Core C, Core 1, Core 2, and Core 3 this year. However, she really dislikes quite a bit of Core 3 so I am reluctant to use Core 4. I am thinking about switching to American Story 2 and then adding in some of Sonlight's wonderful books. If anyone has used American Story 2, I would appreciate their feedback. The only program I have used from Winter Promise is Animals and their Worlds. Thank you, Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 What did she not like about core 3? I used WP American Story 1, maybe this might help some. It is similar to SL except there are more nonfiction type books (less historical fiction) and activities. We enjoyed this program but I did not use it as the IG said. I used BJU as my spine and added in WP where appropriate. As a stand alone program it is much more informative then SL, more pegs to put things on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne115 Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 She doesn't like the Landmark book, the Story of the USA books and she hasn't enjoyed part of the read alouds. She loves to be read to, but she hated the first two read aloud choices in this core. A few of the readers have been too easy and she didn't enjoy them either. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 We did American Story 2 and really enjoyed it. I can't really compare it to Core 4 except to say there is very little that resembles Story of the USA. Check out Going West! and Last Safe House from the library for a great representation of the flavor of activities. There were some VERY fun read aloud stories included. Great Turkey Walk was fabulous, as were Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt, Journey to America, and Snow Treasure. Great memories! It is a common refrain on the WP forum that people who dislike Core 3 (or their kids do) love AS2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 We also enjoyed AS2 and quit SL 3 halfway thru school year to switch to WP. WP chooses some books with activities included in the readings, like The Last Safe House. We added in some SL books, but both ds wanted to "do" more than read/or be read to so much, so WP was a better choice for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne115 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 Thank you all for your help! It sounds like American Story 2 would be a good fit for us. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brla Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Suzanne, We're facing the same decisions here. I like the fact that SL has proven results in general, but we aren't really seeing those results in our home at all. We're finally on week 11 of Core 3 (things picked up after I added in TruthQuest for the commentary at week 4). this seems to be working OK, but we're really struggling to get them interested. My girls LOVE to read (one especially) but they're getting burned out on that being ALL they do. I found a company that has put together Binder-Builders and LapBooks for the TQ guides and have started using those, but I'm now having to rearrange the SL to fit into that. My 7 yo son is totally bored (which I expected since SL 3 is way over his head). He doesn't like all of the fiction books with SL. So, I broke down and ordered WP American History 1 two weeks ago. I am so hoping we'll like it. I don't want to give up all that pre-planning and comentary that SL provides, but I want my kids to get what they need as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne115 Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 I actually almost switched to American Story 1 too. We've toughed it out this year, but I have already ordered the exclusives for American Story 2 for next year. I'll add in some of Sonlight's books, but we're excited to try something new. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Suzanne, We're facing the same decisions here. I like the fact that SL has proven results in general, but we aren't really seeing those results in our home at all. We're finally on week 11 of Core 3 (things picked up after I added in TruthQuest for the commentary at week 4). this seems to be working OK, but we're really struggling to get them interested. My girls LOVE to read (one especially) but they're getting burned out on that being ALL they do. I found a company that has put together Binder-Builders and LapBooks for the TQ guides and have started using those, but I'm now having to rearrange the SL to fit into that. My 7 yo son is totally bored (which I expected since SL 3 is way over his head). He doesn't like all of the fiction books with SL. So, I broke down and ordered WP American History 1 two weeks ago. I am so hoping we'll like it. I don't want to give up all that pre-planning and comentary that SL provides, but I want my kids to get what they need as well. That is exactly what we experienced. In fact, Sister and SIL both HS'ed with SL up to High school for all their dc and all have excelled in High School and now college. However, as much as my dc love to read... it was too much of a good thing and repetitive activity did not work for our boys. Hope you enjoy WP... I still can't help but tweak and add books from SL + VP when I can, so we are not too far away from SL.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinapod Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 (edited) I still can't help but tweak and add books from SL + VP when I can, so we are not too far away from SL.:001_smile: This has nothing to do with WP versus SL, but I wanted to say that your paperbackswap link doesn't work. I was going to check them out, but when I clicked on it, it takes me to MY bookshelf at paperbackswap. I think you have to go to "My Profile" (not "My Account"), click on bookshelf there, and use that link to copy and paste. :001_smile: I like to look at people's bookshelves, so I thought I'd let you know. PS, does mine work? Edited March 10, 2011 by 3peasinapod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 (edited) You kmow, that same thing happened to another WTM poster, I clicked on her paperbackswap.com bookshelf link and it showed mine, also. Makes me think that there might be a glitch in the links somehow? Off to fix it.... thank you for letting me know! I checked yours and it is correct. Edited March 10, 2011 by bnbacademy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brla Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 That is exactly what we experienced. In fact, Sister and SIL both HS'ed with SL up to High school for all their dc and all have excelled in High School and now college. However, as much as my dc love to read... it was too much of a good thing and repetitive activity did not work for our boys.Hope you enjoy WP... I still can't help but tweak and add books from SL + VP when I can, so we are not too far away from SL.:001_smile: Do you feel, though, that you're able to add the books you don't want your kids to miss without it making everything harder? I tried that with SL for 3 years and It always ends up me rewriting every single week. I really don't want to pay that much to do that every year. So, I am really hoping the WP will be a good jumping off point that I can add to as needed and not overwhelm us all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Hi - I am considering using American Story 2 next year for my daughter who will be in fourth grade. We have previously used Sonlight - Core C, Core 1, Core 2, and Core 3 this year. However, she really dislikes quite a bit of Core 3 so I am reluctant to use Core 4. I am thinking about switching to American Story 2 and then adding in some of Sonlight's wonderful books. If anyone has used American Story 2, I would appreciate their feedback. The only program I have used from Winter Promise is Animals and their Worlds. Thank you, Suzanne We use Winter Promise and just add SL books as we want. My oldest DD loves to read, so I pull SL books as extra reading. I've seen Core 3 and think you could switch without problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I use the WP guide as a reading schedule for WP books, we do the activities as able, then add SL readers as add-ons. My dc often finish the WP books before they are scheduled to, so this gives us some extra time. You could do the reverse, I just happen to like the activity recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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