Biblioplan or SL Core 1 - Help me decide!

[andreainia]

I'm planning my resources for next year, and I'm trying to decide between Biblioplan Ancients and Sonlight Core 1 to use with my oldest, who will be 7. We love to read, and this is what draws me to Sonlight - the great books! However, and this is down the road a ways, my boys are 5 years apart in age (my next son will be 2), and if we go the Sonlight route, that would mean that I'd be teaching two cores down the road. Is that doable? Or should I not even worry about something several years away? I can see that if they are in Core 6 and Core 1 at the same time, they are studying the same time period, but what about Core 5 and Core K? I am also not sure how restricted I would feel using the IG. We used HOD for my oldest 2 years ago, and I hated being trapped in a 5 day a week unit. Would Sonlight make me feel that way, too? And my son is currently reading some of the Readers 2 Intermediate, so he'll be ready for Readers 2 Advanced next year...so what would I use for readers for Core 2 when we get there?

I really like the looks of Biblioplan, and I like that I can just roll my youngest into the time period we're studying when he's ready. I like that it uses SOTW and incorporates the Bible history too. I don't like that I can't see a complete booklist, because I don't know how much it will cost me. We live in a more rural area, and while we love our library, it doesn't usually have many of the books recommended by many programs.

I have thought about using Biblioplan for history, Sonlight Readers 2 Advanced for independent reading, and some of the read alouds for our evening family read aloud time. Would that give me the "best of both worlds"? Soo...those are my rambling thoughts! Any opinions? Thanks!

Andrea

[mom@shiloh]

I really enjoy the SL history and literature, but you have a point about feeling trapped in a schedule. When I do SL, sometimes it's hard for me just to go with the flow instead of feeling stressed -- if the IG says week five, day four that's where I want to be!! Really have to fight my box-checker tendencies! If you can be aware of that and give yourself the freedom to do it at your own pace, SL is a good program.

 

I'm looking at Biblioplan at this stage because I don't want to do two cores or more of SL at a time. (My five youngest children are seven years apart.) But it's not a permanent decision. You could try SL now and switch to Biblioplan when you're ready to combine your two children.

 

I love the SL books so much, that if I do decide to go with Biblioplan I would definitely incorporate many of the SL books into it.

 

Jean

[Tess in the Burbs]

well, any schedule could feel like a trap. I am finally learning to break through it and move ahead or stay behind in some areas and, *gasp* even skip some things :-) At first I felt I had to do everything. You do learn to let it work for you instead of you working for it.

 

We loved SL Core 1. I added in History Pockets and it was perfect. It's always hard to choose when we have so many good options, but pick one and go for it :-)

[mom31257]

Pm'd you.

[monalisa]

I keep looking at SL, but used Biblioplan for middle ages this year. I really like it and wished we had used it for ancients (used SOTW alone). That would be my vote; even if you can't get all the books from your library, you can substitute. I like how they schedule SOTW, and there are just 1 or 2 books a week for additional. If you have the UILE encyclopedia, that can fill in for books you can 't get from your library (and whatever other spines they recommend for Ancients will do that too).

[abacus2]

I hadn't heard of Biblioplan before. That looks like a very promising future possibility for us.

[TheReader]

Just chiming in to say that doing more than one SL Core at a time is definitely doable, and especially with the age gap you have, because by the time your youngest is using a full Core, your oldest will be able to be independent with many things.

 

I can't speak to Biblioplan, I've only ever used SL, but I can definitely say that 2 Cores at a time (and even 3 Cores at a time) is fine. You grow into it and figure out how to make it fit your family.

 

As for the schedule, like Tess said, if you give yourself the freedom to break away from it, you should be fine.

 

If it helps you decide, SL does offer a free download of the first 3 weeks of any IG (Instructor's Guide); you can get the Core 1 sample and really look at it in-depth to decide if it's the sort of schedule you'd feel restricted by or empowered by.

[scrapbookbuzz]

Not only does SL offer samples for the first 3 weeks of each core, should you actually order it, they give you 18 weeks to thoroughly use it and test it out. If, within that time, you really feel it's not for you, you can return it. That was a deciding factor for me when we finally ordered it a few years ago. I really enjoy it.

 

I understand wanting to check the box, too, but remember: YOU'RE A HOMESCHOOLER. We don't follow schedules if we don't want to do so! :D

To paraphrase a movie quote, "Teacher/Instructor Guides are more like . . . guidelines, anyway." :coolgleamA:

 

I'm rarely "on schedule" per my SL IG but we definitely learn a lot, because I do use it.

 

HTH!

[SnMomof7]

If you visit Sonlight make sure you check out their media library. They have a lot of mp3s there, some of which are dedicated to teaching SL in a larger family with strategies to do that (including co-ordinating cores like SL 1 with SL 7).

 

We are rarely 'on schedule' with our IG either. So, what I do is I just move through the days at our own pace. If we put SL down for a few days, I just open it up again and start on the next day! No 'dates' in the IGs, so that is pretty easy for me to do with no guilt!

 

Also, an experienced HS mom told me once that sometimes you just need to buy what will work NOW, and not worry so much about...5 years down the road (LOL, talking to myself here! I do this a lot!) :) Sometimes a pre-planned open and go resource can teach you how to arrange lesson plans, and can actually teach you how to teach - SL is certainly doing some of that for me!

 

Oh, we are rural too! I just CAN'T HS without having ALL the books on my shelf. Inter-library loans are so unpredictable - we might wait 3 months for a book out here :(. That's another reason I really like SL too - not library dependent.

[andreainia]

Thanks for all your input. They are BOTH good programs, and that's what makes the decision so hard. I actually ordered the Biblioplan guide to see more of how it was structured and what resources it uses. Our library literally has none of the books it uses. I've been talking it over with my husband, and I think we're leaning to using Sonlight. He thinks, and I agree, that having it planned for me would be a big benefit. And I think I'll be able to flex with the IG. When I used HOD, of course it was including ALL the subjects on a page, which caused us to get all messed up with days, as we'd go faster in some subjects than others. Since the Core is really history/readers/read alouds, I think we'll be ok. And having it all come in a box with an 18 week guarantee is nice, too. So that's where I'm at today...ask me again in a few hours, and I might change my mind! :tongue_smilie: