Sonlight Core P3/4

[kristinannie]

OK, I am pretty sure I am going to get this for DD. I love the books that are in it and she loves "read alouds." I don't really care about the schedule, but I was going to buy the core anyway for the discount on other things (including AAS), the free shipping, etc. I would love to hear about your experiences with this Core (good or bad). My daughter would really feel special having her own preschool stuff now that she sees DS getting all of his kindergarten stuff.

[Dinsfamily]

Love it! I bought it for my ds#2 when he was three and we've been reading it continuously for 2 years. Now, ds#3 is starting and will use it until he's 5. Some of the stories are great for 3yos but some are better understood by 4yo and older. Even my 7yo still enjoys some of the stories from this core. I don't use the schedule most of the time; I just take requests. My boys at 3-5yo will often request the same story every night for months. Repetition is good at this age. Every so often, I'll have a "Mom's choice" night to introduce them to new stories.

 

I will do a quick run through in 12 weeks for my 5yo as a part of Kindergarten. I did it with my oldest because we had time to fill in between P4/5 and our new school year with Core A and it was fun. I made my own SL-style schedule for that.

 

Overall, I've got my money's worth already and still have 2 kids to go. I just wish I'd had it for my oldest at 3.

[BigMamaBird]

P3/4 doesn't really have a schedule. Not a list of, "Read Book X on Monday" and so on, it's just more of a list of the books with check boxes. It's a terrific Core! There were plenty of books that I would never have chosen for us that became family favorites!

[fruitofthewomb]

I just finished up with my 5 year old who loved most of the books. My 3 year old liked some of the books, most were over her head or just too long (she is very active).

 

The IG is not much, just a suggested reading order with very simple activities to go along (for example, read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, the activity is: bake cookies and eat them with milk for a snack). The IG is good for suggesting the order, from easier books to harder ones. I didn't follow it really but I did save the harder, longer titles for later as suggested (Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle, The Bee Tree).

 

I did not like most of the fairy tales and there are 3 books of them included. I did not like a few other stories but I don't regret purchasing it. Lots of great books. I have some really good memories of snuggling up with my girls and reading these books. I love, love the Eloise Wilkin book and Make Way for McCloskey. Glad I have them on our bookshelf now to read again.

 

One other thing that I don't like about it is that the stories are in volumes. For example, I was excited about reading A Boy, A Dog, and A Frog but it was in a very thick volume with other stories and it was squished down to 4 pages with about 8 pictures on each page. I felt like the story got lost with all those pictures there together. And that was the case with almost all the stories in the 20th Century Children's Book Treasury. I would rather have the stand alone book. The volumes are too bulky and heavy.

 

I will not use it again as a preschool program. It really is just reading books and I did not like that as much as I thought I would. I am switching to FIAR for K year so we can really use books as a springboard for other activities. We'll see if I like that! HTH!

[SnMomof7]

The books are absolutely wonderful. We don't own the full core, but I have purchased many of their selections - both before I started scoping out the core and after - many of them are just wonderful modern classics for children!

 

You really can't beat them for starting a library for your children - plan to keep them! I actually really like the large compendium volumes, the children can't pack them off as easily as they can single books. They are less likely to go 'missing' under the bed, in the bathroom, behind the rocking chair etc. as a single book is, so they are easier for me to keep track of! And even though they are heavy my 5-year-old is always dragging them out and bringing them to me to request stories from them :)

[SnMomof7]

Bad dial-up double post!

Edited May 17, 2011 by Jennifer Bogart

[Dinsfamily]

The books are absolutely wonderful. We don't own the full core, but I have purchased many of their selections - both before I started scoping out the core and after - many of them are just wonderful modern classics for children!

 

You really can't beat them for starting a library for your children - plan to keep them! I actually really like the large compendium volumes, the children can't pack them off as easily as they can single books. They are less likely to go 'missing' under the bed, in the bathroom, behind the rocking chair etc. as a single book is, so they are easier for me to keep track of! And even though they are heavy my 5-year-old is always dragging them out and bringing them to me to request stories from them :)

 

I like the treasuries too. They are good to take 1 book on vacation and have bedtime stories for everyone. Both of the big treasury books are well-loved by my boys and they can flip right to their favorite stories. Nothing cuter than a 2yo trying to get Harper Collins up the stairs :001_smile:. I do understand the criticisms about 20th Century but we wouldn't have space for that all of those picture books individually and that many books would cost a pretty penny. We have bought some of the most beloved ones to add to our collection of non-SL picture books.

[EthiopianFood]

I liked the stories, although I didn't like the fairy tales. I felt they were too watered down to be very interesting or rich. I do actually regret getting it, because I'm just left with a bunch of books that I didn't choose myself. I like having some of the collections, but otherwise, I wish I would have just used the library. Oh well, live and learn!

[krismoose]

I'm reading through many of the books with my 4yo dd right now and we're really enjoying them. I do skip many of the fairy tales because of the high witch content that she's not ready for ;-), but we like the rest so far. I passed on the 20th c. Treasury and have been getting those ones from the library because I'd rather have the full-size pictures. The HarperCollins Treasury has full-size images, so I found that one used for a good price. My 6.5yo ds has been walking off with the books to read to himself, and loves them too!

[Joyofsixreboot]

We have read the books many times. For my kids, they almost prefer the stories at a little older age. I found some online IG but never used it, we just read.

[3peasinapod]

We love this core. I have went through it 2 times now, and we're about to start it again, but allowing her to pick whatever she wants. I agree, the fairy tale books, 2 books in particular (DK Fairy Tales and Hans Christian Andersen), seemed watered down and silly. That being said, the girls do like them still, especially the Hans Christian book.

 

Sometimes I like to get the books from the 20th Century Treasury from the library, especially the longer books, as so many pictures are cut out and it makes the story harder to read to a young child. If I don't have time, I don't worry about it, though. Some of the books in that particular treasury we have and will always read the fully illustrated book.

 

We absolutely LOVE the rest of them in that core, though.

[Guest]

:thumbup: P3/4 is a favorite in our home. Even at 7 1/2 Adrian still takes some of the books and reads them. As previously mentioned we also love the treasuries. With this one purchase, in a short time, you acquire quite the collection of good quality books in your home for your preschooler and beyond ;). Even though we are not SLing anymore, the Cores (P3/4-K) we own will be loved for many years to come.