Why don't you like Sonlight?

[kristinannie]

Everyone I have talked to who uses SL, loves it. I know a few people in real life who use it and several people online who love it. When I was reading the thread about curricula people didn't like, a lot of people mentioned SL. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me exactly what they didn't like about SL. I am doing a classical education with a lot of CM mixed in. I love most of SL's book choices. I am planning on using Core P3/4 with my daughter this year (but haven't purchased it yet). I am just wondering if it is the books that aren't liked or if it is the IG and how the books are read that isn't liked. I am not planning on doing any SL LA. I just want the readers and the read alouds. Thanks for your input!

[Chris in VA]

I used it for ds' 20th Cent World History. The course has now been changed, so maybe what I didn't care for has been fixed or improved. Basically, these things bugged me--

 

I didn't see the level of analysis and meaty discussion questions that I thought was needed for high school. About half the books did not have any discussion questions at all. Ditto writing assignments. I supplemented as best I could with Sparknotes and Cliffs, and online stuff. I also thought the commentary was off in some things--and I do not like seeing Wikipedia used as a resource in a teacher's guide.

 

I also thought some of the book choices were too easy--I get using an easy book and going deeper into the issues it raises, but that wasn't the case. It was more like just busywork.

 

Lastly, I did not like the writing component--I needed something formatted differently.

 

I also tried to use Sonlight3/4, the American history for elementary age. Some of the book choices were overly emotional. Some were not interesting to a 4th grade girl. And I did not like reading bits and pieces of several books at once. I also didn't like that every book (I should say nearly every) was historical fiction--would've been nice to mix it up more. Lastly, we needed way more hands-on activities.

[Mommy22alyns]

I liked SL P 4/5 for Sylvia's K year. It was sweet. Reading little segments of books did take some getting used to.

 

I did not like Core 1 (now B) for Becca's 2nd grade year. I didn't feel like it was very challenging, honestly. I could have and should have gone with 2 (now C), but I was talked down by experienced SLers. The Bible selections included some stories that are wildly inappropriate for the recommended age range. Frequently the encyclopedia and CHOW readings didn't really correlate. I don't feel like she learned much.

 

They do have really good books, but it's just as easy to pick and choose from their catalogue and add it into whatever else you're doing.

 

Another reason I stopped is because I heard so many bad reviews of the HS levels. I picked up SL because I wanted to stick with something (even though that may be silly). But the more I read, the more uncomfortable I felt with going that route in later grades.

[kristinannie]

So, you guys mostly like the books, but don't like the IG? Would it be better to just not spend the money on buying the IG? I am perfectly comfortable coming up with my own discussion questions (Although once they are doing independent reading, I probably won't be able to preread everything). I am not sure how I feel about having several read alouds going at once. We sometimes have two in this house, but never more than that.

[Donna T.]

I am not sure how I feel about having several read alouds going at once.

 

I have heard that said as a frequent problem with SL but I have wracked my brain trying to figure out what is meant by it because we have used four SL cores and we have never had more than one RA scheduled at a time. Well, the history and Bible are read aloud and the history does sometimes weave more than one book together to keep a common thread going but the RAs have never been scheduled as more than one at a time.

 

Just thought I'd mention that. Have you downloaded the sample IG pages? You can get three weeks worth of any IG. That may help you to see what the schedules are like and what else they have to offer.

[Mama2two]

For me it is a little difference. My son loves history, but not historical fiction. So, the book choices aren't a great fit for us

[Aurelia]

We did the science but have elected not to do the cores because I dislike the focus on religion (which is one of the main components of the program, from what I understand) and did not want to have to buy additional books to substitute for the ones I cut but had to pay for.

[StartingOver]

I use Sonlight but not as written. I love the book selections but can not stand reading parts of many books in one day. We purchase the core only, and I do my own thing with the books. I put them in TWTM order, along with other books and make my own year long schedule.

 

I can not do the IG as written. I will purchase the highschool for the books, I will not use them in the years suggested, and I will not use the IG there either, it is seriously lacking to me, being a long time TWTM'er.

[purduemeche]

A couple thoughts on why we moved to TOG from SL:

 

1. Minimal discussion guides, whereas TOG gives me MORE than enough material to facilitate discussions.

2. Our oldest is a great reader, and in Sonlight Core K he was reading a lot of material on his own. SL picked some Usborne books that had material we did not agree with, and we had to start editing the books. I understand SL's position on this, but at the grammar stage, kids simply aren't able to discern between worldviews. It's all fact to them.

3. Lack of ability to do multiple levels with the same material - critical in a large family.

[MyLittleBears]

 

1. Minimal discussion guides

2. SL picked some Usborne books that had material we did not agree with, and we had to start editing the books. I understand SL's position on this, but at the grammar stage, kids simply aren't able to discern between worldviews.

:iagree:

 

 

Their old catalogs stated the reason for this as, offering the children "spiritual immunity" by small amounts of exposure-- in 1st and 2nd grade. Seriously? I was not buying it.

 

 

Also the LA was too "light"

[kristinannie]

A couple thoughts on why we moved to TOG from SL:

 

1. Minimal discussion guides, whereas TOG gives me MORE than enough material to facilitate discussions.

2. Our oldest is a great reader, and in Sonlight Core K he was reading a lot of material on his own. SL picked some Usborne books that had material we did not agree with, and we had to start editing the books. I understand SL's position on this, but at the grammar stage, kids simply aren't able to discern between worldviews. It's all fact to them.

3. Lack of ability to do multiple levels with the same material - critical in a large family.

 

 

Are you Catholic? I am Catholic so I have been a little concerned about that.

[Amy in KS]

Consider how sensitive your child is...

 

I really liked SOME of the books (My Father's Dragon is a favorite), but strongly disliked other books for the suggested ages. I find some of them emotionally more appropriate for kids on the older end of the spectrum.

 

In the George Mueller book, there are chapters about his being disobedient, drinking and spending time in jail. Yes, it's a great book, but not for a six year old (imho). Also, there's also a book about a boy being blinded, a book about a homeless family, about bullying, the nazis and WWII, etc. I would have liked more warning on these books.

 

I kept putting away book after book because they deeply disturbed my sensitive child...

 

Also, I would have loved to have seen more advanced picture books in the K and 1st levels mixed with the chapter books.

 

What I've seen of 3 and up look great, though!

[Alyeska]

We used 6 cores over the years. The thing I disliked about ancient history was the lack of biblically integrated history. That is why we switched to MFW for Creation to the Greeks and Rome to the Reformation. After that we are switching back to Sonlight.

 

Oh, and there were always books we ditched. Some of SL's books do not meet my personal standard of when particular ideas are introduced to children. I don't shelter, but I do carefully select when certain topics are covered. An example was the World Wars book in Core 4. My dd was in 5th at that time and I personally think fifth grade is just too young to be learning about the horrors of war. I would rather wait and intro that in middle school. So when we switch back to Sonlight, I will pre-read and ditch accordingly.

Edited May 27, 2011 by Alyeska

[extrafor6]

I rarely post, but thought I would since I've used SL for three years now and we are changing to HOD next year. I also notice that your children are young, and I began using SL K when mine were 6,4 and 2. We are finishing up SL 1 with a 4,6, and 8 yo. It took me two years to do one core, because I added and modified so much! For SL K, I used the core, LA and science. For SL 1, I only used the core.

 

What initially drew me to SL and what I like:

1. Great literature selections. We love the read alouds and the reader selections. I will continue to utilize the SL selections.

2. I am a proponent of living books.

3. Chronological study of history.

4. Ability to combine multiple ages for history.

5. Overall, biblical worldview and focus on missions. We really enjoyed the missionary biographies.

6. Mathtacular videos. My kids LOVE these!

7. I liked the first few weeks or history that were focused on early civilization using Archaeologists Dig, Houses and Homes and Peoples of the World.

 

Why we are putting SL away for good:

1. I find the IG as written and reading schedule disjointed. For example, in Bible, you had your daily passage to read, which rarely had anything to do with either the history or the Leading Little Ones to God lesson.

2. I prefer (VERY MUCH) SOTW to CHOW. The CHOW readings didn't always line up with the readings in Usborne books. I felt like the kids were often saying, "We already did that". Also, I tried using SOTW instead and just using the suggested SL history books (Tut's Mummy, Encyclopedia of World History, Time Traveler, Great Wall, etc.) I was spending a lot of time trying to line all of these resources up. Once we got to ancient Greece, I ended up ditching the chronological time line and teaching the civilizations in their entire history before moving onto the next civilization.

3. The reading schedule, which I didn't find to be too much reading daily, was just all over the place for us. My kids like to pick up a book and finish it rather than read one chapter a week. I'm not talking about the read alouds but specifically Abeku to Zapotec, Missionary Stories, etc. I modified this and we just read one of the books at a time, rather than a chapter or two of each every week.

4. There were no activities (which is one of their reasons not to use the curriculum). I'm not a huge hands on gal, but I found myself using SOTW activity book all the time to print out coloring sheets, maps and to get a few ideas for somethings hads on every now and again.

I will still use SL 4/5 to supplement my kindergartener who will use HOD next year. I love the reading selections!

5. I think several of the read alouds were a little over their heads and would be better used a little later on. It makes me sad that the books we read in K have been forgotten :( I will use them as readers in the next few years.

 

I hope this helps you! I think SL is an excellent curriculum depending on what you are looking for. Please PM me if you have any other specific ?s. Oh, and FWIW I did skip the focus on mythology and even the worship of other gods by these early civilizations. It really bothered one of my girls the practices of some of these groups. I didn't find the books inappropriate and the drawings of nudity didn't bother me. It was a good discussion point for us.

Blessings!

Steph

[Grateful for Grace]

I used SL 7 years and switched to TOG for a few reasons:

1) I needed something that I could use with all 6 kiddos

2) I wanted the kids to have a better balance between the "feel" for a time period and the facts. SL is heavy on the "experience and feeling" of a time period, which is good, but not the facts part.

3) I wanted some Biblical discussion questions (and didn't want to come up with them myself)

[AngieW in Texas]

I loved Sonlight up until the high school level Cores even though I had to adapt it to remove the religious stuff.

 

I really didn't care for the high school level cores.

 

Core 100 would have been fine for 6th-8th graders, but it wasn't what I would call high school level.

 

Core 300 was just a complete scatter-shot. There was nothing to tie the whole thing together. It was just random stuff randomly put together. I didn't bother with any more.

[Mom in High Heels]

We tried Core 1 for 1st grade (2 years ago), but it did not work for us for many reasons. We had many books going at one time and I was exhausted with all the reading required each day. Indy loves to be read to, but he got tired of the lack of stuff to do (though I hear they've added more hands on stuff for the lower cores this year). He also questioned the RA choices. The first RA we had was Charlotte's Web. He loved the book but said "Aren't we supposed to be learning about the ancients? Why are we reading this?" I had no answer. He likes the books we read (even the RA's) to go along with what he's learning. That didn't happen with SL.

We're secular hsers and I did have to toss several of the books, but that didn't bother me that much (though I hate to pay for books that I don't use). I just didn't feel SL lived up to the hype.

[morosophe]

Just in case you somehow managed to miss it, Sonlight has its own list of reasons people may not like their materials (at the level of learning style incompatibility/fundamental disagreement on what education should be).

 

I am finishing up Core 1 (now B), and we've really liked it in general. We're doing Core 2 (now C) next year for my son's second grade, in fact.

 

After that, I'm planning on dropping Sonlight because I have more kids coming and I want to have them study the same subjects as much as possible. Lord willing, I'll switch to Biblioplan for my oldest son's third grade so that I feel comfortable enough for it that teaching two children the next year will be a little smoother. (I do think that having had the spoon-feeding Sonlight provides for two years will have provided both my son and me a good grounding in what school is "supposed" to be like.)

 

That said, let me nitpick the things I really hated:

 

1.) We both hated the Usborne Book of Peoples of the World, which is the first history spine. Long, boring, and really, really abstract. I know there are people who love Usborne, and I will acknowledge that it has some very, very pretty pictures, but that book was just very hard to get into. When we moved on to A Child's History of the World, it was like a breath of fresh air. I have no idea why we had to suffer through Peoples of the World first, though.

 

I will acknowledge that the other Usborne books weren't quite as bad. Time Traveller, for instance, was much easier to skim by just reading an introductory paragraph or two, and then having my son find something interesting (or making him search for something interesting I'd found: "Can you find the thief in the market?" "Where's the colosseum?").

 

2.) At the same time, and for much longer, my son was reading The Beginner's Bible, which is the first book in their "second grade reading level" readers. Make no mistake, it's a great book, but I would have appreciated a little more of that one being broken up than just one one-week break for a book of poetry.

 

3.) The tips for how to cover the history in the instructor's guide (child should come up with five major points from the text) were just way, way too hard for a first grader (or at least my first grader)--this is the kid who seems to have trouble with the "tell me one thing you remember" in Writing with Ease, although that's finally improving. In fact, figuring out how to handle my son's retention and make it feel like he was accomplishing something was a major issue that was only resolved when I purchased History Scribe for some guided notebooking. (Note that that wouldn't have helped with Peoples of the World.)

 

//Nitpicking over.

 

I would like to clarify: As far as reading several things at once goes, several books are spread throughout almost the whole year: poetry (an anthology and a collection of Mother Goose that do last the whole year) and missionary books made up of discrete units (such as From Akebu to Zapotec, a description of cultures alphabetically arranged that do not have the Bible in their own language). To be honest, this has kept my kids from getting bored or frustrated with them. Once you've finished the two missionary books that are spread out, you start a pretty steady diet of George Muller, although he could certainly be finished quicker if you read him more than three days a week! Then there are history spines (A Child's History of the World) that are supplemented with other materials (Usborne books), just as many, many programs recommend and/or schedule. So usually during a week I was reading: the history spine (2-3 days), the supplemental material (the rest), a missionary story and a short paragraph on people who don't have the Bible for history. For read-alouds, we'd be covering whatever book we were reading and 3-5 poems, often fairly short. And finally, my son would be reading his book of the week to me.

[G5052]

We used six Cores when they were little, and also had two years in there with TOG.

 

I loved the Sonlight years. I am not one who wants to spend the summer planning that much, and the schedule and books were great for us 95% of the time, which is plenty for me. As we went up though, we decided that they needed to do their own work for 7th and up, and I am not as fond of their higher cores. They seem disjointed to me for that level of work, and the writing assignments were not what I wanted. So we enjoyed what was then the PK-4th cores, and moved on. I have only two kids who are fairly close together, so one Core worked well.

 

TOG was a no-go for me. This was before it was redesigned, and I didn't like all of the options and their book choices for younger kids weren't as good as Sonlight.

 

My teens still enjoy being read to though, so we have a history book, a nature book, and a Christian book going at the same time.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

After using 8 different cores (4/5, K, 3, 4, 6, 7, 100, 200) I came to realize, for us, it was not a true History curriculum but a supplemental history reading program. When one of my kids asked me when we were going to start history again (halfway through his second year with SL) I knew we could not use this again, not as our only history. Another thing I did not like was some of the choices of books for the younger cores. I felt the use of scary or depressing books in the younger cores were not necessary when there was far more enjoyable works they could have used. Why dwell on the negative at that age instead of showing the beauty of the different cultures?

 

The mapping work left a lot to be desired. The IG was just schedule with a few discussion questions thrown in. These discussion question had me wondering 'why ask that?' so we did not use them at all.

 

We do use SL but only as a supplement to our history program. Since I started doing this I am happy with SL.

[calandalsmom]

We used core 1+2-core 6.

 

I liked the earlier years.

 

I dislike SL as a company, and will not buy from them.

 

Core 6 was so hopelessly dull and felt like such a retread of the core 1+2 only longer and more tedious.

 

My kids never liked the readers. And in core 6 they were not even that excited about read alouds.

 

As a liberal social justice focused catholic striving for secular education in my home, I found SL's use of missionary books in core 5 to be a huge turn of and that is where SL started to leave a bad taste in my mouth. My experiences on the forums just made that worse.

[Just Another Jen]

We used core 1+2-core 6.

 

I liked the earlier years.

 

I dislike SL as a company, and will not buy from them.

 

Core 6 was so hopelessly dull and felt like such a retread of the core 1+2 only longer and more tedious.

 

My kids never liked the readers. And in core 6 they were not even that excited about read alouds.

 

As a liberal social justice focused catholic striving for secular education in my home, I found SL's use of missionary books in core 5 to be a huge turn of and that is where SL started to leave a bad taste in my mouth. My experiences on the forums just made that worse.

 

If there was a "like" button I'd be using it right now. I totally agree.

[laughing lioness]

Too much overview, not enough mastery. All content, little skill in the areas of lit and history.

The reading schedule drove me nuts. Little bits and peices, like snacking all day long. We like to focus and digest.

Way back in the day they had 1 graders read Bruchko. A bit over the top.

Edited May 27, 2011 by laughing lioness

[RootAnn]

- I have multiple kiddos & don't have time to read multiple cores. This isn't a problem now, but would be later.

 

- My kids are all over the board on reading ability. Their own special find-a-fit tool on the website had me with two different cores & three different reader levels for next year. Um, no thanks.

 

- I like to keep all my kids on the same history rotation.

 

- My kids like hands-on activities.

 

- I like quizzes/tests & ways to measure their knowledge. I'm very un-CMish in this way. I'd have to make up my own (which is what one of the current-SL-users I know does, but she's totally sick of it since it takes up so much time for her).

 

- It is way too expensive for us to use. Just one core + 1 set of readers would eat up over half of my total homeschool budget for the year.

---------

That said, I love historical fiction, so the book choices are good ones to "start with." I'm using many (but not all) of SL's Core 3 & 4 (don't remember what they are called now) choices for our American History "unit study" approach next year in conjunction with Portraits of American Girlhood & a bunch of other stuff. (I'm prereading everything & deciding which are going to be read alouds or readers (+ some of them will be borrowed as books on tape for my younger one who won't be able to read them at 'grade level' yet) and not using their designations.)

[G5052]

Way back in the day they had 1 graders read Bruchko. A bit over the top.

 

The brutality was more than I wanted for young children.

 

Those and few other books were all that dropped, which is really pretty good!

[Aubrey]

I LOVE the *idea* of SL, but in practice, it's just not quite right, so I haven't ordered it--not using it is, I guess, a little different from not liking it, but here's why we haven't used it:

 

1. I really do want a chronological history.

 

2. I don't like a "missionary focus" for eastern countries only. I don't think I'd like it for everybody, either, but esp not singling out one side of the world. That just seems weird.

 

3. I prefer something that includes the east more fully.

 

4. When the kids were younger, they were too sensitive for many of the book selections.

 

I have a friend whose been using SL for several years & loving it, & I've never seen a more perfect curriculum fit for a family, BUT she's liking it less as her oldest hits middle school. (7th, I think) She says that the "critical thinking" aspect isn't really there, but also that it doesn't deepen or get harder w/ age: it starts to look the same as the year before.

 

Fwiw, I did use an old SL IG for a while after #4 was born. Someone here sent it to me so I could better see what SL was about. That few months is some of the sweetest time I remember from all of my hs'ing. Because of that, I periodically flip through SL's catalog to make sure it *really* isn't for us.

 

In the end, though, I prefer a secular blend between SL & TOG. (Secular so that I'm teaching my own faith & not that of the authors of a random curriculum, not because I'm not Christian.)

[Penelope]

We used it for one year (Am. History), and I bought another IG once but didn't end up liking it.

 

I like many of the books SL chooses, but not all. I see and hear a lot of talk about how it's not for people who don't like to read aloud. Well, we read aloud a lot, but I don't want all of my read alouds to be chosen by someone else, and I don't want all of them to be historical fiction from one time period. Some of the SL books don't make very good bedtime stories. ;)

 

Initially I was attracted to SL because of their inclusion of Bible and missions. However, I dislike most of the missions books they use in their lower cores.

 

I prefer a chronological history cycle.

 

And then, there are the upper cores. The cores above 5 do not appeal to me at all, for many reasons.

 

I would probably use it for one more year, except that it won't work for combining my students. And SL is too much history, too full, to do two separate cores if you have younger children in the house, and also want to focus on writing, grammar, math, and reading solid literature beyond the core readers. At least, it is for me.

[Aquinas Academy]

I love Sonlight's books and I drool over their catalogue every single year. But I also know that I could never use Sonlight because:

 

1. I want to follow the 4-year-cylce.

2. Having my year already planned out would drive me crazy.

3. I'm Catholic and would rather not use a Protestant curriculum.

4. I prefer more of a great books focus for high school.

5. I'm Canadian and don't want to spend three years doing American history and another year doing American government.

6. I want my kids to all study the same time period.

[Mrs. A]

:bigear:

[hmschooling]

Way too much reading aloud-- and it's mostly passive listening for the kids. It lacks connections and activities to draw anything out of the readings. They aren't engaged in it.

It isn't good at skill building in even the core areas.

It's called Christian, but easily used secularly, which isn't Christian in my book.

Many books are inappropriate for the SL suggested age.

I personally got the feeling it was a glorified library book list, and I want more than storytime for that sort of money and time.

[Rebecca77]

I've done most of core 3/4, 4/5, 2, and 6. Core 2 was much easier and enjoyable for me than 6. Core 6 moves way too fast, and most of the read-alouds were very difficult and boring for us. I decided I never wanted an IG telling me what to read and when ever again.

 

I did not like just reading little snippets here and there from books in core 4/5. Love all the selections though in 3/4, and 4/5!

 

I think the IG can be nice for the accountability it gives you, and the sense of accomplishment you feel when you've done everything. So, I think SL can be a blessing in seasons when you feel you need that. Although, the core 6 IG became a curse for me, because there was no way I could keep up.

[G5052]

I think the IG can be nice for the accountability it gives you, and the sense of accomplishment you feel when you've done everything. So, I think SL can be a blessing in seasons when you feel you need that. Although, the core 6 IG became a curse for me, because there was no way I could keep up.

 

For various reasons I didn't want to do Core 5, and I knew that the read-alouds on Core 6 were not going to be doable. I really didn't want to do the one year history either (I think it was called Alt 7?). So we moved on.

[Mom0012]

For various reasons I didn't want to do Core 5, and I knew that the read-alouds on Core 6 were not going to be doable. I really didn't want to do the one year history either (I think it was called Alt 7?). So we moved on.

 

GVA - Why do you say the Core 6 read-alouds weren't going to be doable? Too boring? I'm going to be using Core 5 this upcoming year and then planned on continuing with SL through Core 7 with both of my kids and through Core 100 with my daughter. I have been really looking forward to Core 6 because of the SOTW and the Foster books, but I am unfamiliar with many of the other titles in 6. I'm surprised to hear a few people in this thread felt Core 6 was boring.

 

Thanks!

Lisa

[Rebecca77]

I think some books in Core 6 were just beyond my reading level. Lot's of difficult words I didn't know the meaning of, or could even pronounce.

[melmichigan]

I own K-Core 100. I love the books of SL, and I add many of them to our TOG rotations. I never used an IG solely "as written", I always adjusted and supplemented to meet our needs.

 

I will no longer purchase from SL for reasons discussed in many other threads over the past year.

[G5052]

GVA - Why do you say the Core 6 read-alouds weren't going to be doable? Too boring? I'm going to be using Core 5 this upcoming year and then planned on continuing with SL through Core 7 with both of my kids and through Core 100 with my daughter. I have been really looking forward to Core 6 because of the SOTW and the Foster books, but I am unfamiliar with many of the other titles in 6. I'm surprised to hear a few people in this thread felt Core 6 was boring.

Lisa

 

We were barely managing near the end of Core 4, and everyone I knew said that the read-aloud time was significantly more for them for Core 6 because of longer passages and tougher books in general. At that point we went to reading aloud when I have time from books I choose and having my two each do their own history/lit. We've done that for two years now, and I have no regrets.

[Mom0012]

We were barely managing near the end of Core 4, and everyone I knew said that the read-aloud time was significantly more for them for Core 6 because of longer passages and tougher books in general. At that point we went to reading aloud when I have time from books I choose and having my two each do their own history/lit. We've done that for two years now, and I have no regrets.

 

Thanks for responding! I don't know what I'm going to do with my kiddos when we've reached the end of our SL years. It's encouraging to me to hear that you still enjoy your read-aloud time together. That's the heart of our homeschool and it's nice to know it doesn't have to end with SL.

 

Lisa

[tuesdayschild]

GVA, would you mind sharing what it is your using/doing now?

 

We're coming up to a Home ed.ing cross roads faster than I'm wanting an so I'm idea collecting before we finish with SOTW4 :)

 

TIA

 

My teens still enjoy being read to though, so we have a history book, a nature book, and a Christian book going at the same time.

[G5052]

GVA, would you mind sharing what it is your using/doing now?

 

We're coming up to a Home ed.ing cross roads faster than I'm wanting an so I'm idea collecting before we finish with SOTW4 :)

 

TIA

 

Several chapters from Our Island Story (British History)

One chapter from No Graven Image (Elisabeth Elliot)

An article from Nature Friend or Smithsonian

 

It doesn't take too long and requires little planning.

 

After Island Story, I'm think that we'll take up The Landmark History of the American People again because we've been talking a lot about early American history of late.

 

Frankly I'm surprised that they still want to be read to, but they complain when we miss.

Edited May 28, 2011 by GVA

[TXMary2]

I don't care for SL for a few reasons.

 

1) Too much reading, not enough critical thinking and comprehension.

2) Schedule too choppy with too many books going at once- I prefer to read a whole kid's book at once and then discussing it. Reading a couple of pages a day made me batty.

3) LA very, very weak.

4) Format of the IG teacher notes made my head spin.

5) The two high school cores we did had to be heavily supplemented for literary terms and analysis. I didn't feel they were all that rigorous, but my oldest ds did read some fabulous books.

6) I wanted my kids on the same history theme and because they are so far apart in age, SL wasn't able to meet that need.

7) Geography was weak.

8) Disliked how the forums were run.

9) I prefer the chronological, WTM history rotation.

 

Our favorite was Core 5 and except for the LA 5, it was really meaty and the EHE pages were awesome.

[gracyomalley]

Having done WTM for several years, then switched to SL for American history (Cores 3 and 4, with littlest doing early cores too), I would say that SL is WAY better for literature (ie what the kids read) for us then SOTW was (really engaged them in the books and history), and I loved the concetration on America. Felt that SOTW didn't really give them "enough" there...and for my kids (oldest is dylexic and bright - couldn't independently read WTM book list, but could understand them as read alouds, middle was working a year or 2 ahead...) SL got them reading for learning - with joy, and talking about the tie in of their history with life...

 

I perfer WTM for the Ancient/Middle first cycle, and plan to continue through more cycles with more emphasis on classics in high school than SL gives...but again, felt that for 3-5 grade and American History in particular, it really was fantastic.

 

The issue about different books going at different times is really a "no-brainer", most people mix and match SL order to fit their family. Some books the IG schedule really does make the most sense for us, some we "change up".

 

It's funny - I never saw any issue with the forums...but I'm fairly new to that!

Erin

[calandalsmom]

I don't care for SL for a few reasons.

 

1) Too much reading, not enough critical thinking and comprehension.

2) Schedule too choppy with too many books going at once- I prefer to read a whole kid's book at once and then discussing it. Reading a couple of pages a day made me batty.

3) LA very, very weak.

4) Format of the IG teacher notes made my head spin.

5) The two high school cores we did had to be heavily supplemented for literary terms and analysis. I didn't feel they were all that rigorous, but my oldest ds did read some fabulous books.

6) I wanted my kids on the same history theme and because they are so far apart in age, SL wasn't able to meet that need.

7) Geography was weak.

8) Disliked how the forums were run.

9) I prefer the chronological, WTM history rotation.

 

Our favorite was Core 5 and except for the LA 5, it was really meaty and the EHE pages were awesome.

 

 

This is a good assessment I think.

[Spock]

Everyone I have talked to who uses SL, loves it. I know a few people in real life who use it and several people online who love it. When I was reading the thread about curricula people didn't like, a lot of people mentioned SL. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me exactly what they didn't like about SL. I am doing a classical education with a lot of CM mixed in. I love most of SL's book choices. I am planning on using Core P3/4 with my daughter this year (but haven't purchased it yet). I am just wondering if it is the books that aren't liked or if it is the IG and how the books are read that isn't liked. I am not planning on doing any SL LA. I just want the readers and the read alouds. Thanks for your input!

 

The book choices seem geared for girls, for the most part. Many of them are also quite intense emotionally, while only moderately difficult to easy in vocabulary/language use/concepts. My older two boys used SL 1 and 2 many years ago (when they covered an intro to world history with 4 civilizations for year 1, and a quick overview of world history for year 2). I also tried year 6 (at that time, a quick overview of world history) and year 7 (at that time, the one year US history). There were a few books we loved, but there were also many books we thought were very dull, or more aimed at girls than boys.

 

I did like the world focus of Sonlight, and the missions books. I didn't like many of the book choices, and I didn't like feeling like I was racing through history at the pace the books were read. I prefer to save book gobbling for books read for pleasure, not for study. We (my sons and I, not necessarily everyone) miss too many nuances when we read through a book and on to the next so quickly.

[Wheres Toto]

I personally got the feeling it was a glorified library book list, and I want more than storytime for that sort of money and time.

 

This is what I wonder about. For those of you who don't use the IG, is it anything more than a selection of books grouped together by topic?

 

I've looked at Sonlight multiple times but it always seems very expensive for what we would get out of it. I like what we are doing for math and language arts, definitely wouldn't do their science and would have to secularize so wouldn't use all the books. I know we wouldn't have multiple books going at once and the sample IG's have way too many religious components for me to like them.

 

So, without the IG, what is Sonlight but a list of suggested books that I can just get out of the library when we are on the appropriate topic?

 

I like the idea of a lit-based program and many people seem to love Sonlight so I'm wondering what about it I"m missing?

[birchbark]

We did a SL core for 2nd grade. I thought it was a lot of time and money for a small percentage of school subjects.

 

I also thought the guide was klutzy.

 

I do use them as a library list though.

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

Thanks for all the input on this thread.

[jewellsmommy]

1. I find the IG as written and reading schedule disjointed.

2. I prefer (VERY MUCH) SOTW to CHOW.

3. The reading schedule, which I didn't find to be too much reading daily, was just all over the place for us.

4. There were no activities

 

 

I very much agree with the above points after doing K and half of core 1. It did not make any sense to me that we were reading 2 pages in Abeku to Zapotec, 2 pages from (can't remember the title), and then a chapter of Charlotte's Web while pointing out the capital of PA. :001_huh: It just didn't flow for me and there was very little retention.

 

I, too, know many people who love SL. It just wasn't for us.

[pinkcastle]

I like to love SL, so we tried the Science Kinder & Readers 2.

But unfortunately, the Science didn't work for us.

[LG Gone Wild]

We are Catholic.

 

Too much parent involvement. I got so winded doing all those durn RAs. I am probably the only person who likes the IG.

 

LA sucked. Way, way, way prefer FLL and WWE.

[DawnM]

We love SL and in fact, we found it having too many books there for a while. But, this may also be because I have one son who has some learning struggles.

 

But we are the consummate tweakers so I doubt there is ANY program that is perfect for us. I tend to tweak all of it.

 

We tried TOG but it was too much for them at that time. As my kids are getting older, it may be something we re-consider again. For now, we are happy with SL.

 

Dawn