mamato4girls Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I already have Phonics, Math, and Handwriting covered. But would love a curriculum with lots of books for reading, cuddle time, maybe some hands on stuff. I am debating between Sonlight, FIAR, and HOD. Does HOD Little Hearts have much reading? As in read-alouds, etc? Any suggestions appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy to monkeys Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 (edited) I'm voting FIAR. . .that's what I would use if I were starting all over. Snuggle up and read the story and then pick and educational activity. You could still easier pick and choose selections from sonlight to read for fun. just my opinion also. . .I hope you get it to use for my littlest ones once they're up for it. hopefully when dd is prek and ds is in 1rst Edited June 12, 2011 by Mommy to monkeys also. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 We focused on the basics for K. Reading, handwriting and math with LOTS of outdoor nature or fun museum days. Lots of art time and playdates. cost was minimal and they loved to learn and play. We picked up SL for 1st. You don't need a schedule for K! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdkidsmom Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I think SL has some wonderful books in p4/5 for a k'er. I also like FIAR because of the activities and great books. MY dd didn't always want to read the same story 5 days but 3 day works out good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I voted for Sonlight - the P4/5 would be great for K5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 (edited) We're using Sonlight P4/5 as a Kindy program for 2nd time. Great books for a 5yo. Edited June 12, 2011 by Dinsfamily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 We kept it simple as many suggested this year, to the 4R's, but if I had to do it again (and I will!) ;) We would (and will) use Sonlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krisperry Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Another vote for using Sonlight 4/5 for Kindergarten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I voted for FIAR. It is my heart throb. My dd loves the activities and she has learned so much while having fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 My vote is for FIAR but I haven't done the others. I chos FIAR because it is cheaper and the most secular of the three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I voted SL but was reallly up in the air between SL and FIAR. I like FIAR because it's cheaper and easiest to secularize, but we also really liked most of the books for SL's P4/5 core. We didn't use the schedule, however, simply read the books listed and talked about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I voted for Sonlight, but now I need to clarify.;) I use FIAR stretched out for two years: 5K and 1st grade. Then I use Sonlight Core K (or A, as it's called now) for second grade, Core 1 (B now) for third grade, Core 2 (C now) for fourth, Core 3+4 (D+E) for fifth, and Core 5 (F) for 6th grade. That covers elementary, and I plan to use SL all the way through until graduation. I like the gentleness of FIAR for early learners, and I find that Sonlight's cores work best for children at the upper age level of the suggested ages that SL recommends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 (edited) nm Edited December 13, 2012 by CaladwenEleniel unquoted another post, a spelling error, and an apology. Really not trying to tick people off. Really! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 We did Sonlight with oldest and it was a waste of money. The K program we used has been changed (split into a Pre-K and K), but I still wouldn't waste my money. FIAR is more economical, more age appropriate, and has just the right amount of age-appropriate activities. Blessings! Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdarling Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Sonlight is a good curriculem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Have you gotten a chance to look at any of them in person? I have FIAR. I love the idea of it, but the pulling together of all the stuff needed, and the idea of reading the same book 5 days in a row keeps me from actually using it. HOD is more hands on than SL as well. We have friends that use it and it looks awesome, but the idea of all those scheduled things needing supplies again, it would stress me out. We do like hands on activities, but I like to do them on my schedule not as a necessary part of a curriculum, this is one of the reasons SL appeals more to me. Just consider your personality, teaching style, as well as your dc's. I think they are all wonderful programs and at the end of the year you would not have regretted any of them... it is just a matter of personal preference. What one loves, another will hate :tongue_smilie: and a note to cost: SL IG does not cost much more that FIAR, you really are paying for the books. When you think about it that way, it really is not that expensive. You can also just use SL as a reading list and just read through the books (that is what we are doing this year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrapmom3 Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 FIAR has worked well for us. It's easy to use and can be economical if your library has the books. It has exposed ds to lots of different topics which is what I wanted. The week before I pick out the book from the manual and order it from my library. Then I look through the manual and pick one or 2 activities to use each day. We don't usually read the book every day, but I'll refer back to it if needed. You can add lapbooks, go alongs, etc, but I only do that if ds shows a real interest in the topic. Keeping it simple often works best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom24boys Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 We chose HOD. Primarily because it is open and go but seemed to have the right balance of great literature and hands on stuff for us. Almost all of the supplies you will find around your house. There were only 2 times during LHFHG that I didn't have something I needed and ~2 more times that I purposely shopped something (home made peanut butter play-dough ingredients). There are read alouds. If you like LOTS of read alouds, I'd go with Sonlight and a little less hands on activities. FIAR sounds great and is a wonderful curriculum, but I too hesitate at reading the same book 5 days in a row with my K & 1st graders. HOD Little Hearts (LHFHG) has the following read alouds each day: 1. History 2. Devotion - once or twice a week 3. Storytime - my kids loved the Thorton Burgess books 4. Science - there was an activity and then you read a short page from the science book to match. 5. Reading - This is the kids reading aloud to you and then there are discussion questions to match. We enjoyed the read alouds and thought it was a reasonable amount. I was pleased that nothing was really long (so as to loose their attention). HTH! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I've used FIAR (we rowed all the books in Vols. 1-3) and SL PK, K, 1 and 2. I'd choose FIAR if you're only going to do one, but it's very easy to do both FIAR and SL PK 4/5. I'm not much of a grid follower, so we've always done SL at our own pace, finishing a book quickly if we like it and then going back an finishing the others. Definitely use your library as much as possible and don't worry about skipping books they don't have. Or, if you just have to do them all, use interlibrary loan for the hard-to-find books. I managed to eventually get them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 (edited) . Edited April 20, 2014 by CaladwenEleniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buram Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I voted FIAR but I have never used SL or HOD. I use the SL catalog as a reading list and get the books from the library. I was amazed at how much we covered with FIAR this last year and we will be using it again for a second year. My daughter loved all the extra books I got from the library to go along with each week. The only thing she really, really did not like was reading the book of the week over and over. I finally gave up on reading it every day and just pointed out the part in the book that was being referenced. Also we only did 19 books this year. Some books lasted weeks and other weeks we did non-Fiar unit studies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzf242 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Ambleside Online. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I vote HOD and add in some extra picture books for reading time. We tried FIAR and it was not for us. I have never actually tried Sonlight, but I have most of the read alouds for the younger grades that I have picked up at thrifts stores. I'm constantly reading them to the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 What is a waste to one person can be of value to another. I haven't ruled out FIAR for my youngest when her time comes, but we are happy with Core A. I've gone into why I needed that kind of IG and why it was worth it even though I'm really tweaking it. I definitely agree that FIAR is a solid program and SL is not for everyone. My dau. likes hands-on (and loves read-aloud time) and we do a lot of art. We also have the SL activities CD-ROM although we haven't needed it yet. We aren't committed to it for future years, either, but we are fine with it this year. You're right, but my post was not directed towards you. :confused: As a matter of fact, I didn't even read the other posts, I just posted my opinion. Blessings, Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalMom Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I voted FIAR. We absolutely loved it and still can't part with most of the books. My dd wants me to save them forever. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 (edited) I haven't read all the replies, but I have tried all of these, minus the Sonlight's IG. We rowed many, many books from FIAR vol.1-3, and I bought and used LHFHG. I also purchased all the read alouds from Sonlight, so I know about the different books. LHFHG has great hands-on activities, and we LOVED the Thornton Burgess books! To be honest, I was not a huge fan of the history books (except the Bible, that was great), or the science (so we added Elemental Science). Sonlight doesn't have many hands-on activities, but you can easily add them in. It does have more selection for cuddling, reading time. I like that it has more read alouds than LHFHG. FIAR is just picture books, which are all worth reading, but don't make for a very lengthy cuddle time unless you add more books. The hands-on element is definitely there, but does require a bit of thought and prep on your part. Edited June 13, 2011 by ALB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 You're right, but my post was not directed towards you. :confused: As a matter of fact, I didn't even read the other posts, I just posted my opinion. Blessings, Dorinda I thought I was just responding to what you said and I thought it was ok to discuss a differing opinion on a thread. Sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 MFW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer2911mom Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Memoria Press K has a literature pack. I used MP K alongside HOD LHFHG to add more literature. I also used it for the recitation ideas, art and music appreciation, copybook, poetry, and some crafts. MFW K also has a lit pack now that you could add to HOD. Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystika1 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I'm voting FIAR. . .that's what I would use if I were starting all over.Snuggle up and read the story and then pick and educational activity. You could still easier pick and choose selections from sonlight to read for fun. just my opinion t :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I voted FIAR because it's what we used for that level with each of our children. The way it works, which you probably all ready know, is that you read the same story 5x in a week. You do a lesson each day based on a different subject. Say you read The Story About Ping. Monday you might find China on the map and read a little about it. Tuesday you might discuss words in the book your child doesn't know. Wednesday you might try your hand at using the same art medium the illustrator did. Thursday you might count all Ping's relatives. Friday you might learn about ducks and then perhaps go feed some or enjoy watching them. You could wrap the whole week up, or kick it off, by making a Chinese meal {a favorite, or one from the recipe book} or you could go out for Chinese. It's simple and sweet and we made a lot of beautiful memories that way. As your child gets a bit older you could still use the curriculum and add in lapbooks or notebooks thus making your school budget go farther and last longer. The curriculum is what you make of it. Plan more do more. Plan less do less. Open the manual and go if you want. Many people use this curriculum with their children through grade 3. Then they move on. I think that choice can only be made by each family and their goals/needs/wants. That said, you could easy peasy spend the money on it {used or knew, and some libraries in the states apparently have the manuals to} and have that spread over two years. Then if you still feel the pull for HOD or SL you could save normally budgeted school money to put towards those more expensive curriculums. You could also spend money {or use your library} to use the read alouds for the SL K-5 year. Many, many, many people do that. We're amongst them. :lol: In fact, we're not using SL this year but we're still reading LOTS of the suggested read alouds. ;) All that said, I did debate between SL and FIAR. Had I lived over seas when we started hsing I probably would have gone with SL simply because my library has maybe 4 FIAR books all up. My local bookshop doesn't sell most of them. I could have purchased SL as a "box" and had it all delivered to my front door no problems. I also discovered FIAR first and was hooked from the start. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 When I did K 2 years ago, I just read my dd the books from SL and FIAR. We went lots of places and worked through reading/phonics, math and writing. That was it. We also did anything else that seemed interesting. It was very relaxed but she learned enough to be fairly accelerated now. I plan to do the same sort of thing with my 3yo when it's time. Ok, basically that's what I do with her now w/o the math/reading/writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicoryChick Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I voted for FIAR because I think it is perfect for K5. I would then do HOD LHFHG for 1st Grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato4girls Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 Thank you all so much for the great replies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 We prefer HOD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I believe in keeping things really simple for K and I think SL definitely fits the bill. Half an hour or so of reading quality literature to my kids was the ideal way to spend that year with them. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I thought I was just responding to what you said and I thought it was ok to discuss a differing opinion on a thread. You stated SL was a waste for you and I was just saying that I can see why that is true for a lot of people but it has been a decent program for us. And I didn't want to bore anyone again with all the reasons why we were advised to go with (and are happy with) a core that is normally rec. for above my dd's age, so I just said "I've already gone into that" to avoid being redundant. I didn't think it mattered if you read my other post or not, I just didn't want to fill up more space with stuff I'd already posted and was trying to be respectful. I realize your post was directed towards the OP, but is it not ok to offer a different perspective on a curriculum that she asked about? (You can PM so we don't derail this thread!) I've never had someone so upset with me for chiming in but I am new so correct me if I'm wrong. I simply thought it was ok to have a friendly discussion about the programs the OP asked about since she wanted more info. I tried to be balanced and say that I love FIAR and have it on my list for consideration for my youngest and I know full well that SL is not the best choice for many people. My apologies, I was simply trying to offer a different view for the OP without detracting from your input. I thought our ideas went along together (showing two users with different experiences and also happen to like FIAR) so I quoted you. I never thought you were speaking personally to me in your first post. It is okay to offer different perspectives! You did nothing wrong. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonNative Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 We used FIAR for part of this year. We did Volume II and it was too easy for my kids ages 6 and 9. They did not enjoy reading the book over and over. We also did the Cookbook and Bible Supplement. It is a fabulous curriculum, but just didn't work for our family. With SL just make sure you get the right Core/Level. The Cores are not grade level-so if you have a first grader that doesn't necessarily mean the child should do Core 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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