Sonlight -- what's good, what's bad?

[myboyluvsdinos]

Hi there,

 

I'm considering using Sonlight for my rising 6th grader for history/geography, read-alouds, and literature.

 

I homeschool my ds only, and we enjoy lots of read-alouds, and history is his favorite subject. We love tying in historical fiction to the history subject we're learning.

 

I do wonder about the history spines that Sonlight uses in middle school. Are they meaty enough?

 

If you've used it, could you share your thoughts on it?

 

Thanks!

Carolyn

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Hi there,

 

I'm considering using Sonlight for my rising 6th grader for history/geography, read-alouds, and literature.

 

I homeschool my ds only, and we enjoy lots of read-alouds, and history is his favorite subject. We love tying in historical fiction to the history subject we're learning.

 

I do wonder about the history spines that Sonlight uses in middle school. Are they meaty enough?

 

If you've used it, could you share your thoughts on it?

 

Thanks!

Carolyn

 

It would help if you'd say which core you're thinking of using.

 

We have done Core 5 and 6 (Eastern Hemisphere and World History I, whatever they are now called).

 

I thought that Core 5 was really interesting and am looking forward to doing it again when my youngest son is old enough. For him, that will be sometime beyond 5th grade, because I don't think his reading and writing skills will be quite up to the demands of that particular core. When we did 5, it used a CD encyclopedia as the spine text along with the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer, which was a detailed workbook style set of research assignments. Some lessons were pretty easy (mapping, timeline, identification); while others were far harder (short essay, thought provoking scenario questions).

 

We got a lot out of Eastern Hemisphere Explorer, but others really hated it. Complaints were that answers were hard to find or that it consumed a lot of time. This is part of why I think this core is best for a student who is a fast reader and who is ready for higher level questions than just reading comprehension.

 

Having said that, my kids thought the readers and read alouds were great books. I pretty much had to keep the books under wraps or they would read ahead.

 

(NB: We lived in Japan when we did Core 5, which might have helped if feel more connected to our daily life. Yet I still think the books were wonderful.)

 

Core 6. My complaint was that it moved through history faster than I wanted to go. So we would alternate several weeks on SL with several weeks of WTM style encyclopedia outlining, research and writing. We took about 16 months to go through the whole Core (ancient Egypt through Renaissance). The books were pretty good, although some were books the kids had recently read, so we made some substitutions.

 

Because our life was a bit consumed with a big move, we mostly did reading and some discussion during SL weeks. In hindsight, I wish that I'd done more to emphasize mapping skills. (I don't think the edition of the Core that we had was very good for this. The locations to map are in the notes for the readers, which are filed alphabetically. I think it would be better to have these in notes on the schedules. I also think that the maps included are intended as parent answer keys. Were I using this again, I would make sure that I had good maps for the kids to fill in each week and that I posted locations to identify either on the schedule I make for the week or somewhere else they can reference. Because I didn't feel like I needed to refer to the discussion notes for the books, I tended to just end up skipping the mapping too. Partly my fault, partly a result of the layout.)

[melmichigan]

I think the books from Cores 6, 7 and 100 are great for middle school. You may have trouble with the spines if your child has already done SOTW per TWM, since Core 6 & 7 use the four books. Core 100 uses History of US by Hakim, which my DD just couldn't stand at this age, we use it per TOG with Upper Grammar instead of Dialetic.

[Mom2OregonBoys]

I appreciate the carefully selected books, the scheduling, map assignments as well as the convenience of unpacking our box at the beginning of the year and filling our reading shelf. I do supplement our literature because my DS11 is an avid reader, but it's easy to fill in books where needed. We're finishing Core 6 and are planning for Core 7 in the fall.

 

The convenience of "mostly in a box" curriculum is very important for me because I work part-time in our family business. Frankly, even if I didn't work part-time, I would still choose SL. We do two foreign languages, as well as accelerated math and science, so I rely heavily on the structure of SL to keep us on track for the year.

[Spetzi]

I have not used SL 6 or G World History Part I, but I own it and plan to start soon.

 

I, too, was concerned about Story of the World. I purchased Susan Wise Bauer's high school history book as well and might just combine some readings (The History of the Ancient World). I believe the idea is to have an easy read in SOTW, partly because SL G moves pretty fast.

 

The other books look great and I am optimistic that we will have a wonderful year.

 

HTH,

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I think the books from Cores 6, 7 and 100 are great for middle school. You may have trouble with the spines if your child has already done SOTW per TWM, since Core 6 & 7 use the four books. Core 100 uses History of US by Hakim, which my DD just couldn't stand at this age, we use it per TOG with Upper Grammar instead of Dialetic.

 

We had used SOTW for earlier grades. Yet there seemed to be a difference in the way my kids understood things as middle schoolers. Part of the difference was probably just that they were older and are more familiar with the world and history. Another thing is that they were reading SOTW themselves this time instead of as a read aloud or audio book.

 

Four years is a long time for a kid. And the pace of reading SOTW per the SL schedule is faster than we used it in earlier years. I wouldn't rule out SL if you think it's a good fit, just on the basis that you've already read SOTW.

 

(But then I'm re-reading a Dorothy Sayers novel for about the third time and loving it, so take it with a grain of salt.)

[myboyluvsdinos]

It would help if you'd say which core you're thinking of using.

 

We have done Core 5 and 6 (Eastern Hemisphere and World History I, whatever they are now called).

 

Because our life was a bit consumed with a big move, we mostly did reading and some discussion during SL weeks. In hindsight, I wish that I'd done more to emphasize mapping skills. (I don't think the edition of the Core that we had was very good for this. The locations to map are in the notes for the readers, which are filed alphabetically. I think it would be better to have these in notes on the schedules. I also think that the maps included are intended as parent answer keys. Were I using this again, I would make sure that I had good maps for the kids to fill in each week and that I posted locations to identify either on the schedule I make for the week or somewhere else they can reference. Because I didn't feel like I needed to refer to the discussion notes for the books, I tended to just end up skipping the mapping too. Partly my fault, partly a result of the layout.)

 

I'm not sure which core I would order at this point. I'm considering it for all three years of middle school, not just one. So getting feedback is great for each individual core, as well as the program as a whole.

 

Thanks so much for your detailed feedback!

[melmichigan]

We had used SOTW for earlier grades. Yet there seemed to be a difference in the way my kids understood things as middle schoolers. Part of the difference was probably just that they were older and are more familiar with the world and history. Another thing is that they were reading SOTW themselves this time instead of as a read aloud or audio book.

 

Four years is a long time for a kid. And the pace of reading SOTW per the SL schedule is faster than we used it in earlier years. I wouldn't rule out SL if you think it's a good fit, just on the basis that you've already read SOTW.

 

(But then I'm re-reading a Dorothy Sayers novel for about the third time and loving it, so take it with a grain of salt.)

 

:iagree:The pace is much faster. We used SOTW 1&2 with my then DD9 for 5th as part of Core 6. She had not had SOTW (PS), it worked well for her to read it on her own and then she also completed the tests as a worksheet to review what she read. Now going into 7th she isn't as much of a fan and we have moved to TOG for spines, just reading SOTW where it fits to finish up the youngers, but she still reads almost all of the readers and read alouds from Core 7 and 100 in addition to her TOG D studies. (I was juggling multiple cores at the time and couldn't read SOTW aloud, but it was still a good year for her.)

[Mom22ns]

Ds did Core 100 in 7th grade. We did core 6 last year (6th & 8th). We will be doing Core 7 next year (7th & 9th). Core 6 & 7 will both be a little light for my older one and are just right for my younger. I added Speilvogel Human Odyssey for the older to flesh it out a bit more. Overall we've enjoyed all of these. We are looking forward to 7 (H) this year.

 

I'd say Sonlight's strengths are the books and the schedule. It's weaknesses are the spines (which we have loved) and the schedule. If you can use the schedule and not let it rule your life, you will love SL. If it rules you or you can't make use of it at all, it will be nothing but frustration.

[Orthodox6]

The language arts program is its own peculiar animal. Influenced by Ruth Beechick, according to Sonlight. A student who comes into Sonlight at an older age, and who has weak language arts background, or who must learn via more traditional type of structured style, can fall flat flop. As a teacher, I need a more traditional program.

 

Science is Sonlight's "weak link", many people feel.

 

The [history-related] books are wonderful, for the most part. Often, we already owned 2/3 of the assigned titles.

 

I think very highly of Sonlight up through, but not beyond, Core 100. We found the high school program unpalatable for our family, so won't use that again. Many families do find the high school Cores to be a good fit.

[Boxing Hare]

I love SL b/c it requires no planning from me. I love that it has a 4 day schedule and a 5 day schedule. The literary questions are all there, plus any objectionable material in the book is listed. It makes life so easy....

[Lady Marmalade]

The language arts program is its own peculiar animal. Influenced by Ruth Beechick, according to Sonlight. A student who comes into Sonlight at an older age, and who has weak language arts background, or who must learn via more traditional type of structured style, can fall flat flop. As a teacher, I need a more traditional program.

 

Science is Sonlight's "weak link", many people feel.

 

 

This part about the LA and Science. When we first started homeschooling, I really wanted to go with everything from SL, because I loved the idea that our LA would tie into the History and Reading. Well, I had a traditional education myself, and my DD was coming out of 3rd grade PS, and the LA just didn't work for us. We tried it for about 8 weeks before giving up and moving on to something that made more sense for us.

 

So we don't use the LA, which makes me feel like we're missing something.

 

We also don't use the Science because it jumps around so! One minute you're studying Biology and frogs and the next day you're studying physics and motion. It doesn't make sense to me how it hops from topic to topic. We prefer to have our Science a little more streamlined. I do think that SL is really close to having a great Science program, it just needs some tweaking.

 

But the great Literature and History? Excellent! Having the schedule already done for me? Priceless. I sit down at the beginning of each week with the IG page for the week in front of me, and I can add in whatever else needs to be added in. Usually that means I add notes for Math, Science, LA and any extras we're doing. Takes me about 20 minutes total to get ready for the week for both kids. I love that.

[Alyeska]

The language arts program is its own peculiar animal. Influenced by Ruth Beechick, according to Sonlight. A student who comes into Sonlight at an older age, and who has weak language arts background, or who must learn via more traditional type of structured style, can fall flat flop. As a teacher, I need a more traditional program.

 

Science is Sonlight's "weak link", many people feel.

 

The [history-related] books are wonderful, for the most part. Often, we already owned 2/3 of the assigned titles.

 

I think very highly of Sonlight up through, but not beyond, Core 100. We found the high school program unpalatable for our family, so won't use that again. Many families do find the high school Cores to be a good fit.

 

Regarding the bolded...I have heard that the new upper level cores have all been revamped to make them easier to use. Do you think ease of use (or lack thereof) is what was unpalatable to you? Or was it content? What did you not like about the upper cores?

[Orthodox6]

Content. Not quality of the program. SL high school just is a "non-fit" for our family. It is very strong and very good for many families, so we gave it a shot with Core 300 one year.

 

We prefer other science and math programs. We would not benefit from their religious materials. Those three elements hold true for the earlier grade programs, too.

 

The religious core (200) would have us focusing on other religions more than is useful (for us). The 20th century core (300) has the student immersed, through reading, in real-world filth to a degree far more than is necessary to inculcate Christian values in a teen. We discarded a majority of the assigned books. This was not at all from a coy fear of exposing our son to the reality of our fallen world. Not at all! We understand SL's intent and agree with it. Young adults need to know what is "out there" and be prepared to stand unshakeable if and/or when they encounter wrong things. We disagreed only with the method. Ones spiritual life and mind are influenced greatly and subtly by what is read, viewed, and heard (books, movies, music, etc.). Critical discernment for what is allowed to enter through ones senses is essential for us to develop. I am writing from the Eastern Orthodox Christian worldview, so my explanation would make no sense at all to the SL company. :)

 

The remaing high school cores, with regard to the literature and history, probably would be fine. We like other source materials, though, so did not select Cores 400 or 500.

 

 

 

Regarding the bolded...I have heard that the new upper level cores have all been revamped to make them easier to use. Do you think ease of use (or lack thereof) is what was unpalatable to you? Or was it content? What did you not like about the upper cores?

[Alyeska]

Thank you Orthodox for giving such a detailed response!

 

Content is always a concern and before we switch back to Sonlight for jr. high and highschool, I would like to know what I am getting into...lol! :)

[calandalsmom]

http://www.sonlight.com/300-00.html

 

This is the booklist for core 300- not sure what exactly is considered filth there (I find that statement incredible, frankly). I find the booklist problematic bc it contains too much elementary/ middle school material.

 

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit was a great book. I loved it in grade 5 and 6, about 20 years ago. And that's my problem with SL. They use good books but often fail to incude newer books. The recent update to the cores made the HS cores even less competitive IMO, by including even MORE lower level material. Jean Fritz for grade 9-11 ? really???

 

 

Sonlight contains a lot of reading material. That's great if your kid is compliant and interested in reading 4 books at a time, all about the exact same thing, just for school. We aren't interested in that level of involvement on one topic, frankly.

[Just Another Jen]

http://www.sonlight.com/300-00.html

 

 

 

 

Sonlight contains a lot of reading material. That's great if your kid is compliant and interested in reading 4 books at a time, all about the exact same thing, just for school. We aren't interested in that level of involvement on one topic, frankly.

 

This was our problem. I want to like sonlight. My boys could not stand reading more than one fictional book at a time. For several years I would revamp the schedule. That was too much work when I had all the kids at home. Now, I only have two left at home so I may look at it again when high school rolls

around. But, I know I would still tweak it.

[laughing lioness]

I love SL book lists and how extensive they are. My kids are readers adn we've read LOTS of books they recommend. What I don't like about SL is how it focuses on overview and not mastery. Even with the extensive reading, imho, there is just not enough emphasis on mastery.