Sonlight Newbie Core 5/F Question and Using Trail Guide World Geography

[txhomemom]

I have been thinking about using Sonlight for the first time this year, Core F (5) and have a few questions for those of you that have used this core.

 

I will probably just buy the Instructor's Guide separately and then piece together the books on my own since my library has quite a few of the books. There are a few that they don't have, but I am not sure which ones are worth getting to complete the program. I don't feel the need to read every single book they have scheduled.

 

From this list which ones do you feel are worth buying:

-Arabs in the Golden Age

-Eric Liddell

-Gandhi

-Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde

-A Glorious Age in Africa

-India The Culture (my library does have India the people and I have another book about India)

-Mary Slessor Forward Into Calabar

-The Mongols

-100 Gateway Cities

-Teresa of Calcutta

-Torches of Joy

-Whatever Happened to Penny Candy

-William Carey Obliged to Go

-Exploring Planet Earth (this one sounds good to me so I will probably get this one)

-Faces Australia Through Time

-Ships, Sailors, and the Sea

-Ali and the Golden Eagle

-Born in the Year of Courage

-God's Adventurer Hudson Taylor

-Louis Braille

-Mission to Cathay

-The Rat Catcher's Son

-Red Sand Blue Sky

-Silkworms

-Star of Light

 

So, I have access to about half of the books in the curriculum, but I just need to decide from what I listed above if any of these are worth buying if I cannot find a library near me that has them or would the absence of some of these books affect the program.

 

Also, I noticed people complaining about the use of the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer and doing the research in the World Book Encyclopedia. I was wondering if it is possible to do the research for the explorer using other books, encyclopedias, the Internet, etc or would it be a waste of time to get it if we don't have the World Book Encyclopedia.

 

Also, has anyone attempted to combine Core 5/F with Trail Guide to World Geography. I already have Trail Guide and was going to use it this year, but not sure how to combine the two.

[MerryAtHope]

-Arabs in the Golden Age Liked this one

-Eric Liddell Good book, much more than what you know from the movie!

-Gandhi Get any book on Gandhi your library has

-Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde Captivating, really enjoyed!

-A Glorious Age in Africa Unique info but very dry style--I wanted to love it, ended up dropping it.

-India The Culture (my library does have India the people and I have another book about India) Use what your library has, maybe look for another book about culture.

-Mary Slessor Forward Into Calabar Never got to this one.

-The Mongols

-100 Gateway Cities Readings too short to be useful IMO.

-Teresa of Calcutta Loved this book, read it if you can.

-Torches of Joy Another missionary story about Paupau New Guinea (other years have included books on this region). The first half was ok, second half...should have dropped it.

-Whatever Happened to Penny Candy Great book but you could do it another time (like when focusing on economics).

-William Carey Obliged to Go Enjoyed this one, good complement to India studies.

-Exploring Planet Earth (this one sounds good to me so I will probably get this one) I didn't get this one.

-Faces Australia Through Time I enjoyed Faces but you could use other books you find on Australia

-Ships, Sailors, and the Sea Didn't get

-Ali and the Golden Eagle Enjoyed

-Born in the Year of Courage Excellent

-God's Adventurer Hudson Taylor kids read it, I didn't get to it.

-Louis Braille Can probably use another book about him

-Mission to Cathay Kids really liked, I didn't get to it.

-The Rat Catcher's Son never got to this one

-Red Sand Blue Sky I didn't think the writing was stellar, but my kids both enjoyed this one.

-Silkworms Any info on these will work. Nice pics though.

-Star of Light Didn't get to this one.

.

 

(See my comments in red above)

 

So, I have access to about half of the books in the curriculum, but I just need to decide from what I listed above if any of these are worth buying if I cannot find a library near me that has them or would the absence of some of these books affect the program..

 

Truly, Core 5 is so full of books, I think it's ok if you end up having to drop some. Genghis Khan and Teresa are really worth getting, the others--lots of good ones but it's ok if you miss some too.

 

Also, I noticed people complaining about the use of the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer and doing the research in the World Book Encyclopedia. I was wondering if it is possible to do the research for the explorer using other books, encyclopedias, the Internet, etc or would it be a waste of time to get it if we don't have the World Book Encyclopedia.

 

 

The problem with EHE is that not all of the answers are in WB, and it never tells you which ones are and which ones are not. I like WB as a resource though. I haven't tried it the other way.

 

Merry :-)