Sonlight question

[Whereneverever]

A VERY kind friend just sent me a complete Core- it's D&E- the condensed US history one. I have spent a fair amount of time poring over it and it looks great!

 

My question is this- I am contemplating doing this with my 7 year old DD. Looking at the books she'll be able to read them all, and I gave her sheets from the writing to look at from the beginning, middle, and end- and she's good with the level there throughout, as well.

 

My concern is this- if we do this in one year that puts us in Core F in third grade. Is that OK?

 

Or, I could stretch it out and do it in 1.5 years or so, would that be better?

 

WWYD, Hive?

[Mommyfaithe]

Well, I would probably spread it out over 1.5 years...adding in the books from core 3 & 4. There are so many great books in those cores, I would hate to skip them...heck, we didn't even use SL for those years and I used almost all of those books while we did SOTW 3&4.

 

You have a REALLY nice friend. Enjoy the core.

Faithe

[Annie Laurie]

Core F is Core 5 right? No way would I do that with a 3rd grader, it's not a traditional core, and requires a lot of writing and research. It's easy to find American History books and resources to stretch out D+E.

[Whereneverever]

What do you mean it's not a traditional Core? Is E the last Traditional one?

 

I looked at the booklist for F and she's already read 10ish of those books, too.

[Whereneverever]

Well, I would probably spread it out over 1.5 years...adding in the books from core 3 & 4. There are so many great books in those cores, I would hate to skip them...heck, we didn't even use SL for those years and I used almost all of those books while we did SOTW 3&4.

 

You have a REALLY nice friend. Enjoy the core.

Faithe

 

I do have a very sweet friend! I can add more books in and stretch it out. That'd still put us into Core F 1/2 way through third grade, though.

 

Would that be better.

[ByGrace3]

What about adding in the rest of the books from the D and E cores and making it last 2 yrs?

[ThreeBlessings]

I would personally try to stretch it out two years as well. :)

[Mandy in TN]

A VERY kind friend just sent me a complete Core- it's D&E- the condensed US history one. I have spent a fair amount of time poring over it and it looks great!

 

My question is this- I am contemplating doing this with my 7 year old DD. Looking at the books she'll be able to read them all, and I gave her sheets from the writing to look at from the beginning, middle, and end- and she's good with the level there throughout, as well.

 

My concern is this- if we do this in one year that puts us in Core F in third grade. Is that OK?

 

Or, I could stretch it out and do it in 1.5 years or so, would that be better?

 

WWYD, Hive?

What a kind friend! As others have suggested, I would stretch it out by adding in some of the books from D and E that were eliminated in order to condense.

 

What do you mean it's not a traditional Core? Is E the last Traditional one?

 

I looked at the booklist for F and she's already read 10ish of those books, too.

The books in Eastern Hemisphere are some of my family's favorite SL books. However, the core itself is more of a learning through research core rather than a learning through literature core. This gives it a very different feel.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Mom0012]

I do have a very sweet friend! I can add more books in and stretch it out. That'd still put us into Core F 1/2 way through third grade, though.

 

Would that be better.

 

Well, my daughter is doing Core F this year for 4th grade and it's going fine. Even the dreaded Eastern Hemisphere Explorer (research with the World Book) hasn't been anything major.

 

If you wanted, you could probably easily stretch out D+E to 2 full years if you added in the missing books from the individual cores. I do not use SL's LA, though, so I can't comment on that.

 

I'd go at whatever pace works for you and your daughter. Core F is definitely one that could also be stretched out over more than a year because there are so many books in it and there are tons of additional resources that you could add to it.

 

Lisa

[Whereneverever]

What a kind friend! As others have suggested, I would stretch it out by adding in some of the books from D and E that were eliminated in order to condense.

 

 

The books in Eastern Hemisphere are some of my family's favorite SL books. However, the core itself is more of a learning through research core rather than a learning through literature core. This gives it a very different feel.

 

HTH-

Mandy

 

Is it the only Core like that? Would a 4th grader be ready for it?

[Mom0012]

What a kind friend! As others have suggested, I would stretch it out by adding in some of the books from D and E that were eliminated in order to condense.

 

 

The books in Eastern Hemisphere are some of my family's favorite SL books. However, the core itself is more of a learning through research core rather than a learning through literature core. This gives it a very different feel.

 

HTH-

Mandy

 

I don't know. I do have an older version of Core F (2006), so maybe that affects my view of this, but I see the research in the EHE as a small part of the Core rather than the main attraction. We have just finished week 4 and, so far, it has very much been a learning through literature core. The main thing that is nontraditional about it to me is that it is a study of Eastern Cultures rather than American or World history.

 

Lisa

[Whereneverever]

I don't know. I do have an older version of Core F (2006), so maybe that affects my view of this, but I see the research in the EHE as a small part of the Core rather than the main attraction. We have just finished week 4 and, so far, it has very much been a learning through literature core. The main thing that is nontraditional about it to me is that it is a study of Eastern Cultures rather than American or World history.

 

Lisa

 

This is really helpful since my same friend is going to be sending me her 2006 Core F. Is the set up similar to D or E? What are the writing assignments like? :bigear::bigear::bigear:

[Mandy in TN]

Is it the only Core like that?

It is the odd man out of the elementary cores both in topic and approach. I have heard other families complain about it. I know that some families choose to skip it, but it really is fabulous. I wouldn't skip it. I don't know that I'll ever use an entire SL core with my little guy, but if I did Eastern Hemisphere would be the one.

 

Would a 4th grader be ready for it?

It depends on the child, but, if your child began having trouble, you could always make the research a joint project for the two of you to do together or modify it in some other way. If I had a friend giving it to me, I would certainly try it and adjust as needed.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Whereneverever]

It is the odd man out of the elementary cores both in topic and approach. I have heard other families complain about it. I know that some families choose to skip it, but it really is fabulous. I wouldn't skip it. I don't know that I'll ever use an entire SL core with my little guy, but if I did Eastern Hemisphere would be the one.

 

 

It depends on the child, but, if your child began having trouble, you could always make the research a joint project for the two of you to do together or modify it in some other way. If I had a friend giving it to me, I would certainly try it and adjust as needed.

 

HTH-

Mandy

 

Is there enough guidance to the research? Is there enough instruction in how to do the research and related writing? How many (ish) research projects are there?

 

And thanks, this does help!

[tuesdayschild]

This is really helpful since my same friend is going to be sending me her 2006 Core F. Is the set up similar to D or E? What are the writing assignments like? :bigear::bigear::bigear:

 

This link gives a sample of Core F writing assignments, so you can get a better feel for yourself what is required.

 

We purchased Core 5/F for an older child who was living with us to assist her with brushing up on her research/writing skills.

 

Both my dc would have struggled to do justice to the writing assignments in this Core in grade 4 and I have/had no desire to be their research assistant extra-ordinaire ;) - but that's just our family.

(Gr.4 ..... is that age 9-10? Sorry, international here:tongue_smilie:).

 

Your dc may be just fine with it, I've learnt what won't work for others can be a near perfect fit for us .... and vice versa.

Edited August 25, 2011 by tuesdayschild

[Whereneverever]

This link gives a sample of Core F writing assignments, so you can get a better feel for yourself what is required.

 

We purchased Core 5/F for an older child who was living with us to assist her with brushing up on her research/writing skills.

 

Both my dc would have struggled to do justice to the writing assignments in this Core in grade 4 and I have/had no desire to be their reasearch assistant extra-ordinaire ;) - but that's just our family.

(Gr.4 ..... is that age 9-10? Sorry, international here:tongue_smilie:).

 

Your dc may be just fine with it, I've learnt what won't work for others can be a near perfect fit for us .... and vice versa.

 

Yes, 9-10. :001_smile: I also don't want to do the preponderance of research. I'm going to need to spend some time looking in to this so I can figure out how best to work this.

 

I did talk to my friend and she fleshed out the condensed year with the extra books, already! That should make it easier to extend the amount of time I spend on this.

[Mom0012]

This is really helpful since my same friend is going to be sending me her 2006 Core F. Is the set up similar to D or E? What are the writing assignments like? :bigear::bigear::bigear:

 

 

I don't use SL's Language arts, so I don't have any information about the writing assignments.

 

I'd say it is set up similarly to the other years (or at least the 2006 version is). The World Book Encyclopedia is the spine and I read the assigned passages out of that to my kids each day and then I'd say all the other reading is similar to what we've experienced in the past with a heavier emphasis on missionary stories. If you don't like reading out of the encyclopedia, there is a series call The Enchanment of the World, which most libraries carry, for many of the countries and you could use that instead. I asked my kids if they found the encyclopedia dull and if they would like to try this other series and they said no. Part of the reason they like me to read the encyclopedia is because it helps them answer their research questions in the EHE.

 

As far as the EHE goes, I have them spend 15 or 20 minutes a day looking for the answers to the questions. Since I have the 2006 version of the EHE and I bought the 2006 edition of the World Book, the answers are not difficult to find.

 

I think a lot of people who have had problems with the EHE are using later versions where the World Book has been revised since the questions were developed. That's why I made it a point to get the 2006 version. I also am under the impression that the World Book readings are not assigned in the updated versions of core F. I can see where that would make things seem more choppy and would extend the kids' research time.

 

Lisa

Edited August 25, 2011 by LisaTheresa