Kathryn Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Core Improvements Here's what I found surprising. We've been told that the 4 and 5 day program was going to be on the same page so that LA could be on the back. I'm REALLY REALLY disappointed that to do this, they rearranged the IGs to make the 5th day completely unrelated to the rest of the week like it is with science. That tacked-on 5th day in science has been the source of much complaint, and now they do it to the whole core?!? May I still choose between a 4-day week and 5-day week? Yes. Cores A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and W all give you the option to choose between a 4-day and 5-Day schedule. The two schedules now appear on one page, just like they do in Sonlight's Science Programs A-G. Readers and Scripture Reading are always scheduled all 5 days. But if you're doing the 4-day program, you simply skip the other clearly-marked Day 5 assignments each week. If you're doing the 5-day schedule, complete these readings and assignments for an even richer, more complete homeschool experience. Since you will read the Day 5 books only once a week, we ensured that you will read passages that can stand alone each week, such as individual Eastern Hemisphere folk tales for Day 5 Read-Alouds in Core F. In other words, you won't have to follow a storyline for a book that you read once a week. By arranging the same schedule for both the 4-day and 5-day programs, you can now easily switch between these schedules to meet your needs. For instance, during soccer season you can use the 4-day program and if you have more time during the cold winter months, simply add the 5-day assignments for a few weeks. You control your schedule and can be confident of a great Sonlight education either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyx5 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Ugh :( I'm not sure we are using them for 2nd. Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure we aren't but I'm still not decided. The change to the IG really doesn't make sense. So the LA for day 5 is like day 5 Science? :( Victoria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Not just LA, the whole Core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Wait a second, Victoria, is that YOU? Like, the one I'll be seeing on Friday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyx5 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Yes it's me :) the same one that is stressing over this whole 2nd grade issue- ugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyx5 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 ooohh the whole core? eeeewww what are they thinking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CupOCoffee Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Makes me more glad that I am just using the old Cores with younger now, and most likely not buying anymore new Cores from Sonlight in the near future. And kind of makes me more hopeful that I might be able to actually sell my old Cores, for those that prefer the older format. I am not liking the changes I keep hearing about. ~coffee~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatLight Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I more I read/hear about these new changes, the happier I am that I decided to move away completely from Sonlight this year. That random, tacked on day in Science annoyed me to no end; I could not imagine having that for the entire core. What are they thinking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I am getting more and more excited! Looks like it will be a good fit for us and I can stop piecing it together. :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 So essentially it is a 4 day curriculum now with a few trinkets thrown in for the 5th day if you really want to do school 5 days. :glare::001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom&nana Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I am getting more and more excited! Looks like it will be a good fit for us and I can stop piecing it together. :hurray: I agree. I'm excited about the changes as well. :D I just wish they would release the information a little sooner, but that's because I'm just impatient. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) Can someone comment on this more? I am looking at Sonlight's Science for next year and trying to decide between 4 and 5 day. Is the 5th day really unconnected conceptually from the rest of the week? Why would they do that? Is it something where you could put all the "5th days" together to come up another unit? I haven't used SL in years (7? 8?) so I don't know what changes they've made. Well, the way it's worked in Core A (and I know it is this way in B and C as well) is that Monday-Wednesday are related and on topic. Thursday is science experiment day (out of the Usborne Science experiments books in Science A-C), usually unrelated to M-W in Cores A-C. Friday is a completely unrelated book that has nothing to do with any of the other days. I just took a peek at the sample IGs from some of the later cores and they look the same. M-W flows, Thursday is experiments, Friday is something else. The fifth days are interesting books. And yes, I'd expect that their Science would "flow" better if you did the fifth days all together at some point. Edited March 7, 2012 by kebg11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Makes me more glad that I am just using the old Cores with younger now, and most likely not buying anymore new Cores from Sonlight in the near future. And kind of makes me more hopeful that I might be able to actually sell my old Cores, for those that prefer the older format. I am not liking the changes I keep hearing about. ~coffee~ They announce this morning that they are also changing some books in Cores A-G. With that, the changes to the LA, and the 4/5 day schedule changes, those IG's might indeed be in more demand in the coming months if those changes go the way most of the others have in the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Flexibility is important around here, so that actually sounds like moving more into the realm of reality for us. But since the changes apply to A-G and I'm looking at maybe using H, I don't suppose it matters much in our little world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Flexibility is important around here, so that actually sounds like moving more into the realm of reality for us. But since the changes apply to A-G and I'm looking at maybe using H, I don't suppose it matters much in our little world. I agree. I really like the flexibility options. And I actually like Sonlight's LA. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anmom Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Well, the way it's worked in Core A (and I know it is this way in B and C as well) is that Monday-Wednesday are related and on topic. Thursday is science experiment day (out of the Usborne Science experiments books in Science A-C), usually unrelated to M-W in Cores A-C. Friday is a completely unrelated book that has nothing to do with any of the other days. I just took a peek at the sample IGs from some of the later cores and they look the same. M-W flows, Thursday is experiments, Friday is something else. The fifth days are interesting books. And yes, I'd expect that their Science would "flow" better if you did the fifth days all together at some point. :iagree: We did all of the 5 day books together instead of speading them out like they have scheduled. I didnt like how they were unrealated and then being read only 1 time per week just didnt work for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Flexibility is important around here, so that actually sounds like moving more into the realm of reality for us. But since the changes apply to A-G and I'm looking at maybe using H, I don't suppose it matters much in our little world. They're changing H next year so the people who did G this year will have continuity. Not sure why they're not doing that with C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 They're changing H next year so the people who did G this year will have continuity. Not sure why they're not doing that with C. This is good to know. We'll be doing G next year, but I usually buy my IG used and H is the last of the lower levels that I need to purchase. Even if the changes are great, I'd prefer to have continuity with what we're going to be doing in G. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 So essentially it is a 4 day curriculum now with a few trinkets thrown in for the 5th day if you really want to do school 5 days.:glare::001_huh: SNORT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I am using SL this year with my kids and really like it. I don't think I will purchasing any more cores though. I am Catholic and don't want the Bible portion. I do my own. I also do not like their LA and definitely don't want to be forced to buy it. So...I will either be buying used cores or just using them as booklists. Why are they messing with a good thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinapod Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) Core Improvements Here's what I found surprising. We've been told that the 4 and 5 day program was going to be on the same page so that LA could be on the back. I'm REALLY REALLY disappointed that to do this, they rearranged the IGs to make the 5th day completely unrelated to the rest of the week like it is with science. That tacked-on 5th day in science has been the source of much complaint, and now they do it to the whole core?!? May I still choose between a 4-day week and 5-day week? Yes. Cores A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and W all give you the option to choose between a 4-day and 5-Day schedule. The two schedules now appear on one page, just like they do in Sonlight's Science Programs A-G. Readers and Scripture Reading are always scheduled all 5 days. But if you're doing the 4-day program, you simply skip the other clearly-marked Day 5 assignments each week. If you're doing the 5-day schedule, complete these readings and assignments for an even richer, more complete homeschool experience. Since you will read the Day 5 books only once a week, we ensured that you will read passages that can stand alone each week, such as individual Eastern Hemisphere folk tales for Day 5 Read-Alouds in Core F. In other words, you won't have to follow a storyline for a book that you read once a week. By arranging the same schedule for both the 4-day and 5-day programs, you can now easily switch between these schedules to meet your needs. For instance, during soccer season you can use the 4-day program and if you have more time during the cold winter months, simply add the 5-day assignments for a few weeks. You control your schedule and can be confident of a great Sonlight education either way. At first, this is what I was thinking also. I hate those 5th days in science, and I keep that book separate and do it all together at the end for Sciences A through C. After looking more closely at the comment you quoted, though, it seems that they will be putting poetry and some of the other books that lend themselves to being broken up (like treasuries and the like). So (fingers crossed) we won't be reading a book with a storyline to follow on that 5th day. It won't be unrelated, as poetry is an add-on anyway. That puts it all in a new light for me, and it doesn't irritate me anymore, as long as it is what they say it will be. I'll quote below just to make sure I'm being succinct. :001_smile: Since you will read the Day 5 books only once a week, we ensured that you will read passages that can stand alone each week, such as individual Eastern Hemisphere folk tales for Day 5 Read-Alouds in Core F. In other words, you won't have to follow a storyline for a book that you read once a week. Edited March 7, 2012 by 3peasinapod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinapod Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I am using SL this year with my kids and really like it. I don't think I will purchasing any more cores though. I am Catholic and don't want the Bible portion. I do my own. I also do not like their LA and definitely don't want to be forced to buy it. So...I will either be buying used cores or just using them as booklists. Why are they messing with a good thing? Evidently you can purchase the IG by itself and just ax the Bible portion still. The Bible stuff was always scheduled anyway. It just makes it so you can't purchase a Core without Bible like before, which doesn't make sense. What I don't like, and will reserve judgement until I see the prices of the IGs, is the LA IN the CORE IGs from Core D on up. If the IG price is comparable, I won't belly ache anymore, but there's a reason I didn't choose some of the other curricula that included so many skill sets and LA sets in with their main program. Kids usually don't fit in those boxes. That being said, if the IG isn't much more expensive, I hope to still purchase the IG with used books and either ignore the LA portion or use bits and pieces if it seems particularly helpful to my children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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