ktgrok Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I don't know why I can't just DECIDE! I'm looking at: Sonlight Core H for 7th, then Core 100 for 8th or Biblioplan Year 3 for 7th and Year 4 for 8th or Tapestry of Grace, doing Year 2, units 3 and 4, then Year 3 units 1 and 2 for 7th grade, followed by the next 4 units, leaving us at about the 1950s, which is a problem, at that end of 8th. Pros and Cons and random thoughts: Sonlight is planned. Totally planned. And it looks interesting and engaging for my not so scholarly son. He does like good books, but they have to be interesting. However, the business practices of their company are driving me NUTS. The editing of forum posts to make them more acceptable really really rankles. And I think their markable map is a bit silly. Biblioplan: More planned than TOG, but better business practices. Concerns are that the books don't look as engaging as Sonlight. I love the maps though. Having the directions ON the map makes so much sense to me. Also not sure how "whitewashed" the history is, and how acceptable it is to my Episcopalian roots. TOG: sigh....pros are that it is rigorous, has evaluations I can actually grade, and their business practices seem very fair. Concerns are that it is SO much it might just be too rigorous. We tried Y1 Unit 1 the beginning of last year. It was too much. I hate the layout of the guide...I don't like all the flipping of pages to figure out what is what. I do wonder if I was pushing too hard. I think we were using dialectic resources, and he was just starting 5th grade. Dialectic at 7th grade might be much more doable. I probably should have stuck to upper grammar last year, and maybe we wouldn't have been so overwhelmed. Also, now I have HST+ to put the lesson info into ahead of time, which might solve the flipping through the guide issue. But, it is SO MUCH MONEY! A year's worth is about 1,000! And the books don't look as interesting as sonlight. Considerations are that my son will be skipping pre-Algebra so math will be taking a lot of energy next year I predict. And he will be doing a formal science program for the first time. Also, we work on a 4 day week, and do co-op on the 5th, with math and lit on that day as well. And I will have a newborn and a 2 year old at the start of the school year. l e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynful Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 After having a newborn last year and a toddler now this year, my guess is that biblioplan or Sonlight would be best for you. Unless you can allow yourself to do TOG "lite". All three are fantastic, but you need to use what will work easiest for you. Good luck, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 After having a newborn last year and a toddler now this year, my guess is that biblioplan or Sonlight would be best for you. Unless you can allow yourself to do TOG "lite". All three are fantastic, but you need to use what will work easiest for you. Good luck, thanks, that is kind of what I'm thinking. That I just need to deal with my qualms with the company and do Sonlight to make our lives so much easier. I can always buy most of the books on amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Sonlight. It seems clear from your post that it is the best curriculum fit. Don't let forum issues mess with your happy homeschool. Sonlight has excellent products and great customer service. Certainly they are at least as acceptable to you business-wise as Amazon, who I'm assuming you would order from without issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 BP and add in SL books? Of course, what do I know??? I can't decide between BP and SL myself! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Sonlight. It seems clear from your post that it is the best curriculum fit. Don't let forum issues mess with your happy homeschool. Sonlight has excellent products and great customer service. Certainly they are at least as acceptable to you business-wise as Amazon, who I'm assuming you would order from without issue? :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorbackmama Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I've used all 3. Sonlight. While BP is somewhat more planned than TOG, it's still not as planned as SL. I still had to go through and figure out how much of each book my kids needed to read for the readers. BP plans one reader a week (typically), and sometimes that is a LOT of reading! The BP gurus said that we can definitely leave off some of the books if we want, but that involves decisions that I just am not able to make. So it ended up being a choice between me pulling my hair out OR my kids reading a TON. We switched to Sonlight a couple months ago, and they are all loving it. And I love not having to THINK all the time about what to have them do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 It sounds like you want to use SL, but don't want to support the company. Why not try buying used? Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer2911mom Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 It sounds like you want to use SL, but don't want to support the company. Why not try buying used? Lisa :iagree:It really sounds like you feel Sonlight is the best fit but are uncomfortable sending any money their way. Maybe buying used and limiting your time on their forum except for when you need specific information could relieve that angst. I know I have felt stressed reading their forums lately and need to take a break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I've gone round and round the SL/TOG merry go round a few times, but when I always have so many little ones underfoot, I need open and go. Plain and simple. I have TOG Yr 1 first quarter, and it never ever gets done - too many planning decisions. SL actually happens most of the time because it is pre-planned (I also like the warm fuzzies - I admit it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 It really does sound like SL would be the best fit. I'm using MapTrek alongside Core G & H, and it's really easy. This is from someone who is really annoyed at SL and plans to never buy from them again, but would if it was the best fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 ISL would probably be more open and go, but I do think you could make TOG work if you decide to go with that. We love TOG. I was overwhelmed at first because I am detail oriented and wanted to own ALL of the books and totally get my head around it before I started. So, I delayed using it quite a long time. As I had more children, I realized that the perfect time for me was never going to come, and that I would just have to jump right in! We did it, and are having a great experience because I have embraced that I don't have to do every activity, do every craft, or have the exact books on the list to provide a good education because TOG is so thorough. My LG and UG kids listen to our D discussions and my D student reads all of the books (LG, UG, and D) just because she likes them so much. Sometimes, on hectic days/weeks, our read aoud at night before bed are the dialectic books, which they all listen to and enjoy. We do a lot of discussion, go over the questions orally, and do some of the activities. I choose which activities I want to do in advance and do one big shopping trip for supplies instead of a lot of trips. They are retaining a ton of what they are learning. I have these ages in the house, so it is possible to do with a new baby: 10, 8, 6, 4, 1. We just did a lot of reading and discussion and no crafts when the baby was born. I like SL too. I use their science guides. I have never used a SL core, but have used TOG and love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 It really does sound like SL would be the best fit. I'm using MapTrek alongside Core G & H, and it's really easy. This is from someone who is really annoyed at SL and plans to never buy from them again, but would if it was the best fit. good point! I saw Map Trek has an integration schedule for Sonlight. I think I will get that. We are using Mapt Trek this year with SOTW and I like their maps. I am also looking at getting a tablet so my son can do the maps on the tablet rather than on paper. His maps are really messy, and being able to type the labels and highlight using the computer would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorbackmama Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I've gone round and round the SL/TOG merry go round a few times, but when I always have so many little ones underfoot, I need open and go. Plain and simple. I have TOG Yr 1 first quarter, and it never ever gets done - too many planning decisions. SL actually happens most of the time because it is pre-planned (I also like the warm fuzzies - I admit it).Yes. TOG is very much NOT open and go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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