Sonlight LA changes?

[Guest Reese]

Is anyone going to try Sonlight's new LA program?

 

This fall will be my first year homeschooling so I've been doing a ton of research. Now I have to homeschool!

 

Because this will be my first year and I'm pulling my boys out of public school, I think I need the "hand-holding" and fun factor that Sonlight provides.

I've been pouring over this forum, reading just about every thread. What I've learned is that people do not like Sonlight's LA program and 100 new abbreviations!

 

I was going to get FLL and WWE to use instead. But now with Sonlight's changes, if you buy a Sonlight Core, you HAVE to get their LA program.

I think my boys will love the reader package and I like how the LA works WITH the readers, but is it a good program?

 

Has anyone taken a look at the changes? Are the changes significant? If you've used Sonlight with a different LA program, how did you make that work?

I mean, what's the point of buying their reader package, right?

They don't seem to tie into the history in the early Cores (I will be buying Core B) so couldn't I just choose my own books for literature selections?

 

I hope this makes sense. I have information overload right now. Soooo many options!

[Lara in Colo]

Tell you what, I have a meeting with Sonlight this (next?) Wednesday.

I think I will be able to look over the entire program and talk to several representatives. I will post here on Thursday. PM me if I forget:D.

 

I am doing Sonlight for all my children next year. I will use MCT for grammar and WWS for writing (for my bigs) . I will use the SL Lit package for my littles (2nd grade).

 

Lara

[ByGrace3]

I know nothing about the Changes, so no help there. :tongue_smilie: However, I do plan to use SL next year without their LA, but we will use the readers package with schedule.

 

I am interested in how it has changed, as I would love to eventually tie in the LA.

[Guest Reese]

Lara in Colo - Thank you! That would be awesome, I am looking forward to your review.

 

ByGrace3 - Thanks for your reply as well. You are right about just using the readers with a schedule. I think some people here said that they didn't like just reading a chapter or two from different books during the week vs. just reading one book until it's finished, but I think my boys would actually do better with that format.

 

From what I can tell, it looks like the copywork and dictation come from their scheduled readers. Has it always been like that? Or is that new? Sonlight's website makes it sound like they completely revamped their LA program, but that might just be to get newbies like me suckered in.

 

Any other Sonlight users want to share their thoughts?

 

Thank you!!

[iafrmgrl77]

We have used Sonlight for the last few years but have not used their LA. I was just reading up on another thread, and the general opinion seemed to be that there wasn't much "new" about the new LA, other than that starting in Core D, it now coordinates with the history. I plan to go ahead and order our new core, take a look at the LA, since it comes with, and make my decision then. What I think I will end up doing, though, is taking the approach we have been using in WWE and applying it to our readers. We will probably continue to do FLL. If you are looking for a lot of "hand-holding," you may just want to go with FLL and WWE. We have done well with these, and doing the WWE workbook has given me the confidence to implement the same ideas on my own.

 

I know this is a bit of an old discussion, but I hope that helps some, and I would love to hear any info Lara has!

[mommyto4QT]

I'm interested in this thread/opinions. I too will begin homeschooling for the first time this fall, with a 2nd grader & a K. Sonlight's catalogue appeals to me a lot rather than putting things together on my own.

My 2nd grader is an advanced reader (he reads at a 6th grade reading level) so I'm also trying to figure out which readers to get.

 

If we did Sonlight, we would also order Core B. For the first poster, do you plan to combine the K & the 2nd grader in Core B?? I'm curious because some posts on the Sonlight forum sound like the two kids could combine in B while other posters make it seem like I would need 2 different Cores.

 

I also have a 4 year old and a 1 year old!

[PentecostalMom]

We have been using FLL and WWE, and from what I have seen of the changes, we plan to try it. If I were you, I would at least give it a try, since your dc are so young. If there are parts you do not like, you can always add something and will not have lost much since it all comes as a package deal anyway.

 

I have a close friend that has been using SL LA since day one, and her oldes dd is 13. She likes it as it. The changes are supposed to beef up the grammar and give a wider variety of writing assignments (that's my synopsis of the changes).

 

I plan to use the SL LA as written and add back in FLL and WWE if I feel them necessary, which I hope I will not.

[squirtymomma]

What I think I will end up doing, though, is taking the approach we have been using in WWE and applying it to our readers. We will probably continue to do FLL.

 

This is my plan too! We'll take what we want of the SL LA, use WWE-style copywork/dictation/narration with the readers, and do FLL2.

[squirtymomma]

I'm interested in this thread/opinions. I too will begin homeschooling for the first time this fall, with a 2nd grader & a K. Sonlight's catalogue appeals to me a lot rather than putting things together on my own.

My 2nd grader is an advanced reader (he reads at a 6th grade reading level) so I'm also trying to figure out which readers to get.

 

If we did Sonlight, we would also order Core B. For the first poster, do you plan to combine the K & the 2nd grader in Core B?? I'm curious because some posts on the Sonlight forum sound like the two kids could combine in B while other posters make it seem like I would need 2 different Cores.

 

I also have a 4 year old and a 1 year old!

 

We are doing Core B with a 2nd grader and K'er next year. My 2nd grader also reads at a 6th grade level. I was originally planning to get the Grade 4/5 Readers/LA, but I decided to do Grade 3 instead. I think the books will still be interesting to my dd, and it's good to use a lower reading level when learning skills like dictation and narration. My goal for her next year is to learn to write her own narrations. Then I'll be able to use the Grade 4/5 Readers/La with Core C.

 

As far as whether you should use one or two cores: I don't have a 4 year old waiting in the wings. It might make more sense for you to do one core with your 2nd grader, and another one with your 4yr old and 5yr old. Or, you could combine your older 2 this year, then let your oldest move on to Core C the following year and have your then-5 and 6-yr-old back up to Core A.

[desiree77]

I've used SL for 8 years. I've tried their LA in the past, and it just never worked for us, mostly because my kids would be all over the place in ability level.

 

However, I bought LA for grade 2 readers a few weeks ago for my middle dd, and it's working beautifully! I really like the changes. The writing seems perfect. It's not jumping around each day. We stay on one topic and it coordinates with the grammar.

 

My middle dd is almost 9. She's got great penmanship, but she struggles with reading, comprehension, and writing. She's fine with dictation, but she needs lots of prompting when asked to come up with stuff to write. This level is a little too easy for her, but I wanted to give her a solid base in word-study, writing, and phonics, and it's fitting the bill nicely. I am using all the extra workbooks.

 

I also started using LA E for my older two children who are doing Core E. We are only in week 7, and it's the LA from the last revision 2009?maybe (so not the 2012 one that is sold with the Core E IG) . We are liking this as well. In order to be successful with the writing, we used IEW before this and that has helped me to help them know how to start on their writing assignments. We do the Grammar Ace as well. It's a little babyish for my kids ages, so we just do the workbook, not all the little activities it suggests. We do not use their spelling or vocabulary recommendations.

[Guest Reese]

For the first poster, do you plan to combine the K & the 2nd grader in Core B??

 

 

Yes, I did decide to place them both in Core B. My oldest just turned 8, so he is a young 2nd grader in ps (and on the older end of the suggested age for this core) but I think he would really enjoy it. He hasn't read any of the books, so I didn't want him to miss out. I thought about putting him into Core D and my 6 yo in Core B, but since this is my first year hs, I didn't want to overwhelm myself!

 

I also decided to go with the grade 1 & 3 readers. Both of them can read way beyond their grade level, but I'm going to try out the new Sonlight LA program and I know it's not just about how well they can read. It's also comprehension, narration, grammar, writing, etc. which I think they are at grade level. Plus, my 8 yo hasn't read any of the grade 3 selected books. Mostly he reads Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Captain Underpants, so I'm really hoping Sonlight sparks an interest in reading good chapter books. His attention span is short, but he is very bright.

 

I do plan on doing what a few others on this thread have suggested and adding in WWE/FLL. We'll be starting these in a few months for summer school and will definitely continue into the fall. I do want this to be the primary LA program we use, everything else will just be extra. That's the goal anyways.

 

I do worry that my soon to be 3rd grader won't start US History until 5th grade if we stay with Sonlight, so I'm going to add-in Elemental History for him this year. I'll probably supplement it a bit because it is geared for k/1st, but at least he will get a broad overview before we do Core D in 2 years.

 

I just placed my order with Sonlight two nights ago, so I can't wait to check out everything when it arrives. I also ordered the core 3/4 package for my dd, even though she will be going to preschool 2 days/week.

I love the book selections and I am trying to upgrade my home library. (Bye-bye Capt. Underpants!)

 

Lara in CO, did you ever get a chance to look over the changes with a Sonlight representative? I think you mentioned it was a possibility for you. Very curious to what you think!

[kaymom]

This will be our first year of homeschooling, but I thought I would chime in with the research I've done on my own. I bought a used 4/5 LA from 2006. When I compared the content with the new LA samples online this is what I found.

 

For Week 1 these are the differences:

 

Spelling: Mostly the Same

Copywork: Same, but now there are lines where your child could write directly on the worksheet--before there were no lines.

Copywork Application: Same ,except they added a number 5 to the series of questions(was 1-4) that includes alphabetizing 7 words.

Creative Expression (writing) is the same assignment. There are many more notes in the IG for the writing assignment including an example of a completed writing assignment.

The other big change is that the new LA IG is much more organized. Instead of having to flip for the questions for the readers, they are included in that day's work. Maps are also included if used with that week's worksheets. Seems like there is quite a bit more guidance in the new LA IG.

 

When I looked at weeks 2 & 3 they were almost identical to the 2006 minus the reading questions being included and there are definitely less directions for writing assignments in the 2006 IG. I am still not sure how I feel about SL LA, I don't have enough experience to make a judgement call to tell if it's really complete for the 4-5 grades. I think the writing assignments are good though and will probably use a few. As for a total overhaul, the content is basically the same, just with more insight/parental direction and a better ease of use. Hope this helps!

[Dinsfamily]

In June, I'll start my 4th year with SL and I've never used the LA. I have used all of the reader packages through Grade 4-5. They are great and I'd recommend them no matter what LA you use. Once you get you get to Core D, the readers are part of the history so you'd be missing quite a bit by cutting them out. I attribute my ds's love of good books to SL's selections.

 

I doubt I'll ever use SL LA because I like my SWR/FLL/WWE combo too much. However, since I'll be getting it with Core D, I may use some of the assignments as enrichments.

 

BTW, I think your placement will work out fine. Core B was a fun and very full core. One of my good friends is using it for her 3rd grader next year as well on my recommendation. The short attention span is a factor. She is also coming out of PS and hasn't had reading aloud be a major component of learning. We (her parents and I) decided to go with a core on the easier side so that she wouldn't be frustrated. Alos, my ds was reading the Grade 3 readers when he could have easily read the Grade 4-5 package. I never heard a complaint and he learned a lot from them.

 

HTH,

[3peasinapod]

This is my plan too! We'll take what we want of the SL LA, use WWE-style copywork/dictation/narration with the readers, and do FLL2.

 

Same here. I have not ordered the older SL LAs yet, but when we get to Core D, since the material will be in the core material, I've decided I'll scan through and pick out things I might find beneficial in addition to WWE and whatever grammar I choose after FLL4.

 

This will be our first year of homeschooling, but I thought I would chime in with the research I've done on my own. I bought a used 4/5 LA from 2006. When I compared the content with the new LA samples online this is what I found.

 

For Week 1 these are the differences:

 

Spelling: Mostly the Same

Copywork: Same, but now there are lines where your child could write directly on the worksheet--before there were no lines.

Copywork Application: Same ,except they added a number 5 to the series of questions(was 1-4) that includes alphabetizing 7 words.

Creative Expression (writing) is the same assignment. There are many more notes in the IG for the writing assignment including an example of a completed writing assignment.

The other big change is that the new LA IG is much more organized. Instead of having to flip for the questions for the readers, they are included in that day's work. Maps are also included if used with that week's worksheets. Seems like there is quite a bit more guidance in the new LA IG.

 

When I looked at weeks 2 & 3 they were almost identical to the 2006 minus the reading questions being included and there are definitely less directions for writing assignments in the 2006 IG. I am still not sure how I feel about SL LA, I don't have enough experience to make a judgement call to tell if it's really complete for the 4-5 grades. I think the writing assignments are good though and will probably use a few. As for a total overhaul, the content is basically the same, just with more insight/parental direction and a better ease of use. Hope this helps!

 

Thank you for these comparisons! What I am worried about in SL LA is a lack of guidance in writing. I need a lot of hand holding to guide my children, and I'm worried SL won't fit the bill.

 

 

In June, I'll start my 4th year with SL and I've never used the LA. I have used all of the reader packages through Grade 4-5. They are great and I'd recommend them no matter what LA you use. Once you get you get to Core D, the readers are part of the history so you'd be missing quite a bit by cutting them out. I attribute my ds's love of good books to SL's selections.

 

I doubt I'll ever use SL LA because I like my SWR/FLL/WWE combo too much. However, since I'll be getting it with Core D, I may use some of the assignments as enrichments.

 

BTW, I think your placement will work out fine. Core B was a fun and very full core. One of my good friends is using it for her 3rd grader next year as well on my recommendation. The short attention span is a factor. She is also coming out of PS and hasn't had reading aloud be a major component of learning. We (her parents and I) decided to go with a core on the easier side so that she wouldn't be frustrated. Alos, my ds was reading the Grade 3 readers when he could have easily read the Grade 4-5 package. I never heard a complaint and he learned a lot from them.

 

HTH,

 

Same thing, we plan to pick and choose from the SL LA in Core D and still continue with our own mix of WWE or WWS and FLL (and whatever I choose for grammar after FLL4 :confused:)

 

I have decided to be a guinea pig for the new SL LA K, though. I figured, she's young and I can switch to OPGTR for first if I need to, along with FLL, etc.