Sonlight even if I supplement everything?

[Esperella]

So, I know this is what I want to do next year with DS1 (he will be in 1st, he's almost 6).

 

SOTW

FLL1

WWE1 (do I need to buy the instructor text?)

TGS

AAR (still finishing 1, then move on to 2)

 

Math (still unsure if I want to get RS or do Singapore+something else)

Science (still havent found which science I want to do)

Handwriting (cant decide which handwriting to do either)

 

and maybe spelling. Not sure.

 

I had originally planned on doing Core K, but when I saw all that I wanted to do, I was wondering why I would still buy Core K. I like a lot of the read alouds, but really I'm scared to not have a schedule. I'm doing prek 4/5 right now, and we've totally abandoned the schedule except what books to be reading and when. But we really didnt do anything fun this year. It was pretty boring and now how I wanted to homeschool my kids. It's probably my fault for not doing the activities in the IG, but my kids were like "really?" about a lot of them. Just not excited.

 

But the idea of NOT having an IG, scares me. I dont know how to make sure they're staying "on track" or getting in everything they need. I am kind of looking at it as training wheels for another year. But It also seems like sooooo much to do. And when will I have time for other read alouds, like peter pan, or James and the Giant Peach? What about geography?

 

So, am I just being a big wuss? How do you schedule? It seems just so hard for me to think about knowing when to read the right books and how many to read at 1 time. Any suggestions??

[ALB]

Every time I get a SL catalog, I drool and plot for weeks about how to make it work for us! The IG looks so organized and tidy, and the thought of getting a huge box full of all those shiny, brand new books is REALLY tempting!

 

But, like you, I have a whole bunch of other things that we are using and like. For me, the answer has been to go ahead with SOTW/ WTM style LA and use SL as a great reading list. People do read alouds differently, but I like to have several going at one time. I pretty much choose my stack of books, and we just pick a couple to start with and do at least a chapter a day. My dd has a reading notebook where I write down her narrations and she illustrates them.

 

You can also buy Readers from SL up until Core D. That way, if you want to have something on the level and scheduled for you, you could still use those. They tempt me, too, but I already own so many of the books that I can't justify buying the packages. Maybe the schedule...:tongue_smilie:

Do what seems right to you! Some people add SOTW to SL, others add SL reading to SOTW, and both options are great!

[happymomofboys]

I've homeschooled with SL from the beginning (P4/5 through Core E). Not once have I ever been able to stick with the schedule. I've mostly used it as a check-off sheet to keep track of where we were in the books at any given time. I'd be 2-4 weeks off between subjects so I was always flipping back and forth in the IG. I was using narration for comprehension, so even the questions didn't get much use.

 

My suggestion is to get the IG if you think you'll use it, but don't feel bound by it. You've already got a good plan for the year, so SL would be gravy. If you want to substitute a different read-aloud, do it! If you decide that there's too much reading, take some books out! And if you decide not to get the IG, there's nothing wrong with just selecting the books that look interesting to you and scheduling them yourself. I'm not sure what year of SOTW you're using, but have you seen this list of Sonlight books arranged in the 4 year cycle?

[3peasinapod]

I don't use SL LA. I use the Core and that's it. Otherwise, I use WTM things for LA and don't use anything SL offers for math. I like the base of SL books to work from. I've tried another program that had activities and "fun" things, but the fun things were not fun for us, and we didn't like about 1/3 of the books. I came back to SL because I liked the base of books and the ease of the schedule, and I add in activities here and there with a schedule I make up. It takes some time to make my schedule, but I want the good base. Hope that makes sense!

 

So even though I use other things for LA, I don't consider it ridiculous to buy just the core. You could even piece together with Amazon (used or new with 4 for 3) and only buy things not found from SL plus their exclusives.

[PentecostalMom]

SL's program includes geography. If you buy WWE (not just the student pages) the Instructor's Guide is included.

Edited June 5, 2012 by PentecostalMom

[curriculumhoarder]

We've used Sonlight for Cores 1-6 (currently) - aka Cores B-G, so I've never used Core K/A. We did read most of the books from K while my dc were still in school, to 'test' SL and to see if it would work for us. No IG, just the books. We loved it.

 

Once I did order Core 1, I have always used the schedule and the questions/vocab. We don't do narrations here, they just never worked for us. We can apparently only spontaneously discuss books when we really dislike them, so we'd have no discussion about most of the SL books :lol:.

 

Maybe someone will chime in about K/A in particular - if the schedule and/or questions were good. If not, you could just read the books that sound good and try a later IG. 6yo is pretty young still, so a schedule is probably not needed at all. If *you* need one, however, then get one. Do whatever will stress you the least.

[boscopup]

If you were wanting to use SOTW1 and Core B, my opinion might be different, but since you're wanting to do Core A, I think it might be too much, and it sounds like you really don't need SL with the other stuff you're planning to do. All of the curricula you listed are "do the next thing" style. Just figure out how many times you want to do each subject, make a checklist with those, and mark it off each week (it could be a reusable checklist, ie. "Math x x x x x" - pretend the x's are boxes to check off ;) ). Use one of those sticky tabs (kind of like post-its, but they're a sliver instead of a full piece of paper, and they're more of a plastic feel rather than paper feel) to mark where you are in each book.

 

As far as scheduling read alouds... Why do you need a schedule? If you own the books, just make a stack somewhere and go through it as you get to it. There is no "behind" with read-alouds. :) Or if you're using the library, pick one up when you are close to finishing the previous one. You can make a list of books you'd like to try to read sometime, and just go down the list until you finish it or the year ends. If you don't finish the list, that's ok. You can continue it next year! :D Or abandon the list, guilt-free, and pick whatever you feel like reading at the time. That's how I've ended up doing it. ;)

 

SOTW can be done 2 or 3 times per week (if you do one section per day, 3 days per week, you'll finish in about 35 weeks, IIRC). FLL is 3 times per week. WWE (you need the workbook, not the instructor guide and not the student pages by themselves) is 4 times per week, but you can combine the first 2 days to make it 3 times if you want. I don't know what TGS is. Math is done 5 days per week. Science can be 2 or 3 days - your choice (I alternated it with history). Handwriting could be the 3 days that you don't do writing in WWE.

 

So here's an example of a schedule like I did when we used those curricula in 1st grade:

 

Monday: Math, History, FLL, WWE, AAS

Tuesday: Math, Science, Handwriting, AAS

Wednesday: Math, History, FLL, WWE, AAS

Thursday: Math, Science, Handwriting, AAS

Friday: Math, History, FLL, WWE, AAS

 

You'd sub AAR for AAS in the above schedule.

 

This past year, I swapped things around a bit and front loaded the week, so what was MWF in first grade, I put MTW in 2nd. That left Thursday and Friday as "light days".

 

There are a million ways to do it, so you just have to find what works for your family. You really don't have to have a schedule of "do this page this day" with those curricula though, with the exception maybe of History and Science, where you might need to put books on hold from your library. If that's the case, you'd need to know ahead of time when you'll do a particular topic. Not a huge deal though. You could make an excel spreadsheet or use a free online planner (eg. Homeschool Skedtrack).

 

Or if you want to have a Sonlight-style checkoff page, I've made my own sometimes. It's easy to do in Word. :)

[ednkirstin]

I'm kinda on the other end, having never used SL. I was always under the impression that SL was all encompassing (minus math and science). Since I had so many other programs I loved and didn't want to give up, I didn't think SL would really work for us. Well, the light bulb came on this year and I've decided to use SL for literature and history. We'll be using Easy Grammar, AAS and WWS/Writing Tales (different kids) for those aspects of language arts. I plan to use principles from Teaching the Classics with the SL books to add more literary analysis.

 

As for planning, have you considered Homeschool Tracker? I've been using it for several years, and I'm in love with their new online version. My kids (even my 5 year old) can log in and see their assignments. They check the student box when they've done the assignment and I know to check it. I like it because it does help keep me on track, but allows for flexibility (easy rescheduling) if we miss a day or two. It really helps me to see the "big picture" and goals for the year.

 

As someone else mentioned, SL sells their readers schedule/discussion questions separately (about $7) if you don't want to use the entire core. Maybe that would be enough to keep you from feeling overwhelmed or freeing you up add other books that interest you, since you already have the history component with SOTW.

 

Above all, my greatest advice to you at this age: RELAX!!! Reading and math should be your essentials, and everything else is extra, IMHO and experience.

[Jennay]

I've used SL Core and Science for 4+ years.

Both SOTW and Core K would be too much. Pick one. Enough Geography for 1st grade is integrated into both programs.

You could add all the rest of the things you want to do (WWE, FLL, etc.) to either program.

(I have used FLL, WWE, AAS with Sonlight for years).

You don't say in your signature whether or not there are any younger siblings. If there is a younger sibling close in age I might wait to start SOTW until they can start it together.

Do you want to start a 4 year history cycle (SOTW) or touch on various cultures and historical periods to cover more in depth later (SL).

Personally, I really like SL's history rotation - Brief intro in Core A, 2 years of World History in Cores B and C, 2 years of American History in Cores D and E, followed by a year of Non western cultures, 2 more years of World History, and then a year of American History with Core 100.

I like the SL schedule because it helps keep me on track (even though I add a lot and don't keep to the daily schedule) and I like having the book notes.

[Chris in VA]

Most of what you are using is just "do the next thing."

Decide what days you want to work on what subjects. I suggest math every day, and everything else 2-3 days a week (we really like history, so we usually did that 3 or even 4 days a week--but history read alouds every day).

I found I didn't really need a schedule.

I'd bag Sonlight in favor of the other things you chose, and just add in some of the books from SL that call to you and fit your history rotation. ITA with the pp who said there is no "behind" in reading aloud. I don't even count that time as school, just fun! :001_smile:

I'm pretty casual about first grade, tho--you may need more structure. Still, I don't like the IG telling me to read little bits and pieces of this and that--I like to stop when eyes start glazing over or there's a natural pause, or stopping at an exciting part and then maybe even reading two or three times during the day if the book is really fabulous.

[Five More Minutes]

WWE1 (do I need to buy the instructor text?)

 

You don't need the instructor text if you've got the workbook(s). The instructor text gives you the philosophy of the program and teaches you how to build your own writing program for Gr. 1 - 4. The workbooks build the program for you.

[amayla]

We are in a similar situation. We do not like the Sonlight LA and I do not like how you must buy Sonlight bible curriculum this year. We've decided to just use the Core C books as a book list, and go with the SOTW 2, along with CHOW, and the other books we have from Core B. It was really hard for me not to order Sonlight but I think we will be more free this coming year to do more projects and other things my dc is interested in!

[Incognito]

You didn't ask this, but if your child hasn't done much printing yet, WWE might not work for you this year. I was really interested in diving into it for our 1st grade year, but when I looked at it at our local convention last week I could see that my daughter just isn't there yet. We need to do more practice just printing before we get into that.

 

As far as doing all that - I have the same problem. I want to do it all. This last year we did core K with FLL and SM, as well as science K and a number of other things. It was very doable for us, but my kids LOVE to sit and listen to reading. If they didn't, it would NOT have worked.

 

I was happy to have the IG just because I was starting out and wanted some sort of easy checklist. It was helpful to me, but not essential. I found it handy to have the questions for books. I see after doing it for a year that I really didn't need it, but I sort of did need it just because I was getting my feet wet in homeschooling and I didn't want to be worrying about if I was doing enough or doing it well enough. If that makes sense. Your training wheel analogy is apt.

 

I found that for us, we didn't get to a lot of other chapter book read alouds. BUT we do lots of picture books from the library. So if you made it a priority to read some of those other chapter books, you probably could without too much trouble.

 

Hope that helps. It'll be fine whichever way you do it.

[CAmomof4]

This is funny, I'm in the same boat. DD will be doing kindy next year and I ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT RESIST ordering SL Core A, even though I KNEW I was going to use FLL and TGS...

 

And it was super fun opening the box the day it came, and going through and organizing the instructor guide, I almost read the whole darn thing that night! And then it became clear to me that there was almost no way SL would work for first grade when I want to start SOTW1 (which I've already read and love). In fact I was scolding myself for ordering the K package even though there was no history framework I need to stick to this coming year. There is just too much stuff I don't need. And if you're going to start SOTW and plan on doing it for all 4 years, there is no way to make the SL program jive with that.

 

That said, I am one of those highly-AR people who MUST have a nice, neat, organized printed schedule in front of me at all times - even if I don't stick to it. So for the following year I'm probably just going to make my own pretty color one from Excel. Hee hee. (I smiled just thinking about it.)

 

So if I were you (and me), I would just take my SL catalog and lock it away somewhere. You could always just order the read-aloud package. Personally I thought the grade 1 readers (which I have for our Core A) are a little behind. They start with beginning phonics, short vowels and all that, which my DD has done already.

 

Have you thought about TOG? A lot of folks use SOTW as a spine and add in TOG or just the TOG books. Or there's VP - they have a great booklist but their program is two separate years, one for OT/Egypt and one for NT/Greece and Rome. Again, you could just pick out some of their books.

 

I think SL is a great concept but their components are not my favorite. Wouldn't it be awesome if you could custom-build your own curriculum package using the elements that you wanted, and they would send you an IG for that program?? Note to self: future business idea. Even despite the shortcomings, though, I did really enjoy going through my SL Core and am looking forward to using at least most of it in the fall!

 

Did that help at all???

[StartingOver]

I purchase Sonlight, and rearrange it in The Well Trained Mind order ! ;-) Then I add most of TWTM suggestions, and a few things of my own. Yes, I have a problem. I love it all.

 

Using Sonlight since 1995 and TWTM since 1999.

 

 

I purchased D & E this year, so I don't have to purchase all the new crud that will be in there next year. Time will tell if I continue with Sonlight after that. We are secular homeschoolers.

[Esperella]

Double post!

[Esperella]

Thank you guys so much! I think a big part of my panic is I have a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old and I'm just not sure how to eventually add all of them. My original plan was to do hod or WP this year, then add ds2 into core k for his kindy and ds1's 2nd, but he is so ready for core k, super bored with prek4/5 and I don't want to hold him back again. So now Im just worried they'll never all be together and I'll be doing 3 different programs forever and that's not how I envisioned it in my perfect homeschool scenario!

 

CAmom, your post cracked me up, it is so me!

 

Tjej, thanks for that. He actually hates writing and is behind due to a motor delay. Is there anything I could supplement with?

[KAM]

Just to speak to the multiple kids in SL-

 

I am teaching two Cores this year (D and B). Next year I'll have four kids in three Cores, though the youngest will only be K-4. I really hesitated over getting into SL b/c with the ages of my kids I wouldn't be able to combine them and I had pictured all the kids learning happily together. But in reality, it is easier for me to have them separate.

 

It's more work, for me anyway, to try to gear the same subject to multiple reading and comprehension levels than it is to just follow something already laid out that is at the right level already, even if it means two separate histories, sciences, etc.. Plus, with my kids anyway, someone always seems to be uncooperative or dragging their feet, which kind of brings the whole "let's all have fun learning about ancient Egypt (or whatever)" that I had imagined to a screeching halt.

 

Plus, with the different cores, I feel like I can focus more on what each child is doing and learning, and the quieter ones don't get lost in the shuffle. Anyway, my advice would be to just pick what you want to do with your oldest and don't worry about the younger ones until it's time to fold them in. You may find keeping them separate is better after all, and if not, you can always figure out something different when the time comes. I find when I think too far ahead, I get a little freaked out. So now my motto is "one year at a time".

[Incognito]

Tjej, thanks for that. He actually hates writing and is behind due to a motor delay. Is there anything I could supplement with?

Sorry, we're in a similar boat. Although we've decided to go with D'Nealian writing style, so I got a cheap workbook off Amazon that seems to be filling our need for now. I find the hardest thing about it is getting to it, purely because we're in summer mode.

[iafrmgrl77]

We have used SL for a few years and are switching to TQ, but we have enjoyed SL immensely. If you decided to use it at all, I would purchase a used IG, which you can get for really cheap. I am actually considering doing this to go along with TQ. View the IG as a "suggestion." I am a box checker, as well, and I love pencilling in the dates that we read certain things, checking off the book list as we go, etc, but I pretty much never stick to the way they have it scheduled out. I don't like to break books up over several days/weeks, while doing the same with three other books, so we often read the history text/spine(s) for a topic and then go back and do the correlating read-aloud. It works really well that way.

 

As for having more than one child, you can see in my siggy that mine are pretty well spaced. I think it is very possible to take one core and make it work for several ages. This may mean pulling extra books from the library for your younger children and tweaking some things here and there, but I choose this every time over trying to do several cores. That is just way too much for me to wrap my brain around, when I have a 3yo hollering in the background and another wanting to nurse...again! :)

 

What every single one of these mama's is telling you is simply to choose the materials you really want to do and MAKE THEM WORK FOR YOU. You will get the hang of it! And don't feel like a failure if you start something and end up switching a few weeks or months into the school year. I consider that one of the major benefits of home educating~I am not tied to any curriculum or book!

 

Have fun!!!

[Mommy22alyns]

If you're feeling bored in P 4/5 and feeling like that's not how you want to homeschool then change!!! Planning is not that hard at all.

 

Yes, the SL catalogue is nice. Yes, they make SL look like the best thing ever. Yes, I succumbed to it once! But you have tried it and know it's not for you. Why cram yourself into that box when you don't have to?

[Esperella]

Your're so right! But I feel like I'm going to mess it all up or leave out a major subject or we'll miss out on some book I never knew about and their entire childhood is ruined FOREVER!!!one! you know?

 

But also, I LOVE the Ambleside online books, and I want to read a bunch of them, but I love a lot of the Sonlight readers, and I'm worried I wont know of the fun, easy, filler books if I dont do the CORE. I was thinking of maybe doing VP, but I really would tweak it so much I don't see the point. I guess I just dont have the confidence to do it on my own. I think why do I, as a parent who has only schooled K, think I know more than the box curriculum people about how to educate a child?

[ALB]

I guess I just dont have the confidence to do it on my own. I think why do I, as a parent who has only schooled K, think I know more than the box curriculum people about how to educate a child?

 

First of all, think of all the tools you'll have: your math and LA curriculum have teacher's manuals, right? SOTW has the Activity Guide (with suggestions for read alouds and readers if you want them). TWTM lays it all out for you and takes you by the hand through choosing your own specific components. Even if you don't follow WTM strictly, its a wonderful resource. You also have these boards- better than a homeschool conference!

 

Second of all, you know your dc and your family's situation better than any "boxed" curriculum company possibly can. You know when they need to speed up or slow down in any subject. You will be able to gauge their interest level in history/ science topics and adjust accordingly. If you like AO books, you can easily figure out how to read from some every week.

 

I am NOT saying you shouldn't order from SL, HOD, VP, WP, etc. Those are wonderful, thoughtfully laid out programs that truly bless many, many families. If any one program utilized every book/ curriculum that I have chosen, I'd probably go that route, too! But, don't feel scared to venture out on your own!

[Esperella]

Thank you, that's very sweet and I really appreciate your kind words.

[Esperella]

Oh, and one more question, if I dont do Sonlight or AO, or whatever "box set", how hard is it usually to transfer to one? I know that eventually I'd like to do ToG with all my kids together (it should be easy to combine them because I had all 3 in only four years, right?) but if we havent been really rigid with a classical education will it be too hard to jump into it?

[Mommy22alyns]

Oh, and one more question, if I dont do Sonlight or AO, or whatever "box set", how hard is it usually to transfer to one? I know that eventually I'd like to do ToG with all my kids together (it should be easy to combine them because I had all 3 in only four years, right?) but if we havent been really rigid with a classical education will it be too hard to jump into it?

 

 

Not hard at all, IME.

 

And what makes you know better than the makers of boxed curriculum? You know your kids better than anyone. ;)

[happymomofboys]

Oh, and one more question, if I dont do Sonlight or AO, or whatever "box set", how hard is it usually to transfer to one? I know that eventually I'd like to do ToG with all my kids together (it should be easy to combine them because I had all 3 in only four years, right?) but if we havent been really rigid with a classical education will it be too hard to jump into it?

 

 

In reference to the bolded question. TOG is made for combining kids for history. It doesn't matter how far apart they are, each year-plan covers them all.

[Incognito]

This year I'm putting together a ton of stuff from various places (SL, SOTW, FLL, SM, AO books, BFSU, other books, foreign language stuff, and on and on...). In my head I'm calling it "(Myname-light)", and I think I'll even print up a schedule like Sonlight's. :)

 

BUT, I know that with how I did it last year we won't get EVERYTHING done as fast as my ambitions, but it's okay. As long as you can give yourself grace and be willing to drop stuff and change what isn't working (and you aren't over working yourself or your kids), it's all fine. Like I said before we aren't as far in handwriting, so we'll work more on that this coming year (maybe over the summer if we get inspired). Education is a marathon, not a sprint. Don't burn yourself out with worry.

 

One thing that is helping me is having a big excel file of books I want to check out, ones I know I want to use, and interesting reads. Now I don't feel as much like I have to do it all now, it's written somewhere and I won't forget about it - it's on a list I can refer to later. Maybe that would help you?

 

Tjej

[CAmomof4]

Oh, and one more question, if I dont do Sonlight or AO, or whatever "box set", how hard is it usually to transfer to one? I know that eventually I'd like to do ToG with all my kids together (it should be easy to combine them because I had all 3 in only four years, right?) but if we havent been really rigid with a classical education will it be too hard to jump into it?

 

You ARE doing a great classical education! Remember, the box people are providing a convenience product, not authority. At the end of the day those nice lesson plans are made by a person sitting in a room piecing stuff together - the same as you would be doing. :)

 

Good luck!