Sonlight Core A or B

[Ruby Rose]

I'm looking ahead for next year and considering Sonlight. My DS will be 5 and in Kindergarten and dd will be 8 and in 3rd grade. They don't turn 6 and 9 until late spring/summer. I'm debating starting with A OR B. Does anyone have any experience or advise?

[boscopup]

How does your son do listening to long chapter books? I'm using P4/5 for my K'er and D for my 3rd grader. Running these two cores is very easy. I would not have been able to do Core A or B with my current K'er (turned 6 in November). He still needs pictures in his books to keep his attention.

[PentecostalMom]

I am using Core B with my 6yo, 7 in March. She does quite well, but boys are different! Also, if he hasn't had experience listening to srories without pictures, it will be more difficult. My 3yo (just turned in November) listens with us, but she has been tagging along all the time. We started with P3/4 a few years ago and have come through P4/5, Core A, and are now working on B. This would have never worked with my older ds. I did not start SL with my olders until they were in 7th & 8th grade respectively.

[Ruby Rose]

I'm not so worried about my Ker. Yes, he has sat through some chapter books. His favorite was Farmer Boy that we read last spring when he was 3. He wanted to be the farmer boy.

 

I'm more worried that A might be too young for my 3rd grader. If I do separate cores I would probably choose B for her since I've heard they get more out of it at the higher age range. So what about A for a 3rd grader?

[boscopup]

I wouldn't do A with a 3rd grader.

[Kathryn]

I'd do P4/5 and B.

[TKDmom]

I'd do P4/5 and B.

 

:iagree:

 

I did Core C and P 4/5 when my kids were 8, 5 (almost 6), and 4. IMO Core A would be too light for a 3rd grade, and possibly too much for a 5yo. It was a stretch for my youngest to move into Core A right after he turned 5.

Edited December 16, 2012 by TKDmom

[Bree]

I would at least do core B. We are finishing up Core B this fall for my ds 2nd grade year. If you want to add in some of the RA from core A they make for great readers. I have had my ds reread some of the books on his own this year since we ran our of readers :) My k student has also listened in on a lot of core B and I don't consider her doing the core but she has enjoyed a lot of it and I try to focus more on the 3R's with her since she is so young anyway.

[Incognito]

B is the old 1, right? I'm doing that with K and 1 this year. We've done great with it. I'm using a lot of other things too, so we aren't flying through, but my kids both love the books. I think that a 3rd grader would get a lot out of them too. You'd be able to do more in-depth discussion and more writing about what you are reading.

[thegirlwhopaintedtrees]

I am using B with my 5 year old. She turned 5 in August. She loves all the readings and sits through them well. She can narrate back. It really depends on your five year old and what he is willing to sit and listen to. If he sat through and enjoyed Farmer Boy, he'd like the read alouds in Core B. Core B would be fine for your third grader and you could have some great discussions together.

[Ruby Rose]

The family discussions would be awesome! My kids do best when they are working together! He likes to be big like DD, and she likes having a classmate. I've looked at all the options, but have yet to make a decision. Combining really would be best for us if I can make it work. The thought of running 2 cores indefinitely on 2 time periods is not for me. More than likely I will run B with 3rd and K readers and read some of the p4/5 readers for fun. I believe the K/1 group is really about the 3 Rs and lots of play.

 

But then I'll have a 2nd grader in D.......

[chicagoshannon]

I would not do A with an 8 year old. The history in A is very, very light. A good chunk of it is missionary stories. The rest of it is just a page or 2 talking about the foods people are and how they dressed during a certain time period.

 

The read alouds are really good but you can just check some of those out of the library.

 

I'd do B or even D with your 8 year old. It just depends on whether you want to study world or US history.

[Incognito]

Yes, I should have said, I would not do A (former K, I believe) with a 3rd grader. I will be going through it again in a few years with our youngest, and I expect my oldest will help read some of the books and enjoy the stories, but it will not be meaty enough to be the main content of her days by any means.