Sonlight for kindergarten: choosing a core

[cassafraz]

I have heard several times to go with P4/5 for kindergarten instead of core A, which is what sonlight recommends when I go through their curriculum chooser thingy. My question is WHY? Is it about providing a gentle approach to kindergarten? Would core A be over their head and/or too challenging? I want my children to lovvvvve learning, and my oldest turned 5 in January, so he will be a little over 5.5 when we start. He is currently going to preschool and is currently learning to read. We do some simple workbooks, not because I am pushing him, but because he wants to start homeschooling NOW! We actually may start in the summer because he is sooo excited and we plan on probably schooling year round anyway. He loves chapter books, but he still enjoys a good picture book too.

 

So, please tell me, what is the benefit of starting with P4/5? Or should we go straight to Core A? I finally understand that it is just about the content areas for sonlight, that skills will be done on his level with other curriculum choices. (I should add that we will do only the History/literature part of the core, not the math or science) I think I just like the history schedule of cultures in K, starting world history in 1st.

[chicagoshannon]

P4/5 is really fun. There a LOT of stories about bunnies though. My 5 yr old (will be 6 soon) is using core A now and we have no issues. She could have handled it last year for K (she's in 1st) easily.

 

There are some sad and emotionally tough situations in A (kids being hidden from Nazis for example). If your son can handle stories like that than A is probably fine.

 

P4/5 is adequate for K though for sure.

[boscopup]

There are two reasons it's often recommended this way:

 

1) A lot of K'ers would rather listen to picture books than chapter books.

2) The older cores get pretty mature in content, so a lot of folks don't want to hit those cores on the younger end.

 

That said, I'm using Core D with a 3rd grader (with a summer birthday, AND we started while he was still 7), and it's been perfect for him (except the readers being easy, but I'm ok with that). I still think he would have preferred P4/5 at age 5 rather than Core A. P4/5 is more "little kid friendly", as my friend put it to me last year when I was deciding for DS2. I'm using P4/5 this year, and DS2 LOVES it. It's been a great fit. I use my own reading/math/handwriting. We won't be using Core A next year, as I'm just going to do my own thing with him (just read good books another year). My older son will do Core E in 4th grade.

 

The Sonlight website recommendations are a little weird. On the one hand, they have these multisubject packages recommending A=K, B=1, C=2, D=3, etc. On the other hand, when you click on Core D, for example, it says it's for 9 and 10 year olds, plus advanced 8 year olds. Well, why are they marketing it to the average 3rd grader if they think only advanced 8 year olds should use it? That makes no sense to me.

 

I won't be using Sonlight long term, as we're switching back to a 4 year cycle after we finish up US History (we just took a detour for a couple years), but we have enjoyed the books and such. Cores D and E are really good. I haven't used A, B, or C. I really like SOTW for early elementary world history, so that's what I used in 1st and 2nd with my oldest, and I'll use it again with my two littles when we start the 4 year cycle again year after next (they'll be grades K and 2).

 

Anyway, if your child enjoys pictureless chapter books, Core A should be fine. If you'd rather do another year of picture books, P4/5 is great at easing them into pictureless stories. And yes, there are a lot of rabbit stories - Uncle Wiggily. I hate that book, but my son loves it. :lol: We're almost done... almost done. Also, for the Mother Goose Rhymes, I read a week's worth in one sitting, rather than doing one rhyme a day. Really, you can usually read a week's worth of everything in one or two days, which is handy. I mostly follow the schedule sort of, but short things like that get read all at once. The longer stories, like Uncle Wiggily, I can only do one a day. ;)

[staceyobu]

I've done Core A with my oldest for kindergarten. I am now using Core P4/5 with my middle DS for kindergarten. I would recommend checking out a couple of the core a books from your library and reading them. That will help you to get an idea of what Core A is like.

 

The readings for P4/5 are shorter. The stories are also not quite as emotionally heavy. Hundred Dresses is a great book... but also contains a lot of ideas about being made fun of and left out. Honestly, I want my oldest to maybe read it again as a 3rd grader. I feel like it would be really beneficial to read as the peer pressure and making fun of kids starts to kick in. Twenty and Ten is a book about hiding from the nazis. A great story... but a little hard for a k'er to even understand what is going on.

 

If your 5 year old can sit for longer read alouds, you can definitely use Core A. If he's a squirmy wiggly boy, Core P4/5 might be better. You can also catch up down the road by doing a combined core like B/C or D/E, or you might have additional time if you school year round. Several of Sonlight's books are used in other curriculum in higher grades. I believe Veritas Press uses Milly Molly Mandy as a second grade selection. Sonlight uses it in p4/5. Overall, I feel like p4/5 is a better match for a kindergartner.

 

Also remember that with Sonlight it is easy to mix and match different levels of work. My k'er is on ETC 4 (generally considered a second grade book), kindergarten math, first grade sonlight readers, and p4/5 history and read alouds. It works!

[boscopup]

Also remember that with Sonlight it is easy to mix and match different levels of work. My k'er is on ETC 4 (generally considered a second grade book), kindergarten math, first grade sonlight readers, and p4/5 history and read alouds. It works!

 

Yep! My kids are in various places skills wise, and Sonlight has worked for both of them. I just skip the "LA" part of P4/5, which is pretty slim anyway. (I also am not using the LA with Core D)

[StartingOver]

We do cores earlier than recommended by Sonlight. I did not love P4/5, We skipped books, then the kids went back later to read. Core A was much better for is. P 4/5 has sooooo many out dated booksbooks and they just didn't hold the kids interest.

[lil' maids in a row]

We LOVED Core p 4/5! DD is extremely good at understanding read alouds (she loved chapter books as a 3 year old), she LOVED p 4/5 as kindergarten. I am doing p 4/5 as kindergarten for my younger kids and using Core A for 1st grade. So far it is working out really well and all the kids LOVE the reading!

[three4me]

We're also really enjoying P4/5. I think one of the reasons they recommend kids be at the lower end of the age range is that, if you're going to stick with Sonlight longterm, it's much easier maturity-wise to be at the lower end for the upper cores. So while a 5yo would probably be fine for core A, I think many 9yo's wouldn't be ready for core E.

[3peasinapod]

We have done P4/5 with a 3-3/4yo for her PK year and this year with a K'er. I find P4/5 a little light for K, but Core A a little heavy for K. We did Core A with a K'er and a 1st grader. The K'er did just fine, but my 1st grader THRIVED, asked questions, and generally internalized the material better. I didn't want my younger child to just skim through the cores (we are using SL long-term), but I wanted her to be able to immerse herself more in the material instead of just hanging on and understanding only the surface.

 

I agree with the other posts about not getting to Core D too soon. Some kids do fine, but evidently the workload increases a lot from Core C, even more so with Core E, etc.

[cassafraz]

Well, we made a choice! And actually ordered materials so hopefully I won't change my mind now!

 

We are going to start with p4/5, and loosely follow the schedule, while allowing ourselves to read more quickly if we so desire. Since we will school year round, we will start p4/5 in the summer and move on to core A sometime next year, once he is reading more fluently. I won't "rush" through p4/5, but after looking at the sample, I do feel like we will go a little faster, and maybe finish it up earlier, allowing us to still start Core A during his K year, just farther in.

 

How did we decide, you ask? I finally laid all of it our for my husband, let him choose what to do, and listened. I know both options are good ones, so whichever he chose would be fine, and I wouldn't have to think and ponder so much. So much easier.

 

Thank you all for your help!

[three4me]

Well, we made a choice! And actually ordered materials so hopefully I won't change my mind now!

 

We are going to start with p4/5, and loosely follow the schedule, while allowing ourselves to read more quickly if we so desire. Since we will school year round, we will start p4/5 in the summer and move on to core A sometime next year, once he is reading more fluently. I won't "rush" through p4/5, but after looking at the sample, I do feel like we will go a little faster, and maybe finish it up earlier, allowing us to still start Core A during his K year, just farther in.

 

How did we decide, you ask? I finally laid all of it our for my husband, let him choose what to do, and listened. I know both options are good ones, so whichever he chose would be fine, and I wouldn't have to think and ponder so much. So much easier.

 

Thank you all for your help!

 

I think that's a great idea! You may find that once you add in math and other things (if you choose to) that it will take up plenty of time. We don't do SL language arts, so we add math, handwriting/copywork, and phonics. Also, after we do our SL readings, DD does a journal page where she writes and/or colors about one of the stories we've read. It really helps cement things for her I think.

 

Have fun!

[umsami]

When we did Sonlight Kindy for DS1, we used Core A and he really loved it. We combined it with HWT and Right Start A. However, if you're planning to homeschool long-term, there's no rush. There are so many great things in p4/5 too. I would go for p4/5 and save A for next year.

[cassafraz]

 

 

I think that's a great idea! You may find that once you add in math and other things (if you choose to) that it will take up plenty of time. We don't do SL language arts, so we add math, handwriting/copywork, and phonics. Also, after we do our SL readings, DD does a journal page where she writes and/or colors about one of the stories we've read. It really helps cement things for her I think.

 

Have fun!

 

 

That's a great idea for a journal page. Thank you! We will also be adding in HWT, Rightstart OR singapore math, and working through a scholastic phonics reading program we were given when he was younger. We will probably do some light geography with it as well, just because he is really interested in it right now. Of course he is interested in everything right now. I have to remind myself that P4/5 includes science already, but we will probably add in some Magic school bus, just because it is fun! So, you are right, it may take us a lot longer to get through it than I think.

[3peasinapod]

I think that's a great idea! You may find that once you add in math and other things (if you choose to) that it will take up plenty of time. We don't do SL language arts, so we add math, handwriting/copywork, and phonics. Also, after we do our SL readings, DD does a journal page where she writes and/or colors about one of the stories we've read. It really helps cement things for her I think.

 

Have fun!

 

I really like this idea. I'm always at a loss of what to do for DD5 for notebooking. Every once in a while I get a good idea, but this is easy and doable in the hustle of the day. Thanks for mentioning it!

[Mom0012]

I don't think you can go wrong. If you find P4/5 lighter than you want, you can always pick up Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook and add in additional reading from that. I agree that SL is pretty flexible. My kids are 2 grades apart, so I've always used a core in between. So, my son used SL K for 1st grade and my dd used it for pre-k. That worked great for both of them.

[cassafraz]

Thanks for the Trelease book. I will have to check it out.

[Momof2littles]

I am currently using p4/5 for my kindergartener. She will be 6 in about 3 weeks. It is definitely light for an advanced K'er, but she has had time to mature and learn to love listening to longer, pictureless books.

 

I do my own thing for Bible, math, reading, handwriting/fine motor, and spelling (I added in AAS b/c she was so ready for it--and is flying through now!). We follow the p4/5 schedule for the read alouds, science, and world culture (or is it called social studies in p4/5?...I cannot even remember!). So, I'm basically only using the reading schedule.

 

I want my dd to deeply understand the content in Core A, not just skim the surface. I really want to use Sonlight for the content...to bring up tough topics and then have great discussion together!! I feel that if my child is too young for the topics (less life experience and maturity, a 6 year old is more mature than a 5 year old), then she won't be getting the most out of the reading, and I could just read any books from the library for the same effect.

 

We love Sonlight!!