Thinking of switching from Sonlight to SOTW

[TheAttachedMama]

Hi There!

So, we have been using Sonlight for the past several years.  We did P3/4, P4/5, and now we are currently using Core A with my 5 year old and my 6 (nearly 7) year old.  (They are in kindergarten and first grade this year.)  We are using Sonlight for our history and science.  We are NOT using their language arts. 

If I continue on the Sonlight path, we would be using Sonlight Core B for first grade and second grade.   However, I am considering ditching sonlight and switching to SOTW and R.E.A.L. Science Oddysey instead.    (ACK!  Can't believe I am even saying that!  The sonlight catalog is one of the things that convinced me to homeschool in the first place!)  Am I making a huge mistake by switching paths now?  Can anyone convince me why Core B would be better than SOTW?

 

The reason I am worried I am making a mistake by switching is that Sonlight is working for us.   Maybe its not perfect, but I don't hate it or anything.   I don't want to fall into a "grass is greener" mentality when it comes to homeschool curriculum.  (I personally believe that is an easy trap to fall into.)  I sort of want to settle into one path and stick with it...you know? 

 

Things I like about sonlight:
I love how everything is planned out for me with Sonlight.  I also love how easy sonlight is to implement.  I love that all of the timeline figures, mapping assignments, etc. are all organized and ready to go.  I don't have to photocopy anything or spend time making things or any of that.  I also love that I have all of the books at my house.  I don't have to mess with reserving library books and picking them up.  All I have to do is open the IG and do it!   I also like that bible, poetry and read alouds are integrated into the schedule.  Even though I have good intentions, I wonder if I would keep up with those topics if I didn't have a little IG square telling me to do it. 

 

I don't feel that sonlight science is perhasps the strongest science program out there....but I do like that it gets done!  And sometimes that is what is more important!

Things I don't love about sonlight:
The things I don't love so much about sonlight are probably my fault in the way that I tend to implement it.....

HOWEVER, I don't really feel that my children are being drawn into their history or science readings/topics.  I sort of feel like we read a page in our encylopedia just to check off the box---but the kids aren't really retaining anything or getting "into" it.  That is probably my fault for not giving them enough time to explore things on their own, but I sort of feel pressure to get all of the many read alouds in and not spend the whole day on any given subject.  Our main focus in these early grades are math, learning to read, spelling, etc.

-------
Here are my concerns about switching to a combo of SOTW and R.E.A.L. Science:

Concerns about switching to SOTW:
--My biggest concern is the ability to actually plan and DO all of the fun activities that I see in their guide.  I am NOT a super mom.  In fact, I am probably one of the laziest homeschool moms you will ever meet! ;)   I enjoy having free time for other projects (like sewing or just spending time with my family).  That is really important to me!  I don't want to enter into a path of homeschooling that requires a ton of time to plan everything out.  (I tried FIAR when the kids were in preschool, and that was a disaster because I couldn't keep up with all of the projects and planning.)  I have good intentions, but I am often not really an activity mom.   Also, next year I will be schooling with a 1 year old in the mix.  So---Perhaps I need the "easy" that comes with Sonlight?  Again, I think the kids would LOVE the projects in the activity guide.  (Especially the mummified chicken!)  However, I worry that I might just not be able to do it. 

--Another concern I have about using SOTW is my ability to make it to the library every week and getting the "extra" picture books that go along with our history readings.  (And the extra read alouds that would go along with our R.E.A.L. sceince topics.)   I think that if I could do this, it might really pay off with drawing my children into our studies.  I just worry that I won't have time.
---Another thought I have pertains to my long term history plans.    How and when I would study American History in the elementary grades if I got on the SOTW loop?  I am sort of ignorant about this topic. 

---Another thing I should note is that my kids are not super kids.  ;)  What I mean by that is that they still have limited attention spans.  They are not the type who beg me to do school or anything.  They might benefit from which ever program is the "easiest" for younger kids. 
----------

I don't know, I am sort of talking outloud here....but I would appreciate any advice or perspectives from more experienced moms.  (I am very sorry if this post is hard to follow!)  I don't currently own SOTW or CHOW (the spine of Sonlight Core B & Core C)---so I am not really able to compare the two spines side by side.

 

---------

ALSO---before you suggest it:
I do know that some people find a way to do both Sonlight and SOTW for Core B.  HOWEVER, I don't feel that I am the type of person who could pull that off.  I feel like Sonlight is already very, very full.  I have trouble just doing the minimum in the IG let alone adding in a bunch of projects and additional reading!  So I  don't think doing both programs would be a wise choice for me.

[Tanikit]

From what you have said here I would stay with Sonlight if I were you - if the only thing that is pulling you towards SOTW is that you hope it will grab your kids and pull them into the lesson then stay with Sonlight as you have no guarantee of that - they do have great projects, but you have to get to them and you could also always think of adding projects to Sonlight's readings if it is projects you feel are missing.

 

I do use SOTW and my DD does enjoy it, but based purely on what you have written I think Sonlight is a better option for you.

[Marsha]

I wouldn't worry if Sonlight is enough(science) or not. The one that gets done is the one you need to do. I like both plans so I can't tell you either way.

I have 8 children...will be 9 this fall. My 2 oldest are doing Sonlight for High School because is is all planned. My next 3 are doing Trail Guide to Learning because it is planned out. My Pre-k and K'er will be doing Sonlight...again because it is all planned out for me. :)

 

Go with what you think will get done.

 

You could add SOTW on audio and just plan to do 1 project a month or 2 from the activity guide. That way you are still following Sonlight that is already planned, but get some projects done too. I am also not good at projects....gathering supplies and cleaning up it a lot of work.

 

 

[LBoogie]

I think it sounds like Sonlight is working well for you. Your personality sounds a lot like mine and I am probably headed that way next year.

 

FWIW, we do SOTW and although we like it and it works, it isn't the be all end all. You could easily just read a chapter from the book every week and get what you need. We bought the AG andi had grand plans for it, but really just used the maps.

[freesia]

Hi,

Let me just encourage you not to stress too much. They are both good options. We did Sonlight the first time around and, this time, are doing SOTW (correlated with TOG). We loved Sonlight. We also love SOTW. We still do Sonlight readers and my favorite of the Read Alouds. CHOW is engaging. So is SOTW. If you are overwhelmed with Sonlight, go with SOTW and get the extra books when you can (maybe put them on hold ahead of time--that's what I do). If you really don't want to be bothered with the library, stay with Sonlight and drop anything that doesn't seem to engage the kids. They are very young and are not actually likely to retain a ton from history these years (outside of periods that are very interesting to them). You are mostly shooting for enjoyment right now.

 

SOTW does have some American history. You can also spend a few extra weeks on the Revolution, etc. if you want--doing more of the activities and reading more of the extra books. Then you would just consolidate other weeks. (German history, for example, doesn't grab my kids so we don't dwell there at this age).

 

Just to repeat-- there is no wrong answer here--they are both great. Go with your gut.

[StephanieF]

I have all the SOTW as audio books.  They are on my son's ipod and he listens to it in the car or when he is playing with his lego.  Doing Sonlight shouldn't stop you from enjoying the books.

Stephanie

[thegirlwhopaintedtrees]

Have you seen this? http://butterfliesandbarefootlasses.blogspot.com/2012/07/36-week-supplement-for-early-elementary.html

 

She has these supplemental plans for Cores A through E I believe.  They add in videos and activities. It might work for you.  Her entire blog is full of great printables that are useful as supplements even if you don't use Sonlight.

[Mom0012]

Hi There!

 

So, we have been using Sonlight for the past several years. We did P3/4, P4/5, and now we are currently using Core A with my 5 year old and my 6 (nearly 7) year old. (They are in kindergarten and first grade this year.) We are using Sonlight for our history and science. We are NOT using their language arts.

 

If I continue on the Sonlight path, we would be using Sonlight Core B for first grade and second grade. However, I am considering ditching sonlight and switching to SOTW and R.E.A.L. Science Oddysey instead. (ACK! Can't believe I am even saying that! The sonlight catalog is one of the things that convinced me to homeschool in the first place!) Am I making a huge mistake by switching paths now? Can anyone convince me why Core B would be better than SOTW?

 

The reason I am worried I am making a mistake by switching is that Sonlight is working for us. Maybe its not perfect, but I don't hate it or anything. I don't want to fall into a "grass is greener" mentality when it comes to homeschool curriculum. (I personally believe that is an easy trap to fall into.) I sort of want to settle into one path and stick with it...you know?

 

Things I like about sonlight:

I love how everything is planned out for me with Sonlight. I also love how easy sonlight is to implement. I love that all of the timeline figures, mapping assignments, etc. are all organized and ready to go. I don't have to photocopy anything or spend time making things or any of that. I also love that I have all of the books at my house. I don't have to mess with reserving library books and picking them up. All I have to do is open the IG and do it! I also like that bible, poetry and read alouds are integrated into the schedule. Even though I have good intentions, I wonder if I would keep up with those topics if I didn't have a little IG square telling me to do it.

 

I don't feel that sonlight science is perhasps the strongest science program out there....but I do like that it gets done! And sometimes that is what is more important!

 

Things I don't love about sonlight:

The things I don't love so much about sonlight are probably my fault in the way that I tend to implement it.....

HOWEVER, I don't really feel that my children are being drawn into their history or science readings/topics. I sort of feel like we read a page in our encylopedia just to check off the box---but the kids aren't really retaining anything or getting "into" it. That is probably my fault for not giving them enough time to explore things on their own, but I sort of feel pressure to get all of the many read alouds in and not spend the whole day on any given subject. Our main focus in these early grades are math, learning to read, spelling, etc.

 

-------

Here are my concerns about switching to a combo of SOTW and R.E.A.L. Science:

Concerns about switching to SOTW:

--My biggest concern is the ability to actually plan and DO all of the fun activities that I see in their guide. I am NOT a super mom. In fact, I am probably one of the laziest homeschool moms you will ever meet! ;) I enjoy having free time for other projects (like sewing or just spending time with my family). That is really important to me! I don't want to enter into a path of homeschooling that requires a ton of time to plan everything out. (I tried FIAR when the kids were in preschool, and that was a disaster because I couldn't keep up with all of the projects and planning.) I have good intentions, but I am often not really an activity mom. Also, next year I will be schooling with a 1 year old in the mix. So---Perhaps I need the "easy" that comes with Sonlight? Again, I think the kids would LOVE the projects in the activity guide. (Especially the mummified chicken!) However, I worry that I might just not be able to do it.

--Another concern I have about using SOTW is my ability to make it to the library every week and getting the "extra" picture books that go along with our history readings. (And the extra read alouds that would go along with our R.E.A.L. sceince topics.) I think that if I could do this, it might really pay off with drawing my children into our studies. I just worry that I won't have time.

---Another thought I have pertains to my long term history plans. How and when I would study American History in the elementary grades if I got on the SOTW loop? I am sort of ignorant about this topic.

---Another thing I should note is that my kids are not super kids. ;) What I mean by that is that they still have limited attention spans. They are not the type who beg me to do school or anything. They might benefit from which ever program is the "easiest" for younger kids.

----------

 

I don't know, I am sort of talking outloud here....but I would appreciate any advice or perspectives from more experienced moms. (I am very sorry if this post is hard to follow!) I don't currently own SOTW or CHOW (the spine of Sonlight Core B & Core C)---so I am not really able to compare the two spines side by side.

 

---------

 

ALSO---before you suggest it:

I do know that some people find a way to do both Sonlight and SOTW for Core B. HOWEVER, I don't feel that I am the type of person who could pull that off. I feel like Sonlight is already very, very full. I have trouble just doing the minimum in the IG let alone adding in a bunch of projects and additional reading! So I don't think doing both programs would be a wise choice for me.

I'm a long time SL user, so I'm biased, but I would stick with SL and buy the SOTW audiobooks. My kids have used SL from the pre-k level through Core G, but they've also listened to all the SOTW audiobooks in their free time at least 10 times. My son knows more about history than anyone I know. I'm not familiar with REAL Science, so I can't comment on that, except that at these ages, I would go with what is most enjoyable to your kids and will keep them interested.

[Guest Gabrielle68]

I'm interested to hear responses. I have been having really similar thoughts lately. We are also doing Core A right now and while my daughter LOVES the read alouds I really don't feel like she is getting much out of the history portion. Also, we joined Classical Conversations for this upcoming year so I'm not sure yet how we are going to integrate that.

 

Anyway, I'd love to hear any other responses too.

[Esperella]

I did the exact same thing last year. From SL to SOTW, but I did RSO. This year I'm going back to SL, Core B for ds1. It was too difficult for me to put everything together myself. I am a horrible organizer and planner. I'm also overwhelmed with my 3 yr old and its just easier for me to have the cohesiveness of SL. I would get SOTW activity book and maybe the cd, because I already have them and I like being able to pull ideas from that as well. But if you had it might help the grass is greener syndrome.

[ByGrace3]

You sound a lot like me. I went back and forth. Did SOTW for a year then tried SL...that only lasted a week. ;) then I ended up using BIblioplan (schedules out SOTW, maps, timeline, and other extras) and plugged in the SL readers and read alouds (my favorite part of SL). I just substituted the read alouds from SL for many of the BP ones, had my dd read the SL readers (using the SL readers schedule up to core D. From core D on they relate to history so I am now lining them up with our history studies.) We then read the BP readers as part of history with SOTW. The younger BP readers are many picture books for the younger ages so take the place of the library list part of SOTW. I bought the BP readers like I would the SL books so I had it all on hand.

 

Recap because I know that may not have made sense. ;) BP history using SOTW and BP readers. Then SL readers (for reading) and SL read alouds in the place of many of the BP ones. We did do some of the BP ones and left out a few SL...just made it work for us. :)

[Starr]

We are the SOTW lovers. I would start with the Ancients and get the activity book. There are book lists every week. I used to order whatever the library had and get through as many as we could. You could even stop here and there for more than a week and enjoy reading about, Egypt, or whatever grabs your children. My dc enjoyed the narrative style of SOTW better than an encyclopedia. Your children are young and should enjoy their lessons and learning. The activity guide also has projects, coloring pages and narration prompts. We used this to cover some of our literature and writing as well. I also liked Peace Hill Press for their language programs. 

[warneral]

I started with Sonlight Core B (and C separately was the plan).  I read TWTM and switched plans.  My suggestion would be to either do SOTW without worrying so much about extra projects.  Choose some good Core B books to read, add some bible and enjoy!

 

*OR* if your kids aren't getting much from the Usborne layout, consider dropping the History encyclopedia.  You could get a different one or just drop it altogether.  CHOW will be your spine regardless.

 

You could try substituting the History encyclopedia with this one:  http://www.usborne.com/quicklinks/eng/catalogue/catalogue.aspx?loc=usa&id=3922

 

it is far less busy and has more words.  Many of the same topics (as I recall)

[Professormom]

Your post caught my attention right away because the Sonlight catalog is the thing that sucked me into homeschooling too;-)

 

It seems like Sonlight is working for you. I think a lot of the ?s you have may be because of the levels your are in. As far as history knowledge, sonlight is a sneaky curriculum in the sense that all of those read alouds you do end up being really what teaches the history at these ages. I do Sonlight through the end of Core E before I switch to a four-year cycle because of how much history they retain from the historical fiction etc. that is the bulk of Sonlight. I know, it seems way to fun to just read a book and learn history, but that is where the meat of their early-years history comes from. The encyclopedia readings are really just like pegs to pull it all together. Cores a and b run through world history in two years, so American history will seem light, however, cores d and e more than make up for that in that you get to go through American history in a detailed and fun way.

 

I have always been sad that Sonlight wasn't on a 4 year cycle because my mind just relates to that so much more. Last year, when I switched to TOG for DS in 5th grade, I ordered a sonlight core anyway, just so I could have the books... I know I am nuts (sheepish grin). The IG is a beautiful thing:-). And it is nice to have all of the extras, such as poetry, incorporated.

 

They do have project CDs and such now, which they didn't have when I started using Sonlight, but the awesome thing for me was that they weren't guilt-inducing. I could do them or not. I am not a crafty gal and much as I love the IDEA of projects, I now know myself well enough to know that we do a couple of really good projects a year. Beyond that, anything that gets done comes from the inner drive of my kiddos... Because that is mom's quota, lol.

 

As far as science goes, I wouldn't worry about the strongest at this age. In our house, the science that gets done is the best science. And again, sonlight is sneaky in how they learn. I was amazed that when the kids took the Stanford this year, they knocked science out of the park. Every homeschooling mom has at least one subject that is their Achilles' Heel... For me that is science. I don't even have the excuse that I was bad at it in school. I am just not drawn to it like I am with other subjects. So let's just say it has been dropped more than once here... Yet the kids know a ton of science from the books they have used for Sonlight.

 

Anyway, before I write a book here, just know that I am not trying to convince you to stick with SL, you need to do whatever gives you peace. But, from what you have said, I think having a big picture of how the Core's progress and more of the 'big picture' might be useful. Also, it fits a whole lot of your criteria so far. It may be a fit for you for a few more years and THEN may be the time to switch.

 

I usually try to be more eloquent - and grammatically correct - than this, but I have to run and wanted to get a response out before it leaves my over-heated brain, lol. Good luck!

[Professormom]

Wow, you may not want to take any advice from me after reading that awful post:-(. Apparently, autocorrect is not my friend. Ignore all typos, poor sentence structure, and weird word choices... Hopefully, the spirit of the message still comes through;-)

[Lang Syne Boardie]

 I used Sonlight for elementary, along with Charlotte Mason skills of copywork, narration, and dictation, and WTM skills of specific narration, outlining, and rewriting.

 

We notebooked through the history encyclopedias.

 

We used one or two activity books from the library per year, like David. C. King's Revolutionary Days, or More Than Moccasins.

 

We added art and composer study, and a bit of church history, to Cores G and H (6 and 7? The two-year world history course for middle school, whatever they call it now. We used MapTrek maps instead of the SOTW maps, to beef up the geography a little for those two years before high school.)

 

Each year I also made sure my children had access to the classical literature recommended in WTM. We did it Book Basket style, just having the books available for the dc to choose as they liked, and reading aloud sometimes, or as bedtime stories. My boys have all been very good readers and loved to have these books just to read on their own and not as schoolwork.

 

I used McGuffey or Elson Readers and Harvey's or Rod and Staff grammar instead of SL language arts. We used Latin curricula from Memoria Press.

 

This mix worked well for my family. Sonlight was the heart of our homeschool, but all those classical and traditional elements were also there.

 

Sonlight + WTM + CM prepared my eldest son to transition seamlessly to TOG (rhetoric level) in 9th grade. He'll be starting 11th grade soon. TOG has been the perfect follow-up to all those Sonlight years. He's also done Memoria Press's Traditional Logic I and II and Material Logic. He'll be studying MP's Rhetoric course this year.

 

My second eldest starts high school this fall. He has chosen not to go on to TOG because he is more math and science focused, so he'll be doing Sonlight's high school cores as written. I am not entirely ecstatic about this, as I really believe TOG or WTM would be superior, academically. But he'll be doing vocational STEM training through a local high school and just will not have the time to do the full TOG + MP load that his brother studies. (#1 son has decided to become a minister, so those courses suit him.) He could do TOG, though. He was prepared for that level of study. He'll just be applying those skills to the subjects that interest him more.

So I guess I'm saying that I believe my family is proof that SL can work out very well, but I do think it needs some help if the children are going to get the study skills to prepare them for rhetoric level studies. I found it easier and more enjoyable to beef up SL than to go it alone; I didn't really have enough confidence in my own education level to launch out just with WTM. I liked knowing that if I got too busy to do all the extras or didn't have time to plan, I still had an open-and-go curriculum to get us over the busy time. And we all loved Box Day. All those years it was nearly as good as Christmas.

[EmilyGF]

I like the Sonlight read-alouds still. We "used" Core A over two years, after which I realized that we're more of a SOTW family.

 

Our library is lousy, but I can still find OK books from the SOTW lists (the one in the book, NOT ones online). About once every three months we do a project. Sometimes my kids do the project by themselves, sometimes I'll buy something special for a project.

 

I felt like we were flying through history without any retention and I realized the coming year would go even faster. We didn't like the Usborne books (especially not the science books) and I wanted to use picture books, not summaries, to go with history. When we did have a picture book in Sonlight, it was spread out over a week or two. My kids would read it in a day.

 

I decided that since I don't live in a remote place without library access, I'd ditch the Usborne books and place books on hold at the library. My kids read them, sometime at the appropriate week, sometimes (more often) much later, when they finally show up. 

 

I'm not a super mom, but SOTW is super easy to follow. I go to the library whenever books come in (about once every 10-14 days). I like that we have a paper trail of map work (instead of the wipe-off maps). My kids read silently every afternoon for 30-60 minutes (mom needs a break) and once or twice a week I require they read a history or science book instead of their own choice.

 

I wouldn't change to REAL Science Odyssey, though. *That* looks hard to do! I showed it to my hubby and he started laughing, before saying, "This would never happen in our house." 

 

Emily

[Mom0012]

 I used Sonlight for elementary, along with Charlotte Mason skills of copywork, narration, and dictation, and WTM skills of specific narration, outlining, and rewriting.

 

We notebooked through the history encyclopedias.

 

We used one or two activity books from the library per year, like David. C. King's Revolutionary Days, or More Than Moccasins.

 

We added art and composer study, and a bit of church history, to Cores G and H (6 and 7? The two-year world history course for middle school, whatever they call it now. We used MapTrek maps instead of the SOTW maps, to beef up the geography a little for those two years before high school.)

 

Each year I also made sure my children had access to the classical literature recommended in WTM. We did it Book Basket style, just having the books available for the dc to choose as they liked, and reading aloud sometimes, or as bedtime stories. My boys have all been very good readers and loved to have these books just to read on their own and not as schoolwork.

 

I used McGuffey or Elson Readers and Harvey's or Rod and Staff grammar instead of SL language arts. We used Latin curricula from Memoria Press.

 

This mix worked well for my family. Sonlight was the heart of our homeschool, but all those classical and traditional elements were also there.

 

Sonlight + WTM + CM prepared my eldest son to transition seamlessly to TOG (rhetoric level) in 9th grade. He'll be starting 11th grade soon. TOG has been the perfect follow-up to all those Sonlight years. He's also done Memoria Press's Traditional Logic I and II and Material Logic. He'll be studying MP's Rhetoric course this year.

 

My second eldest starts high school this fall. He has chosen not to go on to TOG because he is more math and science focused, so he'll be doing Sonlight's high school cores as written. I am not entirely ecstatic about this, as I really believe TOG or WTM would be superior, academically. But he'll be doing vocational STEM training through a local high school and just will not have the time to do the full TOG + MP load that his brother studies. (#1 son has decided to become a minister, so those courses suit him.) He could do TOG, though. He was prepared for that level of study. He'll just be applying those skills to the subjects that interest him more.

 

So I guess I'm saying that I believe my family is proof that SL can work out very well, but I do think it needs some help if the children are going to get the study skills to prepare them for rhetoric level studies. I found it easier and more enjoyable to beef up SL than to go it alone; I didn't really have enough confidence in my own education level to launch out just with WTM. I liked knowing that if I got too busy to do all the extras or didn't have time to plan, I still had an open-and-go curriculum to get us over the busy time. And we all loved Box Day. All those years it was nearly as good as Christmas.

After reading this, I feel I should expand on my post a bit more.  Whenever I recommend SL, I always assume people are not using it as their entire curriculum.  I have yet to hear of someone using SL's LA and being happy, so I imagine they are adding in another grammar, spelling and writing program, as well as math.  We too, added in lots of additional literature, but usually more in the form of audiobooks.  I would think this might be the norm among people who choose SL since they are likely book lovers.  I'm not big on notebooking or crafts, but a lot of what is described here is how I think of people using SL.  Maybe they use different add-ons, but I can't imagine using SL + math as my entire curriculum and wouldn't want people to think that's how I'm doing it or that is what I am recommending.