Sonlight, Ambleside, WTM

[Medieval Mom]

Well, my dh thinks I'm absurd but I'm already thinking of next year's curriculum for first grade. This year I designed my own (for K). I've read quite a bit about Sonlight and Ambleside, and of course I've read the WTM. What I need now is advice from those who have used these programs, and/or have looked at all three and decided on one (or a combination).

 

Which is the most academically vigorous? The most "fun" for the child (and parent)? Which do you simply feel "drawn to"? What do you find are the positive and negative aspects of these programs? Are any of these simpler or more intuitive to use with two or more children? Any comments are welcome!

 

Whew! Thank goodness I have a while to decide! But I do feel that what I do this year will be, in some part, affected by what path I'm aiming toward.

 

P.S. It's late, and I hope I'm making sense:blushing:

[Lovedtodeath]

I can tell you what I don't like... Sonlight and Ambleside are both low on pictures and hands-on. So even though I am very drawn to both of them, and use their book lists as supplements I do not feel comfortable doing either of them 100%. I can add that Sonlight has too many books according to Ambleside standards, and according to mine.

 

I found a really good compromise by getting Beautiful Feet's Character through Literature. Many of the books that are used in SL cores are included, but I don't feel like I have too many or have to rush through them, and they are more age-appropriate (some of the K books in SL are in the grade 4-6 list for Beautiful Feet.)

 

TWTM has Story of the World and History of the World which are beautifully written, and the SOTW AG gives me chooses for picture books, coloring pages, and hands-on activities, so for history this wins hands-down.

 

TWTM also has a very gentle way of going about a rigorous curriculum. Instead of waiting for 3rd or 4th grade for grammar, it is started early, but in a very fun, gentle manner... 5-10 minutes a day and not much writing.

 

Also, TWTM is a lot more gentle all around than most posters seem to believe. For example: p. 171 "This... encyclopedia is written for third graders... (we feel that not frustrating your beginning chemist should be a high priority). Also in second grade TWTM history takes no more than 3 hours per week, but many programs like Sonlight and Winterpromise spend more time than that.

 

I look forward to seeing more thoughts on this.

[chaik76]

I use a lot of resources from SL...but I don't use their full program. For one thing I don't really like their language arts or science (we're using their science this year anyway because ds likes it). There are basically NO hands-on projects in the curriculum, so you have to add them. They're chronological within each time period, but not overall. To start, 2 years of world history, then 2 years of American History, then Eastern Hemisphere. I'm pretty committed to a four-year chronological cycle...mostly because I think this is the easiest way to do it! I'm also not super-fond of their readers and read-alouds past Core 2. Ds likes more fact-based materials, so while we'll always supplement with SL, we'll probably never buy a full core.

 

Winterpromise is just a yummy curriculum. We have Hideaways in History right now. They cover all four volumes of SOTW (though not every chapter). It's a LOT. You could easily do this over two to four years, which is what we're doing. It breaks everything into manageable chunks that way, and you still get the benefit of SOTW. The hands-on stuff is excellent, and I couldn't be happier. BUT, we do tweak a lot. We add stuff from WTM and we delete stuff from the program. I've both designed my own stuff and used pre-designed stuff. In the end, I've found that the easiest (for me) is to decide what I would like to do (via WTM usually), and then find what fits best for that year, and put the parts I want into my schedule.

[Colleen]

Well, my dh thinks I'm absurd but I'm already thinking of next year's curriculum for first grade...But I do feel that what I do this year will be, in some part, affected by what path I'm aiming toward.

 

I can understand that. At the same time, though, don't let planning the next step overtake enjoyment of what lies before you now.

 

I first stumbled upon Sonlight when my oldest was edging toward kindergarten. I had no definite plans to homeschool him and, in fact, was turned off my most of the curriculum I'd seen. SL drew me in immediately. I wanted very much to use it, and I knew instinctively it would be a good fit for us. That was eight years ago. This fall my "baby" will be an 8th grader; he's now joined by three younger brothers using SL ~ and another waiting in the wings. Needless to say, we love Sonlight.:)

 

I should note that we don't use SL for science or language arts, as I have other preferences for those subjects. As far as history goes, though, SL is our bread and butter and the real heart of our homeschooling. We've enjoyed nearly every one of the readers and read-alouds over the years, and it's a very easy program to implement.

 

I've heard people from time to time remark that SL simply has too many books, but we don't share that sentiment. Others prefer a program that schedules hands-on activities. There are many SL users who add in those activites, and many who don't; I fall into the latter category. Lapbooks and crafts and so on are not my cuppa, and not what I want to pay for. Which isn't to say my guys haven't had fun using SL over the years, but the enjoyment isn't related to hands-on activites.

 

 

Ambleside is a wonderful, appealing resource, one which I've dipped into from time to time over the years. It isn't enough for me, though. I prefer to have a more specific schedule in hand. I'm free to tweak that schedule if need be, but for me, it provides more direction than does Ambleside.

 

I feel similarly about TWTM approach. There was a time, a few years into our homeschooling journey, when I set SL on the backburner for a half year and pursued our studies a la TWTM. A friend of mine had shared an advance copy of SOTW 1 with me and I was so taken with it, I wanted to make that our centerpiece. I read TWTM, agreed with many of the grammar stage suggestions, and delved in, only to miss SL. Without SL, I spent far more time putting our days together, and the joy factor went down for both my son and me.

 

So we contentedly returned to SL and haven't looked back. I still do glean wisdom from TWTM, and we do of course use the SOTW books. I am not a classicist, though, and to that end, I'm not attracted to or enthused by some elements of this approach. If I weren't using SL, I'd more likely turn to Ambleside than TWTM.

 

One thing to remember is that you needn't go whole hog on any one of these programs. If you appreciate aspects of all three, incorporate those aspects into your schooling.

 

Enjoy mulling over the opportunities ~ and enjoy your little guy. If you have specific questions about SL, I'm happy to answer those for you.

[Another Lynn]

I love AO. I strayed from it a bit last year because I was trying to move towards the 4 year history cycle and because I felt at a loss addressing some skill-issues in my oldest. I didn't understand CM enough to know how to teach reading by her methods (still don't) and I didn't understand what copywork was supposed to accomplish for us. Now I have other curricula to help me address skills in a way that suits us better, but last year I felt we were lacking in the great content we had enjoyed with AO... so this year I'm back to AO as a base for what we're doing. I'm definitely drawn to AO- it was dry as dust around here without it.

[Pata]

I have not used Ambleside Online, but I do blend Sonlight and TWTM. I am very much drawn to TWTM, but I love Sonlight books. That said, we don't use Sonlight science, I wrote my own program that loosely follows TWTM suggestions. We also don't use Sonlight LA's, although I do use the creative writing suggestions because my dd loves them, mostly we follow TWTM for LA. We are currently using SOTW and the AG along with Sonlight Core 1 and loving it. Hope that helps.

[at the beach]

We're just now finishing our first year of AO. (!) Yes, it took us all year plus the summer, but that was my fault, not the curriculums. LOL. Anyway, it was great. The program is challenging. For K, they have a Year 0 that you might take a look at. There is a list of formidable accomplishments for a child of 6, which I believe means a child of at least 6 to be working on during his 6th year. I have no experience with Sonlight other than that my daughter has taken a liking to the looks of Core 5 so I am thinking on that. AO is very, very good. It doesn't take forever to do the readings, there are lots of enrichments that are easy to do--composer and artist, lots of focus on nature study. There is also focus on real handicrafts, not twaddle-y craft projects. No offense to anyone who likes that sort of thing, it's just not for us. No busy work at all. Plus, it's free. And it really isn't hard to get the books together. My daughter, who finished year 1, just loved the Year 1 poetry. That was another highlight for us.

 

Anita

[snickelfritz]

Literally. My dd is also in K.

 

We're using Sonlight pre-k. For US...my dd was wanting crafts. And hands-on. I scrapped the schedule, but kept the books. I already had Winter Promise RTL, so I added in the unit studies from that. She loves reading about the farm, doing crafts about the farm, visiting a farm, singing about the farm, reading "Charlottes Web" etc.. For her, it just ties everything together.

 

One of my choices for next year is to keep Sonlight K (I already have it) and add in some crafts/cooking. I've also considered starting the WTM cycle. I think that SOTW w/ activity guide would provide the crafts/activities/supplemental reading we like to do. I may wait so that my younger can enjoy it too. My oldest is extremely sensitive and my youngest isn't. I waited on Sonlight K, because I think they can go through the cores together.

 

I wrote the above about us just to show how families can be different. Look over each choice. Look at what you and your kids really enjoy doing for a topic. Decide how much you want to tweak. I really think that each of the things you're looking at can provide an EXCELLENT education, if it is paired with the right family.

[G5052]

Like Colleen, we are book people and have loved their way of doing things. I use their cores pretty much as written, although we've done SOTW on the side, 1-2 chapters a week with one book a year. We're on Core 3 with SOTW 3 now and will go on to Core 4 in December or January. Only one of my kids likes hands-on anyway, and I'm perpetually pressed for time with outside work and home responsibilities. We don't use their language arts, and this is the first year we'll try their science (Core 5). We use a different classical model than WTM outlines (Classical Conversations), and Sonlight is very compatible with our goals there.

 

Even though I don't do planning in terms of which books we use, I've always kept a spreadsheet with the general direction all the way through high school. Now it also includes several tracks for 7th and up because I'm not sure what will be feasible for us with my schedule and our finances. As others have said, you need to know where you're aiming. That's not as critical at the beginning, but IMHO you need to start doing that at some point, no later than late grade school. I also buy a curriculum mostly used and about a year ahead (I started this summer on 2009-2010), so I need to know where we're going.

 

HTH!

[KS_]

We started out with SL - I wanted the schedule and it looked good, but it just didn't end up working for us. I didn't like the LA at all, and I really don't like Usborne books (and SL seems to use a lot of them - some are ok, but I prefer real photos of nature and such to the drawings, and especially didn't like the cartoonish ones in some of the books).

 

So we scrapped that and I searched around and found Ambleside. It's been really great for us! My kids adore the books and really thrive on the curriculum. There are weekly schedules for each year, which I think are easy to follow (I can decide what I want to read which day, and we can move faster or slower if needed).

 

One of the great things, too, about Ambleside is that it's free and most of the books can be found online for free, so it's much easier to try out to determine if it works for your family. If it doesn't, at least you haven't spent a bunch of money on it :)

[momtoboyz]

Lapbooks and crafts and so on are not my cuppa, and not what I want to pay for. Which isn't to say my guys haven't had fun using SL over the years, but the enjoyment isn't related to hands-on activites.

 

 

Colleen, how have your children enjoyed sonlight then? Sonlight appeals to me so much but I'm not really into crafts either. My boys aren't really the cut and paste type either. But they're young (7 &5) and need more than just sitting down and reading?

 

Ellee

[Peela]

I have never taught 1st grade since my kids were in school then, but I have found TWTM to be incredibly valuable for educating me, and ihave used it, but it is "too much" and maybe, from my perspective now, too academic for me. I am gravitating toward Ambleside, except that I relaly loved using SOTW for 4 years, and love the 4 year history cycle.

I am not a hands on, crafty type mum, and my kids don't like workbooks, or books with dry information- they respond well to information presented in a literary form. I am a love to cuddle on the couch and read aloud type mum. And Ambleside is good for that, while also being very academically rigorous.

But you know, you don't really have to choose or feel you have to only do one forever. Whatever I use, I tweak it. The curriculum is one thing, but the kid is another, how they respond and I also trust being drawn to different things at different times- I have no loyalty to anyone but where I feel drawn, and that changes year to year.

[Lovedtodeath]

One of my choices for next year is to keep Sonlight K (I already have it) and add in some crafts/cooking. I've also considered starting the WTM cycle. I think that SOTW w/ activity guide would provide the crafts/activities/supplemental reading we like to do. I may wait so that my younger can enjoy it too. My oldest is extremely sensitive and my youngest isn't. I waited on Sonlight K, because I think they can go through the cores together.

 

 

Around the World Art and Activities: Visiting the 7 Continents Through Craft Fun This thread has some great craft books that are a good addition to the SL K books... which I have and am using, just not the schedule. I would highly recommend you do this instead of mixing SOTW 1 and SL K. I would wait for Core 1 to start SOTW, so the history lines up. (which I was planning, but I have found SL does not work for me, I like to feel free to abandon a schedule, and SL is too expensive for me to feel okay doing that.)

[Lovedtodeath]

Lapbooks and crafts and so on are not my cuppa, and not what I want to pay for. Which isn't to say my guys haven't had fun using SL over the years, but the enjoyment isn't related to hands-on activites.

 

 

Colleen, how have your children enjoyed sonlight then? Sonlight appeals to me so much but I'm not really into crafts either. My boys aren't really the cut and paste type either. But they're young (7 &5) and need more than just sitting down and reading?

 

Ellee

 

 

It is my understanding that SOTW AG has activities that are not "crafts". I know that WP Children Around the World has many (if not most) activities that involve ACTIVITY not crafts. IYKWIM. WP Science has many activities that are not cut and paste as well. I haven't used WP history, so I don't know about that. (and for the record, I do not have SOTW yet either)

[Melissa in CA]

You didn't mention Winter Promise, but I personally would make it a serious consideration for 1st grade.

 

We used Sonlight Core 1 for 2nd grade and my son really liked it, but we added in SOTW and Activity Guide with it, dropping Child's History of the World which SL uses.

Having used a WP program once, and knowing what I know now, I would probably use Winter Promise with a 1st grader instead of SL. They use a lot of quality picture books which appeal to younger kids. I don't personally find their Hideaways in History program very appealing though.:tongue_smilie:

I would use Animals and their Worlds or The American Story 1. This would not be in line with the WTM history cycle recommendation...but ya know what? Who cares! :w00t:

I am more concerned with getting the child's interest early on and fostering that than any specific history cycle at that age.

[Melissa in CA]

Oh, and I wanted to add...

 

If the history cycle is important to you, and a rigorous curriculum as well...definitely consider Tapestry of Grace. I know that many say not to bother with it at such young ages, but I say...why not? You buy each year only one time and get to cycle through them at different levels through high school! TOG includes bible, great books, vocab, geogrpahy, activities, etc. What's not to like?? :confused:

[Mom0012]

I've used SL Pre-K, K, 1 and am getting ready to do SL 2. The kids and I have loved it and it is the best part of our time together each day.

 

The only thing that I sometimes see as a negative is that the amount of time it takes to read the books gets longer and longer with each core. Last year, Core 1 began taking us about an hour each day. I'm expecting Core 2 to take longer. As my kids are getting a little older and I am increasing my son's workload, in particular, I sometimes don't feel like I have time to read for an hour or more each day. Of course, I could always stretch things out and spend a shorter amount of time reading, but I am reluctant to do that for whatever reason.

 

We have also loved SOTW. We have all the audiobooks and have listened to them many times in the car. My son is now reading the books on his own.

 

Like many who like SL, I'm not very big on hands-on activities. I've done MFW in the past and I think the hands-on things do make great memories, but I'm doubtful about their value as an efficient learning tool for my kids. I will try to do a few activities like that this year and I'm going to be doing Atelier Art in my home with a friend and her children, so I hope that will be enjoyable for everyone.

 

Lisa

[Colleen]

Colleen, how have your children enjoyed sonlight then? Sonlight appeals to me so much but I'm not really into crafts either. My boys aren't really the cut and paste type either. But they're young (7 &5) and need more than just sitting down and reading?

 

Oh, I'm sure my guys would enjoy cutting and pasting and craft activities; it's just not common practice around here. Of course we've done some hands-on learning over the years and will continue to do so, but I'm pleased as punch not to have it incorporated into our history program. I'd rather do something here and there as the opportunity or thought arises.

 

My boys enjoy books and love learning about history. They enjoy all the time we spend reading together, and the time they read on their own. All that reading balances the time ~ and there's a lot of it ~ when they engage in other, more active pursuits e.g. soccer, biking, building Lego creations, and generally being a crew of boys living on a farm.:)

[Annie Laurie]

Another vote for SL. Reading aloud is #1 to me during the grammar level years and SL fits that perfectly. I am finding, after trying WP and MFW, that I prefer to add activities myself so I can control how many, I feel guilty when there are a ton scheduled in and I skip them. I'd also rather pay for living books that are part of our home library and are read and reread, than pay for a lot of activity books not of my choosing. My kids imaginations are sparked by SL read alouds, and they go create and act out a lot of stuff on their own.

 

I don't like SL LA, you can use the history without the other components- Science, LA, and Bible until Core 6, are sold separately.

 

I may add in some WP programs as we go along though, we shall see, sharing that to emphasise that it doesn't have to be one or the other, you can add things in from other programs as you see fit.

 

ETA: SL has the best customer service of any hs company I've bought from, and I've bought from a lot of them. Trying an SL core is a safe gamble, you get the 18 week guarantee and can return it with no hassle if it doesn't work out. They are quick to respond if you have questions or concerns and always work with you to find a solution in a timely matter. They also ship fast!

[sagira]

Colleen wrote:

 

"I can understand that. At the same time, though, don't let planning the next step overtake enjoyment of what lies before you now."

 

Thanks for those wise words. As someone who's starting K with her almost 5-year-old ds this year and already has first and second years planned, I can relate to struggling to live in the moment.

 

I live in the world of ideas, sometimes too much so. So I think our family would prefer Sonlight or Ambleside. Hands-on activities don't appeal to either ds or me. I am attracted to WinterPromise too, however. I figure I can always skip the hands-on components.

 

I looked for long hours at Sonlight, a few at Ambleside and less so at WinterPromise. In the end I'm deciding (so far) to create my own curriculum based on Tanglewood Education's excellent guides and booklists. This way I can add, tweak and make it fit our family. We're heavily CM, and I look at Ambleside now for guidelines. My education bibles are When Children Love to Learn and A Charlotte Mason Companion. This forum has been a very valuable treasure trove of information.

 

My opinion is, if you go with either Sonlight, WinterPromise or Ambleside, your dc are going to get an excellent education. It's all a matter of fitting their style to your family's and having fun as students and teachers. Browse the IGs, look at the books, read their philosophies and keep doing this a few times until something clicks. If it feels right in your heart, it most likely is. If you're truly indecisive, you can always schedule one for first grade, the other for second and the last one for third grade or go with your own plan.

 

Good luck! :grouphug:

[Medieval Mom]

Thank you for all of the helpful opinions and comments so far! :hurray:

 

Many of you have mentioned that you do not like Sonlight's LA. May I ask what you didn't like about it? This was actually one of my main concerns, because I feel that my son might need different levels for readers than for writing... From what I understand, they suggest you use the same readers and LA level.

 

Thank you all for writing! This truly helps!

 

Keep the comments coming :001_smile:

[Annie Laurie]

Thank you for all of the helpful opinions and comments so far! :hurray:

 

Many of you have mentioned that you do not like Sonlight's LA. May I ask what you didn't like about it? This was actually one of my main concerns, because I feel that my son might need different levels for readers than for writing... From what I understand, they suggest you use the same readers and LA level.

 

Thank you all for writing! This truly helps!

 

Keep the comments coming :001_smile:

 

I think their LA is just too much. I prefer an approach like Writing With Ease takes, where the child starts with simple copywork and works on narration(oral composition), then transitions to dictation and more complex narrations, then transitions to outlining and sentence diagramming, then when they are ready for abstract thinking, they start the Progym. I agree with SWB that creative writing is great if your child enjoys it, but not at all necessary.

 

With SL LA, they seem to have the philosophy that if the child just writes something everyday, they are going to gain proficiency. Instead it made me feel like we were wasting time on unnecessary skills, and like I was overwhelming my little ds. SL also does not explain things clearly or break the process down into orderly steps. My oldest did LA 6 last year and it was horrible, they assumed knowledge that wasn't there and assigned paper after paper, often he had a day or two to write a paper with no clear explanation of how to order his thoughts and go about it. It was stressful for him and for me. I found the same thing with thier Grammar Ace; what a waste of time, there were very few explanations for a parent not knowledgeable about grammar and it was just all jumbled together.

 

I do use the SL readers, just not the corresponding LA.

 

If you do decide to use the LA, most people on the SL forums recommend going with the LA that suits your child's writing abilities, regardless of what readers they're using. That means the copywork won't match the readers they are reading, but my 7 yr old is using WWE and hasn't minded that the copywork there doesn't match his SL readers.

[popmom]

We used Sonlight core 1+2 last year. We didn't finish, so I'm backtracking a little and using SOTW 2 this year. I think SL is a great curriculum. One of the pps said it was too many books, but for us it wasn't enough books. My girls finished the readers way ahead of schedule and then read the "read alouds" I hadn't got to yet! Otherwise, I would just continue with core 1+2 this year and finish history. I didn't love their LA or science either. I felt like it was a little weak on grammar, and I've heard that core 3 has even less grammar instruction. For some reason I just found it hard to teach their LA program--not sure why.

 

I agree that SL's book lists are invaluable. I loved the read alouds.

 

Expense was another consideration for me. I bought my 1+2 brand new last year--the whole shootin' match. I really can't afford to do that every year. I am finding it easier and more cost effective to pick and choose resources from twtm used. When I was looking for used core 3 material, I was having a really hard time finding the right bundle of stuff I needed at a reasonable price.

[Penelope]

I am drawn to aspects of all of them.

 

Sonlight--love the books, except for really, really dislike the Usborne books. Which they heavily rely on for history. Love the idea of the IG, except I have found that I like to tweak things too much to follow an IG that is written out for me. I have seen core 1 and I would be changing so much of it that it wouldn't really be SL anymore. I am also so-so on the historical fiction. I would rather read engaging biographies than stories about people who didn't exist, so that is a consideration. I know that my dc might disagree with me on that as they get older and do more independent reading, and if so I think SL is a great resource for free reading.

 

Ambleside-- I think the literary level is highest here for the first few years I've looked at, compared to SL, and definitely seems more rigorous to me than SL for later years. But, I don't like the idea of spending so much time on British history and prefer the chronological approach. I love all the extras like the picture study, nature study, composer study, and handicrafts. My son does need some hands on but he isn't usually interested in making models or crafts from an activity book, so I think the handicrafts and making things for people are the way to go for him. The short lessons and working on attention and habits are, I believe, essential for us. I have also learned that he retains so much more when we stretch books out and read them more slowly, then doing one read aloud per week the way we were.

 

TWTM-- love how the plan is laid out, the history cycle, the memorization. This is the kind of education I would have excelled with, so it resonates with me. What I am doing this year is a blend between TWTM and Ambleside. I think a lot of TWTM resources for the first couple of years are actually in tune with CM--the emphasis on narration and copywork, fairly short lessons, and the use of classic literature. But TWTM for me is clearer as a plan for where we are headed with these skills, and I also feel more comfortable with the LA approach of TWTM of writing more a little earlier than in a CM curriculum, and incorporating grammar earlier.

[Testimony]

Sonlight= a literature based unit study. I did their science program in first grade. It was nice. It came with all the items you needed for the experiments. The experiments did not coincide with the lessons. I did not use the literature or language arts part.

 

AmblesideOnline= a Charlotte Mason approach. She is a British teacher from England who had a school in Ambleside, England. I am using it along with the Well-Trained Mind. I love this program. It provides books that have rich vocabulary and classic literature. I like the slow and take your time and learn.

 

The Well-Trained= a classical education approach based on the Tools of Lost Learning. I use their Story of the World curriculum. I enjoy this curriculum very much. I also use Building Thinking Skills, Latina Christiana, and Mindbenders which are recommendations from the Well-Trained Mind.

 

Blessings in your homeschool journey.

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony:auto:

[Lovedtodeath]

Winterpromise LA gets great reviews, even the learn to read levels. Each WP program has many levels of corresponding readers and LA to choose from. http://winterpromise.com/language_arts.html

 

They do require some creative writing, though. I think for writing and grammar SWB is an expert, so I just stick to her recommendations if I can. If I need a packaged curriculum with all aspects of LA pulled together I will go with WP or The Phonics Road.

[chaik76]

Thank you for all of the helpful opinions and comments so far! :hurray:

 

Many of you have mentioned that you do not like Sonlight's LA. May I ask what you didn't like about it? This was actually one of my main concerns, because I feel that my son might need different levels for readers than for writing... From what I understand, they suggest you use the same readers and LA level.

 

Thank you all for writing! This truly helps!

 

Keep the comments coming :001_smile:

Their LA has been completely revamped and I don't know much about the new series, but...there are many options as far as reader levels (and then LA goes along with it) up to Core 3. One thing to keep in mind with SL, is that even if you DON'T use their LA, you do need to use their readers, especially Core 3 and up. It's an integral part of the program, and you miss a lot of it if you don't (you don't have to buy the LA IG to use the readers, their reader schedule is about $3). We actually use the readers without using their Language arts.

Also, the forum ladies all suggest that you choose LA based on writing ability, not reading ability.

[rdromick]

I'm a newbie this year. We have SL, and overall it works for us. My dd6 loves all the books though we still take many trips to the library to add more of her choice. We haven't really got into the meat of History though we love the science, find plenty of hands-on for us. The LA we're getting the hang of... it helped me to get more instruction from the verterans with this, esp the copywork. I keep thinking I may have to supplement the LA some, so far so good. My dd is content listening to me read-aloud while my youngest promptly bolts from the room. I'm sure that will change in time.

 

I am finding that even though I purchased an entire curriculum, I will be tweaking things as we continue.

 

I don't blame you for planning now. I'd love to hear about what you're using for K as I'll be doing next year.

 

rr

[mchel210]

I have got to add. I used abeka la with all 3 of my kids last year. This year we are using SL la 1, 2int and 4 (1st , 3rd and 7th grade)

 

I am loving it! We do copywork or dictation on monday, my spelling is included for my lower two, the writing is a nice intro to paragraphs without doing too much work, it is not grammar intensive, it changes every lesson so I dont repeat the same thing all week, we are learning so much more this year and it is so fast.

 

I love the intro into writing my 7 yo is doing. I didnt have any of that with abeka.

 

For my son in 6 grade last year, we struggled with all the grammar. I was really looking for a change this year and thank goodness we started SL. I am adding in Seq. spelling for my two older ones and they are doing good with that. I think all the reading is helping their writing and that is nice.

 

I like the way the lessons change daily. Last week my son learned about writing letters, and before that he did writing as the main character...an object...and giving the objects point of view. Things are changing daily. I like that. He cried with abeka as he said it was too much of the same thing every day. I found he forgot it all after the test. That was a huge letdown to me.

[Medieval Mom]

I don't blame you for planning now. I'd love to hear about what you're using for K as I'll be doing next year.

 

Here's what we're doing this year for K. Every day we do:

 

1 &2. Penmanship & Artwork (I try to relate these two. For example, last week (theme: Bible stories), we read Noah's Ark. For artwork one day, we learned to mix colors to make a rainbow. For the penmanship, he wrote, "I see a rainbow." Next week Monday, when we read about Egypt and Cats, he'll make Ed Emberley thumbprint cat drawings and write "Happy cats purr.")

3. Alpha-phonics (1 lesson per day)

4. McGuffey eclectic readers (1 lesson per day in the primer. I'm not sure about the pace yet for the 1st and 2nd readers...)

5. Horizon Math K

6. Storytime (s) (Here I include picture books, science books, socical studies, poetry, folktales, art appreciation, etc. and some fun easy readers that he reads to me in between me reading him stories. These are all based on a theme, usually a country. But since my husband's from Norway, we're a bit biased and will be spending 2 weeks on Vikings, 2 on Scandinavia, etc. I also planned some holiday weeks for Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. and included quite a few on American topics, since we may not be re-visiting this until 4th grade! )

7. Read aloud books-- longer chapter and novel books

8. Music playing while I clean house, etc.

 

So, for this coming week, the theme is Egypt. We'll read the following:

Egypt (1 week)

Folktales/Mythology:Tasha Tudor's Bedtime Book

Stories to Read Aloud: The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

Picture Books

Bill and Pete by Tomie de Paola

Clever Ali by Nancy Farmer

The Winged Cat by Deborah Nourse Lattimore

What’s the Matter, Habibi? by Betsy Lewin

The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo

Reader(s):

[b, 1.3] Come Here, Tiger by Alex Moran

[C, 1.3] Scat Cats! by Joan Holub

[D, 1.2] Cat Traps by Molly Coxe

[F, 1.3] Fat Cat on a Mat by Phil Roxbee Cox

Social Studies: Ancient Egyptians

Usborne Living Long Ago pg. 4-5, 28-29, 52-53, 76-77

Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs: A Book About Ancient Egypt by Gail Gibbons

Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki

Cat Mummies by Kelly Trumble

Ancient Egypt by George Hart

Science: Cats

Becoming Your Cat’s Best Friend by Bill Gutman

How To Talk to Your Cat by Jean Craighead George

Art Appreciation

Spot a Cat by Lucy Micklethwait

 

So, you see I like a book-based education, but with a little one due at Thanksgiving, I can really see that having the books on hand, like I would with SL, would be a lot more convenient than our current library-intensive method!!!:001_smile:;)

[Lovedtodeath]

What you are doing now sounds great. My dd will not tolerate that much reading aloud. I will say that I think that a first grade program needs picture books!

 

If you go with SL, I would go with PreK. We still cannot read some of the K readers in first grade. But you would have to go with Core 1 and stretch it out over 2 years if you want to follow the 4 year rotation.

 

Winterpromise has some great programs for 1st, but you would not be following the 4 year rotation until you get to the logic stage.

 

With Ambleside, I am thinking it would be about as much work as going to the library. Plus, most people do not start in year one, I think year 0 does not have a schedule. Still not following the 4 year rotation.

 

You could still do SOTW 1 next year, and just get the AG and start planning now, so that you can buy all of your books ahead and have them on the shelf.

 

I am using the library for my program. I made a plan, and every three weeks I go on the library's website, order the books from all over the county, they have them there at the front desk for me (or DH) to pick up, so it is not as hard as one may think. I don't have to drag the kids all over the library searching for things.

[Jami]

I've used bits of all three. I used Sonlight for many of our preschool and Kindergarten book suggestions, and I like their suggestions for beginning readers (through level 2). But I felt like there weren't enough of the really great classics of children's literature in the Sonlight curriculum overall. There are some fine modern classics, but compared with Ambleside's fairy tale and literature selections and the Great Books Academy Good Books list, I felt it was weak.

 

So I use Ambleside suggestions for our literature and for some of our history selections, though I'm following the Veritas Press 5 year cycle beginning this year with 2nd graders. I chose the 5 year cycle over the 4 year because of my jr. high and high school goals. But I like the 4 year just fine as well. :) And I think Ambleside's 6 year slower cycle is great too. I also really love Ambleside's suggestions for poetry, Shakespeare, Plutarch, artists and composers.

 

TWTM, to my mind, is more about teaching a progression of skills. The content can come from Sonlight or Ambleside (or WP, VP, etc.), it can be more classical (Latin, Greek, Great Books) or history-driven (4 year cycles, literature connected to history). And some subjects do a better job of teaching the skill progression than others. I would argue that math and Latin are the best tools. But as a non-teacher, WTM has really helped me to understand how to take apart a subject (like grammar or writing) and see how the skills build upon one another. And I appreciate the tools SWB and JW have developed to aid in this (FLL, OPG, WWE). There's still an emphasis in WTM as there is in Ambleside or the Great Books Academy that one moves from the good books to the Great Books. Though in the WTM familiarizing oneself with the plot and ideas of the Great Books through easier tellings is the primary method, where Ambleside would have a child reading increasingly challenging syntax and great stories to prepare for the themes and language needed to participate in The Great Conversation. I think both are fine paths, and I'm trying to do a bit of both. :001_smile:

 

I think the goal is to learn as a teacher what needs to be taught when and in what progression, with certain end goals in mind. And then look at the tools and resources that suit your family and teaching style best to accomplish that. Since children are more likely to love learning and become learners themselves if the teacher is enthusiastic, better to choose content that excites you somewhat. The classics do that for me. :001_smile:

 

Jami

[Jami]

Oh and I think your schedule looks great. My kids love to be read to and your list is a great one. We spent our K and 1st grade years following the AO Year 0 and 1 lists and some of the Sonlight suggestions, so we got a nice buffet of famous stories and people. And great fairy tales, myths and legends. It was just right. We also listened to SOTW 1 and 2 on CD to add to our pegs. Now we're starting a cycle to put more of these people and places in the flow of history. But the kids have had really good retention from the various books we've read!

 

Jami

[Medieval Mom]

We spent our K and 1st grade years following the AO Year 0 and 1 lists and some of the Sonlight suggestions, so we got a nice buffet of famous stories and people. And great fairy tales, myths and legends

 

I did the same for our Kindergarten year:001_smile: I love all the myths and fairy tales, and tried to incorporate the Sonlight K readers and read-alouds into our reading plan for the year. My son can listen to books until my voice is hoarse! If I decide to plan our own curriculum next year, I'll probably do the same, using WTM as a base and adding books suggested by Ambleside and Sonlight.

 

But, I must say, all these wonderful reviews of Sonlight are certainly catching my attention. I've spent HOURS AND DAYS AND WEEKS planning our K curriculum, as I'm sure you all do! Next year with a baby might be easier if I followed Sonlight's general schedule. (Of course, I'll probably always tweak a little... ;))