What did you change from Sonlight to?

[jens2sons]

I think I have made the big mistake of purchasing two cores from Sonlight and now I'm trying to figure out what to switch to.  I can't stand the Usborne books and ds dislikes their Bible program immensely.  I think I may just switch to SOW, but I'm not sure.  I also have CHOW.  I purchased Apologia's Young Explorer Astronomy since Sonlight's science jumps all over the place.  If you are a parent that has come from the world of Sonlight and felt the need to change, what did you change to?  What Bible  program have you found? Please share as I need some direction.

[hsmom10]

We went to Apologia for science, a much better fit.  We also went to Veritas Press self paced history which has been a HUGE hit.  Bible has been harder for us- I know Veritas Press has a new Bible curriculum (self paced as well) that I am going to look into.  I stuck with Sonlight for longer than I should have.  

[Flowergirl159]

What Cores did you purchase? It sounds like A or B?

 

I used the preschool cores and A and B loosely ( I didn't follow the IG) a couple of years ago. I purchased Apologias Zoology. And did my own thing pretty much. Just a couple of months ago we have gone back to Sonlight using Cores D, B and P4/5.

 

If you aren't happy, you can use a different science. If you don't like the Bible, there are other options. It would probably help to know which cores.

 

Also have you asked on the Sonlight forums? They are very friendly and helpful :)

[jens2sons]

What Cores did you purchase? It sounds like A or B?

 

I used the preschool cores and A and B loosely ( I didn't follow the IG) a couple of years ago. I purchased Apologias Zoology. And did my own thing pretty much. Just a couple of months ago we have gone back to Sonlight using Cores D, B and P4/5.

 

If you aren't happy, you can use a different science. If you don't like the Bible, there are other options. It would probably help to know which cores.

 

Also have you asked on the Sonlight forums? They are very friendly and helpful :)

 

I have Cores A and B+C.  I have used P3/4 and P4/5 loosely so I thought I'd dive in and move forward with the other cores.  I have been on the SL forums but all they have been telling me is to stick with it.  No thank you.  I can't do it anymore.   

[Flowergirl159]

Have you looked at HOD or Ambleside? There are quite a few other literature based programs :)

[mumto2]

At that age I was always using a SL core to match ds in age with VP workbook and history cards for dd. I bought a few of VP's books which just added to the SL core. Followed the SL reading order loosely just to fit it all in. I went on to do my own when SL American History started.....live in the UK. The must have is a good spine book. We loved SotW which can be used to fit what you have already bought in to read aloud wise.

 

Bible, switched to MP. We liked it and the Golden Children's Bible.

[Bay Lake Mom]

I just returned my Sonlight Core A set.  I purchased the Truthquest American History for Young Students.  We are starting Monday, but I like the look of it.  It uses living books and optional spines.  You can view samples and spine information on their website at : http://www.truthquesthistory.com/store/products.php?categoryParentName=Books&categoryName=American+History+for+Young+Students+I&itemId=35

 

For Bible, we just found Grapevine Bible Studies!  I LOVE this!!!!  I have been searching for a Bible curriculum for 2 years now that I like, and I have finally found it!  We are working on the Old Testament overview.  I highly recommend this resource!  Check out the samples.

 

We are doing Science in the Beginning by Jay Wile.  This is the first Science program that I am actually doing -- without that feeling of "ugh, we have to do Science today"....  ;-)  I know you're using Apologia Astronomy.  I heavily considered that too, but my dd wouldn't do well studying only one topic for a full semester or year.

[Teneo]

Yeah, I'd been excited about Sonlight (known about it since I was homeschooled but Mom didn't use it). Had used 4/5 and was going to use A. Changed to creating my own! For Bible I'm trying to teach my son to treat it as devotions rather than a required subject. Right now we're using Christian Liberty Press' new Bible Treasures series. It has the text of Catherine Vos' Child's Story Bible, with discussion questions, activities, and memory work. Really very lovely. After we're done with that I plan on having him go through Veritas Press' Bible as I love the idea that he'd know exactly where to find different things in the Bible (like Othniel and Ehud in Judges 3).

 

For reading this year I'm crafting my own curriculum based on award-winners. Myths and fairy tales too. After this year I'll probably move on to Memoria although if I have a lot of success who knows, I may continue crafting my own for my son. I have different goals, like allowing my son to form his own opinion and encouraging him to express it rather than trying to drive him to see the curriculum's per-determined conclusion.

 

For history my plan is this: right now we're doing VP's new Bede per my son's request. Each lesson is short and sweet. After we make it through both volumes of Bede I plan to use VP history combined with TruthQuest (I plan on doing the CM 2-track history just as my mom did, though she used Core Knowledge books with the library & a history encyclopedia).

 

Science is BFSU with Science is Simple/Magic School Bus. When we start VP I plan on using Science in the Beginning series instead of Magic School Bus.

[boscopup]

I used Sonlight D and P4/5 a couple years ago, but then when we did Core E, I was sick of historical fiction and I had a bad taste in my mouth that LA was included in the IG (I did not like their LA). I switched to TOG amd returned Core E. Was much happier with TOG. This year, I wanted to simplify history, so we're using Mystery of History. We've already used the SOTW series and loved that also.

 

For science, I am using Science in the Beginning this year. I like it better than the Apologia elementary books.

 

I never used Sonlight's bible, since I don't have the same doctrinal views. I tend to just read the Bible to my kids, and we discuss what comes up. This week we started round robin reading 2 chapters a day, starting in Matthew. Each kid reads about half a chapter, and then I read the rest. We discuss what jumps out at me or them. I try to apply things to their own lives where applicable - how can we use this in our daily lives and in our interactions with our brothers or the general public?

 

For younger kids, I like reading through Egermeier's Bible Story Book. I'm just going straight to the ESV now because my kids have heard all the Bible stories for years and are ready for more meat. Things like qualifications of elders won't be found in a Bible story book (because it's not really a story), but we can read them in 1 Timothy, for example.

 

If you want a curriculum for Bible, I really liked Bible Study Guide for All Ages. I just used the student pages. I have the TM for unit 1, but found it unnecessary for us. The different levels work on the same passage at the same time.

[Mona]

I used SonLight (what is now called core b ) my first year of homeschooling. I made it to week 13. I didn't like the Bible portion and I had lots of other reasons to abandon it, but I switched the following year to My Father's World. I combined my two children and have loved the Bible study and the way all the curriculum content ties in together. They also use some Usborne books, but I haven't had any problems with the choices. MFW has worked with many publishers to have the books they use in their curriculum reprinted in a way that glorifies God. We've enjoyed the last six years using MFW and I highly recommend them to all my HS friends. 

[Marsha]

We switched to Wayfarers by Kathy Devore.

[laughing lioness]

Classical Ed - CC for memory spine, just because it's already done.

Lit based programs are great overview programs. As far as details and the kids knowing what they know- not so much. They have a vague, general idea of things, but not much specific. The hard core memory work gives them a better base in my opinion and then adding lit on top rounds it all out vs. lit as a base. 

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

We use SOTW and plan to switch to TOG at some point.  Science is still in trial and error here.  For Bible, I love Summit Ministries Bible (partnered with Apologia in elementary.)  We are starting God's Great Covenant this year (but it is from a reformed perspective).  So far, we really like the depth of it.  I wouldn't use either of those too young though.

[MeAndTheBoys]

I switched to MFW.  We had done SL P 3/4, 4/5 and A with my 2 older boys, then I needed a year off because the younger wasn't really getting much--so we did My Father's World (Adventures) for K and 1st grade.  Had a great year.  It is very different from SL--you get the barebones books, but a list of suggested supplements for each week, and there were simple notebooking pages included and hands-on activities.  I left MFW revitalized to return to SL--I was going to add in some of those fun (and meaningful to my kids) extras.

 

So we plugged along into Cores B and C, which were fine except that there was SOOO much reading, it was a race to get it done rather than enjoying it.  And the notebooking/hands-on I planned to add--never could get done.  Then Core D for 3rd/4th grade just about killed all of our joy--reading history and readalouds was taking 1 1/2-2 hours per day, and some of those books (and the readers) were just dull.  So that ended it--

 

We returned to MFW last year; we did half of Exploring Countries and Cultures last fall, then started Creations to the Greeks in November and just finished it last week.  We started Rome to Reformation this week, and so my oldest will be able to complete the 5-year cycle before high school.  I really like the look of MFW high school--

 

I have things I don't love about MFW--some of the read-alouds have been odd--we dropped "Kingdom Tales", a really bizarre allegory in Exploring Countries and Cultures--we gave it a VERY solid try.  And in Creation to the Greeks, there was no historical fiction scheduled in--just a bunch of sweet stories by Patricia St. John--I think MFW is very concerned with introducing "false gods" at an early age, almost too concerned--my kids are fine, so we read a couple of historical fiction books and other good books.  Some of the activities seem geared to really young kids--lots of costumes and elaborate crafts.  I've learned to pick and choose--although I do fight my urge to do NONE of the crafts, ha ha.  My boys do enjoy a certain amount, and some things are just valuable--but there is a little "much" in the TG sometimes.  And I really miss having readers scheduled like they were in SL--we floundered last year, so this year, I sat down about a month ago and mapped out the books I want my 5th and 6th grader to read this year, and made a spreadsheet showing which chapters to read each week.  I'm expecting that to go better this year--

 

I've learned to make it work for us.  I would say, I like things about Sonlight and things about My Father's World--but after trying both 'as is', and trying both 'tweaked', I like "MFW Tweaked" better than any other option.  And my boys are enjoying it a lot too--

 

We don't really get many of the "book basket" books, as lovely as they are; with all of the subjects we are covering daily, I haven't found a lot of time to add them in.  But I"m going to try to get at least a book each week, or pull an old Sonlight book off the shelf that relates to our topic.

 

B--

[Kidlit]

I'm still desperately trying to make Sonlight work here.  Ugh.  

[Tsutsie]

If there is a Sonlight D up for sale - let me know!

 

:rolleyes:

[ByGrace3]

I love love love SL readers and read alouds, not the history so much. :lol: I did Biblioplan for a year and we enjoyed that-- we included many of the SL books.

 

This year we are using the Veritas Press cards as a spine and using the SL readers and read alouds. It has been a perfect fit.

[SevenDaisies]

I love love love SL readers and read alouds, not the history so much. :lol: I did Biblioplan for a year and we enjoyed that-- we included many of the SL books.

 

This year we are using the Veritas Press cards as a spine and using the SL readers and read alouds. It has been a perfect fit.

 

Me too. I love the readers and read-alouds, but I couldn't stand the history with all the Usborne books. We switched to MP and we love it.

[Kidlit]

What I'm *tentatively* planning to do now is the Veritas Press timeline/memory song for the first half of American history + the Joy Hakim books (and the Sonlight recommended Landmark book)+ the Sonlight fiction selections. I also hope to start writing across the curriculum.

[jens2sons]

I just got back from exchanging my books at the bookstore.  This is what we are going to try....

 

         Bible - The Picture Bible w/correlating scripture 

      History - Story of the World 1 w/activity guide

                     Kingfisher History Encyclopedia 

                     History readers

Geography - Geography songs (besides the Geography in SOW)

     Science - Young Explorers Astronomy w/ jr. notebook

Handwriting - New American Cursive

           Math - Rod & Staff Arithmetic

                      Math wrap-ups w/CD (instead of flashcards)

                      MathTacular education kit

            L.A. - Pathway Readers set w/workbooks (we love these!)

                      Climbing to Good English

              Lit. - Reading Roadmaps literature list

               Art - Artistic Pursuits

 

 

I already feel better handing the SL books over to them!   :party:

 

 

[amyc78]

Classical Ed - CC for memory spine, just because it's already done.

Lit based programs are great overview programs. As far as details and the kids knowing what they know- not so much. They have a vague, general idea of things, but not much specific. The hard core memory work gives them a better base in my opinion and then adding lit on top rounds it all out vs. lit as a base.

I totally agree! Our first year we did SL exclusively and while it was a good year and we enjoyed it, retention was zero. The next year we did CC and added literature and other interest-led activities based on what we were memorizing and the connections they made between CC and what we were reading was awesome. This year I am doing a combo of self-made US history and geography readings alongside CC Cycle 3

[rjand6more]

I just got back from exchanging my books at the bookstore.  This is what we are going to try....

 

         Bible - The Picture Bible w/correlating scripture 

      History - Story of the World 1 w/activity guide

                     Kingfisher History Encyclopedia 

                     History readers

Geography - Geography songs (besides the Geography in SOW)

     Science - Young Explorers Astronomy w/ jr. notebook

Handwriting - New American Cursive

           Math - Rod & Staff Arithmetic

                      Math wrap-ups w/CD (instead of flashcards)

                      MathTacular education kit

            L.A. - Pathway Readers set w/workbooks (we love these!)

                      Climbing to Good English

              Lit. - Reading Roadmaps literature list

               Art - Artistic Pursuits

 

 

I already feel better handing the SL books over to them!   :party:

If you purchased the cores from SL, you could have returned them....

 

We have done so many combos for SL/MFW over the years.  Some years I use SL bible, others I do not.  I switch what doesn't work.

[jens2sons]

If you purchased the cores from SL, you could have returned them....

 

We have done so many combos for SL/MFW over the years.  Some years I use SL bible, others I do not.  I switch what doesn't work.

 

I know, but I had purchased the IG's and pieced together the cores  I really want to like SL but it just does not work for us.  I'm done and moving forward .

[MerryAtHope]

I guess I still consider Sonlight my "core" as far as literature but am much more eclectic. I mainly use their read-alouds and readers (literature in upper cores), only occasional history books, and some of the biographies in the upper cores. I don't follow their schedule, but years that I've used most of their lit, I either used their one-page listing of books in order with the week# or made up my own.

 

We didn't use all their elementary science (have used Apologia, NOEO, the Tiner books, Supercharged Science...)

 

We've totally gotten away from their LA, except that they do offer All About Spelling now (didn't when we started it). We used Essentials in Writing for several years--the writing instruction worked well here. We've also used Easy Grammar which was pretty good. This year my kids are doing LLATL Gold British Lit.

 

We have swapped out history spines (I liked Landmark for Cores D & E, but used Mystery of History 1 & 2 for cores B & C. We did other history books in B and C but not the Usborne book--my kids didn't like that either. However, the Usborne book in Core E on the World Wars is really excellent and a totally different feel. Instead of little picture, little blurb, it's beautiful 2-page spreads--large pic with info all about a topic.)

 

When we got back to World history, we decided to do a 4 year tour instead of a 2 year tour. We swapped out nearly the entire history segment I used very few history books from cores G & H. We used MOH plus the Famous Men books. In core G, we added the Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World, which again is like the world wars book with  the 2-page spreads--really a nicely done book.

 

Core 100 I've done 2 ways--my son did most of it (dropping some books--SL does pack in a lot of books, and I prefer to be more contemplative at times, so we did some as read-alouds, others my son read, and a few history and lit books got dropped). My dd did most of the lit, but we used Notgrass for the history. Didn't love that as an option really--it was "ok." But I knew my dd would never want to do Hakim AND all the history notes that SL includes.

 

Core 200 we mixed in with our World History studies, and this year we'll finish out WH with MOH 4, some selections from  300 lit, and a unit of British Lit with some books from 530 and LLATL as I mentioned.

 

My oldest did a semester of Government with some of the Core 400 lit--we used Notgrass government, which I like better than their US history. I'll use Notgrass again when dd needs to do government. 

 

All that to say...if you like their lit, you may find eclectic works for you. I've found it's easy to make the readers/read-alouds mesh with  other histories. Nothing is perfectly "matched" in a literature-based program, so it's okay if it's not perfect when you use something else. And it's pretty easy to decide the approximate order of books and to decide how much to read.

[MerryAtHope]

Oh, for Bible...

 

We've used very few of their Bible resources. My kids liked Egermeiers, and we read that through 2 or 3 years in a row. Most years we've just read from the Bible, discussed, then prayed and sometimes sang. Last year we did a workbook that went through the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which was good--digging deeper there. And this year we're reading What if Jesus had Never Been Born (SL has this), and A Reason for God (Keller). 

 

I chose the books to go through, usually a mix of prophecy, history, wisdom lit, Gospels, and letters (not necessarily all in one year, but I strove for a variety). When we studied Ancient history, I would do some OT history to tie in, and when we studied the Roman Empire, I made sure to hit a Gospel and most of the NT etc... 

 

 

[Mommy22alyns]

I went to My Father's World.  I do use some SL books for book basket though.

[mumto2]

I just got back from exchanging my books at the bookstore. This is what we are going to try....

 

Bible - The Picture Bible w/correlating scripture

History - Story of the World 1 w/activity guide

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia

History readers

Geography - Geography songs (besides the Geography in SOW)

Science - Young Explorers Astronomy w/ jr. notebook

Handwriting - New American Cursive

Math - Rod & Staff Arithmetic

Math wrap-ups w/CD (instead of flashcards)

MathTacular education kit

L.A. - Pathway Readers set w/workbooks (we love these!)

Climbing to Good English

Lit. - Reading Roadmaps literature list

Art - Artistic Pursuits

 

 

I already feel better handing the SL books over to them! :party:

We used and loved Pathway readers also. Geography songs was also a huge hit! My kids still know them years later. :lol: I hope all goes well. Many of the SL read aloud literature really are great so if one becomes available from the library do try it.

[Renai]

We went to My Father's World, even though I didn't use all their suggested resources. Many of the books suggested for book basket are in SL cores, so I didn't feel like I missed anything. Plus, since we homeschool bilingually, I wanted the flexibility of having Spanish selections instead of all English. I did like SL readers- I have 1 through 2 advanced schedules. There are pparts of SL I like, but find it easier to mesh it to what I'm doing.

[jens2sons]

I always think parents of young kids are missing out when they discard SL or similar programs for the early years. There are many other good programs out there which are similar in method to SL and use different materials.

 

We loved the time spent learning this way.

 

I think it all depends on the individual.  SOW seems to be working great now and we are adding in read-alouds and readers to the program.  I think SL is great for some types of people, but if the child hates it, then we've got a problem.   

[wallingjan]

We switched to Winter Promise, but I really disliked that.  We finally settled on Bravewriter, Oak Meadow for history and Noeo for science.  I used Sonlight up through grade 4.

[Juliegmom]

And I really miss having readers scheduled like they were in SL--we floundered last year, so this year, I sat down about a month ago and mapped out the books I want my 5th and 6th grader to read this year, and made a spreadsheet showing which chapters to read each week.  I'm expecting that to go better this year--

 

May I ask what books you are weaving into your schedule?  Do they tie into what you are covering in history?  I'm looking at CtG and wish that it had more read alouds for the parent and more literature overall.  This is one reason why I've been considering a switch to Heart of Dakota.  We are currently using MFW ECC. We tried an upper level of Sonlight with my oldest and there is no way we are going back...so it will either be MFW or HOD for us.

[MeAndTheBoys]

May I ask what books you are weaving into your schedule?  Do they tie into what you are covering in history?  I'm looking at CtG and wish that it had more read alouds for the parent and more literature overall.  This is one reason why I've been considering a switch to Heart of Dakota.  We are currently using MFW ECC. We tried an upper level of Sonlight with my oldest and there is no way we are going back...so it will either be MFW or HOD for us.

 

I decided NOT to go with historical fiction; we got really burned out on that in SL core D.  The MFW guide has a "classics" list by grade in the back, so I used that as a jumping-off point.  There were plenty of historical fiction books listed in the "book basket" list in the back of the guide, and I have some websites if I want to do historical fiction next year--but this year, I want to get caught up on "good books" and back in a good habit.

 

T's List-5th grade:

 

Incredible Journey, The

Alice in Wonderland

Old Yeller

James Herriot Treasury for Children

Where the Red Fern Grows

Wind in the Willows

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

My Side of the Mountain

 

N's List--6th grade:

 

Title

Hatchet

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

Where the Red Fern Grows

Heidi

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Pinocchio

Little Men

Robinson Crusoe

Oliver Twist

 

[MeAndTheBoys]

double post :)

 

[8circles]

We switched to Oak Meadow for our spine and have loved it.

[Juliegmom]

I decided NOT to go with historical fiction; we got really burned out on that in SL core D. The MFW guide has a "classics" list by grade in the back, so I used that. There were plenty of historical fiction books listed in the "book basket" list in the back of the guide, and I have some websites if I want to do historical fiction next year--but this year, I want to get caught up on "good books" and back in a good habit.

 

T's List-5th grade:

 

Incredible Journey, The

Alice in Wonderland

Old Yeller

James Herriot Treasury for Children

Where the Red Fern Grows

Wind in the Willows

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

My Side of the Mountain

 

N's List--6th grade:

 

Title

Hatchet

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

Where the Red Fern Grows

Heidi

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Pinocchio

Little Men

Robinson Crusoe

Oliver Twist

 

Thank you! This is helpful. :-)

[jens2sons]

May I ask what books you are weaving into your schedule?  Do they tie into what you are covering in history?  I'm looking at CtG and wish that it had more read alouds for the parent and more literature overall.  This is one reason why I've been considering a switch to Heart of Dakota.  We are currently using MFW ECC. We tried an upper level of Sonlight with my oldest and there is no way we are going back...so it will either be MFW or HOD for us.

 

 

I am using the reading list suggested in the SOW activity guide (which follows the chronology in the text) and as soon as it comes in, I am going to use Reading Roadmaps.  I just cant get myself to use MFW.  There just isnt much flexibility in their program and it seems to me to be too churchy.  That's why I originally liked the idea of SL, because it teaches kids to be "in the world, but not of the world" by using everyday books and then the IG explaining the differences.  HoD just overwhelms me.  I really like how SOW or MOH is used as a main spine but you can add in what other books you want without having to purchase an entire boxed curriculum.  It really leaves things open to individuality.

 

Now, I'm just not sure if I am using the right LA progam for us.  There are sooo many workbooks to try to figure out when and what to use.  It seems to be working, but I wish I could find something that has less workbooks and covers all that a 1st/2nd grader needs for LA.  I've looked at FLL and it seems good, but I am not understanding how SWB's books work together.  Maybe I'm just missing something obvious.