SL/BKSK instructor guide: How important is it?

[EliseMcKenna]

I've looked at all the samples, and I still can't decide. If I put together my own reading list, can I manage the schedule, discussions, vocabulary, etc. on my own? I am not buying the LA -- I'm only interested in the BKSK Reading with History package. (Readers, read-alouds, and history books with the instructor's guide mapping it all out.)

[MeAndTheBoys]

I can't imagine using the SL books without the instructor guide.

[texasmama]

I used the IG for the schedule.  I did not use the discussion questions,etc.  If you don't want to fork over the bucks for a new one, you can look for an older one on ebay.  I usually pay about $30 for a used, older edition IG from SL on ebay.  $30 was worth the schedule for a year, IMO.  

[EliseMcKenna]

Texasmama, it's not the money as much as it is my sanity. I worry about feeling adrift without the IG, and I worry about feeling boxed-in with the IG. 

 

I like keeping things challenging. ;)

[texasmama]

I always felt free to change up books in the schedule that I didn't care for or to adjust the schedule if I wanted.  In fact, this past year, I had a complete SL Core 100 and deconstructed it and remade it using a few of the books and the History of US spine, adding other resources and books.  Otherwise, it was unrecognizable.  I did use the History of the US schedule (mostly - I crunched it from 5 days to 4 days a week) from SL and made up the rest myself.

 

I think you might like doing something like that.  Feel free to "make it your own", so to speak.  

 

Have no fear.  You are the boss here.  :)

[EliseMcKenna]

Thanks for the encouragement! Yes, I definitely see myself reconstructing some bits. I'm currently intrigued by the idea of block scheduling for 12 weeks at a go. So I'd need to completely rearrange the history reading/projects to fit into a 12-week window. I *think* that would work, especially because the choppiness of the history assigned in the IG doesn't particularly appeal to me as written.

[Kathryn]

I used the IG for my first child. Second time through, I used just the schedule the first year and for next year I won't be using it at all. I completely rearranged everything because I really don't like the way they schedule things.

[Rebecca in KY]

I can't imagine trying to schedule it all myself. I use the IG schedule mostly as written. I did end up reading through the 5-day books all at once, instead of doing one chapter per week; I also condense poetry to once per week. I don't use any of the notes, vocab, or questions; they just don't seem helpful to me. But the schedule?? A lifesaver!!!

[MerryAtHope]

I didn't vote because the 3 choices didn't match our situation :-). I've used Sonlight from Prek (before there was an IG for it!) through 100 and selections of 200-530. I used the IG for the first few years, gradually used it less, and then went free-wheeling :-).

 

In the beginning, I found it helpful to see how they scheduled things. Sometimes I followed it exactly, and sometimes I rearranged things. (Sometimes Sonlight likes to do a book that is divided into sections in strange ways--like start with a middle section, then do a beginning section etc...) Although I felt 85-90% of their scheduling made sense, when they did something weird, I just read the book how I wanted to. 

 

I felt completely free to take things at our pace. If we were enjoying a book, we didn't stop because the IG only scheduled so many pages. If it felt like too much, we stopped early. I did some cores over 2 years. Other years we dropped a few books to make it work for us.

 

One year I discovered that they had a 1-page guide that showed all of the books in order of introduction by week. LOVE that. It changed how I homeschooled. I started following that instead of the daily guide, and if we got off track, I could just cross off a book I didn't really want to do, or could add in a book if we were ahead. Eventually (by core F) I quit using the IG altogether and just made up my own 1-page guide using mainly SL books but sometimes books from another company that we wanted to do. 

 

I never found their vocabulary to be helpful. Too much, too clunky etc... Instead, we just discuss words as I read--they'd stop me if they didn't know a word, or I would stop and ask if they knew it. Or, I'd restate it on the fly as I read (the way many kids' books do anyway) to make the definition clear. Reading aloud and using your own rich vocabulary in conversation are the best ways to build vocab. I never really found their questions helpful either. Picky, minute details or mainly comprehension questions instead of the kinds of questions I wanted to dig into (like, why does the book The Wolves of Willoughby Chase mention wolves in the title, when the wolves are a relatively minor part of the story? My kids got it when I asked the question, and that led into discussions of a few other nature motifs, which are rich in that book. I don't want to endlessly pick books apart, but when there's something so rich and obvious that an author has skillfully done--I think it's a travesty to not at least mention it!)

 

Anyway...some people love the IG and find it very helpful, so you may want to try it, at least for the first year. Just keep telling yourself what it is: a GUIDE. It's not in control of your homeschool, you are, and you are FREE to make little tweaks or big changes, because you are teaching children, not curriculum. 

 

I'm glad I started with it--it made my trek into lit-based homeschooling fairly smooth and easy, and now I find it fairly easy to just use their books and schedule things myself. Go with your comfort level--if you get it & don't use it much, it resells pretty well :-).

[BatmansWife]

I can't imagine using the SL books without the instructor guide.

 

:iagree: For one thing...the IG schedules what to read each day and how much (although, I kinda changed that up anyway).  But, without it...you'd have to figure all that out on your own.  Why reinvent the wheel?  

 

Texasmama, it's not the money as much as it is my sanity. I worry about feeling adrift without the IG, and I worry about feeling boxed-in with the IG. 

 

I like keeping things challenging. ;)

 

So, definitely get it.  You can use it strictly by the book or use it loosely, which is what I do.  There's stuff I don't use...but I'd be lost without it.