Sonlight IG pros and cons

[sdobis]

I'm really interested in using level F of Sonlight for history, bible, and literature. My daughter has a love of China and would like to one day become a missionary there. This seems like a perfect fit.

 

My questions are:

 

1. Do you use the instructor guide? (any level)

 

2. If you use the guide, what do you like or not like about it?

 

I'm wondering if the book list is enough or if the IG offers something valuable that I won't want to miss.

[sdobis]

Thank you. Your reply was very helpful. I have been putting together our book lists for years, so I'm really comfortable doing so. In fact, I really enjoy that aspect.

[athomeontheprairie]

I completely agree with EVERYTHING said above.

[MerryAtHope]

I've used Sonlight for Cores PK, G&H. I use the IG for the reading assignments and that is about it. My daughter usually ends up reading ahead so I can't really stick to their weekly schedule, but it at least allows me to synchronize the history chapters, readings and Kingfisher. She does the read aloud as independent readers unless I can find them on audible.

 

My biggest complaint about the IGs is the hit or miss summaries for the readers. As a parent, this would be nice without having to read the entire book myself. I find it hard to have a good discussion with their scripted questions- without having a summary you're locked in to their exact answer at times, so we don't use them. I have her summarize the stories for me sometimes and tie them into the history reading instead of the questions.

 

I also wasn't a fan of their writing/LA program, it just wasn't a fit for us so now we outsource that.

 

ETA- I needed IGs and schedules when I first started. It would have been overwhelming and for that I am grateful for Sonlight. But now that I've hit a comfort zone I don't find them necessary. I use different bits of several programs and piece everything together for myself in OneNote. So for me it was all a matter of confidence. If you are confident without the IG, I can't see anything earth shattering about it.

 

 

This was us too (right down to needing an IG to begin with and eventually piecing things together myself! I liked their one-page guide that showed what week to start each book better than the daily guide, and then realized--I can make up a one-page guide! I've been eclectic ever since!)

 

I think the IG's had the potential to be a powerful tool, but I agree they were hit or miss. The questions always frustrated me--they were mainly comprehension questions--sometimes about inane things like the name of a minor river mentioned once in a chapter but not brought up again--who cares? Let's talk about the characters, choices they made, what's exciting or interesting, did my kids agree with the choices or would they have done something different, what was unexpected, does the title have a special meaning, what's the conflict in the story, what's meaningful, what's beautiful or amazing about the writing style, etc...

 

I felt there were so many great things they COULD have helped us talk about (and sometimes there were things I wanted tips or help with talking about)...in that regard, they were a "miss" for me.

Edited January 30, 2016 by MerryAtHope

[kolamum]

We've used Core F before & have used many SL IG's.

 

Things I like:

 

The schedule, I use to be cool making my own up, but I reached a point where life is crazy & having that premade schedule means everyone keeps moving & there's no hours spent planning it all out each week. 

 

I like that there's an included book list

 

I like that vocabulary is included.

 

I like that there are basic retention questions because I have a child who needs them when he reads on his own.

 

I like that it's easy to colour code my IG so I can see each thing at a quick glance.

 

 

Things I don't like:

 

I don't like the way LA is in the new IGs. It means thicker IGs, higher prices, & excess pages per week. I might feel differently if we used SL LA, but we don't. It's nothing personal against SL that we choose not to use it. My children both have VPD/SSS & it effects what LA curriculum we do use.

 

The size of the NEW IGs. They are just big & cumbersome. I can bind up the old ones, but I just can't do that with the new ones very well.

 

 

 

Over all we enjoyed SL, but admittedly we moved to BkSk last year & I'm glad we did. I like the slower pace with a solid 4 day schedule. SL no longer has a solid 4 day schedule. Some things will still be scheduled on Day 5 {Bible & Reader}.. If you do choose to use the 5 day schedule the book for reading Aloud on Day 5 is ONLY read on that day.. 

 

Core F is pretty full on, & there are 6 full weeks spent on China alone with a lot crammed into the first 3 weeks. I'm referring to the newer IG, because that's what we used {2013} & in the end I totally revamped what we were doing & did a combination of SL & WP. WP became our spine & I added in the SL literature {scaled down slightly} to match up to the countries we studied. We covered more countries this way too.

 

SL's focus for this Core is only on the 10/40 window except they choose to include Australia.. With WP we covered so much more & were able to spend longer on some countries {if desired} then others. There is enough material to cover China, for instance, for an 4 weeks if you move at the pace in the guide.. It was also more hands on. SL does have some options for that, but most of what was up for offer in Core F was hands on in regards to research & writing. Again, something my VPD/SSS child couldn't cope with; It literally took him HOURS, someone who can skim could easily conquer it much quicker.

 

Having said all that, we did love the book selection {lit} that SL chose for all countries but Australia. Considering we live here we found their book choice poor & a rather limited view of the country. :lol: But then one would be partial wouldn't they? I'd check out the 3 week sample in depth.. print it out, really get a feel for the IG & the layout & see what you think. The first 3 weeks are really full so if you look that over & feel you can keep up with it then you'll be fine! :D

[Mom28kds]

We've used Core F before & have used many SL IG's.

 

Things I like:

 

The schedule, I use to be cool making my own up, but I reached a point where life is crazy & having that premade schedule means everyone keeps moving & there's no hours spent planning it all out each week. 

 

I like that there's an included book list

 

I like that vocabulary is included.

 

I like that there are basic retention questions because I have a child who needs them when he reads on his own.

 

I like that it's easy to colour code my IG so I can see each thing at a quick glance.

 

 

Things I don't like:

 

I don't like the way LA is in the new IGs. It means thicker IGs, higher prices, & excess pages per week. I might feel differently if we used SL LA, but we don't. It's nothing personal against SL that we choose not to use it. My children both have VPD/SSS & it effects what LA curriculum we do use.

 

The size of the NEW IGs. They are just big & cumbersome. I can bind up the old ones, but I just can't do that with the new ones very well.

 

 

 

Over all we enjoyed SL, but admittedly we moved to BkSk last year & I'm glad we did. I like the slower pace with a solid 4 day schedule. SL no longer has a solid 4 day schedule. Some things will still be scheduled on Day 5 {Bible & Reader}.. If you do choose to use the 5 day schedule the book for reading Aloud on Day 5 is ONLY read on that day.. 

 

Core F is pretty full on, & there are 6 full weeks spent on China alone with a lot crammed into the first 3 weeks. I'm referring to the newer IG, because that's what we used {2013} & in the end I totally revamped what we were doing & did a combination of SL & WP. WP became our spine & I added in the SL literature {scaled down slightly} to match up to the countries we studied. We covered more countries this way too.

 

SL's focus for this Core is only on the 10/40 window except they choose to include Australia.. With WP we covered so much more & were able to spend longer on some countries {if desired} then others. There is enough material to cover China, for instance, for an 4 weeks if you move at the pace in the guide.. It was also more hands on. SL does have some options for that, but most of what was up for offer in Core F was hands on in regards to research & writing. Again, something my VPD/SSS child couldn't cope with; It literally took him HOURS, someone who can skim could easily conquer it much quicker.

 

Having said all that, we did love the book selection {lit} that SL chose for all countries but Australia. Considering we live here we found their book choice poor & a rather limited view of the country. :lol: But then one would be partial wouldn't they? I'd check out the 3 week sample in depth.. print it out, really get a feel for the IG & the layout & see what you think. The first 3 weeks are really full so if you look that over & feel you can keep up with it then you'll be fine! :D

What is BKSK?

[Jane Elliot]

What is BKSK?

 

I think it might be Bookshark, a company somehow related to Sonlight.

[kolamum]

Yes, it is BookShark. I just use the acronym BkSk because if I only use the 2 capitalised letters it just seems so.. wrong. ;)