Guest frog07 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I am new to this homeschooling thing and driving my husband nuts. I have 3 children 1 school age currently. My test subject as you can see. Anyway we are using abeka and love it, but been looking at sonlight due to the literature and reusable curriculum. Looking also if I go that way at Singapore math, but am not familiar which is better. Abeka has really helped us with reading handbook for reading has been great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I just switched to Abeka Math. It is a very good program. If your kids need a change, then they might do well with Singapore. You could always keep your Abeka subjects that work well (LA and math) and switch to Sonlight for history and literature. You don't have to switch everything, and if Abeka is working, I wouldn't switch everything. We really enjoy First Language Lessons and such, but using an LA that has everything included (like Abeka) really appeals to me for DS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I agree with Carmen, in that I wouldn't switch everything, either. You could stick with Abeka, and just add in some of the Sonlight read-aloud books as a fun (and educational, but don't tell the kids!) addition to your current school day. I don't know the exact ages of your children, but I would suggest that you pre-read the Sonlight books before you start reading them aloud, to be sure they are appropriate. Sonlight has some wonderful books, but they also have some selections that are downright depressing! Which Sonlight core are you considering? If you let us know, I'm sure many of us can chime in with more information. In your case, I wouldn't spend the money on an entire Sonlight core, until I gave the format a trial run by borrowing some of the books from the library and reading them to the kids to see how it goes. Some kids really respond to the Sonlight way of homeschooling, and others don't enjoy it at all. We all picture ourselves cuddling on the sofa with our dc, reading aloud to our enraptured little audience, but it doesn't always work that way... take it from a mom who knows! (My ds is different now, but when he was younger and we tried Sonlight, it was a disaster. I hated the scheduling where you read a few pages from one book, then switch to another, then another... all in the same day. It drove me nuts!) Anyway, if you provide a bit more information, I'm sure we can give you some ideas. (BTW, you may also wish to look at the WinterPromise curriculum -- it's similar to Sonlight in its design, but the programs are somewhat different, and you may get some ideas for fun read-alouds to do with your kids.) Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest frog07 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 My daughter is 6.5 and my little ones are 3 and 1 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 At that age, I would look into using FIAR. We are loving it, and it is easy to add it to what you are already doing. We tried Sonlight. DD doesn't like listening to long complicated books. She loves picture books, and they can also increase vocabulary, engender a love of reading, and teach many lessons. We are switching to science as soon as the bugs come out, which is why I took FIAR out of my signature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest frog07 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 We are using all A Beka for my oldest. And nothing for the younger ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn4 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 How much time do you want to invest in a school day? How much hands-on do you want to do? Do you want to include your little ones? Is money a factor? I have used both FIAR and Sonlight. When I had 2 little ones and 2 school aged childen I used FIAR. It was inexpensive and very easy to use. You take one picture book, read it every day and each day do a different activity with that book. So you are doing literature, math, art, some history, and science each week that coorelates to that book. You need to add in only a formal math and grammar program. Sonlight Core K is fun and easy to implement also. I agree with the other posters that if you like Abeka, keep what you like and just add in Sonlight for history and literature. We would do our 3Rs and then Core K and be done in less than 2 hours. My daughter (and 3 yr son at the time) would beg for more school work because they loved the Sonlight books! HTH Jenn4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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