Guest bookwormmama Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I am new to the Classical model of Education... I have used Sonlight since the beginning of our homeschool journey almost 4 years ago. I have dabbled with A Thomas Jefferson Education and have decided that isn't for us and my friend lent me her book The Well-Trained Mind {and I went and pre-ordered the newer version for May}. As I am reading the book I am finding that I may have to change some of the things I am doing with my kids and focus on different areas than others. How does Sonlight curriculum fit into WTM? I remember reading in a Sonlight catalog once something about how the books in Sonlight that are part of the "great conversation" are not introduced in Sonlight because Sonlight believes college level kids should be reading those books . Any thoughts on this? Will I need to find a different curriculum for my kids and should I be focusing less on writing with my grammar age kids and more on the actual parts of grammar and reading well? Thanks so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Darling, if Sonlight works for you, keep using Sonlight! Consider which parts of WTM impress you, but aren't happening at the moment. Then consider how you can tweak Sonlight to get those things working. If your kids can't learn to read unless you spell words out using alphabet noodles, it doesn't matter what WTM has to say about it. You do what works for you. It's a philosophy, not a legal system. The Well Trained Mind police won't be coming after you. If you hang about here long enough, you'll learn of many ways where others diverge from the book and do their own thing. Have you read the part where Susan states in the book that she doesn't follow all the recommendations either? She put the schedules in because the publisher told her to. So, if she only follows her own recommendations when it suits her, we only have to follow them when it suits us too. :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Seriously if Sonlight is working then don't sweat it. Take what you want from WTM and shelve the rest. I see you are a Midwife in training I am sure you will tell new mothers something along the lines, plenty of people will offer you advice, some will be gold and others not worth your time, take what you want from what they say. Homeschooling is exactly the same! No one does it exactly the same and that is the beauty of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 About the Great Conversation part--Many of the Sonlight books are, indeed, considered Great Books. They just also add in some that are excellent historical fiction. Ideally, we engage in The Great Conversation all our lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 SL isn't WTM down to the letter, but it's pretty close in lots of ways. The history in SL 1-100 generally follows a 4 year cycle with the exception of Core 5. The new elementary science has a more WTMish feel in that it spends a lot of time on the human body and animals in 1st, earth science in 2nd and physics in 4th. It does add in other topics and it doesn't do a year of chemistry in 3rd, but it covers all the bases. SL's LA is based on Ruth Beechick so it does include some copywork and lots of dictation which is similar to but not the same as the WTM. The PP was right about just substituting whatever you feel most drawn to from the WTM. The easiest substitution would be LA by using First Language Lessons and Writing With Ease instead of SL. If SL makes hsing easier and more fun for you, it's well worth following. It will give your kids a rigorous education without driving you insane in the process! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bookwormmama Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Thank you everyone for your responses to my question about Sonlight. I am not liking the Sonlight LA and have some issues with the newer version of Sonlight's LA. I taught my two older kids to read using Sonlight LA {they are 8 1/2 and 7} but my 5 year old is not getting it and I think the LA program is too heavy in the writing for her. I am frustrated with it right now and upset that I spent so much money on it for her. I don't have a catalog in front of me right now but does the history part of Sonlight cover a 4 year cycle or is it sporadic? We are doing Sonlight Core 1 right now and it is starting out with Ancient Civilizations... which continues into Sonlight Core 2.. Would it be better to find another history program that covers the 4 year cycle and what history programs are there that follow this besides TOG? {I did not like TOG} Thanks and sorry for a billion questions again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Cores 1 through 4 follow a 4 year history cycle pretty closely, IMHO. The major difference between Cores 3 and 4 and SOTW 3 and 4 is the emphasis on American history. There are even schedules that match up SOTW to SL here: http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/SOTWmenu.htm Core 5 is Eastern Hemisphere, so it's outside of a 4 year cycle. Then SL redoes world history at a logic level in Cores 6 and 7 using SOTW. Core 100 uses History of US to study American history at the logic/early rhetoric level. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Neoclassical homeschooling IMHO is more about your emphasis and application of the trivium model than it is about specific books. The four-year cycle that so many advocate now is not classical either. It's just one way of ordering your studies among many. We've used Sonlight history/lit through six cores using neoclassical choices in language arts and that type of approach in math. We've also done two languages for some time now (Spanish and Latin). My kids have done a lot of memorization through the grammar stage and are now moving into the logic stage. And somehow I think they're doing just fine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psm73 Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Glad you asked this question - I'm the reverse. We've been going by TWTM for our first 3 years of hsing and we love it but when I look at Sonlight, I wonder if we would enjoy that even more. Still don't know what to order for the fall but the responses you received did help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 If LA is all that isn't working then dump the SL LA, find something else for that and enjoy SL history. While it doesn't exactly follow the 4 year, repeating cycle I think it is close enough. Core 1 Ancients Core 2 Middle ages through present, but when it hits about 1850 it start going really fast. Core 3 Early American History Core 4 Modern American History Core 5 Eastern Hemisphere Core 6 Uses Story of the World 1 and 2 (WTM author's books; Ancients through Renaissance) Core 7 Uses Story of the World 3 and 4 (WTM author's books; Explorers through modern history) Core 100 US History beginning to present. Core 200 Church History and Missionaries Core 300 20th Century Core 400 Government/Civics Core 530 British Literature-no History. No it isn't a perfect classical cycle, but I think that is only one piece of classical methods. If SL history isn't working, then list why and someone might be able to help you find something that fits better. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Jenn~ Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I agree that if Sonlight is working for you then stick with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I love WTM, but I also love Sonlight. Sonlight fits my needs better right now. I just don't have the time or resources(we don't have an English library near us) to put together my own. Plus Sonlight just has some really great books! My dd is 6yo and so far I have added oral narration & copywork to our history/read-aloud time to make Sonlight more WTM. I have written my own science and for language arts, we are still trying to find the perfect fit. IMHO it's much easier to perfect the wheel than to go out and try to build a new one. Just take what you love about WTM and apply it to Sonlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calandalsmom Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 SL is excellent. We have used core 1+2- core 5. I find it rigorous, flexible, fun and worthwhile. I dont like or use the SL LA materials anymore. I do like some of the supplementary workbooks (ETC) though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariasmommy Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 We have done Sonlight Core K and 3/4 of Core 1. We love the Sonlight books, but had the same problem with LA - too much writing. My dd was ready for the readers, but not the LA 1 (she was 5). So I dropped the LA and continued with the readers for Core K, adding in a bit of Queen's Language Lessons. I wanted something more "rigorous" this year, so we are using "The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading" for phonics, FLL and Writing With Ease. I use her Sonlight literature and history books for the Copywork and Narration exercises in WWE, and it works quite well (as well as leaving a great record of what she's learned this year:)). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imeverywoman Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 without it. So, if it works, carry on! Like the other posters already explained, tweak what you feel can be tweaked to make you "feel" more classical. It is a fantastic program, as you already know. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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