Did anyone else find SL to be "choppy?"

[I.Dup.]

We tried SL last year and I ended up returning it because it was just too choppy. Read a few pages of this book, then read a few pages of that book, then a few pages of another book, at the end of the day there seemed to be very little "meat" and just a snippet from several different books. FWIW, we used the K Core. I kindof wish we had focused on one book at a time maybe?

 

It seems that instead of paying several hundred for SL, someone can get books from a trusted booklist and end up with the same result, or am I wrong? Is there some benefit to reading just a little bit from many different books? What do you see as the benefit from SL vs. just getting good books from the library?

[Staci in MO]

There are a couple of ways to do it. You could, like you said, just get good books, using a list like Ambleside Online, for instance.

 

When my dc were all grammar stage, I used SOTW as our spine and filled in with other books from various booklists. SOTW tied it all together for us.

 

Now that my dc are older, I've switched to Tapestry of Grace. It uses a lot of the same books as Sonlight, but the teacher's notes help to tie up all the loose ends (hence the name Tapestry).

 

In my opinion, the nice thing about Sonlight is that it's "open and go". You don't have to do any planning. For some families, that's important.

[In the Rain]

What do you see as the benefit from SL vs. just getting good books from the library?

 

:lurk5: I've been wondering this same thing.

[sarahv]

:lurk5:

[I.Dup.]

I just bought SOTW 1 & 2 but I don't have the activity guides. Is that where you found the book suggestions to fill in as you said, Staci? Right now we're just reading through the chapters in the SOTW book.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was wondering about this. :tongue_smilie:I've never heard anyone mention this issue about SL so maybe there was something I was missing?

[MerryAtHope]

Some people follow the schedule horizontally rather than vertically.

 

Others block schedule--do 2-3 days of history one day, then 2-3 days of science another.

 

I think Core K is a bit more choppy than some of the other cores as you move up--the readings get longer (so a history reading in one book in Cores 3-4 might take 30 minutes--I'm not as apt to double up readings most days now!). We do tend to read ahead in the read-alouds (and add in extra books there!).

 

Some people do use SL just for the books & don't get the IG. I like the IG's more as we get into the higher cores, the notes let you know about opposite points of view, things to watch for, etc...

 

Merry :-)

[Caroline4kids]

We have ditched the guides for core 1+2 and 5. I copied the booklist from the beginning of each guide and now we are just reading through in order both for readers and read alouds. We always seem to go faster or slower through the books than the guide suggests. I do read the guide pages on each book and we do the mapping, but keeping everything going just like the guide says is impossible for us.

 

That said, I am a CMer and I like to take smaller chunks for narration and the kids can read their readers at whatever pace they want.

 

It seems much less choppy when we do it this way.

[ariasmommy]

Some people follow the schedule horizontally rather than vertically.

 

I often do this, as it can seem choppy to just do a bit of everything each day. For instance we are doing Core 1, and I prefer to read the weeks worth of Time Traveler all at once, instead of 2 pages each day. I also have a bit of an aversion to stopping in the middle of a chapter, so if I can I read it all at once, instead of just the pages scheduled for that day. I do love that schedule, though! :)

[siloam]

I am with Merry. I thought Core K was choppy, but not Core 1 and 2. There were times when things would get a little choppy, but nothing like it was in Core K.

 

I also tried to schedule UWH in Core 2 with MOH and I must say I gave up. It just had too many pages on that didn't fit with the overall theme. It actually gave me new appreciation for the work SL has done to coordinate the books.

 

But if you really want to read out of one book at a time, then you will either have to change how you use SL (horizontal schedule or stack method) or you will need to look for something else. BTW with the stack method you put all the books in a stack based roughly on the order they are introduced in the core and you just read one at a time.

 

Heather

 

[Catwoman]

We tried SL last year and I ended up returning it because it was just too choppy. Read a few pages of this book, then read a few pages of that book, then a few pages of another book, at the end of the day there seemed to be very little "meat" and just a snippet from several different books.

 

We felt exactly the same way about Sonlight.

 

Cat

[Rhondabee]

I didn't feel that way at all - but, with three kids spaced so far apart, you would probably classify my whole day as "choppy" - LOL! When we were using SL, I used 2 different cores, and I appreciated being able to complete a task and mark it done before getting interrupted. Guess it all depends on your perspective. =)

[Annie Laurie]

Core K is choppier than other cores. With Core 1, which I'm currently using with a 1st grader and 2nd grader, I've appreciated the short readings that are scheduled. It gives us the freedom to read several scheduled days worth of a book if we want to, but it also helps me to feel no pressure when we can't manage more than the small bit on the schedule because our other school subjects took a long time that day. I use the schedule as a tool- there are weeks when I don't even look at it, I know what books we're on chronologically and just keep reading through those, but then I like having it there to glance at to keep me in check and remind me of what to read next, what our next topic of study will be, etc. Otherwise I would never get it all done, but that's just me.

 

As I move up in cores, I find it less and less choppy. I've done 3+4, 6, and 7 with my older son.

[SkateLeft]

I had the same issues with the early cores of Sonlight. I used Core K with my oldest 8 years ago, when she was in kindergarten, and I own the old Basic 1 and 2. I'd bought them used but ended up ditching them because our experience with Core K wasn't very good.

 

I've since used Core 3+4 and Core 100 and found both of them to be far better organized. I just think Core K is all over the place.

[Zoo Keeper]

Core K is choppier than other cores. With Core 1, which I'm currently using with a 1st grader and 2nd grader, I've appreciated the short readings that are scheduled. It gives us the freedom to read several scheduled days worth of a book if we want to, but it also helps me to feel no pressure when we can't manage more than the small bit on the schedule because our other school subjects took a long time that day. I use the schedule as a tool- there are weeks when I don't even look at it, I know what books we're on chronologically and just keep reading through those, but then I like having it there to glance at to keep me in check and remind me of what to read next, what our next topic of study will be, etc. Otherwise I would never get it all done, but that's just me.

 

 

:iagree:That is our house too. Some days I'm very thankful that I have something telling me exactly what to do next so that we can get it done and feel good. Other days we work ahead, lag behind, or go off on a tangent. The IG is my road map, not my stait jacket. Although some days a padded room and special jacket sound nice....:lol:

[DarlaS]

Some people follow the schedule horizontally rather than vertically.

 

My 11 yo did this with Core 6. It was more his idea and it worked fine for him.

 

 

I just think Core K is all over the place.

 

I'm planning on this next year for my youngest. I guess I'll be taking that stack of books and seeing what I can do with it. Maybe I'll divvy the history portion into 2 days or some such thing.

 

I was thinking of getting a new IG for this but if I end up re-organizing it, what would be the point? I'm glad now I clicked on this thread!

[Tess in the Burbs]

We are doing Core 1 this year. no LA or Science. I can see why you feel it's choppy. Some days are. But we have LOVED Core 1 and tweaked it a little.

 

I look ahead each week to see where each day ends. Some days are better spent reading more of one book and the next day focusing on another book. My kids would ask to keep reading, so we would. And if time were running late we might skip something and do it the next day but not read another book...I go with their flow. We have gotten used to stopping and moving on. Some days we follow the schedule and many we read as long as we want.

 

Any schedule can be tweaked to work for your style/preference. We focus on the week...what needs to be done this week...and it all gets done. We have enjoyed SL and the book choices...and have bought Core 2 for next year. I know we will have another good year. We are willing to be flexible. Any kind of schedule can be flexible at the same time. If you liked the books perhaps try it again but don't be stuck in each "day".

[I.Dup.]

Thank you all very much! :)

[kids&me]

We tried SL last year and I ended up returning it because it was just too choppy. Read a few pages of this book, then read a few pages of that book, then a few pages of another book, at the end of the day there seemed to be very little "meat" and just a snippet from several different books. FWIW, we used the K Core. I kindof wish we had focused on one book at a time maybe?

 

It seems that instead of paying several hundred for SL, someone can get books from a trusted booklist and end up with the same result, or am I wrong? Is there some benefit to reading just a little bit from many different books? What do you see as the benefit from SL vs. just getting good books from the library?

 

This is exactly what happend to us this year! I returned everything but the readers. Love the readers

Angie

[HiddenJewel]

Choppy is a good way to describe our experience even though I love using a literature approach.