We have been using this new Language Arts curriculum for the past two weeks, and it has been a great fit for us so far. There is variety, it is organized, and thorough. The kids are all continuing through Spelling You See, as we have seen a huge improvement in their spelling with it. Plus, everyone prefers learning spelling in a more organic way. With this program, there aren't rote spelling lists of random words a child should know how to spell. They are learning to spell useful and creative words in the context of an informative paragraph that they study all week long. It feels more purposeful, my kids enjoy it more than spelling lists and tests. And lastly, it is a more independent way of learning Spelling. Giving spelling tests, just hasn't worked for me either.
I am also not using the phonics cards component from Level 1. My three older kids all loved the Explode the Code series, and it's such a strong phonics program. A lot more fun than flashcards. We already owned these books for my second grader, so he's continuing on.
I didn't order the Readers that go along with TG&TB Level 3, which my 3rd and 4th grader are using at this time. We have so many fantastic novels and biographies already. My oldest, 6th grader, is reading the Shared Reader from Level 5 however, and she seems to be enjoying it so far. As well, she is reading many of the read alouds and readers from Sonlight Core F.
As well as Language Arts, we will also be making a major switch with our history studies. Looking over the history studies in the Good and the Beautiful, I'm convinced this is exactly what I want to do with my kids! After so many years of loving Sonlight, the books, the discussion questions, and the map and timeline activities... I just couldn't ever get it to work with my age spread of children. Sonlight is such a rich program, and I haven't regretted the investment at all. I have a rich home library that the kids are constantly going to. I am making a switch for a few reasons, specific to our family situation:
1. We will sweep through history, from ancient to modern history in a single year.
For me this is a positive thing. If for some reason we decide to make another change in a year or two, I feel like we will still have a great overview of history. I have looked at other great programs like My Father's World, and they rotate through a 4-year cycle, focusing each year on a specific era of history. With this, I would really want to commit to 4 years to cover everything. I don't think I want to make that commitment...
Therefore, even though we will do a world history sweep-through, each year will build with more and more detail. (If we stick with this.)
American history is isolated to one of the units in the program, so we can easily substitute that with Canadian material I have already gathered.
2. Activities and assignments are organized by grade level already, from K-12. I LOVE THIS. I can incorporate everyone, without trying to change things to make it less or more relevant to different children. I could never do this successfully with my kids and Sonlight.
3. We won't be doing the same thing everyday: reading stories, listening to audio dramas, mapwork, recipes, timeline activities. A wide variety of activities will keep the days interesting, I think.
4. For the pdf download, I'm not looking at a huge money investment. Many of the recommended novels I can find online for free, and others I already own because of Sonlight.
As soon as I'm able to find a good printer to make the The Big Book of History Stories for me, we will likely start History Year 1 with The Good and the Beautiful. So, probably in the next month sometime.
1. We will sweep through history, from ancient to modern history in a single year.
For me this is a positive thing. If for some reason we decide to make another change in a year or two, I feel like we will still have a great overview of history. I have looked at other great programs like My Father's World, and they rotate through a 4-year cycle, focusing each year on a specific era of history. With this, I would really want to commit to 4 years to cover everything. I don't think I want to make that commitment...
Therefore, even though we will do a world history sweep-through, each year will build with more and more detail. (If we stick with this.)
American history is isolated to one of the units in the program, so we can easily substitute that with Canadian material I have already gathered.
2. Activities and assignments are organized by grade level already, from K-12. I LOVE THIS. I can incorporate everyone, without trying to change things to make it less or more relevant to different children. I could never do this successfully with my kids and Sonlight.
3. We won't be doing the same thing everyday: reading stories, listening to audio dramas, mapwork, recipes, timeline activities. A wide variety of activities will keep the days interesting, I think.
4. For the pdf download, I'm not looking at a huge money investment. Many of the recommended novels I can find online for free, and others I already own because of Sonlight.
As soon as I'm able to find a good printer to make the The Big Book of History Stories for me, we will likely start History Year 1 with The Good and the Beautiful. So, probably in the next month sometime.
Our Family Read Aloud
We are currently reading The 100-Year-Old Secret by Tracy Barrett. This was included in Sonlight's Core F program, but all of the kids are keen to hear it. Any book we can read together that leaves them begging me to read another chapter is a win in my mind.
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