We've changed over from Robinson curriculum to Sonlight curriculum and we received a BIG box of books yesterday. I love it already! My favorite part is the amount of time we spend reading together everyday! This curriculum was made for us! Why didn't I know about it before?
Sonlight, in case you don't know, is a wonderful literature-based curriculum that inter-weaves history, geography, reading, Bible, and language arts using texts, biographies, maps, and historical fiction. Each day my kids read for an hour and a half on their own and we read for an hour together. (I love that I have discussion questions for each day's reading so I can make sure they're understanding what they read!) We also spend about an hour and a half on math (Saxon) and 45 minutes on Language Arts. I cannot tell you how much I love the Sonlight core program even though we just started. Last year we read The Story of the World volumes one and two for history. The kids loved it and we all enjoyed the narrative style, but none of us felt we retained it like we should. I tried to supplement with reading from the library, but it was kind of hit or miss. This year with Sonlight we're revisitng The Story of the World volumes I and II since they serve as the backbone of the core 5 program, but this time we're also reading more than 30 books that cover every time and culture. The kids also have map and timeline activities incorporated into each day's assignments. This helps them maintain a sense of the big picture of world history.
So, if you LOVE books like I do, this may be the curriculum for you.
Speaking of books, this is the last day to comment on my book giveaway post for a chance to win a copy of The Royal Attributes of God, a lovely book for children that gives simple explanations and verses from the Bible for 30 different attributes of God. It also has beautiful watercolor illustrations on each page (I am a little biased since my friend painted them.)
homeschool
Sonlight curriculum
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Hooray for Sonlight!
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- Celee
- I'm an on-the-run mom to 6 kids who studied and taught exercise science in a previous life. I love all things running, nutrition, and health-related. I usually run at zero dark thirty in the morning and am often quite hungry before, during, and after my run, but I live a rich, full, blessed life with my children, family, and friends. My faith in God is my anchor, and looking to Him and His promises allows me to live fully even when life circumstances are difficult. While running gives me an appetite, my desire is to hunger and thirst for righteousness more than for physical food.
Thanks for sharing at the Cafe today... I was so encouraged by what you said, and I can totally relate...
ReplyDeleteFeel free to visit me at my personal blog anytime... Blessings, Kim
I think it is amazing that you are so organized and are able to homeschool your children and find such pleasure in it. I'll be looking forward to hearing how you enjoy the new curriculum. I know I wish I would have retained much more than I did in school.
ReplyDeleteI guess you've got some reading time ahead of you, Talese. Try to behave yourself and get healed up!
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, does Sonlight incorporate Singapore math into their curriculum or do you have any experience with Singapore Math? I'm trying to piece together a curriculum for us and I am having trouble trying to find a math program and I'm interested in hearing what you have used.
ReplyDeleteI have been looking at Sonlight curriculum for over a year now and have been drawn to using it. However, my husband keeps saying no because of the overwhelming expense. Today, it was brought back to the front of my mine and I spoke with a friend and my husband about it. she said that she likes it so much that she is willing to mail me core 3 at the end of this year for us to use for free. All we have to do is pay her for shipping and to return the books in great condition. No problem. What a wonderful friend! We currently use The Mystery of History and LOVE it, but have not had the money to buy the resources or a library that has the books readily available (our town is 250 people). I am excited that this curriculum is working for you. We also love to read. I currently just read for 30 minutes to our littles and 45 minutes from a Little House book to the olders.
ReplyDeleteYou say that you used the Mystery of History before, and are now using Sonlight. Why did you change? Do you still refer back to the MOH? I started off using the Story of the World the first year (k), using Veritas Press for year 2 and 4, and MOH for year 3 and now (5). I have continued with the same chronological time period. I like reading history from a chronological perspective. Our favorite year of history was when we had the money to purchase all the extra resources. They really make a difference!!! I like the fact that Sonlight has comprehension questions, read-alouds, and readers. I feel as if not everything is tied together this year when it comes to coordinating the literature and the history reading. I am just letting them read what-ever. Our daughter just finished Magic Tree House series and is moving on to Box Car Children series. Our oldest son is reading Holy War by John Bunyan. Our littles get read what ever books they bring me.
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