If I can use Sonlight...

Well truthfully, if I can do it, ANYONE can.

Years ago, I started w/ K. for my oldest child. I loved it, but at that time didn't stick w/ it long enough to learn it. I switched to FIVE in a Row for an easier educational experience. At that time, I had 4 kids in 5 years. A slew of health problems hit me and I still deal w/ some of them...

Well one day on the FIAR website, I happened upon a comment about high school. FIAR doesn't offer high school. I got it in high gear looking around at high school for my oldest who was jr. high age at that time. I wanted something that I could "go all the way with" and not piece together curriculum on my own every year, for every child.

So I pretty much high tailed it back to SL. My plan was to do 1+2 and 3+4 for jr high and then my oldest would be ready for the upper levels. After buying 1+2, I decided that it wasn't that great of a plan, at least for my oldest and I ordered him some used Alt. 6 stuff off of ebay. The 1+2 stuff was too easy and the Alt 6 was too hard. Not to mention that I had a low comprehension extra student who joined us. My younger 3 totally loved the 1+2.

At first I quickly noticed that it would have you pretty much read through a book chapter by chapter, so I quit looking at the schedule and would just read on my own.

Then I tried just reading the books w/ out the schedule on my own. I just couldn't organize it! Couldn't adapt it for all the students I had!

Fast forward to my oldest's ninth grade year, I went back to Five in a Row for my sanity's sake and for the sake of the extra student. I just didn't know how to blend him into our SL experience even though my kids were loving it. I bought Starting Points from Cornerstone Curriculum for my oldest and decided SL was too hard for him.That was settled, breathe a sigh of relief!

Before the new school year started, the extra student went back to public school. I was glad, but now I had to re evaluate my choices. If it was just going to be my younger 3, I didn't need all the FIAR stuff I'd just bought. I'd rather do SL if it was just our family.

So I decided to try 1+2 again. Hey I have only been trying this curriculum for 2 YEARS! lol But it wasn't going to cost me anything, so why not? Should be easier now that I didn't have to deal w/ a student w/ low comprehension.My dyslexic son LOVED SL, he just had to listen to me read all the subjects. But the low comprehension wasn't something I had experience w/. It frustrated me that I didn't know how to help!

My children were now 11, 10 and 8, still in the range of the core, maybe they were a little old for it, but it was what I had and I didn't want to waste it. And I would just use it as a book list if I had to. The books were so compelling! Boring and dry at times, but so worth it!!!

One day I read a review of SL that said it was just a booklist, that the schedule was unneccesary, it just had you read a chapter of the book each day. Well, that was my impression too. So I thought I was fine. I'll just read these books one at a time, chapter by chapter...

Then another day, I read that SL is not a booklist and people are mistaken when they say SL is just a booklist, that the schedule is the heart of the program! What was I missing!!!????

Now that my oldest was using his own program, I could focus on the youngest kids. Instead of trying to figure out how to adapt the schedule, I just started following the SL schedule. I did drop some of the books SL suggested, but kept following the schedule otherwise.

I was starting to understand the beauty of the SL schedule.

The Christian history text would mention something, then it would be mentioned again in the secular history text. Forget the kids, I felt like I was understanding history from a biblical perspective for the first time ever!! I had never understood where Biblical events fell in w/ the history I was taught in public school. Eventually I heard another point of view(Christian), but I doubted that as well. It was hard hearing a different view after so many years of hearing just a secular account. And sometimes it seemed overly Christianized...

But this to me is such a balanced way of learning! My kids can learn mainstream history the way most of America learns it, but also see how Christianity falls into it. They are getting the full package, not only half the story or a cleaned up version of the story...

Actually let's not pretend the school history textbook is as good as the stack of books SL has us read for history, but you get the picture anyway!

Now that I am getting the feel for the schedule sometimes we double up the reading and finish the 4 day schedule in less time. It really helps for those times when life is overtaking us! I am probably able to do this because 1.they are in the upper age range for the core. I don't imagine that I will be able to do this when we move on to next year's core and they are closer to the recommended age. And 2. Now that we have been w/ SL for a while, we are both used to reading alot.

As for my oldest son, after he finishes the year w/ Starting Points, he will be going back to SL for the rest of high school. I am slowly building him up to do more and more rigorous assignments.

We didn't stay w/ SL for Language Arts, we went to Writing strands. It is a much better fit. My oldest daughter did love SL LA and often does it on her own. We still do the readers.And although SL Science goes above and beyond, we(probably ME!) just can't do it and it is pricey. Worth it, but just not in our budget. We do the opt. Bible, it is wonderful. Just today the kids remarked that they loved learning about the Bible at church and then learning more at home. They feel like they are going to Christian school my daughter said!!

It does feel fantastic to have found our perfect match and to not devour every catalog, every website, pick every homeschooler's brain...but it still isn't easy... just because of the various challenges that we all face. :)

Pick it and stick it

It's been a while, I'll say it again: blogging is one of the first things to go.

We are getting ready to start school around here pretty soon. My extra student won't be joining us. I sure wish I'd known that before I ordered for this year, but oh well.

It is time to "Pick it and stick it" so to speak. No curriculum is perfect. I have recently realized that I have some "obsessive tendencies" and that sure makes it hard to choose curriculum and then adapt it, etc.

But I am learning to work w/ myself. After all, I'm all I've got!!! :)

Anytime I mention Sonlight, it gets lots of traffic, so I try to give any and all insight I have on the subject because people seem to be interested in hearing it. Maybe some of you are a little obsessive too? ;)

Sonlight bugs me because I am a "box checker" and naturally want to complete every task in the teacher manual(the instructor's guide or IG). But I am told there are too many activities, much like an all you can eat buffet has too many choices for you to eat everything. So you can do one Core level over 2 years or a lower level core than your children need, I suppose.

But even with that, SL is what we declared we will stick w/. The books are memorable, and reading aloud is hard for me because I'd rather read it faster by myself, but it is BEAUTIFUL sharing the wonderful stories. And they schedule so many books, even if I end up doing only a fraction of them, I have still done alot.

And all the books come w/ it. I won't lose library books and that is huge for me.

Nevermind that I am still trying to complete the same core I bought 3 years ago. Now that the special needs student won't be joining us, I can give it a real true test!

It has been really hard to keep up w/ the blog. I so would like to be a "famous" blogger w/ tons of comments and followers or an active forum participant whose every word is relished. ;)

But I don't have the inclination to put in the time to cultivate an internet following.

I write when I write. About what I feel like writing. Letting off steam, sounding off my opinions and recording memories...

There you have it.

And for those interested in the whole SL vs...

Part of this decision was $, part was needing to go from a "heavy" schedule to a lighter one. I love the idea of learning through making memories. We have a lot of fun memories from our time w/ SL. I still use the readers, and will try to continue to read the read alouds I have.

I am currently using Five in a Row unit studies, adapting them for an older crowd. I have an enchanted learning.com account and I print up corresponding pictures and sheets, which they glue into a scrap book. I also have 2 volumes of Beyond Five in a Row which I plan to utilize one of these days...

My oldest(end of 8th grade) is doing Starting Points from Cornerstone Curriculum. It teaches the student how to develop a world view.So far so good. He has already started it and will continue on w/ it for ninth grade.

Sonlight, My Father's World and even WinterPromise still catch my eye. But I am doing so much better w/ the FIAR. I find that I like adding to the curriculum.

From MFW, I bought Writing Strands and another LA book. My oldest loves it! I bought a lower level of it for my other kids. It is written to the child(except for the first 2 levels), it is very specific. Just what we need!!!!

I bought alot of items from SL because I qualified for free shipping, I think it is after $100. So it's not like I completely left.

One of the things I bought from SL was miquon math. I just started w/ the first book for JD,my dyslexia boy and JJ,the 8 year old. Neither will use the rods, but they like it otherwise. The pages are very "clean", not alot of busy pictures or writing. And the print is large enough for him to see clearly.

And in the fall, the neighbor who joins us currently is going back to school in the fall, so that will change things. So I may(ok, you know I definitely will!) revisit all my curriculum choices when it is time to buy again.

I haven't worried so much, I haven't written out potential long term plans on every scrap of paper I touch, so that is an improvement. :)