So our advisor said no to Sonlight. Since we can't get funding for Sonlight and there is no way I can afford it right now. So once again I'm looking for Curriculum. After reading here and doing some research I'd really like a CORE type program. I'm still searching through all our vendors for options. I emailed our advisor about Learning Adventures. What are some other names?? I'm researching HS curriculum in my spare time. Reading reviews, lesson plans, and really trying to figure out exactly what is covered and what is not since my kids have a Learning plan to meet. (I'm becoming obsessive with the whole process.) I have a call in to our advisor to talk about science and history texts. (so don't be surprised to see me ask about different things.) I really do look up each and every suggestion AND I have tried searching the forum for advice too. I have 3 HS boys, 2 science and math based, one reading based. (7th, 6th and 4 grades.) Everyone is has been such a help so far. PS (Though I'm looking at options to still use Sonlight. We might be able to afford an IG and Lang. Arts program. And I'm sure we can get most of the books on the list either as gifts from Friends and Family or from Amazon used, or other 2nd hand venues. And if I can get it at a good price I may just pick and choose what I like about it.)
What exactly was their objection to Sonlight, I wonder? I like to center my Core around History (which is a really Sonlight thing to do! LOL ). There are several ways to do this. I did it one year for a PreK, 3rd & 5th Grader (this was LAST school year). I used Abeka 4th Grade History as our Core. I wrapped all of our language arts and reading around that period of history using books from Sonlights lists. It worked really nice. Now...obviously this wouldn't work for you because of age, but you could pick a history text and work around it that way. On a sample day we would: 1. Read a section of the History Text 2. Add figures to the timeline 3. Read a chapter in a Historical Fiction that matched the time period. My kids would then fill out a Daily Response Form I created. The form had a spot for them to summarize the chapter, record words to look up in the dictionary and to do copywork from a favorite sentence or group of sentences. 4. Do a Geography book that enhanced their knowledge of the USA (I used the Spectrum Geography Book for 4th Grade). I also added Bible, Grammar and Math, of course...that were not based on this. We loved that year. We're going back to that format next year after spending a year in My Father's World. I'm just too much of a control freak and have to do my own schedule! LOL Hope this helps! I might still have my planning document on this if you'd like to see it.
I like Apologia for science, but I have only used the upper grades. They are mainly science and not a whole core curriculum. Hmmm... let me think- There are many providers who provide the whole core or almost the whole core: A Beka -used by many schools and homeschools-can be intense, but you don't have to do everything it says. Bob Jones a lot like A Beka, I like their grammar and literature and math, history is fair and science is strong. Accelerated Christian Education (?) or ACE- workbook style. I got a sample once and was NOT impressed, but some people do fine with it. Alpha Omega- They have computer based (Monarch or Sos) and workbook based(lifepacs), I don't like it, but some do. They also have units studies (Weaver)-I have not tried it. Christian Liberty Press-They have core packages and some flexibility within their packages. Christian Light-workbook style, very much like Alpha Omega's lifepacs. k12-I don't have any experience with this, but I know it is either low cost to some (or all) or free. I have read mixed reviews. There are many others, but that is a good starting place.
If you end up having to go with a workbook approach, I recommend Christian Light. The courses are great, inexpensive, and encourage independent work as they get older. If you are able to go a different route, I hope your advisor lets you go with Learning Adventures. I am curious as to the reason behind not allowing Sonlight.... was the cost a factor?
I really don't know much about core programs. I only used Five in a Row for a year, and that's the only really "core" program I've used. Everything else we do is a mish mosh of this and that and the other. Each of our subjects come from a different publisher, and with a different approach.
This is us as well, minus the FIAR. Part of it is that we adapt whatever we have anyway, so it seems pointless to invest in something of that scope. The other part is concious: dd is ahead in math, but behind in reading. Ds is woefully behind in LA, catching up in Math, and ahead in Reading. Both are ahead of the game in SS, and know a variety of sci concepts that leave me with zero idea of where I would even start. Do you know, specifically, why your advisor doesn't like Sonlight? That might give you a better starting place for other curric.
I like My Father's World and Sonlight's high school curriculums. Does your advisor oppose Sonlight because of it's strong Christian base?
Thanks for the suggestions. Sonlight: My advisor said other families had used Sonlight and it didn't work for them and CVA didn't consider it a good program. I don' think it is cost related (unless it is the whole grade cost) b/c our curriculum from this year was almost as expensive. (But it did cover ALL subjects.) The didn't mention anything about Christian vs. Secular. (And we have Christian vendor on the approved list, so I can't see that being a problem.) My kids actually do better with books then computer programs. (Besides, one computer, three HS is not something I want to deal with.) The subjects I have to cover are : Math, Science, Social Studies, Lang Arts, Art and PE (yep PE, but that includes Health.) My oldest is hoping to take Spanish and I'd like to add Bible study and key boarding. We are already merging subjects together. My son studied Medieval Japan and we read Blue fingers. Art is covered by Lang Arts, History and Science projects.
We are semi new to home schooling. We followed the subject suggestions of a curriculum (Kolbe Orthodox Catholic curriculum), but we purchased our own choice of books through various Catholic retailers and Amazon. Amazing how much cheaper you can find the same books on Amazon! We were able to buy most of our curriculum materials for around $400. The subjects we include are Grammar, Math, Reading, Art Appreciation, History, Science, Religion (catechism), Copy Work and Dictation (kind of a sub-subject) and spelling. We supplement with flashcards, engaging software for help retaining math basics, lit books, piano instruction etc. We will be adding Latin and Philosophy to our curriculum this summer. We have been very pleased with our selections. I have heard that you can home school virtually for free if you use the available free home school resource sites. Many of them have printables and lesson suggestions. This didn't mesh with what we needed out of a curriculum, but I hear the sites are wonderful for most students. I'm semi new here and can't post links or I would include them in this reply. Good luck!
So does anyone know anything about Singapore Science and Math? Saxon Science and Math? Or Real Science for Kids? or Core Knowledge?? Story of the world?? and Spalding for writing? These were the suggestions I was given. Anyone have any input? TIA,
Singapore math is for kids who are more advanced in math. The concepts move more quickly. A complaint some have is that there aren't enough practice problems. We moved away from Singapore to Teaching Textbooks. Saxon math is a spiral math program. It emphasizes memorizing math facts. It lacks color/pictures, so it's not a great program for visual learners. It's a solid program, though, and often used in private schools. It's highly structured and organized, but its repetitive nature can make math tedious for students advanced in math. Real Science 4 Kids is something we use alternatively with Apologia Elementary. Most of the science projects use things you can easily find around your house or with a quick trip to the grocery store. The textbook is colorful and uses a larger, comic-style font. The information is solid and does a good job of taking complex ideas and simplifying them to the child's comprehension level.
Thanks! I'll have to consider both. I have 2 advance Math students and 1 below average Math student. My below Kid is a very visual learner though. He is currently using Aleks and it is working very well. I was just hoping to have a text/workbook to back up what he is learning there. My advanced guys hate repetition. That has been an issue this year.
Saxon math we use here and the boys do very well with it. I like that it takes a little pressure off of them, because if they don't get it the first time it'll be repeated later. I wish there was a little more practice in some areas though, but I just add in my own extra practice on those segments. The meeting book is a complete waste of time IMHO, except in Kinder where as I understand it the meeting book is a good portion of the curriculum, so we skip all of it.
My daughter is very visual. She was the one who tried out Saxon, but its blandness was just not working for her at all. Teaching Textbooks has made an enormous difference in her math, and you can get a textbook to use with the computer program. My son is advanced in math. We did Singapore for a few years, and it worked well. Honestly, though, I found the way they did the problems to be very confusing for me, and so I wasn't able to explain things to him. We moved him to Teaching Textbooks as well [up a grade level], and he does well with it. He likes being able to move quickly, and skipping a grade level helps keep him at a reasonable challenge.
Another thing to check out is the reviews at: http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/ There are two things to be aware of when searching this site: 1. It can be overwhelming-so many different programs. 2. The reviews are going to be good and bad at times for the same curriculum, which just goes to show you that it is hard to know what will work for someone else.
Teaching Textbooks is on our list I'll look into that! I just keep going back to Sonlight and Learning Adventures. I LOVE the sample lesson plan for Learning Adventures. It isn't as costly as Sonlight. Maybe I could get it for 2 of the kids. It would be 140 dollars. Once Dh gets back to work and we get caught up, that should be do-able. (Dh is being very supportive of Sonlight too. Encouraging that we try and get an IG and using what we like out of it. He even said we could purchase the LA program once we get the IG. ) I purchased Core Knowledge books from Amazon and I'm waiting for them to come in. I know that will be a help when choosing. I was told once the new Learning Plans come out, CVA gives suggestions for curriculum with each subject. Not trying to be mean but this year I was given text books, like PS, uses, no teacher books (though there was a few grading keys for workbooks) and I figured it all out. I even found out a different way to do long division from the internet when my son didn't understand it. I used the texts when they followed the learning plan but I had to fill in a lot of information myself. I need to go pray (again) and figure something out. This is so important to me. Even if I use SL or LA for only part of the year it is worth it.
We do a hodge podge of curriculum choices. I love Bob Jones but can't afford all subjects for four kids. I get a free catalog from Rainbow Resource(it is HUGE with all kinds of curriculum choices) and I look and relook through it highlighting all my wishes then I go through it again with my budget in mind. This has worked out really well for us. I usually get free shipping which helps also.
Since you like Sonlight I saw another curriculum called "Moving Beyond the Page" that might be similar. I have not used either one so I am only guessing at what I see online. I did read some where that Moving Beyond the Page was approved by their Public School for at home use. Like what you are needing. We did use Singapore Science this year. 3rd and 5th grade. We felt like it was a bit scarce on information and not too many lessons. We got next years science books (we chose Abeka science) and we are really excited with all the wonderful information. Others similar to Sonlight (as in lots of books): Living Books Curriculum I thought I had seen some more but I can't remember off the top of my head. Good Luck! Cally
I would love to do Moving Beyond the Page, too, but it's too expensive for my budget. Looks great though.
