Sonlight

We are so excited about our new homeschool curriculum! Funny, I never thought those words would ever come out of my mouth. Ha! Obviously, I'm so excited that I had to blog about it. Here's the low-down, in detail (it's quite lengthy)...

Aside from our once a week co-op (Tuesdays), I'll be using Sonlight for the rest of my days with the girls. I first heard about Sonlight about a year ago through my good friend, Hailey. Since then, I've been putting off the task of looking for another curriculum. Why? Because the one we use now for our co-op is fine until Kindergarten. Truthfully, there are so many curriculum choices out there for homeschooling families nowadays; it can get a little overwhelming if you let it. Here's what became my "un-official" strategy-- and when I say un-official, what I really mean is that I had no strategy at all. In my "no hurry" approach,
I waited to hear what other moms were doing, what they liked, what they didn't like, and what worked for them. My original goal was to plan out lessons for each day, using our existing co-op curriculum. Thankfully, although we used the same curriculum last year, there are still plenty of options and activities to choose from. I was completely fine with notion of repeating some of them.

The only thing I wasn't looking forward to about that process... all the pre-planning that's involved each week/day. A couple of weeks ago, before I started the daunting task of planning the girls' lessons, I was prompted by initiative and curiosity (and I'd like to think, the Holy Spirit), to investigate Sonlight's website. Once I read about their educational philosophy and goals,
I was hooked! Talk about fantastic timing, too! I hadn't planned a single lesson.

Before I got too ahead of myself, I asked Morgan to do his own research and tell me what he thought. Later that day, we both agreed that this "new way of learning" would be a great place to start with our girls and we didn't need to wait until they reached Kindergarten to begin. Sonlight, compared to other curriculums is considered to be "luxury" in price. Since we're a pretty frugal family and we weren't planning on buying a new curriculum this year anyway, we quickly checked on Ebay to look for any marked-down curriculum. SCORE! We found the one we wanted for about $100 cheaper than we would've paid retail. Granted it is a few years old now but we didn't mind. All the books are practially the same as this year's edition anyway and the teacher's guide was also included!

Here's the main reason why we chose Sonlight...

Unlike most curriculum's out there, Sonlight is a literature-based, liberal arts, Christian worldview approach to home education (Hello.... I have a minor in English and Literature was one of my favorite subjects so this is right up my alley!). Sonlight's "secret" really comes down to this: they believe that most children respond more positively to great literature than they do to textbooks (I know I sure do!). Books, quality books, can distill the wisdom of an entire life into the span of a few pages. They can feed us with spiritual insight beyond imagination. Whether written by Christians or non- Christians, great books help us to develop critical thinking skills. They cause us to question the validity of our own values and beliefs in light of the author's perspective. These benefits of great literature have inspired Sonlight to build their curriculum on quality books that present content in a highly engaging fashion. Once a good book grabs the child's attention, the educational process becomes relatively painless— because the child will actually want to read!

One of the best experiences and memories I have of this summer is the time I spent reading and visiting our local library with the girls. We checked out about 10 books at a time and enjoyed looking for new treasures every two weeks. We probably read over 50 new books as well as a few chapter books this summer. Reading with my girls is definitely one of my favorite bonding experiences with them so it was quite easy for me to fall in love with the idea of making great literature the core of our homeschool curriculum. An additional selling point for me? All the lessons and books are pre-planned! Ok, that's huge. This saves me precious time. Time that I'd rather be reading with or connecting with my children. I also love the fact that Sonlight helps me engage my kids in a deep conversation. It forces me to talk WITH them and not AT them. Basically, it's a new, "non-traditional" way of learning. Something most of us are not accustomed to.

Why am I writing this post in detail? 1. Because I'm so excited that this works for us! It's a great match for our family. 2. I hope to encourage others who love to read and are looking for a hs curriculum. Sonlight does not claim to be a "one size fits all." In fact, they also list in their free catalog, 27 reasons to buy or NOT to buy Sonlight. As far as the cost, it's still much cheaper than sending our kids to private school (which btw, we wouldn't do, even if we had the excess money). I love that I can buy one curriculum and use it for both my girls. It's like getting 2 for 1!

We have no idea how long we will use Sonlight but for right now, it's such an excellent fit. On our official "box day" we were so excited that we completed 2 days worth of material. The girls loved it!

Some other reasons why Sonlight works for us...
*we can curl up on the couch or go to the park to read aloud to do school.
*it is a Christian curriculum that isn't afraid to challenge your assumptions by raising controversial issues.
*we can learn about cultures and history from all over the world, not just North America.
*it creates precious bonding time and moments where I can engage my children. Priceless!
*Daddy can easily pick up where mommy left off!
*I love the fact that we are building a family library with great books to treasure and read over and over again.

Checking out all their new books on Box Day!

Reading is FUN!

Lastly, "Sonlight aims to create within students a genuine inquisitive spirit and love of learning more than to teach them a specific set of facts that their peers may learn in another curriculum or school environment. Far better, to lack a few facts and love to learn than to have "all the right information" and hate the learning process." So true. I wish I was taught this way!

As mom, we know our kids best. Sonlight may not be for everyone but that's the beauty of homeschooling isn't it? Every family looks different and that's perfectly ok.