Yes to not wanting my kids to grow up in an echo-chamber! Having our kids home is such a blessing, but it's easy to fall in the trap of over protecting or limiting exposure to other types of thinking. Big applause to Sonlight for being diverse! 👏👏💕
You’re such a typical homeschooler with the books and wanting that library!! I’m admittedly not typical. I’m not a book junkie. (But I wish I was….) Sonlight intimidated me when we first started homeschooling. But I can definitely appreciate the books and reading of books to the kids. It’s one of my biggest s regrets….that I didn’t read aloud MORE!! I 100% agree with you about exposing kids to even secular books UNDER your supervision. How are you going to teach discernment and test it, if they don’t have challenges to discern? Fun fact: One of my very, very closest friends was pictured on the Sonlight catalog for a few years! I haven’t seen the catalog lately to know if she’s still on it or not. 😊
haha, I am definitely the book junkie. Definitely minimalist about everything BESIDES books. Many happy memories of read aloud time when I was growing up, and my oldest son is obsessed with storytime now. That's so fun she was in the catalogue!
Amen!!!! Wonderful list! Some of the toughest books from Sonlight (The Chosen, The Outsiders, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, etc.) are now some of my favorites. And Sonlight got my younger sister (a struggling reader) to fall in love with reading when it introduced her to Jane Eyre (of all things! haha!). LOVE it!
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is definitely one of those brutal, tough reads...that also sticks with you for a lifetime. How funny that Jane Eyre is what got her hooked on reading...that's definitely not the most typical reaction to Jane Eyre. haha!
Love that Sonlight is very diverse and does include hard books and hard situations. I love that and want that for my kids as well. It’s good to teach our kids about real life world issues. 💗
Yes, the scholarships are a BIG blessing. I think Sonlight's curriculum especially shines in the high school levels, and then the fact that they offer a scholarship competition is an extra bonus!
Rachel, you pretty much described me and my decision fatigue!! I have enjoyed planning my own literature based curriculum the past few years, but I am way ready for others to decide for me 😬😬
Yes! Decision fatigue is REAL. There are so many good books out there, some seasons are just better for following a good list and a plan that someone ELSE took the time to make.
Iv been loving the sonlight that I'm using with the boys. We are reading through them quickly. I can definitely see the value factor for families not having to pick out all the books themselves. Alot less decisions for mom. Also that's so great about the scholarships! I didn't know that.
Don't forget to check out Rian's video about what her family appreciates about Sonlight right here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-V8vNyGTK9ZM.html
I don't have actual experience with using Ambleside Online. My impression of the differences are 1) Ambleside can be more affordable because they use a lot of older, public domain books that can be found for free online. 2) Sonlight has more variety (i.e. more modern books, some easier/more lighthearted books). 3) Ambleside has a strong focus on Western civilizations while Sonlight places a greater focus on stories from outside of the Western World. 4) In the early grades, with Sonlight, you're often reading a page or two from Usborne non-fiction texts, Ambleside does not use Usborne books as far as I know. 5) Ambleside is more distinctly tied to the Charlotte Mason approach, complete with terms and forms...Sonlight is more literature/discussion-based vs. specifically Charlotte Mason.
Thank you for the video! I’m so drawn to this curriculum but the price $$. How essential would you say the teachers guide is? Could I purchase the books second-hand and have intentional discussions while reading? Really want to make this work!
Of course you can purchase the books and have intentional discussions while reading...but the teacher's guide is a big part of what makes Sonlight helpful and convenient--the schedule of coordinated readings, the notes with map locations, important people, questions and answers and activity ideas. You could also look for secondhand HBLs on Facebook in Buy/Sell groups...quite a lot of people are usually selling used HBLs in the springtime. :)
haha! That might have been a somewhat unrealistic dream on my part...but I'll collect books anyways. We get lots of use out of all the books we have--my oldest son never gets tired of being read to!
I would love to use this type of curriculum but my 15th year old does not like reading AND she is being homeschooled for the first year in her life...perhaps it would not be a good idea to start off with such a heavy-reading curriculum.
Yes, I think you're on the right track that Sonlight is probably not the best fit for a kid who is certain she doesn't like reading. The high school levels are intense (and I love them for that!) but it is a significant amount of reading.
@@agma19 It would be possible, and I know that some families do work through a Sonlight schedule at a slower pace (i.e. taking more than one school year to complete a level)
I have heard that criticism of Sonlight often over the years, but I actually really appreciate the fact that they maintain a biblical worldview while ALSO allowing us to teach and learn about all sorts of different cultures and worldviews, and their stories. I think it's ideal to learn about other worldviews while children are still at home, rather than only exposing them to Christian-focused materials.
@@SevenInAll Would you say waiting to start using Sonlight until 5th grade is a good idea? Or should it be started earlier, like at K or 1st Grade? You were mostly talking about their HBL program, right? Because I remember looking at their catalog a while back and realizing they're basically a reseller of other curriculums for LA, Math and Science. Thanks in advance!
@@f3nw1ckfamily Yes, this video is talking about the HBL program. I would say you can hop into Sonlight at any time, but choose carefully as far as the right level of challenge for your child--Sonlight tends to run a little more challenging than many might expect, so if you just hop in you might end up with a level that your child may not be ready for. Each HBL kind of spans a range of ages.
@@SevenInAll Thank you! We're currently using a mix of K and 1st Grade curriculums, but they're mostly workbook style, which she (5y/o) loves. We do read-alouds throughout the day, though. Our state requires instruction in Social Studies starting in 1st Grade so we're using Abeka for that. Maybe in two years, I'll get the 3rd Grade HBL from Sonlight and see if we can fully use it then. If not, we'll keep trying. Your video helped me as I plan for the future or prepare back-up options for when what we're doing stops working. Thanks again! 🙂
We haven’t used sunlight and I 1st heard of them from u I think. I may have used them as a kid but I haven’t used them wiv My kids. I remember choosing the books I’d learn from. We use some RU-vid videos that are not Christian as they speak of Evolution and we speak bout it from a Christian worldwide. Our umbrella school offers scholarships.
Oooh, good question! Most of the ones I remember most are from high school levels...just because it's been a long time since I've done the younger levels. "From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya" was excellent (a history of missions)..."The Best of Father Brown" is a favorite that I've re-read many times since because I love detective stories,, "Till We Have Faces" is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche by C.S. Lewis, another one that I have very vivid memories of. "Mara, Daughter of the Nile" was probably the first romance I ever read, and was really fun. "Carry on, Mr. Bowditch" is from one of the earlier years, and is another favorite!
The full HBL sets are EXPENSIVE, yes! I know many families do just buy the instructor's guide from Sonlight and purchase their own books, look for second hand copies, borrow from the library, etc, in order to save money. Our family always bought the cores straight from Sonlight--the big reason being that we live overseas--libraries and second hand stores just aren't an option for us. And Sonlight typically offers free or very reasonable shipping overseas, which is rare for homeschool books. And...with a big family, my parents knew they would get their money's worth. Kids #7 and #8 are using Sonlight cores that have been used with each of the kids that came before them, ha! It's probably unusual to get THAT many uses out of the same books.
