When I choose homeschool curriculum, I’m not only thinking of my child. I’m also thinking about myself.
Sonlight is my education, too.
And that's why I make sure that my curriculum choice will be enriching for both of us. While there are countless reasons I choose Sonlight for the benefit of my child, here are a three ways Sonlight benefits me as a person and as a mom.
1. Sonlight Keeps Me in the Word of God
Some days, I roll out of bed and am immediately on the job. My family’s basic needs can keep me from my personal devotions. I’m grateful that Sonlight incorporates a strong and consistent Bible curriculum because I need it as much as my children do.
As I read Scripture aloud to my children (or they read to me), I am fed spiritually. I take our reading to heart and prayerfully look for God’s character, will, and ways. The conversations that flow out of our Bible reading and memory work sharpen my faith and encourage me.
2. Sonlight Enriches My Own Education
I joke with my children that homeschooling benefits me just as much as it does them: “I want you to have a good enough experience so that someday, you’ll homeschool your children and get an education!” I say that because I am educated by Sonlight Curriculum every day.
Although I had an excellent private and public school education, I have learned more about history, science, literature, grammar, spelling, and mathematics as a homeschool mom than I ever learned in grammar school or high school. Since using Sonlight, I have become more well-rounded and knowledgeable. I’ve grown in my understanding of and love of God, people, science, and history.
3. Sonlight Enhances My Motherhood
Through the Read-Alouds, I have learned how to be a better mother. First, the sheer act of sitting down with my children and reading to them has been deeply transformative. It has taught me the value of giving children goodness, truth, and beauty. It has taught me about child development, the dignity of humanity, and the power of story.
Secondly, the Read-Alouds themselves instruct and inspire me to be a better woman. I have met many literary role models and stored up precious insights from Sonlight read-alouds. Here are nine of my favorites.
- Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank You Book (HBL A): Besides the reminders of common courtesy, Pig Will’s mother who writes her children’s book all day inspires me!
- In Grandma’s Attic (HBL A): This book inspires me to pay attention to the details in my life and to keep a good sense of humor so that I may have something special to give my grandchildren some day.
- The Year of Miss Agnes (HBL B): Oh, to know how to touch the hearts of children and inspire them to learn! Miss Agnes teaches me the way.
- Understood Betsy (HBL B): There are themes in this book that touch on the very fabric of a mother’s heart. I learned so much about what it takes to nurture a child from this book.
- The Penderwicks (HBL C): The delightful children in this book inspire me to encourage my own children in their unique interests, as well as to promote their friendships with one another and their sense of family responsibility toward one another.
- Adoniram Judson (HBL D): Adoniram’s wife, Ann, supports her husband as he obeys God. Her devotion to the Lord in the face of suffering is deeply touching and beckons me to a life of sacrificial love.
- Caddie Woodlawn (HBL E): Another book with golden insights about what it means to nurture children.
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (HBL E): Mama is strong, courageous, and loving. She leads, teaches, and transforms her community. My heart grew simply from spending time with Cassie’s amazing Mama.
- Little Britches (HBL E): Even though the theme of this book is the relationship between Little Britches and his father, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of his mother. She is supportive, hard-working, and she teaches me a great deal about loving a man and raising a son.
Sign up for the Sonlight Invitation and see if this literature-rich education is right for your family—both for you and your children. You're guaranteed to love it.
