Sonlight Homeschooling Blog

May. 17, 2017

I Came Back to Sonlight Because I Love My Freedom

As we approached the end of our homeschool year, I did what all homeschooling moms do—I considered which curriculum to select for the next school year.

In my household the end of the school year is a time of reflection to evaluate what is working well on an individual basis for all four of my kids, thinking about the areas that need improvement for each one. It is a time to implement new methods, add subjects, or subtract activities. I love the end of the school year because it is like a fresh slate, but it can also be rather stressful to wade through.

We had a great school year with Sonlight, so why change things?

We loved having Sonlight as the foundation of our homeschool this year. My youngest two kids listened in on the readers they found interesting while they played with LEGO nearby. It worked out well.

This situation, though, was one thing I wanted to change for the upcoming year. I didn’t want my youngest two always tagging along with their older siblings' literature. I wanted them to have history and geography books that spoke to them—books that had colorful pictures and wonderful meanings. At the same time I wanted my older two to be challenged by more advanced storylines and to dig deeper into history.

How could I chose one program that would meet the needs of all four of my children, meeting them each precisely at their own level?

Overwhelmed with Options

I asked my fellow homeschooling friends who were in similar situations, and their advice lead me down a curriculum rabbit hole. Any other mother out there who has fallen down this rabbit hole knows just how overwhelming it can be. There are so many choices. They can all look appealing.

My children were born within a four-year time span, and I was on the hunt for a single, core curriculum that would capture the attention of all of them at once. I was looking for something challenging enough for my fifth grader that wasn’t going to be over the head of my Kindergartner.

Leaving Sonlight

After hours of research, I finally found my solution, and while I was sad to leave Sonlight, I truly thought this new curriculum was the answer.

I placed my order with the other company, received my package, and was not happy. I realized quickly that I was going to have to spend a ton of time fleshing out the program I had purchased:

developing projects for my older kids to achieve the depth I hoped for
hunting down booklists and reading dozens of novels and biographies in advance to verify the content
turning our weekly library runs into work instead of fun outings with my kids

I was going to have to spend a lot of time doing this, time that would reduce my freedom to go where the wind takes us. I did not want that. After I sent it back, I knew that my heart was still with Sonlight and I needed to return to what worked so wonderfully this past year—the curriculum that offered us structure with freedom.

Because if it isn’t broken, why fix it?

Ordering Sonlight Again

But could I really find the time to do two programs with my four kids? That’s a lot of reading! Ultimately, yes, I resolved myself to doing two different History / Bible / Literature (HBL) programs from Sonlight:

Level D, Intro to American History, Year 1 of 2 for my older two
Level A, Intro to the World: Cultures for my younger two

I thought about creative ways to incorporate my older kids into the Read-Alouds for the younger kids. I also decided to reserve a few readers as a bedtime reading for the whole family. I finally felt like I could make this work; I was getting excited!

Why I Came Back to Sonlight

The big reasons I came back to Sonlight are simple but very significant. In a nutshell, Sonlight helps me maximize my time and be the very best teacher I can be for my kids.

I appreciate all these assurances even more after momentarily leaving Sonlight:

having every single book I will need for the entire school year in one place
having a road map to follow in my Instructor’s Guides
knowing ahead of time every book they read is going to be safe and age appropriate
knowing that all of the readers correlate to the history lessons each week
knowing that God's character is reflected in everything we read
knowing they will be fascinated by history
knowing they love to read
knowing I will be less stressed with planning lessons
knowing I won't have to spend time scouring for resources

We are heading into our next school year more excited than ever. Our books have arrived and are waiting for us on our shelves! I am so thankful I came back to what I know works. Actually, Sonlight not only works, it provides us with more time in our homeschool days to experience the freedom we desire! There is no denying we will be reading a lot, but we cannot wait!

We welcome you to come back to Sonlight just like Ashlee did. Find your freedom with a fully planned curriculum, based on high quality literature. Get our latest catalog here.

Tagged benefits of homeschooling, choosing, curriculum, freedom, homeschool, Homeschooling, multiple children, Sonlight | 3 Comments

May. 15, 2017

Homeschooling Away From a Fear Versus Towards a Goal

By Sarita

I didn't decide to homeschool for lofty reasons. I didn't have a clear vision for my children's education. I didn't even really want to be at home with them all day.

I agreed to try homeschooling because we couldn't afford our private school tuition. And we knew we didn't want our kids in the particular public school in our district. (Read more of that story here.)

So with John's encouragement, I reluctantly agreed to try homeschooling. I planned to homeschool to get away from something–away from impossible tuition or an unacceptable public school option.

Homeschooling to Escape a Negative

And at first, it might work to homeschool in order get away from something. Maybe you need to get your child away from a bully, or out of a school that doesn't meet her special needs. Maybe you’re generally scared of public education.

That can be a good place to start. But running away from something won’t lead to the fulfilling homeschooling experience you want. Because once you get away, what are you going to do then?

Homeschooling Towards a Positive Goal

For the long haul, we all need to answer what we are homeschooling towards.

What are your positive motivations for homeschooling? If some of your motivations are fear-based, can you flip them around and think of them in a more motivating light? Then you know what you’re working toward!

For example:

Change “I homeschool to keep my child away from a bully” to “I homeschool in order provide a safe environment where my child can be herself.”
Move from “I homeschool because public school killed my child’s love of learning” to “I homeschool in order to rekindle and fuel my children’s love of learning.”
Revise “I homeschool because a school wouldn’t keep my gifted son challenged and interested” to “I homeschool in order to provide a customized education that will challenge and inspire my gifted son.”
Change “I homeschool because I fear the public schools will indoctrinate my children” to “I homeschool in order to educate (not indoctrinate) my children within the context of my Christian faith.”

Positive Goals Hold the Power to Motivate

Do you feel the powerful shift that can happen here? It’s hard to get up every day and be motivated by something you’ve already escaped or avoided (e.g. bullies, Common Core or a bad student/teacher ratio). But if you know what you’re working toward instead, you can get up every day motivated by those goals.

So … what are you homeschooling toward?

I quickly moved from homeschooling out of necessity to homeschooling because of what we could provide for our children.

If you’re interested, John and I homeschooled because we wanted to:

Help our children love learning;
Earn a place of trust in our children’s lives as we kept conversation pathways open about tricky topics;
Teach from the perspective of our faith and of God’s work in the world, letting Scripture and talk of God permeate our school days;
Give our children a heart for the whole world, not just the United States, and ensure they received a truly global education;
Build solid family bonds as we spent so much time together;
Provide a customized education to each child based on each one’s strengths and weaknesses;
Snuggle on the couch to read and read and read with our children! I couldn’t wait to share all my childhood favorites with them and discover new favorites along the way.

Those are some highlights of what I homeschooled toward. (You can read more in our Top Ten Goals article if you’d like.) This is what kept me going day in and day out. And I am so glad I did! As I share in our e-book entitled “It Was Worth It! Real Stories to Inspire Your Homeschool Journey”, homeschooling turned out to be a beautiful and rewarding path for our family.

Tagged fear, goals, Homeschooling, motivation, reasons to homeschool | Leave a comment

May. 12, 2017

When Kids Still Struggle With Reading Even in a Print-Rich Home

By Sarita

If the ability to read is so important, what do we do when our children just aren't learning to read well? What if we fill our houses with books and read aloud daily ... and they still struggle? Are our efforts to provide a print-rich environment in vain?

No. And the reason lies in the difference between literacy and reading ability.

The Same Exposure to Books But Different Reading Proficiency

Research bears out the obvious fact that children surrounded by books learn more effectively and thus do better in school. But some parents' experience doesn't seem to mirror the expected.

For example, one mom commented that she has thousands of books in her home and reads to her children all the time. While two of her children are excellent readers, two others have a much harder time. Has she been wasting her time reading to the two who struggle? She certainly doesn't think so—and I agree.

I also had children who greatly varied in how early they learned to read. One read very early and continues to devour books. One worked very hard at reading and reads slowly even today, but never forgets what is read. Both children excelled in college. So what might be at work here?

The Difference Between Literacy and Reading Ability

I'm going to postulate that all the hours we spend reading aloud to our children make up for a host of gaps they might have if we hadn't read to them.

In E. D. Hirsch's book Cultural Literacy, he compares the reading ability of two sets of junior college students. They read two articles and answered comprehension questions afterwards. The first article covered a generic topic (love) that required absolutely no additional knowledge to understand, other than the ability to decode the words. Both sets of students answered those questions equally well. But the second article they read told the story of General Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox. Students who had no previous knowledge about the subject could not answer the questions about this article. They lacked the background information necessary to even know who Grant and Lee were and why they needed to meet. They had no context.

In my thinking, a literate person has the necessary background information—the cultural literacy, in Hirsch's words—to understand what she reads.

Keep On Reading Aloud

In a home where families read a wide variety of books together, children gain invaluable cultural literacy. Combine this with the ability to learn from books (even if someone else is reading them out loud), and you've got a great head start on academic success.

So even if you have a child who struggles to read on his own or dislikes reading, keep reading to him! Don't think for a minute that your efforts haven't born fruit. Consider the cultural literacy, cognitive skills, and emotional maturity you're helping him build by surrounding him with great stories, engaging characters, and thought-provoking discussions.

Curious to see what an education rich in both reading and cultural literacy might look like for your family? Go to SmoothCourse to explore your options.

Tagged Cultural literacy, literacy, reading | Leave a comment

May. 5, 2017

Why I Homeschool 4 Days a Week: No More Stressed Out "Friday Mom"

By Deana Wood

Why I Homeschool Four Days a Week: No More Stressed Out "Friday Mom" • homeschool schedules

Not all Fridays are great. Sometimes they bring out Friday Mom. You know the kind of Fridays I mean. They should be fun. But they turn into stress.

For example, on a recent Friday morning, we had one hour before we had to leave home for a field trip. Of course, you know what happened—chaos.

After the three-ring-circus of getting dressed, we still had schoolwork to do for the day, and I intended to use every second of the 9.5 minutes we had left before heading out. So we quickly gathered in the living room for the speediest round of read alouds known to man. At one point, I even considered letting my oldest child read a book solo while I was reading a different book to save time. Yes, Friday Mom had returned for another episode again this week.

Crazy right?

This breakneck pace is how it has gone for far too many Fridays in my house. The Friday list in my homeschool planner had become just another box to check. I knew that there was no learning happening because I was furiously trying to cram in field trips, play dates, co-op, and a full day of school.

Shifting to a Four-Day Homeschool Schedule

An easy solution to prevent Friday Mom syndrome is to shift to a 4-day schedule instead of insisting on doing school five days each week. Here are three huge benefits I've found as a result of this new, compact schedule.

Listen to this post narrated by the author Deana Wood, using the audio player embedded here.

Family Flexibility

It’s essential to your family's well being to schedule time for relaxation. After busy weeks full of church, sports practice, and dance recitals, families simply need rest. If you feel pulled in too many directions with a busy schedule, a four-day homeschool schedule can provide you with margin to relax and restore your spirit so that you are ready to press forward the next day.

Educational Enrichment

Homeschool parents everywhere lament that there’s not enough time to fit in the fun extracurriculars, hands-on projects, and outside activities. And what a shame! Doing the fun extras is probably one of the reasons we chose to homeschool in the first place. But exactly like public schools, homeschoolers can get bogged down in the academics and neglect to make time for the extras that are so important to us.

This year, I’m looking forward to using some of my extra Fridays for art and music lessons. My bonus day each week opens opportunities to explore the arts or to pursue my child’s own unique interests. And we don't have to worry about doing our regular homeschool subjects on those days! We can devote all our attention to our beloved extras.

Homeschool Co-Ops

What did we do before homeschool co-ops? We were much more isolated, that's what!

Through my local co-op, I've experienced invaluable community and fellowship, not to mention the classes and social experiences my children have benefited from. A four-day schooling routine fits perfectly with co-ops. You school at home for four days, and you school at the co-op on the fifth.

If you’re like me, you’re probably concerned that a four-day week won't provide a full and rigorous education. Although I originally worried about that, I came to the conclusion that my fears were unfounded. Because homeschooling is so much more efficient than public education, we can fit in lots more learning in a fraction of the time. And your children really are learning while you are on field trips and at co-op. Those hours count as school!

Besides, if you choose a specially designed four-day curriculum like Sonlight's newly released programs, you can be assured that all the bases are covered, and you won't have to rearrange a typical five-day schedule yourself. Best of all, Friday Mom won't be making any end-of-the-week appearances. And I'm sure your kids won't miss her one bit.

If you have questions about how a 4-day homeschool schedule could work for your family, we have experienced homeschooling moms who would love to talk to you. Click here to connect with your homeschool consultant.

Tagged co-op, four-day, homeschool, schedules | 1 Comment

May. 3, 2017

Choose the Most Enjoyable Way to Homeschool: Reading Great Books

By Sonlight

Although books are far more memorable than textbooks, no one would claim that the whole point of reading is to improve your memory for facts. That would be ridiculous.

We read because reading is enjoyable!

I would rather read something to my boys that makes them guffaw and cheer, than something they listen to more passively.
I would rather read something that makes my eyes prickle and my voice break because of the beauty of the language and the scene, rather than some factual report.

You Have a Choice. Choose the Most Enjoyable.

This, to me, is such an obvious benefit, I initially overlooked it, even as you probably don’t think of the deliciousness of water until you are thirsty. If you could choose between an enjoyable way to study, or a boring one, why not choose the enjoyable?

In a world of worksheets and textbooks, in a world of digital techno wizardry, we can remain connected to stories by choosing an enjoyable, literature-rich homeschool curriculum.

Even if textbooks were equally good as real books in order to learn (which they’re not), wouldn’t it make sense to choose the more enjoyable?

Great books are enjoyable. Homeschooling with great books is the most enjoyable way to homeschool.

Learning doesn’t have to be unpleasant. At times it might be hard work, but it doesn’t have to be boring.

These days, there are so many options for schooling and entertainment. Reading is not quite dead, but with the rise of television and video games, organized sports and social media, books seem a bit retro.

Learn to Enjoy Reading by Reading Great Books

And let me add: if this message isn’t resonating with you, it is possible that you have never read a good book. It happens. That doesn’t mean a literature-rich program won’t work for you.

Some children come to Sonlight in mid-elementary school. They hate books and they hate reading. But by mid-year, most of these reluctant readers have had that transformational moment where they must know what happens next! And then they’re hooked.

If you’re not hooked on reading, you might just need to read the right books. And then see what a joy learning can be.

Unlike, say, math workbooks that are designed for a specific grade, real books delight and teach a range of ages. I like how C.S. Lewis puts it:

No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally—and often far more—worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.

And because the books inform and instruct a range of ages, you can combine a couple of children into one program, if you want. (Add on age-appropriate subject materials, like spelling, math, and reading instruction, for each child to use independently.)

The Most Enjoyable for Parents, Too

But possibly the best benefit, at least from the teacher’s perspective? Literature-rich education is the most enjoyable way to homeschool for us parents, too. As a parent, I eagerly look forward to reading my favorite childhood books to my children:

Books that don’t hit us over the head with moralizing, but offer real people who deal with real, and challenging, scenarios.
Books that make us laugh, and love this beautiful world.
Books that make us cry, and grieve for this broken world.
Books that don’t overwhelm with darkness, but also don’t pretend darkness doesn’t exist.
Books that maybe don’t have the best cover but hold hidden gems, like Red Sails to Capri and Shadow Spinner.
Books that maybe aren’t cheerful to read, but lead to rich conversations.

If you have ever thought that your own education was a little lacking, know that Sonlight parents regularly say, “I am learning so much!” We love that you find Sonlight the most enjoyable way to homeschool!

Ready to enjoy learning? Visit SmoothCourse, our ordering process, to start today.

Tagged Homeschooling, joy, living books, reading | Leave a comment

May. 3, 2017

Homeschooling the Struggling Reader

By Luke

My little sister loves reading. If she has some free time, she'll open a book. Reading is one of her favorite ways to pass the day. Me? Not so much.

In fact, I read very few books every year. It's hard work for me. I get exhausted easily. And it takes me forever; so even if I spent the day reading, I wouldn't have the satisfaction of reaching the end of the book. Movies are a much quicker way to get through a fun story.

Wait... aren't I one of the biggest proponents of a literature-rich approach to homeschooling? Isn't Sonlight homeschool curriculum built around lots and lots of reading? Shouldn't I just adore books?

Yes. Yes. And, I do.

Continue reading below or listen here:

A Child Can Love Books Yet Struggle With Reading

I love great books. It's the mechanics of reading that bog me down. Part of it has to do with my eyes not tracking together. This conflict in my vision wears me out when I read. Part of the problem is how I read: one word at a time. I've long joked that I can write faster than I can read. And, who knows, there may be some other issue buried deep within my psyche or physiology that further hinders my reading.

In short: I struggled with reading. A lot.

Homeschooling, however, provided my parents the flexibility to let me go at my own pace. It also allowed me to customize my studies so I could succeed, even if I wasn't doing it the traditional way. This meant my mom read many of my school books out loud to me. In high school, I took to listening to my books on tape. I love books, but reading is hard.

Requiring Proficiency Can Be a Detriment

Starting in high school, and definitely by college, most schools realize that students learn at different paces and have slightly different interests. Thus, students can select what courses they wish to take, and skip some that "aren't for them."

With homeschooling, we can begin to apply this powerful idea much, much earlier. In my case, my mom read most of my readers to me years after I "should" have been reading on my own. Why? Because I wasn't good at reading. I struggled with it.

My dad is convinced that had I been in a classroom, I would have been placed in a remedial reading program at best. But because I wasn't required to be proficient in reading by a certain standardized age/grade/year, I was able to keep learning. Sure, I didn't read By the Great Horn Spoon myself, but I have fond memories of the book because my mom read it to me. She read aloud books that I couldn't have handled solo.

Put simply: My mom helped me continue learning because she didn't let me get hung up by tasks I wasn't ready for yet. I can't count the number of books I would have missed out on had she required me to read my readers.

This is not to say that there isn't a place for remedial reading instruction. We even have a Remedial Reading Program that can help kids who encounter serious difficulty with reading into upper elementary and middle grades.

Because of the way my mom handled my education, my struggles with reading didn't hold me back from learning. You can do the same with your children.

Focus on Learning Even Before Proficiency Arrives

Homeschooling gives us flexibility so our children can continue learning, even if they get overwhelmed by some of the mechanics connected to a subject. Homeschooling allows us to focus on learning instead of a reading level. We can race ahead in our areas of strength and take the time we need to master the things we aren't proficient in yet.

With homeschooling, we can let our children keep moving forward.

Reading Can Improve in Adulthood

Thankfully, as a film major, I didn't have to read as much in college. In fact, it wasn't until a few years after getting married, purchasing some glasses with prism lenses, and reading the Bible out loud to Brittany every morning that my reading actually significantly improved.

But Sonlight was the perfect fit for me. I'm thankful my parents were able to share all that fantastic literature with me despite my struggle with reading.

If you aren't sure how to teach your struggling reader contact one of our advisors and ask if Sonlight's Remedial Reading Program is the solution.

Tagged books, read-alouds, reading, special needs, struggling reader | Leave a comment

May. 1, 2017

Six Types of Children's Books for a Beautiful Home Library

By Sonlight

I once found a quote I liked by Jim Rhoan (I don’t know who he is—just found this quote somewhere). He said, “Poor people have big TVs; rich people have big libraries.”

I don’t know if that is completely true, but I like the memory of the library in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, or some of the stately libraries on gorgeous estates, filled with leather-bound volumes.

At Sonlight, we want your children to have a personal library they love. So when they read about biremes (ships with two levels of oars) in Sonlight B, they run to the shelf to pull out a book about triremes (ships with three levels of oars) in Sonlight A, to compare the pictures.

Or when they read about making oil paints in Science B, they remember what they learned in their ARTistic Pursuits art book about how paints were made hundreds of years ago, before paints came in tubes.

The education interweaves, and as children find new friends in their books, they refer back to their older book friends.

But the library we want you to have is not only for reference! Here are six different types of books that we hope you have in your home library. The longer you use Sonlight, the richer your home library will become because our curriculum is filled with these six types of books.

Quality Books That You Want to Read Over and Over

Author Gail Carson Levine said, “There's nothing wrong with reading a book you love over and over. When you do, the words get inside you, become a part of you, in a way that words in a book you've read only once can't.”

I love that. The best books welcome rereading. The pleasure of the current reading is an overlay on the memory of the pleasure of the previous reading. I relive the beauty with the memory of the beauty I experienced before.

Quote about reading •"There's nothing wrong with reading a book you love over and over. When you do, the words get inside you, become a part of you, in a way that words in a book you've read only once can't.” Gail Carson Levine

Sonlight books welcome this kind of rereading. I have read The Horse and His Boy (in Sonlight F) more than a dozen times, and the way the pieces weave together still delights me. For me, The Horse and His Boy is like the story of Joseph in the Old Testament, where the events that were foretold come to pass but not the way you might expect, and only after much struggle.

This book reminds me that just because I might be in the midst of struggle right now, the end might be very different from the middle, and this stage of struggle won’t last forever. Sometimes I need that reminder.

In my house, teens reread books they loved in early elementary; tweens get excited for their younger siblings to hear a favorite book for the first time. (And sometimes the older boys listen in as I read to the younger brothers.)

We want your children to have continual access to books that they love, books that they reference, books that they remember.

Praiseworthy Books That Uplift and Instruct

As Christians, we take seriously Paul’s instructions to the church at Philippi to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy. Of course, the Bible itself contains many stories of hard things: from the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea, to the temper tantrum of Jonah, to the death of Jesus on the cross. Yet the Bible satisfies Paul’s list, and encourages the reader to walk in righteousness . . . even as it acknowledges the existence of evil.

Fill your home library with titles that don’t skirt hard things, but create a starting point to understand truth, nobility, loveliness, and excellence. Thus, even though the end of Charlotte’s Web might make us cry, we know that we have read about lovely and praiseworthy friendships.

Books from a Variety of Genres

You probably have a few types of books that you particularly enjoy. My favorite genres are either adventure or coming-of-age novels, and self-help books. My sons prefer science fiction and history. My husband prefers economics.

Whether you like mysteries or nonfiction, history or Christian romance, each of us tends to choose books from our favorite genres. But if you always gravitate to the same genres, imagine all the great books you are missing!

Sonlight’s founder, Sarita, enjoys introducing customers to books they would not likely discover on their own. That's why the programs include a wide variety of genres. And because the books are integrated in complete packages, even if you wouldn’t normally pick up a particular book, the Instructor’s Guide prompts you to read a biography, romance, historical fiction, mystery, or other work. You’ll sample books from genres you might not normally consider. And you will probably discover that both you and your children love the selections even when you initially judged the book a bust by its cover.

Accessible Books With Different Levels

Children should read books with different difficulty levels, rather than always focus on books at the edge of their ability. Just because a first grader can read at a third grade level doesn’t mean that that child always should read at that level—any more than you, as an adult who can read college texts, should consistently read at that level.

In the same way a sprinter will spend time in practice on strength training, starts, and stamina, and not run at race pace all the time, a home library should have different levels of reading material so that students

sometimes challenge their limits (race pace);
often read books that build stamina while filling their minds with great content;
occasionally, just have fun.

Each book in your home library contributes to a balanced education, providing a variety of experiences.

Diverse Books From Different Cultures and Authors

Sonlight pursues three forms of diversity in the books it includes because we think your home libraries should reflect an abundance of perspectives.

Books from a variety of authors.
Books whose authors and characters come from backgrounds other than Western Europe.
Books by both male and female authors, and approximately equal numbers of male and female main characters.

“Keep reading!” Books That Hook You

Lorelei K said, “Our biggest problem is that we can't get enough of the books! I cannot tell you how many weeks we read ahead ‘just one more chapter’ because we become absolutely enthralled by the characters and plots.”

We deal with this on a regular basis at my house, too. This common Sonlight problem is a problem I’m thrilled to have. We hope that your library is filled with books that grab your children's imagination to the extent that they can't bear to stop reading each day.

Ready to start building your home library? Go to SmoothCourse and get started today.

Tagged books, Different reading abilities, Homeschooling, library, reading | Leave a comment