If you are looking for homeschool bloggers, Instagrammers, and YouTubers to follow, here are suggestions* of a few Sonlighters we have encountered online. This list is by no means intended to be exhaustive, but it's a start for finding resources which give a boost to your homeschool day.
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Every year around this time, I see cartoons in which moms celebrate the yellow bus coming around the corner and shout, “Take my kids, please!”
Those comments usually make me sad, because I really loved being with my kids and count our homeschooling years as such sweet time together. I want all of us parents to be able to enjoy our kids and grow closer as we learn together. That’s one of my aims in offering Sonlight.
But let’s also be ruthlessly honest here.
I talk a lot about the benefits of homeschooling and even the aspects of homeschooling that make life easier, but not everything about homeschooling is picture perfect. I want you to know you’re not alone if, when the bus rolls right by, you feel a little chaos within and you start to ask yourself, “Why am I doing this again?”
That is just the right question to ask. The key step in purposeful homeschooling is to remember your “why.” Holding fast to why you chose to homeschool in the first place will you help you navigate the ups and the downs of the journey.
Whatever your why, you are deliberately making this choice not because it is easy, but because you feel it is best for your children and you are willing to make the investment, to dig in deep—even when discomfort comes—to live life according to what matters to you most.
Every powerful story has conflict. So it is with many good things in life, whether that is homeschooling, relationships or work.
Let me encourage you not only to remember your why, but also to embrace the challenge of homeschooling. Everything worth doing takes time. A fulfilling life does not always mean the easiest life possible. Theodore Roosevelt said, “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
I can reassure you that your homeschooling journey is likely to be filled with lots of delightful moments, warm memories, snuggles and cuddles and probably lots of days when your kids are having so much fun they won’t even realize they are doing school. But what about the days when it’s not smooth sailing:
These are not easy tasks, but they are worthy work. Your investment in your family, in doing the hard work of relational healing and pursuit of growth and the discipline to learn new things, has so many benefits.
When we read missionary stories of those who go through hard things for the cause of Christ, or ordinary people who change the world, we can see that it is not a life of ease, but a life of purpose that is most meaningful.
As a homeschooling parent, you are investing your life in purposeful work. What a privilege. May you press on with courage and joy in this great task, through the easy times and through the challenges, knowing you are being shaped and formed and accomplishing great things.
P.S. Whether you have children in public or private school, homeschool, or some combination of all, your work as a parent is worthy, important, and you are doing hard and good things. I just wanted to focus today on the parent who may be wondering if they have the inner strength to meet the challenges of homeschooling and say "You can do this! And it is worth it!"
I’ve got an unconventional high schooler. She’s our fifth homeschooled child, and her junior year is shaping up to look distinctly different from those of the four siblings who have already graduated before her.
By now, we’ve learned to morph and adapt to the unique strengths and drive of each high schooler in our home. For Caroline, this flexible approach includes:
See? Unconventional!
I had used Sonlight 300 20th Century World History before with our second son who is now finishing his last semester of college. His reply when I told him Caroline would be using it? “I’ve never read so much in my life!”
I love that response, because that particular son is not a reader and the course requirements really stretched him that year. The conversations we had about 20th century events and literature did, too.
That’s exactly why I knew we needed to pull out the Sonlight 300 for Caroline. Our history studies had always been thorough, but a student’s understanding and capacity for analyzing world events begins to blossom and expand in the latter high school years. I wanted to have those same meaningful discussions with her that were the benchmark of the year her older brother had studied his way through World History with Sonlight 300.
But Caroline is not her brother. The demands on her time this year are very different than his had been; she needs a carefully edited approach that fits with her other studies, including a U.S. history class that she’ll be taking on campus. Somehow we’ve got to fit the important world events that Sonlight 300 is woven around into her other studies, and so we’re shaking things up a bit and using it as a solid skeleton for what we’re trying to accomplish.
First of all, we’ll be slimming the list of literature selections because Caroline’s year is requiring a lot of her both academically and socially—symphony choir, worship band, and volunteer work. I know this sounds counterintuitive to some of you Sonlight diehards, because the curriculum really is expertly created and the literature chosen with an over-arching goal that allows each book to fit perfectly into the objectives outlined for each level. But this is how high school looks in our home: Students begin to specialize as they hone the strengths God has given them and stretch their wings into the community and culture.
What that means is we effectively have the space and time for roughly one literature pick per month. In keeping with the scope of the century, I choose one title per decade. With 10 decades in a century, and nine months in a school year, I felt we could do this!
I also wanted to include a benchmark John Steinbeck title, The Grapes of Wrath, because we live surrounded by Northern California farm land, and every California native needs to have Steinbeck under their literary belt. The themes are relevant to our culture here, and Caroline has spent much of her childhood exploring Steinbeck’s stomping grounds.
In the end, we have a list that is already piquing Caroline’s sometimes-hesitant interest, and although we just began our school year, she’s nearly done with the first book. I’ve received texts of outrage from her over shocking situations in the storyline and savored thoughtful moments of pause as she removes her earbuds to discuss something with me.
There are a few other alternate titles that I’ve woven into the Sonlight 300 literature list. Where I’ve done so, I’ve made a note so that you might understand the reason for the substitution. We love and trust the choices made by Sonlight creators and editors, but we also recognize that the beauty of homeschooling is in the capacity for developing exactly what the student ought to be studying at any given time. This means a departure from the student guide, but during those periods, I’ll be requiring slightly different work from her.
Here is our list:
I chose this title because Caroline had not read it before, and I think it is one of the most solid depictions of urban life and struggle at the turn of the last century. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn materializes on many prominent lifetime must-read literature lists.
I've already explained why I chose this title. (It also appears in Sonlight 400.)
The Book Thief appeals to Caroline because it is a title she is familiar with since the movie premiered several years ago. I felt it was an excellent adjunct to Parallel Journeys, which we will discuss, as well.
If you, too, are using Sonlight 300, you will well recognize that our list is absolutely abbreviated. I would be lying if I told you that wasn’t a difficult decision for me! I really had to pray through which titles we should keep this year, and I recognize that this only opens the door for us to expand this study and add titles for her next summer or even into her senior year. You can do that, too!
As for concurrent history studies, Caroline will be using the Sonlight 300 History Guide and the text History of the Modern World. She has already read the majority of the Bible titles that are included for this level, and we are satisfied with how this side of her studies is being fulfilled via other arenas this year.
In short, we are huge fans of Sonlight 300 because the discussions each text and guide facilitate are excellent preparation for young adults emerging into a dark and desperate world. We want to have those discussions regularly!
We also recognize the need to customize these remaining years for our high schoolers, and the layout of the student and parent guides allow us the freedom to do just that.
Sonlight offers a robust curriculum—the most thorough and thought-provoking high school courses available on the market today. Choose your high school course here.
I'm always amazed at the creativity of our moms! For example, in a recent post in a Facebook group, moms were sharing back to homeschool traditions to make a first day of school special! Here are a few of my favorites from that discussion:
A delicious breakfast to get you off to a strong start on your first day is even better if you can make it the night before (think homemade cinnamon rolls or breakfast casserole). That way you can have a treat but not spend a lot of time in the kitchen the first morning.
I loved many of our moms' ideas:
Your kids may want to have first day of school every day.
Some families like to dive into every subject at once. Others make it a tradition to begin with just a few subjects or a special Read-Aloud and work their way into all the subjects gradually over the course of a few weeks. And some, like my friend Becky, would do all the history books on one day, and all of their science pages on another day.
I didn't take nearly the amount of photos of my kids growing up as moms do today with digital technology, but I count the photos we took every year at Easter a real treasure. Children love to go back and look at these to see how they have changed.
Taking photos on the first day of school with a little sign is a great way to make sure you have a photo of your students each year—and know how old they were in it. You can download a free printable sign on our website. If you do share it on social media, please tag #sonlightstories so we can all root each other on as part of the Sonlighter community!
Write an entry for each child in a journal, noting their interests or what they want to be when they grow up, and include a prayer for them. You could even keep a separate journal for each child as a keepsake for when they graduate.
Write a letter or note to each child with a kind word about them and your hopes for the year. One of my daughters fondly remembers writing back and forth with me in a journal. I'd ask a question and then respond to the answers she gave.
Choose a theme verse or motto for your year, or talk about family goals and write them down together.
Craft a fun scavenger hunt so your children have to work through obstacles or clues to find your first Read-Aloud, your morning time basket, or the devotional book you'll be using for the year.
Gather enthusiasm for a new year by starting off with a field trip. Celebrate by going to a park, pool, or museum and enjoy how much less crowded it is now that traditional school has resumed.
Make your traditions fit your family and do something you can enjoy with your kids.
As I prepared to share this list of ideas with you, it occurred to me that we didn't keep any particular back-to-school traditions when our kids were growing up.
I just want to be honest with you here: if you are a mom who holds an elaborate celebration on the first day of school or someone who just rolls right through the year, carrying on happily in the day to day joys, both are okay.
As a Sonlight parent, you are already making incredible memories every day by the time you spend together with your children, cuddled around real books.
As low key as we are, we do still have a place for tradition in our family.
In the Holzmann family, we celebrate Family Fun Week each year. This is an intentional time we take with our children and their children to get away to play and explore, have deep conversations while we put together puzzles, and just be together. That tradition reflects what is important to our family and has become a part of our DNA.
While we continue special holiday traditions (like making Olibollen from my Dutch heritage every Old Year's Day—New Year's Eve), some of our best memories come from the daily rituals and rhythms in our homeschool.
When our kids were growing up, we had a routine of starting our day with our seat work (LA and math); we then took a break mid morning. We followed with our reading time—Bible, history, science, and reading aloud from a great book before lunch. That schedule was so ingrained in our family life it became a part of what it means to be a Holzmann—a family of book-lovers.
Traditions are a great way to bond as family, make memories, pass on values, and forge a sense of family identity.
Psychologist Susan Lieberman says "Family traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world."
On the other hand, traditions should serve you, not the other way around. No homeschool mom needs a burden or empty things to fill her time and weigh her down with guilt or exhaustion.
So I encourage you to be choosy in your traditions. Whether many or few, pick activities that reflect your values, fit your family, and bring all of you true joy. A happy mom will be one of the best memories your kids could have. You have freedom to choose!
And please know you have a family of Sonlighters here cheering you on as you begin your homeschool year. You are the best teacher for your children!
When you buy from Sonlight, you get a great product that produces proven results. To learn more about the perks of shopping with Sonlight, visit Sonlight Cares.
If you’re anything like me, back to school is an exciting time of year. The sun is shining, the kids are still happy and carefree, and I am gleefully hidden amongst piles of books and Instructor’s Guides. It’s one of my favorite times of the year. Very little thrills me more than cracking open new books on Box Day and pondering the possibilities of a new school year.
There’s only one thing that bogs me down—organization. It’s particularly challenging when I have kids in multiple Sonlight programs. How do I organize these glorious stacks of homeschool books, schedules, and papers?
The really interesting part about all of this is that I’ve never organized things the same way in all my years of homeschooling. Each year brings its own challenges, and every year requires at least a small tweak of my organization system. However, there are a few organizing tips that I’ve found to stand the test of time. Pick and choose from these five systems for organizing multiple levels of Sonlight.
Continue reading below or listen here:
Sonlight makes planning for the year a breeze. I use the Crate System, made popular by Kristi Clover and used by homeschoolers across the land. It’s easy. I fill a crate full of 36 hanging files. Then, I assign each of my kids 36 colored file folders, one per week. I file all their activity pages in those files.
Even workbooks such as Explode the Code go in there. Yes, I do tear them apart. I know it’s hard to do, but it’s worth it to be able to just pull out the file each week. I even throw in a page for their Spelling pretest and posttest. This allows me to have little to no prep time on weekends during the school year. The weekly file folders also enable my kids to immediately begin their work without having to wait for me to hand them their activity pages.
I love the big, sturdy Sonlight binder just as much as anyone else, but when you have three separate binders, it gets cumbersome to lug out each binder every single week. So, I set up a crate for myself. I set up thirty-six hanging files to hold one week of Instructor’s Guides for every level my kids are using for the year.
It’s a real sanity-saver to be able to pull out all your Instructor’s Guide pages at one time. Then, at the beginning of the week, I take the Instructor’s Guide pages out of the file folder and put them into a smaller binder with dividers so I can quickly find the section I need. At the end of the year, I have my most administrative-minded child file all the schedules back in their place in the Sonlight binder.
Each year, I buy inexpensive student assignment books for each of my school age children. Each week, on Friday afternoon, I sit down with my Instructor’s Guide and write out all their assignments for the week. This practice has transformed our school days. It has enabled my kids to become more independent and more accountable, and has freed up my mind through the week.
It sounds complicated, but the compendium is actually a very simple spiral notebook that my kids use for every subject. It’s the place where they do all their “loose" paperwork. A spelling, writing, or even a math assignment can be completed in the compendium.
On the very front page, we write a table of contents. Then, we number all the pages of the spiral notebook. When they complete an assignment in their compendium, they simply write the page number and the assignment on their custom table of contents. This system makes finding assignments super simple.
Grading is so much easier with this system, too, because I never have to go searching for a “loose paper” assignment. I know exactly where they are, and I can even keep track of what I’ve graded using a red check mark next to the assignment in the table of contents.
The final system that I’ve found to be a lifesaver is the portfolio system. Many states require a portfolio anyway, and I’ve discovered that filing the papers directly into the portfolio instead of waiting until the end of the year makes a big difference! Our portfolios consist of a large 3-ring binder and a set of dividers. We write each subject on a divider, and on Friday afternoons, they put all their graded work into the appropriate place in the binder. I also include any rubrics or progress reports they may have. At the end of the year, I get to breathe a huge sigh of relief, because there is no mountain of unorganized papers to painstakingly sort through.
With just a little bit of planning, you can set up your Sonlight year for success, even with multiple levels! You’ll be glad you took the time to prepare your year when the middle of February rolls around. There’s still time no matter where you are in your school year, so grab some coffee and a snack, and start organizing your multiple levels of Sonlight!
If you need advice about managing multiple programs or teaching multiple children together, we have experienced homeschooling moms who would love to talk to you. Click here to connect with your homeschool consultant.
When I tell people that I homeschool my 10 children, they nearly always say, "You must be very organized!" I smile and pinch my husband so he doesn't reveal the truth that I'm not a terribly organized person. Even though I have never used a fancy planner to plot out my life out on paper, I have discovered three key secrets to managing my large family homeschool. Maybe they will help you, too!
Continue reading below or listen here:
My friend's house is orderly and oozes with learning. A map puzzle is neatly assembled under a clear tablecloth, and history study sheets hang on the wall behind the dining room table. But as a second generation homeschooler, I am not keen on having my house look like a school room. I opted out of the maps hanging in the dining room and a timeline along the living room ceiling.
What we do have—clearly visible in our house for all to see—is a wipe off board with our daily schedule.
This whiteboard has changed over the years. The early version was to help keep me on track. It listed our subjects and page numbers of books so I could keep moving forward with a glance.
As the kids grew, they started to have individual lines on the chart: school subjects, reading assignments, chores, laundry days—I even scheduled showers one year. It became an at-a-glance checkoff list. I still check their work to see that it is getting done, but the schedule board helped keep people from piling up in front of me asking the dreaded question, “What do I do next?”
Last year we used three Sonlight History / Bible / Literature (HBL) programs: HBL A, HBL F, and Sonlight 400. Keeping up with three bulky Instructor's Guide (IG) binders was troublesome, so to make moving from student to student easier, I put the current week of each binder into a single, 1-inch binder.
This adjustment made it easy to check in with kids throughout the day, moving from room to room without hauling three heavy binders. Having everything at my fingertips made it simple to answer questions about any level of work without a huge interruption to find my binders and thumb to the appropriate weeks. When we travel to Grandma’s house for Science, it is easy to gather books from the schedules I see in my one manageable binder.
In the past when my children all used the same program, I would pull about six weeks of work from the individual HBL and put it in a small binder. This would be our gauge for school breaks. When we finished the work in the binder, we knew it was time to take a short break or have a reward field trip.
I learned early to follow cues from my kids about how to structure the school day. For example, when my son was little, we would butt heads over Math. Sometimes it would take hours for it to be completed, and other times he would get it done with far less help. When I started looking into why, I discovered that when we did math late in the day, it took the longest. We solved the whole dilemma by making Math the first subject of the day. A little observation and flexibility made our days go more smoothly for both of us.
Another example comes from our homeschool room. I was so excited to have all of our learning in one place in our newly finished basement! I moved all of our bookshelves and tables into this homeschool space, picturing how we would be one cozy family, learning side by side. The trouble was that my teens had moved into more independent work, and they found the little ones annoying.
I had a choice to make. I could be insulted that they didn’t love my plan and insist that they school where I wanted them to, or I could listen to their input (and admit that, yes, the other kids are sometimes annoying). We compromised on the school room by working out a trial period. As long as the teens could complete their work with less oversight, they could study wherever they chose. It is not how I envisioned our school year, but it turned out just fine. Looking back, I think that my teens are actually more college ready because of our arrangement.
By listening to my kids, I have learned to flex with healthy doses of give-and-take. As a perk, my children are far more engaged and cooperative because they know they have a voice in how the homeschool day runs.
You actually don’t have to be super organized to be a successful homeschool family. I'm a testament to that! You simply need the right tools for your family to keep things moving smoothly throughout the day.
Sonlight keeps your homeschool schedule organized even if you aren't terribly organized yourself. Go to SmoothCourse to explore your options.
You might be surprised to know this, but I’m a bit of a rebel. Oh yes! Most of the time, it doesn’t bother me one bit to go against the grain. That’s probably why I’m a homeschooler and why many of you are too. We don’t mind swimming upstream; in fact, we may take a bit of pride in it.
However, being a rebel can make choosing a homeschool curriculum tough.
I still remember my first year of homeschooling. I was idealistic and probably too optimistic, and I decided that I would piece together my entire school year from a hodgepodge of resources.
Bless me.
I almost didn’t survive the year. I worked so hard and ended up, sadly, with little to show for it. My son had not received the knowledge that I had hoped for.
So the next year, being older and wiser, I decided that I needed a planned curriculum. I searched high and low and quickly settled on Sonlight. I knew that as a child, I would have loved a Sonlight education, and I felt sure that it would be a good fit for my children. But visions of my years as a public school teacher swimming through frameworks plagued me. There was one thing I knew I just couldn’t quite handle—the feeling of being bound by a curriculum.
In my mind, a constrictive curriculum felt like wearing skinny jeans that are a size too small. I wanted the opposite of my do-it-all-myself first year, but I still wanted to put my personal mark on my kids’ education.
So when the glorious day, affectionately known to Sonlighters as Box Day, rolled around, I approached the Instructor’s Guide with my pencil. Oh yes, this would be simple to make my own:
I had crafted our masterpiece year.
That first year with Sonlight was quite possibly my favorite year yet. Maybe it was just because I was so ready for some help. Or maybe it was that the literature and flow of the curriculum had such an soothing feel. It could have been that I didn’t have to give up my individuality as a homeschooling mom. But for whatever reason, that year was smooth sailing. We finished the year, feeling great about what we had accomplished together.
Since then, I have marked up multiple Instructor’s Guides. Some years, I lean more towards being a Sonlight purist. Some years, my eclectic style really shines. It all depends on the season of life we find ourselves in.
So if I had that first year to do all over again, here’s what I would say today to my younger self—that idealistic, optimistic, rebellious, DIYer.
You are not going to find the perfect curriculum. It doesn’t exist. There will be some part of any program that doesn’t quite fit your style. But like my mom always said, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Don’t disregard an entire curriculum on account of one or two areas of incompatibility.
Even eclectic homeschoolers need a foundation. Like I mentioned earlier, my first year was a nightmare trying to piece together an entire curriculum for my first grader. We skipped things we shouldn’t have skipped, and we jumped from here to there when my son really needed a more logical order. Building a curriculum takes weeks and months of hard work. Let someone else do that for you! Let them build a foundation that you can tailor to fit your child’s needs.
Once you have your foundation curriculum, be a rebel. Take your pencil, and write in whatever you can’t live without. Scratch out anything that you just can’t see yourself doing. In years past, I have even put post-it notes over sections in the schedule that we needed to skip for one reason or another.
Look at each schedule page as a recipe. Make every page your own. Add a little of this, a little of that, and boom! You’ve got an eclectic education with a strong foundation.
One of the great things about Sonlight is that you have choices. Every year, I get so much joy from going through the ordering process with Sonlight. You can choose to build your own curriculum, and there is definitely something empowering about being in control of what you do or do not purchase.
If you prefer a different Science program, great! Order a level package without the Science. If you like a different approach to Language Arts, go for it! The Sonlight experience allows for customizations. It’s a rebel homeschooler’s dream.
When you find a curriculum that works for you, stick with it. One of the biggest mistakes a homeschooling mom can make is curriculum hopping. Believe me, I know! When you jump around, trying out many different curricula, you will have gaps in learning that require backtracking to bridge.
Sonlight is expertly planned, so give your child a seamless education by sticking with the curriculum that’s working.
If you’re a homeschooler, chances are that you’re already a bit of a rebel. So don’t feel burdened by your Instructor’s Guide. It was never meant to be a straightjacket. Rather, view it as your diving board. Feel free to use it in a way that best suits your family. I am thankful that over the years, Sonlight has allowed me to express my rebel tendencies while giving my children a great foundation of learning.
Ready to customize a curriculum that will allow you to express your rebel tendencies? Go to SmoothCourse and get started today.
