What's the Deal with Sonlight's Language Arts?

I ran across a fascinating discussion about Sonlight's Language Arts on Facebook. The original poster said she felt Sonlight's Language Arts was "a bit weak and abstract." The comments that follow are very encouraging:

• "Stick with it! You won't regret it."
• "My family has ONLY used Sonlight. Here's a sample of my girls' work."
• "My kids seem to do really well with Sonlight's writing."

Granted, there are less than stellar reviews as well. "Sonlight's LA is pure torture." "SL LA is truly awful!" "I think in theory Sonlight's LA works, I just don't like teaching it."

Talk about polarizing!

The theory behind Sonlight's Language Arts is very practical.

• Listen to good writing
• Look at good writing
• Copy good writing
• Then write on your own

The strong literature I grew up with highly influenced my prose. And reading/copying great writing is precisely what writing coach Daphne Gray-Grant recommends as well. Dr. Ruth Beechick originally alerted my mom to this natural approach to Language Arts.

But we decided to make our homeschool LA programs even better.

Language Arts Improvements

We re-evaluated every assignment in the Language Arts programs for Cores A through G. You now receive a better balance of grammar and creative writing assignments.

• You'll find more grammar instruction in each Language Arts program.
  • You will use the copywork/dictation passage to introduce a specific grammar concept each week.
  • Your Instructor's Guide explains that concept and shows you how it works.
  • Your students will do engaging exercises to practice the concept.
• We also re-evaluated every Creative Writing assignment, removed anything that could be considered "fluff" and rewrote many of the instructions to make sure you know exactly what to do.

Language Arts is now included in every Core program, but we kept the package prices competitive. We wanted to make sure you could check out the improvements and give your students an opportunity to learn how to write using this natural approach.

I know the year is just getting started. Have you had a chance to try out the new Sonlight^® Language Arts programs? Are you (and your children) loving the improved LA?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester