Month: November 2018

Top 10 reasons I love Sonlight Curriculum

Angela

We have completed our 7th year of homeschooling.  Feels like forever AND also like we just started.  How does that happen?

When I was preparing to take the plunge, several experienced and wise women recommended Sonlight curriculum.  Once you’ve decided you will homeschool, the next hardest decision to make is what curriculum you will use.

These experienced moms help me decide on Sonlight Curriculum and I don’t regret that decision for an instant.  We have loved the literature based curriculum.  It has a strong Biblical worldview.  One of my favorite things about being a military brat is the strong sense of belonging to the world and I wanted my children to have that same feeling.  My favorite year of study so far has been the study of the Eastern Hemisphere.  Maybe because I lived in Hawaii and Japan growing up??  We love learning about other cultures.  We’ve read so many good books.  I have loved being a part of their schooling.

Sonlight is a COMPLETE curriculum.  It offers literature, science, math, history, geography.  I place my order in the summer and it is ready to open and go in the fall.  No running to the library to get the next book.  And where I live, I don’t just run to town for every little thing!

I am 100% hand down a Sonlight curriculum fan!  We have used it for the majority of our homeschool journey.  I admit that I strayed a couple of months during various years but always returned

Why I love Sonlight?  In no order of importance!

  1. The amazing parent guide.  It is all in one big blue binder.  It is divided by weeks so all I have do is flip to what week we are on.  It tells me the even questions to ask my children with acceptable answers.
  2. One stop homeschool shopping – Bible, history, literature, science, reading and math.
  3. Their advisors are wonderful!  They are like your best friend who will help you decide what is best for your family.
  4. We read so many amazing books that I have never heard of before opening the box of curriculum.  My children are enriched for reading such good works of literature.
  5. They have an amazing frequent buyer discount plan.
  6. I love the time that I have to learn alongside my children.  I am learning as much as them and it is sticking in my brain.  I feel too much of my schooling was “for the test” and not actually learning.
  7. It started my family’s tradition of morning basket time.  We read from the Bible, literature and history before we break off into individual learning through math and other leveled classes.
  8. Sunlight offers curriculum from preschool to high school graduation.
  9. Enriched relationships with my children.  We are creating memories that will last forever.
  10. We can choose to follow the 5 day a week plan OR the four day a week plan.

The Beauty of the Change of Seasons

Angela

I am learning so much living on a farm.  As I’ve mentioned before, I grew up in a military family (and then married a military man).  I lived in two main places over and OVER until I was 30.  Texas and Hawaii.  (I also live in Japan, California and Florida but those were minor compared to the amount I lived in Texas and Hawaii.)  These states are not known for their changing seasons. Two of my military man’s last duty stations were in Kansas and New York.  Heaven to me!!!  I LOVED the change in seasons.

As a child, we learn that the four seasons in a year are spring, summer, fall and winter.  Each season is known for something.  To me, spring is the awakening of the earth after the long winter.  New babies born, flowers and trees budding.  Summer is the season of explosive growth and activity on the land.  Crops growing, bees gathering pollen for honey, baby animals growing to full size.  Fall is bringing the harvest in, butchering of animals and giving thanks to God for all that you have to keep you through the winter. Winter is rest.

Where we live, I am able to look out my windows and appreciate each season.  Our family is immersed in the lifestyle.  My oldest worked for a dairy to help bring in the harvest in September/October.   Any window we look out of our hours can be spent watching the farmers put the fields to rest for the winter after working so hard all spring, summer and fall.

I am going to take the time to learn and appreciate each season in my own life.  We all experience different seasons of growth and learning.  After spring, summer and fall, I am exhausted like the earth.  We worked so hard on the kids’ 4H projects and animals, canning for the next year and helping love on our church camp up in the mountains.  Now is time to rest and replenish.  Sleep more in the longer nights and grow our brains during school in the day.  And enjoy our family and friends as we celebrate the holidays.