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gina
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Joined: March 31 2006
Location: Alabama
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| Posted: Aug 24 2006 at 5:12pm | IP Logged
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My dear ladies,
I am again rethinking my school year because my choice of language arts(ILL)along with Daily Grams5. Is not going well, and my writing assignments are just what I come up with.
We do enjoy DG's5, but composition and those artsy discussions in ILL are not my strong points and because there are not answers in ILL, we just never get to doing ILL, although it's a lovely book.
For history: This country of ours
and &nb sp;Our Island story
and George Washington's world/Abe Lincoln's World
plus extra living book biography's, etc...
and it's going well,
but I am not good at scheduling writing assignments or discussions because I am a new homeschooler who does not feel adequate. Also, i have to travel 22 miles one way to the Library.
For these reasons i was considering getting Sonlight Core4 with LA so that all that history and LA and the scheduling is all done for me. Does that make sense?
Is my thinking correct in believing it would relieve some of my stress and give him a stronger LA and composition program?? I am doing FIAR vol.1 with my 5yr old and that's about all the planning I can handle, sorry to say.
And do I really need to worry about the strong protestant books? I guess Sonlight Catholic will help me with that.
For science i would do either Sonlight 4 or Neoe BioII.
I can't seem to get my 1st and 5th together in science
 . So for my 1st I would do either Sonlight K or NEoe Bio I.
Possibly could do both kids in Neoe PhysicsI, but I don't want to hold my older guy back. I feel we lost a lot of time during our first year last year.
Thanks
for you input and help. I am stressed because i see my years plans crumbling and I spent so many hours planning.
not to mention $$. Heaven help me.
Gina
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gina
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Joined: March 31 2006
Location: Alabama
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Posts: 23
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| Posted: Aug 24 2006 at 5:24pm | IP Logged
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Oh, I almost forgot, I did purchase the Writers Jungle.
But have not read it. I don't know if i could do it.
I guess it would be an option to just read it and try the activities with 10ds. And maybe join her the Arrow.
Would that be too mom intensive or a good thing.
I still would not have the LA spiraling with history which i think would be a good thing.
Thanks again for your input.
Gina 
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Meredith
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| Posted: Aug 24 2006 at 5:39pm | IP Logged
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Gina, for what it's worth and you're being newer to hsing, I might suggest something different than Sonlight's LA. It's VERY intense and it isn't necessary to have your LA correlate to historical studies. Have you considered something like the Language of God series trough CHC??
__________________
Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
Sweetness and Light
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Angel
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| Posted: Aug 26 2006 at 11:38am | IP Logged
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I'd recommend the Sonlight Core 4 *books* (we're going to be reading through them this year, although I tend not to follow the instructor's guide verbatim), but I'm not so sure about the LA component. We don't use it because I read to my 9 and 7 yo out of the same books. My 9 yo is a very strong reader, but has weak spelling skills and other physical difficulties which make it hard for him to write; and my 7 yo is not ready to do LA on a 4th grade level either. It's my understanding that Sonlight LA is pretty rigorous.
However, it does simplify my life to read to them together. (I read many of the readers aloud as well.) Even my 3 yo likes to listen in on many of the books.
--Angela
Mom to 3+2
Three Plus Two
Wild Things
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: Aug 26 2006 at 9:44pm | IP Logged
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Hi there,
I would concur with other's advice to skip on SL's language arts. Its an immersion philosophy. That means it tries to teach everything at once and assumes that the child will initially be confused but will eventually catch on, kind of like moving to a foreign country as a method of learning the language. The only families I know who have used and still recommend SL's language arts are families who have had very very strong grammar programs to begin with. I was a comoderator on the SL Catholic loop for years...I would say that the majority of SL families do *not* use their language arts.
If you have the writer's jungle, how about this as a plan? Sign up for Julie Bogart's free yahoo list that has daily reminders as a way to get used to Julie's methodology and to give you time to read the Writer's Jungle. Then for grammar, either *only* do the grammar assignments with ILL (they are usually fairly easy to grade even without a key), pick up a CHC Language of God workbook (around $10), or instead of Daily Grams, give Easy Grammar a try?
We've read a lot of the core 4 readers/read alouds and have enjoyed most of them. I haven't read the protestant works in that level, but the SL Catholic loop should be able to help you with that. Generally speaking, I avoid them all and substitute with Windeat or Vision books.
I like SL's science. I have found that level 5 is very doable as an independent course for a strong reader. If your oldest is a good reader, he should be able to follow the 4 day plan and even check his own work on the worksheets. Very little planning or work for mom. Your 5 yr old should get plenty of science through FIAR (which I use and love with my early Elem. students).
Caveat: Look at the SL Cath. files on science 5. There is one week near the end of the schoolyear where contraception is covered in an Usborne book. John has extensive notes to be read or discussed with your child. John did this as a result of the SL Catholic loop's complaints about this section of the book. The notes are excellent and even quote from Catholic sources. Still, its the one week that mom needs to be very involved in science.
I feel your pain about the struggles to combine children. It doesn't work in my family because we are so many academic grade levels apart. Because of that, I let the older children work more independently with materials that I feel I can trust and save certain subjects (usually history, la, and religion) for working one on one with them. That leaves me more time to work with the youngers.
Hope this helps...
__________________
Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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gina
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Joined: March 31 2006
Location: Alabama
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| Posted: Aug 27 2006 at 11:57pm | IP Logged
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Ladies,
THank you for all you help.
I discussed it with my husband and he said "NO" to purchasing a sonlight core 4 since I already spent most of the money for this years curriculum choices.
It gave me some relief to have a decision made even though it is not what I wanted to hear.
So, I am going to take your advice and get Easy Grammar 56 to go along with daily grams 5.
I think 10ds will like it. And I purchased some of the read alouds in Core 4, and I am going to read the Writers Jungle.
And I am doing Noeo science for 10ds and will add whatever comes up to FIAR science for 5ds.
Hopefully things will smooth out into a fairly relaxed doable days.
My other concern is tweaking my schedule to get in some of those Literature choices in MA Level 2 (2ndyear).
MY mantra needs to be "remember, short lessons...and move on,...remember, short lessons... and move on..."
I am amazed how anyone can stay on track and get everything in with more than one child.
I feel like I'm failing at this. And I can't fail my children!
I need to get up earlier and get started earlier with a gung-ho spirit! And most of all stay on track!
I feeling like I'm in a sprint everyday to see if i can get everything done by lunch, which I never do, but gosh it sure would be nice to be done, so I can relax.
It's like "d___ the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"
This is only my second year and I pray it gets easier, calmer, smoother, as I get the hang of it and learn from you ladies.
Thanks again for your help.
Gina
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TracyQ
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Location: New York
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| Posted: Aug 28 2006 at 6:58pm | IP Logged
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Gina,
Donna Young has an EXCELLENT planning page to help people plan their homeschooling books and convert them into tangible lesson plans. Here is the page where you can get that type of help:
Homeschool Planning Help
Donna goes through each type of homeschooling book, and explains how you can *divide it up* to make lesson plans. You could use these plans to plan out your history for this year, and bring you some peace about it.  I hope you will find it very helpful.
I know this crazy, and a bit scary, Gina. But there are two things God has impressed upon my heart during our homeschooling journey which is now going into its 12th year! These two things:
*God does NOT call the equipped, He EQUIPS the called!*
and
*Our primary goal is not to prepare them for college...our PRIMARY GOAL is to prepare them for HEAVEN!*
God doesn't call us then leave us there alone. He will ALWAYS lead and guide us through the journey, directing our every step. YOUR kids are HIS kids, and He has a vested interest in them, or He would have never called you to do this!
Jesus believes in YOU, because He asked you to do this. And now all He asks of you, is that you believe in Him.  YOu CAN do this, Gina!!! You love your kids more than anyone, you know them more than anyone, and He loves YOU more than anyone else loves you. Trust in that love and the precious faith He's blessed you wtih, and enJOY the journey!!! 
__________________
Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Sonlight Core 4 w/LA
