We are Making CHANGES! September Homeschool Update II Sonlight Curriculum, Logic of English, Abeka

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  • Опубликовано: 17 янв 2025

Комментарии • 100

  • @karifacer
    @karifacer 3 месяца назад +9

    I’ve missed your videos! It was good to hear an update, and it’s great to hear the good and the bad of curriculums because it just gives a more realistic perspective. I think coming at it the way you do is the way to do it, you’re not bashing any curriculum, you are recognizing where there are strengths and weaknesses and honestly, these are the most helpful reviews!

  • @thishouseofwalls
    @thishouseofwalls 3 месяца назад +2

    I love your update videos! I think one of the best things about homeschooling is that we can constantly reassess what is or isn't working. ❤

  • @lynetter6850
    @lynetter6850 3 месяца назад +4

    Thanks for sharing! It seems like LA is usually where I'm troubleshooting midyear in our homeschool, too. I personally don't love the most popular LA options and am excited to hear how sonlight goes for you guys.

  • @sarahmogus9464
    @sarahmogus9464 3 месяца назад +1

    I have heard so many people say the same thing about IEW. That’s why I haven’t used it. It’s like too structured.
    We are loving Writer’s Workshop from Layers of Learning . It’s so much fun. And it lets them be creative. You get to pick what they call “explorations” (basically a bunch of fun pre-writing activities) about whatever your topic is. Then you only take ONE of those through the writing process. Then you move to the next topic and do the same thing. This lets them get creative without having to ALWAYS do the boring part. And the explorations are fun and not necessarily typical. For example, if you were going to do a character sketch, instead of doing a typical web, you would get to draw that character and then write all sorts of descriptions around the character. Then at the end of the unit, if this is the one you decide to take through the writing process, then you would do your draft and the rest of process. And you can do this family style too. So even your littles could do most of the activities to their level-maybe not do the writing process for them , but start getting pen to paper with creativity. My son enjoys writing so much more now. And he’s super creative, so he loves coming up with all of the ideas (there are also tons of ideas if needed), but he doesn’t enjoy the rest of the writing process. He hasn’t complained since because we only have to do one per unit and he gets to come up with tons of stuff and write about things he likes.

  • @heidibarker2120
    @heidibarker2120 3 месяца назад +2

    I love your updates. My children are older (6th and 8th grade) but I love hearing what you’re loving and what you’re tweaking. It has taken us trying so many LA programs to find that Sonlight works best for our family. My daughter has tried 4 different LA curricula. My son has used 3. I found that with both of my children reading and love for reading really came on strong in 4th grade. Grammar started to really click in 5th grade, and writing really developed into a more independent and enjoyable subject in 6th grade. My son, the 8th grader, hammers out 6 to 7 pages every week, because he loves it so much. The only exception was a literary response where he wasn’t quite as confident and didn’t quite understand how he should develop his response since it was his first formal response. But Sonlight is really developing all areas of LA and I am so happy that we trusted the process. I take every opportunity that I can to share our experience since there is a lot of confusion about how Sonlight scaffolds the steps in LA. But it really does result in strong written and oral communication skills. I couldn’t be happier with Sonlight.

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад +1

      This was the most helpful comment for my mama heart - thank you so much for sharing!!

    • @brittany.powell
      @brittany.powell 3 месяца назад +1

      @@heidibarker2120 this is wonderful! Thanks for sharing. This is a confidence boost for me as well! ❤️

  • @marygibson2518
    @marygibson2518 3 месяца назад +1

    I very much appreciate your thought process for sorting out your daughter’s math struggles. Time of day, what they’re hurrying for, is something I hadn’t thought to access for during this school year.
    It’s also reassuring to hear our house isn’t the only house that can feel like a mad house at times simply because of that our resident tiny tornado is up to (the wild three year old toddler) lol I feel like whatever he is doing can escalate our house so fast and it becomes my primary job to diffuse more than it does to teach.

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад

      Not the only mad house :)

  • @cnmonroe
    @cnmonroe 3 месяца назад +2

    I did 3 years of IEW with my son and daughter. (1a, 2a, and wonders of science) My daughter did just fine with the dress-ups, but my son did not. By the end of it, I was really wondering whether he could write well or not. Those dress-ups really just were awkward for him, and he was so focused on getting them in, that his writing was clunky and often didn't make sense. I stopped and switched to writing with skill this year and found out that he can write very well! Susan Wise Bauer suggests in the well trained mind to use IEW, but don't do the dress-ups. I wish I had listened to her. I just don't think they work for some kids.

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  2 месяца назад

      Haha, I remember reading that in The Well Trained Mind as well - which was probably why it took me so long to try IEW!

  • @themodernhomemaker
    @themodernhomemaker 3 месяца назад +4

    Totally makes sense to use sonlight, I would use is too it makes the language arts easier and make more sense and it probably is more beneficial for them understanding further what they’re just read about in HBL too. I think their language arts is underrated for sure.

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад

      I agree that the SL language arts is very underrated!

  • @noelfigueira7760
    @noelfigueira7760 2 месяца назад

    I understand the need to change. When I first started homeschooling, I chose TGTB. After a while, I could see that my kids needed something more/different. So I brought in IEW. Their grammar books were loved by my kiddos, but the writing, although good at first, was way too repetitive. I finally switched to Sonlight, and everything just feels better! I appreciated everything the other curriculums did, but I'm just loving Sonlight more.

  • @kat_9999
    @kat_9999 2 месяца назад

    L.A. is our biggest struggle too. We are doing Bookshark C for my 3rd grader. I thought about switching but now I think we are just going to stick it out for now. We love Science and History C so far. We are really looking forward to using History, Science, and L A. level D next year. I'm exhausted teaching my 3rd grader and having a rambunctious 2 year old. You are like super mom and such an inspiration. In case no one told you lately, you are doing great. Keep up the good work!
    🎃

  • @jessicajones611
    @jessicajones611 3 месяца назад +1

    Thank you So much for your review on IEW, that is my biggest qualm with it. We use both Rod & Staff English and Sonlight la, and it’s such a good mix. Rod & Staff teach writing and what I love is that it’s been a gradual build, (we have used from 2 to 6 so far,) plus of course teaches grammar so brilliantly. Rod & Staff are teaching my son (who’s currently in book 6) how to outline from two sources, and write from his outline, he has learnt how to create interesting sentences, using active and passive voices, and varying sentence openers. What I have loved is there is no rigid formula at all and it has also been in the book a few times to not add unnecessary words, no fluff, but to keep writing clear and precise. And Sonlight la has given my kids the opportunity for more creative writing projects.
    HBL D sounds great. We are mid way through C and loving it. Thanks again for sharing.

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад

      I thought of Rod & Staff!

  • @allisonroundy1416
    @allisonroundy1416 3 месяца назад

    🎃 Thank you for your videos and your honesty on how things are working out in your homeschool! So helpful to hear what works well with others and their struggles, too ❤️

  • @brittany.powell
    @brittany.powell 3 месяца назад

    We had to drop TGATB 4 as well. It just wasn’t what my daughter needed. We switched to Essentials in Writing level 3 and we absolutely love it! We also added in Blossom and Root language arts simply for the literature and the creative expression projects. It’s been wonderful and a piece that’s been missing in our homeschool. We’re currently reading The Phantom Tollbooth and I’m having the best time listening to it lol! We’re loving all the word play and silliness. Aside from those two switches everything else has been perfect. We finally have the right resource for all of the subjects and it feels great to be settled and in a good groove.

  • @genabrady1348
    @genabrady1348 3 месяца назад

    For TGATB rewrite in your own words assignments, I utilized IEW keyword outlines techniques. Made a world of difference. We took it one sentence at a time, picking out the key ideas/words, and then rewriting from our outline.

  • @gbcflower
    @gbcflower 3 месяца назад +1

    Interestingly, I don't use hardly any of the same curriculum as you do, but I enjoy watching your videos. Also happened to make some tweaks in our home in language arts. I'm getting ready to add in Easy Grammar for my fourth grader as she needs more than what she is currently getting. IEW worked great for my oldest, but I'm not sure if it is really going to work for my current middle schooler. We plan to go through the year with it and then reevaluate.

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад

      Ahh, thank you for the support ... I follow some homeschool youtubers that I don't share any curriculum with either, I just like them!

  • @brookeboswell6612
    @brookeboswell6612 3 месяца назад

    Oh, "Stories from the pilgrims" would go so well with your history right now!! Grandma Karla on RUclips does a read aloud for it.

  • @MotherlyInsights
    @MotherlyInsights 3 месяца назад

    Finding the rhythm and routine is the key in homeschooling that's what i m getting to realize.

  • @miz.harrington85
    @miz.harrington85 3 месяца назад

    We just finished Walk the Worlds Rim! Thanks for the movie recommendation, my daughter loved Esteban and will love to see that! ❤

  • @de5889
    @de5889 3 месяца назад

    I did IEW with my son when he was young and I had the same complaints. Now that he’s in high school, we gave it another shot with their Advanced American History program (since it goes so well with his history this year…so why not American Literature). It’s going much better this go round. I told him at the beginning he didn’t have to force words in to fit the requirement if he couldn’t do it naturally in what he wanted to say. At his age, he can grasp that idea and isn’t hindering himself so much with meeting the checklist.

  • @Grace_Filled_Homeschool
    @Grace_Filled_Homeschool 3 месяца назад

    We loved Walk the World’s Rim! I’ve read it twice now as I have used D twice so far.

  • @rolandabradley6193
    @rolandabradley6193 3 месяца назад

    We felt exactly the same way about TGTB LA....we stopped right around level 4....we went back to it in level 5 for a few months and decided it was the end of it for us. We LOVED it for 1st thru 3rd...so I felt like I didn't want. togive it up....but it was time.

  • @SydneyWooten
    @SydneyWooten 2 месяца назад

    My son would write the paragraph/paper for IEW and then go back to add in all the required things. In hindsight I wish we would've dropped it instead of trying to push through.

  • @madeleinecooper3557
    @madeleinecooper3557 3 месяца назад +1

    If you would like a new idea, you could look into a classical writing approach. It emphasizes imitation from great writers, which I think is more helpful for kids because finding your own voice in writing is hard (even for adults). Just a thought. :) I would suggest looking at Classical Academic Press' "Writing and Rhetoric" series, or Cottage Press Publishing.

  • @kadieschaefer2874
    @kadieschaefer2874 3 месяца назад +2

    If Sonlight for Writing doesn't work out for you, I highly recommend Essentials in Writing instead of IEW!!! Much more straight forward, short lessons, but still allows for a lot of growth in writing!

    • @emmyanne03
      @emmyanne03 3 месяца назад +2

      I second this!! My first year using it with my fifth grader and we love it! Such a game changer in our homeschool!

    • @juliequates9529
      @juliequates9529 3 месяца назад +1

      We're just about to start EIW with my 5th grader too! I wanted something more independent. Glad to hear yall like it. I can't find many reviews

    • @brittany.powell
      @brittany.powell 3 месяца назад

      @@emmyanne03 same here! Using level 3 for my fourth grader and it’s going so well.

  • @CozyCruiserr
    @CozyCruiserr 3 месяца назад

    Hey! (: I’m deep diving on Logic of English right now. I stumbled upon Doodling Dragons songs and book for my PK. Now I’m thinking of my 9 y old too. She is doing fix it grammar, purposeful design plus spelling, write shop, good and the beautiful level 3 readers phonics, and Christian light level 3 for independent reading, highlights cursive. Lol 😂 I know it sounds all over the place but I don’t mind it for now. But would be nice if it was all lining up cohesively like Logic of English sounds.

  • @laurenshackle4494
    @laurenshackle4494 3 месяца назад

    We had the same problem with IEW. My daughter went from loving writing and being a really good and creative writer too hating writing and there was no flow because of ‘having to’ put all of these spice up words or whatever they call it. Don’t get me wrong IEW is a solid curriculum for the right student. But for others is it a creativity killer. This year we switched to Jump In middle school composition for instructional writing and Usborne writing books for creative writing. She is now starting to love writing again!

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  2 месяца назад

      I've heard of Jump In - I might have to look back into it!

  • @jerilyn-ourhomeschooltable
    @jerilyn-ourhomeschooltable 3 месяца назад

    🎃 Hey Angie! I think going back and forth a bit with Math and LA is great! No judgment here! I feel like ADJUSTMENT is our beginning of school year word! 😂 Good to hear how things are going!😊

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад +1

      Adjustment is such a good word!

  • @lisaroper421
    @lisaroper421 3 месяца назад

    We love our literature history too! ❤❤ We have taken 2 years+ to do it 😅 But they are learning and loving it!

  • @tori.homeschoolingmom
    @tori.homeschoolingmom 3 месяца назад

    I’m not a fan of those two either, even though they are quite popular! Sounds like the all-in-one, tied together approach of Sonlight LA will work well, can’t wait to hear what you think after a couple of months.

  • @captain7471
    @captain7471 3 месяца назад

    You do what you need to do, don’t worry about people not liking it! I personally don’t like TGATB at all, I just personally don’t think it’s enough so we have been using other things.

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад

      Ahh, thanks for the encouragement!

  • @PlainJane144
    @PlainJane144 3 месяца назад

    🎃 thanks Angie! Good luck with the changes!

  • @courtneyhulme4135
    @courtneyhulme4135 3 месяца назад

    🎃🧡 i really enjoy hearing your thoughts and honest opinions on curriculum etc. I am using TGTB LA for my 1st grade and kindergartener and we are really liking it so far. Supplementing with abeka readers for kinder. Both seem to be progressing and learning so I plan to stick with it unless something changes. I have come back to your videos several times for sonlight read aloud recommendations!

  • @rebeckacampbell2838
    @rebeckacampbell2838 3 месяца назад

    So I’m doing Sonlight D with IEW fix it grammar. Seems to be a fair balance for us

  • @amandacantrell7553
    @amandacantrell7553 3 месяца назад

    I haven’t read the comments so maybe someone has suggested this. Since we like a lot of the same curriculum I thought I would suggest what we are doing and love. Math Mammoth and Guest Hollow Language Arts (it’s literature based so you should love it too.) Hope this helps!

  • @marygibson2518
    @marygibson2518 3 месяца назад

    How is language arts D going since the switch? I’m thinking of switching my 4th grader. We are doing the same with having two kids do HBL D and I pull my 1st grader in with the matching picture books from A when it’s possible. My oldest of the two doing D is on the older side so we also pull books from G (I think it’s G 🤪) and BFB because she’s a quick read and the individual readers are a bit young for her.
    My 4th grader is dyslexic and has been in BJU English, but LA D has gotten my attention a few times.

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад

      I'm really liking LA D so far - but its only been a few weeks :)

  • @sarahmitchell9719
    @sarahmitchell9719 3 месяца назад

    I will say if you do decide to throw in the towel on IEW, they have a fantastic return policy. Super simple and easy.

  • @sheridanwibeto1813
    @sheridanwibeto1813 3 месяца назад

    I felt the same about TGTB. The grammar was enjoyable. But we didn’t like the writing, spelling, or readers. We switched to Moving Beyond the Page and are doing an IEW class which has really helped with structure! Language Arts is such a monster of a subject and ever-changing 😅

  • @melanietaylor8838
    @melanietaylor8838 3 месяца назад +1

    Are you planning on using Sonlight in its entirety with your daughter? MCP phonics? Worldly wise?

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад

      No, bc we are still using TGTB for grammar! We might pick up Worldly Wise next year :)

    • @melanietaylor8838
      @melanietaylor8838 3 месяца назад

      Nice! What are you using for spelling?

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад

      @@melanietaylor8838 I’m using Logic of English for my 5th grader and All About Spelling for my 4th grader!

  • @Homeschooling.with.Ginger
    @Homeschooling.with.Ginger 3 месяца назад +1

    🎃
    I am the same as you with LA, and I predict Sonlight LA won’t work. Those paraphrasing exercises in TGTB are difficult. I think using the KWO technique for those exercises may be helpful. I would not throw out TGTB based just on those exercises (we used that level last year).

  • @Hopelb
    @Hopelb 3 месяца назад

    I feel like the first 6-8 weeks of a school year are full of adjustments. I'm making adjustments too. I purchased curriculum that I thought would be a great fit but once we started using it, I realized it's not. What do you do with the curriculum you're no longer using?

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  3 месяца назад

      I will try and sell it if I can - check out curriculum company buy sell trade pages on Facebook ... like "Abeka Buy/Sell/Trade" or something like that!

  • @Camperlauren
    @Camperlauren 3 месяца назад

    🎃 thanks for sharing some real life kid's behavior when it comes to math. My son does the same with Language arts. 😊

  • @courtneysimon444
    @courtneysimon444 3 месяца назад

    I too had to stop with TGATB. It’s a solid program. I just don’t like LA programs that push too much, too young. We started LLFALE and I really like that approach much better.

  • @kimberlysmith673
    @kimberlysmith673 3 месяца назад +1

    I could not agree more with your thoughts on IEW. The formula makes no sense in my children's brains. If you put classic literature up against their formula it wouldn't be "good enough". We found for us EIW worked so much better. There is structure and understandable explanations without the overdone formulas.

  • @SharonReads
    @SharonReads 3 месяца назад

    🧡

  • @countrywisheshomeschool
    @countrywisheshomeschool 3 месяца назад

    🎃🧡🍂

  • @ChrissyDorman-l1j
    @ChrissyDorman-l1j 3 месяца назад

    🎃 🎃

  • @amytoren3357
    @amytoren3357 14 дней назад

    I never understood all of the glowing praises of IEW. I’m glad it works for so many people, but we did not like it at all.

    • @sciencemama
      @sciencemama  6 дней назад +1

      Yeah, it just didn't work for us either!

  • @nataliemorse4362
    @nataliemorse4362 3 месяца назад

    🎃 ❤

  • @dominiquesierra4515
    @dominiquesierra4515 3 месяца назад

    🎃🎃

  • @budgetnutritionist
    @budgetnutritionist 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @marygibson2518
    @marygibson2518 3 месяца назад +1

    I very much appreciate your thought process for sorting out your daughter’s math struggles. Time of day, what they’re hurrying for, is something I hadn’t thought to access for during this school year.
    It’s also reassuring to hear our house isn’t the only house that can feel like a mad house at times simply because of that our resident tiny tornado is up to (the wild three year old toddler) lol I feel like whatever he is doing can escalate our house so fast and it becomes my primary job to diffuse more than it does to teach.

  • @amandabolain5
    @amandabolain5 3 месяца назад

    🎃🎃

  • @themodernhomemaker
    @themodernhomemaker 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @nancylotzer9585
    @nancylotzer9585 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @JamieMoeller-sv4ht
    @JamieMoeller-sv4ht 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @heidikennedy8206
    @heidikennedy8206 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @libertyh3718
    @libertyh3718 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @rebeccamockalis9137
    @rebeccamockalis9137 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @ambersenn9296
    @ambersenn9296 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @kellybeachler4177
    @kellybeachler4177 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @lisaroper421
    @lisaroper421 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @jenniferecklund4889
    @jenniferecklund4889 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @katrinakim4145
    @katrinakim4145 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @NicoleWaldron-k3j
    @NicoleWaldron-k3j 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @Brigsgirl22
    @Brigsgirl22 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @deannaelliott5523
    @deannaelliott5523 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @renadena5629
    @renadena5629 3 месяца назад

    🎃

  • @homewithmama5414
    @homewithmama5414 3 месяца назад

    🎃