Little Women
• Sep. 8, 2008 - more thoughts on SL, TOG, and other stuff
Back in 2006, I wrote a comparison of Sonlight and Tapestry of Grace. ( http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/My4LittleWomen/121639/?#c1142552 ) I've gotten a few questions lately about what I'm doing now, and why I'm doing what I am right now, so I thought I'd post again, and explain.
A few years ago, I was really struggling with Sonlight. Since I started with my oldest, I was too far ahead for my 2nd, and I had 2 little ones coming up. I couldn't figure out what I was going to do with them, or how I was going to fit them all in. At that point, my sister said I should look into Tapestry of Grace. I really liked the multi-level approach, and I spent a lot of time comparing, contrasting, and thinking about each. I also did about a month of TOG, before I wrote my blog article, though the article was mostly based on what I was figuring out through looking at various books, comments by those using TOG, etc. (This was all at the end of the year, as I was looking forward to and planning the next year.)
During that summer, "life" intervened. We wound up moving that fall, having a lot of long-term company due to a family member's health problems, and I-don't-remember-what-all else. We decided we needed an "easier" year, one which would allow us to do school, without being consumed by it.
I had previously purchased Further Up and Further In (FUFI), a unit study based on the Chronicles of Narnia, which we all loved. This study is geared for grades 4-8, and I had, at that point, a 7th grader, a 5th grader, a 1st grader, and a 3yo. I thought "if I'm ever going to do this unit study, now's the time." So we wound up stopping both TOG and SL, and doing Further Up and Further In. This was a great study, and we really enjoyed the philosophical discussions we had, such as "what political events around the time Lewis was writing played into the character of Uncle Andrew (The Magician's Nephew)?"
However, some of the parts were less deep that we were used to, and we wound up doing several other things in addition. Because some areas were very well covered by FUFI, I purchased a few subjects separately, using more of a text/workbook approach. Much to my surprise, I found that we did WELL with different texts for different children! We had always done the "group" method, but I found my oldest LOVED the freedom of going off on her own, with her books, and the younger ones liked the closure of knowing what to do, and when they were done. (The younger 2 also enjoy workbooks, as an end in themselves--NOT what was "supposed" to happen according to all my high-falutin' homeschool theories! LOL!)
So I thought, and I pondered, and I cogitated. Then I thought some more. (Man, this multi-child stuff is TOUGH! And then when you get it figured out, they grow!) Among other things, I have thought a lot about book-based vs traditional, subjects vs a united whole, and what depth of philosophical "putting it all together" I expect of my high schoolers. The process has taken me over a year, and I'm still not certain I'm through, but I have figured out some things:
1. I do not want to gear most of my high school around 4 years of in depth history and philosophy. I do want to hit a fair amount of it, and I certainly will bring in some art, literature, Bible, etc, in studying history. I just feel that, for us, a 4-year focus on that is too much. (Some of the courses I have seen, really, are more likely a college minor in philosophy or history, at least.)
2. My kids do well with certain textbooks or workbooks. They're not for all subjects, and not for all the time, but there are times when they are the best option for us.
3. My kids do best if they are NOT all doing the same thing. Again, some things together are great; others not. Even "using different books but the same topics" isn't always best for us, right now.
Because of all this, I'm thinking I won't really use TOG OR SL through the high school years. I have several texts I've seen that I really like, and will certainly support them with additional literature, but I'm not planning on basing the high school years around either. (I still think they are GREAT programs, though--very useful for some families, and I would highly recommend them. They just aren't what's best for us, for now.)
All that said, I still have my Sonlight Core 5, which is a wonderful year of geography, which we only got started with 3 years ago. I still really, really wanted to use it, and it will still leave room for the other high school classes I want my oldest to have over the next 4 years. So, this year, we are enjoying Sonlight Core 5 for the older 2, with some additions for my 9th grader, and using Galloping the Globe for my youngest. (The third, whom I thought would prefer Galloping the Globe, is actually enjoying Sonlight core 5, for now, so she may do that, or go back and forth.)
I hope this makes sense, to those who have read the other post, and wondered.
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• Mar. 21, 2009 - Thanks so much!