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Sonlight Curriculum provides quality, literature-rich K-12 Christian homeschool curriculum and related educational products, resources, and programs. Sonlight is a Christian company specializing in literature-based homeschool curriculum programs which selects engaging books and readers that cover topics such as Bible, history, language arts, handwriting, math, science, and more. They provide complete homeschool curriculum packages and individual resources and materials so you can build the preschool or K-12 homeschool curriculum that best meets your family's needs.
Website: Sonlight
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(30 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: Sometimes like institutional education
Grades Used: 2nd
I have used only the Language Arts program, and I did not purchase the books from them, which helped me keep the cost down a lot! I bought a few from Amazon after checking the list against my library's availability. I got Sonlight because I was looking for a program that would help me plan and make sure I covered a wide variety of literature types and writing assignments. I have liked what we have done so far. My son doesn't enjoy reading/writing much, but he has been able to handle the manageable assignments and learn from them. He is making great strides in reading and writing. I think we will continue to use them in the future. The spelling program that comes with it is okay, but if you really need help in this area, I would look for something else.
Cons: Expensive
Grades Used: 1st-5th
My oldest started out with another program for Kindergarten but she needed more for 1st grade and when we found Sonlight we knew it was perfect. She loves to read and has 2-3 books going at the same time not including the "assigned" reading in the Sonlight program.
When we started, we had everything from Sonlight. I was not impressed with the Language Arts so we went with something else but still do the read-alouds and readers. I have since heard that the LA has improved greatly but I do not have personal experience.
We used their Bible and Science until this last year when finances deemed that we find something else to use. We loved both of those parts of the program and pray that God will allow us to come back to those soon. The science encompasses both writing, observation and hands-on which is great for all different kinds of learners. The Bible was broken down into bite-size pieces to read and ponder. I believe that Sonlight had some influence on my daughter becoming a believer and has a desire to share the word with other near and far. They have a strong emphasis on missions which has really touched our hearts.
Over and above, our favorite has and always will be the reading and history. I like that we are not using textbooks with small snipets of history. We are reading biographies, true history and historical fiction books that make us feel like we are right there in the action. My daughter's imagination is amazing and I have Sonlight to thank for that.
Cons: Price, not a lot of book work for those children that like book work
Grades Used: Pre-K 4/5
I have only used Sonlight for the P 4/5 year so far. I love it. We will be getting it for K also. It is all set out for you with the IG. For Pre-K, you can easily use it for a 4 OR 5 day a week schedule. Most of the books are incredibly interesting and fact-filled. Even the ones that are a bit drier (for my child specifically) are still enjoyable. Sonlight is perfect for those parents that do not want to put any work into putting a curriculum together. The IG also has some optional activities you can do each week that corresponds to the books read each day. Those activities work well for the more hands-on children.
Pre-K does NOT have a lot of book work. There is only 1 set of 4 books that are written in. I also bought their Handwriting Without Tears Pre-K book, which did not come with the ready-made P 4/5 set. It adds some fun crayon book work. We are done with Sonlight in less than an hour. For children that want to be working longer than that (like my child), you may need to supplement. I'm sure that the work load gets harder in K, and thus lasts longer.
Cons: price
Grades Used: K-4th - so far
I have used Sonlight for the majority of our homeschooling years. I love it because it has an instructors guide that tells me exactly what book to read and how much to read. Sometimes we follow it exactly and sometimes we do not. As a college graduate in Elementary Education, I found that I would search around for stuff online for my kids and waste time that I wanted to be doing things with them. Sonlight was the answer for us. With the laid out instructors guides I do not have to spend hours planning. If I do have some time and want to supplement I can do that.
We use Sonlights History, Reader, and Read-aloud schedules. We tried their Language arts but found that it had "holes" in it that we did not like. They use more of a whole language approach and we like a more phonetic approach. We also do not use their Science because we found a different curriculum that suits our family so well. I have not tried their science so I really can't comment on it.
Cons: a bit pricey, could be hard to juggle for multiple students (esp. if not too close in yrs)
Grades Used: 2nd - but not a full curriculum
I had toyed with going with Sonlight for several years & a good friend of mine uses it. I was even in an online discussion group of Sonlight users for some time. I finally got a "trial" version - not a full Core, but the schedule, the Science DVD, timeline book and got the books from the library. I love the idea of Sonlight because they do use really great books - and a lot of them! (we've read all the reader & read aloud books that are available at our local libraries, plus have gotten some on inter-library loan, for grades pre-K thru 2nd or 3rd). It is a pretty pricey curriculum, but it really is a complete package, with master schedule and all. I've decided if you want to be sure your children will be well prepared for an accredited college, if you yourself have set the bar high for your own education, then Sonlight will make you confident your children will excel (not that they couldn't otherwise). I fit those criteria (having graduated from the Univ. of Mich. and having had a successful 10yr career in Software Engineering before becoming a mom), however, for me (a more relaxed homeschooler) I realized it was going to be too stressful. Also, having 4 children 2 & 3yrs apart (so far), we would have to use several different Cores, which would make for a very busy household! Not that families with many children haven't used Sonlight successfully. I just wasn't sure I was up to the task with my own personality & scheduling skills. 🙂