# Tell me about Sonlight



## jamala (May 4, 2007)

Ok homeschool families I have a friend very interested in using sonlight for her 5 year old next year. I have never looked at this program so I told her I would ask here for advice. Just from looking online it looks very expensive compared to other programs. Does anyone use this program? Pro's and Con's please?


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

We used it for grade K. very good. It is literature based, LOTs of books, and that is why it is pricey. But worth it I think. I stopped using it b/c I had so many kids in so many grades and needed something more integrated. But back when I had only a couple of kids who could work together, I thought it was great! 

Cindyc.


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## Lizza (Nov 30, 2005)

I have done a few years, here and there. It is pricey but it includes all your books and there are a TON of them. Sonlight also has a nice re-sale value on ebay if they would like to sell it after they are done (last I checked at least). 

Lets see: Pro would be, it's historical and literature based, I mean what gets better then THAT, you use real honest to goodness books, love that. Con's depend on the person but it is a ton of reading and like Cindy said if you are teaching more than a 1-2 kids it could get hairy, it is a very time intensive program. 

Personally we are reading the History of US this year (there 100 I believe) and opted to not buy the Sonlight program but instead we are just reading the series (highly recommend by the way, one of my favorite things we've done). My daughter that I am teaching this year is not very academic and having me read them to her is about perfect for her. 

Sonlight has a really great, why NOT to buy their program, have your friend read if carefully!


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## whodunit (Mar 29, 2004)

We wanted to use Sonlight but didn't our first year of homeschooling due to the price. I choose a differant curriculum which turned out to be a disaster. Bought Sonlight and haven't looked back.

Sonlight IMO really feeds my kids desire to learn. They are also turning into voracious readers.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

We used Sonlight and I really liked it. My kids were in the third and fourth grade levels. 

I bought the lesson planner new from Sonlight and the individual books used from all over the place. It was truly amazing how much my kids were picking up (and enjoying in the process!)
I've always taught via a literature-based curriculum, even in the regular classroom, so it was a perfect fit from my perspective. 
I would highly recommend it.


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## Veronica (Oct 31, 2008)

We used Sonlight for most of the years I homeschooled my children including the high school years. Sonlight was wonderful for us.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

We used it for a few years. It is allot of reading and allot of work for mom. I thought the Cores were well put together.....but...DS hated the books. There is a big maturity jump between Core 3 and Core 4. There was no way DS was ready for Core 4 after 3. I've spoken to many mom's that have also dropped it after Core 3 for the same reason. The LA and Science programs I didn't like at all.

Like all curriculum's you have to pick what best works for your family and child's/children's learning style. I would use it for K and possibly 1 and 2 IF I had only one child or two close in age (mine are 4 years apart). Not sure if I'd go as far as Core 3, too many other options that are a better fit for us (DS likes textbook, I like unit studies, DD just follows whatever we do...so we just "mix it up" here)


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

Thanks everyone, I have a 9th grader and 7th grader and we use saxon, sos, and abeka and they are happy with all but sos. I also have a son who just turned 5 and my friend and I were thinking about doing k-5 with our boys together so thats why I asked. It is very expensive compared to most but it has great reviews both here and online so we are going to start looking for used sets. Thanks so much.


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## Jakk (Aug 14, 2008)

We chose to go with CLE (Christian Light Education) instead of Sonlight. I like that its not as teacher intensive, and my daughter loves the Light Unit workbooks. It also costs less.


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## Cashs Cowgirl (Jan 26, 2006)

I like being involved in what my kids are learning and I don't mind that it does take a bit of my time-once you get used to the way the cores work, it goes pretty easy. I preread many of the books or stay a few chapters ahead so that I know what they are reading. I have an 11 1/2 yr old ds and a 13 yr old dd. They do the same core together (history, science, readers and language arts), but I add more relevant books for our dd. They each have their own level appropriate math and electives. I like Sonlight. I've been using them since Core 1 and we're now in Core 5 (our favorite yet). There is a guarantee on Sonlights cores. Have her check it out.


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