I updated the Homeschool Helps list on the sidebar. I added 3 new links that I thought you might enjoy if homeschooling is an interest of yours (or if you just like supplementing your public or private schooled child's education). So let's talk education!
Christian Liberty Press: The only thing I am presently using is the reading curriculum. I really like it. All kinds of inexpensive, quality curriculum here. I've read many good reviews.
Freebie of the Day: This is great! Sign up and every week you will get an email with a free download for each day. There are neat e-books and whole lesson plans. Stuff you've probably never even thought of. You just click the link if it is something you want and ignore it otherwise. The only drawback is you must go to the site on the particular day each freebie is offered. I get absentminded and have missed out on some cool stuff because of it!
Sonlight: I don't use this as a curriculum. The price and teaching approach simply are not for us! However you may find it to be a fit for your family.
But I included the link because there is some very good information on their site. That's the thing about homeschooling...you can gather tidbits from all over and use what enriches your family. There are some great articles and I personally draw from the book lists to help me decide on what to use in our reading. Now that FlowerChild is reading on her own that will become very useful!
Be forewarned! Some of the recommended books have objectionable material, profanity or suggestive scenes, mainly in high school listings obviously. Some of the books for younger children include such things as witches.
So, don't get me wrong. Most of what Sonlight offers is very good and they will warn you if there is anything questionable. They give their arguments as to why they include the books they do. You may agree and that is fine! I'm just telling you how our family does things. :)
Edited to add: To get a better picture of what I am referring to check out the comment section at the end of this post.
Here is my opinion on reading material that includes such things. So glad you asked ! :P
We stay away from any witchcraft or new agey type stories. We always have taken that approach. When my son was in elementary school there were two schools in the area, one in town and one out from town a bit, in the middle of a pasture, no less! In the middle of Kindergarten we pulled him from the city school because the teacher was, well...honestly, quite verbally abusive to the children. He was miserable. We moved him to the other school.
Now the city school had some snarky remarks to make when we did this indicating that the country school was "slower' and whatnot. But it was nothing of the sort. They used the same math curriculum and were in the same chapter. So he missed nothing there. The other subjects gave him no trouble...I just do not even remember what curriculums those were.
Except for reading! Now there was the difference and it showed itself more and more as the years went by! One of the precious ladies that worked for me had a son the same age enrolled in the city school and we often compared notes on what they were working on in school. The city school was very proud of their reading program, even offering an Accelerated Reader program, etc. But their books were full of new age stories that spoke of magic stones, sorcery, and looking inside yourself. Meanwhile, my son's book was telling stories of Eleanor Roosevelt, poor coalminer's and how they kept their families together, Sarah, Plain and Tall. I found out later that prior to our move there the city school had even engaged in such activities as guided imagery and channeling. Of course, they never called it that.
As they get older if it is only a little profanity and it is there as an integral part of the story, such as a soldier in war or the holocaust story line...well, I don't mind it so much. You can even white that out if you wish, so all the better. But I was shocked at some of the material that my son was required to read throughout high school simply because it was supposedly a classic. I distinctly remember one used profanity in just about every paragraph. He did not finish the book and therefore did not get as high a grade as he could have but we did not chastise him. There are so many good, quality books out there! Why waste time pouring filth into your child's mind? What does God say to have your mind dwell on?
Christian Liberty Press: The only thing I am presently using is the reading curriculum. I really like it. All kinds of inexpensive, quality curriculum here. I've read many good reviews.
Freebie of the Day: This is great! Sign up and every week you will get an email with a free download for each day. There are neat e-books and whole lesson plans. Stuff you've probably never even thought of. You just click the link if it is something you want and ignore it otherwise. The only drawback is you must go to the site on the particular day each freebie is offered. I get absentminded and have missed out on some cool stuff because of it!
Sonlight: I don't use this as a curriculum. The price and teaching approach simply are not for us! However you may find it to be a fit for your family.
But I included the link because there is some very good information on their site. That's the thing about homeschooling...you can gather tidbits from all over and use what enriches your family. There are some great articles and I personally draw from the book lists to help me decide on what to use in our reading. Now that FlowerChild is reading on her own that will become very useful!
Be forewarned! Some of the recommended books have objectionable material, profanity or suggestive scenes, mainly in high school listings obviously. Some of the books for younger children include such things as witches.
So, don't get me wrong. Most of what Sonlight offers is very good and they will warn you if there is anything questionable. They give their arguments as to why they include the books they do. You may agree and that is fine! I'm just telling you how our family does things. :)
Edited to add: To get a better picture of what I am referring to check out the comment section at the end of this post.
Here is my opinion on reading material that includes such things. So glad you asked ! :P
We stay away from any witchcraft or new agey type stories. We always have taken that approach. When my son was in elementary school there were two schools in the area, one in town and one out from town a bit, in the middle of a pasture, no less! In the middle of Kindergarten we pulled him from the city school because the teacher was, well...honestly, quite verbally abusive to the children. He was miserable. We moved him to the other school.
Now the city school had some snarky remarks to make when we did this indicating that the country school was "slower' and whatnot. But it was nothing of the sort. They used the same math curriculum and were in the same chapter. So he missed nothing there. The other subjects gave him no trouble...I just do not even remember what curriculums those were.
Except for reading! Now there was the difference and it showed itself more and more as the years went by! One of the precious ladies that worked for me had a son the same age enrolled in the city school and we often compared notes on what they were working on in school. The city school was very proud of their reading program, even offering an Accelerated Reader program, etc. But their books were full of new age stories that spoke of magic stones, sorcery, and looking inside yourself. Meanwhile, my son's book was telling stories of Eleanor Roosevelt, poor coalminer's and how they kept their families together, Sarah, Plain and Tall. I found out later that prior to our move there the city school had even engaged in such activities as guided imagery and channeling. Of course, they never called it that.
As they get older if it is only a little profanity and it is there as an integral part of the story, such as a soldier in war or the holocaust story line...well, I don't mind it so much. You can even white that out if you wish, so all the better. But I was shocked at some of the material that my son was required to read throughout high school simply because it was supposedly a classic. I distinctly remember one used profanity in just about every paragraph. He did not finish the book and therefore did not get as high a grade as he could have but we did not chastise him. There are so many good, quality books out there! Why waste time pouring filth into your child's mind? What does God say to have your mind dwell on?
Dear Everybody's Mama:
ReplyDeleteIt's always interesting to see oneself (or, in this case, one's business) through another's eyes.
I hope you don't mind my saying so: I was deeply disturbed by your suggestion that, "Some of the books for younger children include such things as witchcraft" (????) and then how you tied that in to your relatively lengthy narrative about your local PUBLIC school's curriculum that included "new age stories that spoke of magic stones, sorcery, and looking inside yourself" and "such activities as guided imagery and channeling."
Yow!
I am unaware of ANY books in Sonlight Curriculum that deal with ANY such subjects.
Now, Sonlight DOES include the semi-allegorical fantasy/fairy-tale books The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by noted Christian author C.S. Lewis, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum. (See this Wikipedia page for why I called this latter book "semi-allegorical.")
Oh. And then there is the historical novel The Witch of Blackbird Pond . . . in which a woman in Puritan New England is charged with being a witch. But there is no actual witchcraft in the story.
So I wonder where and why you make the charge you do in your post that Sonlight carries books that include witchcraft?
Meanwhile, while (I believe) you at least strongly imply Sonlight carries books that promote witchcraft, guided imagery and channeling, you seem to distance Sonlight from some of the very books it features and that you obviously love--namely books like A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt, that tells "stories of Eleanor Roosevelt, poor coalminers and how they kept their families together, [and the heartwarming book] Sarah, Plain and Tall."
While I'm on the subject of potentially misleading comments, it disturbed me, too, that you seemed to get Sonlight's curriculum and the books we feature all mixed up with whatever books your son's classroom high school required him to read, "simply because it was supposedly a classic."
Again, you're in the midst of what you imply is a commentary about Sonlight, but/and, then, you describe a book (that I can't imagine was from Sonlight) that "use[s] profanity in just about every paragraph."
--I "just" want to make sure your readers understand that you were not talking about Sonlight and (sincerely hope) you did not intend to potentially mislead them into thinking Sonlight includes the kinds of books your son was urged to read in a completely different context.
[PS: For more on the subject of "witches" and "magic" as potentially contained in Sonlight--and, though I don't directly address it, the use of books that contain some profanity (yes, we're talking about books in which "it is there as an integral part of the story, such as a soldier in war"--I would like to urge your readers to consider the article I wrote (probably about 10 years ago) titled I Can't Believe You Use That Book!]
Finally, I wanted to comment on your statement that Sonlight's price is "outrageous."
Again, I would like to express my opinion and feeling: Yow!We try so hard to be price-competitive. Sonlight doesn't always have the lowest price. But it does exceptionally well against companies like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. And when you buy a complete Core Curriculum package, you actually will save money as compared to if you purchased from one of these other companies.
Not only so, but you will receive the Sonlight 18-Week, Risk-Free "Love to Learn" Guarantee . . . and way more services than any of our competitors will provide you. Moreover, you can know that over 40% of the company's (Sonlight's) profits go to support such ministries as Wycliffe Bible Translators/The Seed Company, Far East Broadcasting, Frontiers, and Mission India.
As I tried to figure out what, specifically, led you to make the comment you did, I figured you must be referencing the fact that we include so MANY fascinating Readers, Read-Alouds, History and Science books in our curricula that the front-end cost for a Sonlight Core program is likely to be higher than the cost of many other programs.
May I suggest, however, in Sonlight's defense:
* Sonlight's programs are almost fully reusable. So if you intend to teach more than one child, the cost is dramatically reduced compared to any one-time-use workbook-oriented curriculum.
* And, unlike a textbook-oriented currciculum (which, by the way, is almost always at least as expensive as Sonlight's), you and your child(ren) are guaranteed to "love to learn/love to teach" with Sonlight . . . or your money back -- even if and after you have used the program for 18 weeks!
Last comment: Yes, Sonlight includes a bunch of Read-Alouds in its K-6 programs. And, yes, Sonlight "even" encourages parents of older children to read-aloud with the older kids. (My wife and I, even today, are reading aloud with our daughter and son-in-law and with our infant granddaughter.) But let me assure you and your readers: you would not have to "sit on the couch all day and read aloud" if you used Sonlight. --You might find you actually do want to; but you wouldn't have to.
*******
Thanks for "listening" and letting me share my perspective with your readers.
Sincerely,
John Holzmann, Co-Owner of Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Dear Mr. Holtzmann,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I am rather surprised to see how defensive you are about what I wrote. When I blog I am usually surrounded by children and distractions, often with an active baby in my arms. Given your strong response I thought perhaps I had inadvertently given the wrong impression. So I reviewed what I had written with the thought to edit the post if necessary. But I found nothing of the sort. In the blogging world it can sometimes be easy to be misunderstood. So let me take your points one at a time and clear up any misunderstanding.
My “relatively lengthy narrative” never mentioned Sonlight. I never tied Sonlight in with my son’s “PUBLIC” school education. If you read it in the context it was delivered in I simply gave background from my family’s experience to establish that we avoid books that contain objectionable material (objectionable to us) and some of the challenges we faced through the years. By the way, my son was in public school through his elementary years, homeschooled through junior high, and attended private, Christian schools through high school graduation.
It was not a reflection of Sonlight for me to include this background information of our experiences on my blog. I receive comments and emails from other moms who have questions. I don’t always choose to publish these as sometimes they include items of a personal nature. But I do try to answer them from my own experiences through a natural conversational tone in my posts. Conversations in real life tend to flow freely with one topic sparking thoughts on something related. So it is with blogging. When I said we stay away from anything with witchcraft or new age elements I went on to say we had always taken that approach. Then I simply elaborated on some of the experiences we had encountered. There were no negative implications of Sonlight. If anything, by noting the differences in the quality of the reading programs I gave parents something to watch for in their own children’s education. Back then I did not know what to watch for in the curriculum. I am sure many parents find themselves in the same boat today. I would think anyone who takes advantage of the link on my sidebar could see you offer some quality literature.
I am a believer in “eating fish.” I eat the meat and spit out the bones. But I only feed my young children fillets. As they mature I begin to offer fish with bones but only after I remove the bones myself. As they continue to grow I teach them to remove the bones themselves with me checking behind them. Eventually they mature to a point that they can do it themselves with no intervention from me. So it is with literature, music and media. Since the literature you provide does happen to contain some "bones" I felt it best to forewarn my readers.
If my use of the term “witchcraft” upset you then perhaps the word “witches” would be more accurate. My beliefs tend to lump the two together in a way that yours obviously do not. You first stated there are not ANY such themes in the books. Then you listed several examples of books we would most likely avoid. That isn’t judging you or your company. That is our choice.
Now for price. Yes, I am afraid that spending anywhere from approximately $300 to well over $1000 for a package with other subjects still to be purchased well, honestly...is pretty much laughable for us. Once again, that isn’t a reflection of Sonlight’s quality but spending that much would be outrageous for us. We also think it is outrageous to spend $40,000 on a vehicle but that isn’t a reflection of the vehicle’s quality or the people who are fortunate enough to be able to purchase it. I’m sorry if you can’t understand that. Sure, it might be cheaper than purchasing the same books from a bookstore but we won’t be doing that either. The library is the way to go for us. A small country library at that. So to find good book recommendations along with descriptions and age guides is very helpful.
As for the remark of “sitting on the couch all day” it was mainly said tongue-in-cheek as I have active children and a lot on my plate. I find that my children’s personalities, temperaments, and needs vary greatly and therefore my approach to their schooling must also vary. No offense intended.
Had I felt Sonlight was a negative curriculum I would have not included the link on my sidebar. Perhaps you missed the positive things I said.
“But I included the link because there is some very good information on their site. That's the thing about homeschooling...you can gather tidbits from all over and use what enriches your family. There are some great articles and I personally draw from the book lists to help me decide on what to use in our reading.”
And
“So, don't get me wrong. Most of what Sonlight offers is very good and they will warn you if there is anything questionable. They give their arguments as to why they include the books they do. You may agree and that is fine! I'm just telling you how our family does things. :) “
I have read many reviews of Sonlight, both positive and negative. I think if you take a second look at the post, especially in light of what I have shared here, you will see that you possibly read too much into my comments and overreacted.
In closing, the post was not written or intended as an actual review of Sonlight curriculum. But I appreciate your visit to my little corner of the blogging world. I am confident that given the content of your comment, along with the links you provided, my readers can make an informed decision about your company.
Thanks and God bless.
Mr. Holzmann
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to add that I did edit the wording in this post since you were so disturbed by it. I changed the wording from "witchcraft" to "witches" and revised the wording on our reasons for not using it.
Thank you so much for taking so much time to respond to my concerns.
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you, too! :-)
John
I do not quite see Mr. Holzmann's issue. I didn't take what you said about the reading books in public school to mean that was what Sonlight was promoting. I understand his need to clarify for his company, but for me, I did not read it as a negative opinion of Sonlight. I have used the Sonlight website for ideas on materials to use. I agree that they are pricey, but I do not buy ready made packages for homeschooling my girls anyways. Their prices for individual items do compete with big box online stores, I will agree with that. But I, like you prefer to use the library (and half.com) for alot our resources. They are a great reference, like you pointed out, for articles and ideas. I think you handled the comment from Mr. Holzmann very graciously and thoroughly :)
ReplyDeleteI've read, re-read, and read again. I still can't see the link between Sonlight and your "public school" days. I have to agree that someone possibly misunderstood and overreacted a bit.
ReplyDeleteOne comment that threw me though, was the mention of the "outrageous" pricing. Unless you edited your wording, I only see that you mention that it's not in budget for your family. For that matter even, you mentioned that some of the suggested material was not for you family.
I honestly feel that your heart-felt opinion, and while I trust your judgement, you've never pushed those opinions on me. You have always "forewarned" me, yet encouraged me to research myself. I feel this is exactly what you were doing in this situation. Expressing your opinion for your valued readers.
This was a very tactful response to an overreaction. Thank you for keeping us all posted and informed!!!!
Mama Hen,
ReplyDeleteThe reason you could not find a link between Sonlight and my reference to the "PUBLIC" school system is because there never was one LOL!
As for the word outrageous I did remove that and changed the word witchcraft to witches because Mr. Holzmann was "deeply disturbed" by my use of those terms. Just to be clear and fair this is how I originally had it worded:
We do not use Sonlight for two basic reasons. For one, the price is outrageous (at least for a poor preacher's family :o) and two the teaching style (I don't see me having time to sit on the couch and read aloud all day!)
There was nothing malicious in these remarks, as you can see in the comment I directed to Mr. Holzmann above. I have seen far worse in actual reviews. If you would like to see some reviews from people who have used this curriculum click the Homeschool Reviews link on my sidebar. From there you can research not only Sonight but many other teaching resources.
I can only assume he misread what I wrote and jumped to conclusions.
Thank you for your kind encouragement! I strive to make this blog a "peaceful" place!Blessings!
K's R Us,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind reassurance. I tried to give a thoughtful, Christ-like response to Mr. Holzmann's criticisms. I am relieved to know that others do not share his views of my post. Blessings!