Home Schooling With Literature

I, Juan de Pareja

2009-03-20T15:18:00.001-07:00

What a way to learn! My youngest daughter and I just finished I, Juan de Pareja. It is based on a real person who was originally a slave to the famous Spanish painter, Diego Velazquez. While reading through the book, we came across the names of a number of other famous painters who were contemporaries (some were even relatives). We ended up surfing the web together for paintings by five different painters, who were all mentioned in the book, and who all knew each other. Now, how cool is that? I think of how this lesson would have gone even 10 years ago. We would have just read the story. Done. Google gives us the world at our fingertips, but it was the book that sparked our curiosity.

Not only did we see paintings, but we saw paintings of real people mentioned in the book. We felt as though we got to meet these people because we had a "face with a name". Ahhh. How satisfying.

Sandy

Sonlight in Texas

2009-03-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

Come visit us at one of the following homeschooling conferences/book fairs in Texas this year. We would love to visit with old friends who come by year after year and make new friends with those who want to see what Sonlight is all about.

May 11-12, 2012
Arlington, TX
Home School Book Fair

May 18-19-2012
San Antonio, TX
FEAST Convention and Curriculum Fair

June 22-23, 2012
Austin, TX
CHEACT Conference and Book Fair

August 2-4, 2012
The Woodlands, TX
THSC State Convention and Family Conference

Welcome

2009-03-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

My daughters and I are collectors of books. Who would have thought? I never read a lot as a child. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, but rather I didn't really have access to good books. Reading for pleasure wasn't really encouraged and I was not required to read much throughout my schooling.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I heard about homeschooling and just "knew" that is what I would do one day. When my first daughter turned four, we started kindergarten using an eclectic approach. I picked a math program from one company, reading from another, history from yet another. I basically continued in this manner for a number of years. I never stuck with one curriculum for more than a year. It wasn't that I didn't like them, but I just had no particular loyalty to any one of them. I was using a textbook approach - the only way I knew.

Then, seven years into our homeschooling journey and after the birth of two more daughters, I was introduced to a curriculum that had a totally different approach - using literature to teach. While devouring the catalog, it took me no time to see that it was books, books, books! It meant reading with and to my children. I inherently knew that this meant snuggling on the couch, wonderful discussions, and loving to learn. This is the way I wished I had been taught. So, 14 years ago we switched to Sonlight Curriculum and have never looked over the fence at another curriculum in all those years. We have added another daughter to our family, have graduated three so far and have a number of years to go before our youngest graduates. That means I have repeated some Cores (Sonlight years) two, three and four times. I love it each time. If I love what I am teaching, surely that enthusiasm rubs off on my children.

The benefits have been tremendous. Learning has been so much fun. Using literature has opened the doors to the world of people, places and events in a rich way. I have duplicates and triplicates of books because the girls want their own favorites to take with them when they leave home. However, for every strength there is usually a weakness. The strength is the learning, discussions and sharing. And the drawback to being collectors of books? We don't seem to have enough shelves for all these bound items!

As a 21 year veteran homeschooler, I love sharing the adventure with others. If there is something I can help you with, please feel free to email me at shotz@sonlight.com to arrange your free phone consultation or to ask any questions you may have about Sonlight Curriculum.

Sandy