Home Education; Why Sonlight Curriculum?

For previous entries in this series see here.

Real Books, Rich Literature=A Love for Learning.

I secretly smile when people's eyes glaze over at the idea of homeschooling. The preparation, the work, the dedication, the organization, the time commitment, the personal sacrifice that flashes before their eyes.... I seriously find it hard to suppress a smile. Let me set the record straight here once and for all, at least about our own experience.

I love to read.
I love to learn.
I love to discuss what I am learning.
I love to find ways to apply what I am learning.
I love to be with my kids who also love to read, love to learn, love to discuss and apply what they are learning.

In other words, homeschooling is really a great excuse to sit around reading and yacking with my kids all day and call it work =)

Now, why Sonlight? Ah, just the name makes me feel all cheery and warm inside. Why Sonlight. Because;

Sonlight uses real books,
instills a love for learning,
exposes us to diverse angles of any given topic in an unbiased fashion so that;
we always have LOTS to discuss,
facilitates conscientious application of what we are learning and
is set up in a way that draws us together for hours and hours of every day to do the things we love most.

Some of you have asked me about "real" books. What does that mean, and how do they contribute to a richer and deeper education? I'm going to quote directly (with some personal emphasis, because I am an emphasis aficionado) out of the Sonlight catalogue, because whoever wrote the following article had a lot more time on their hands than I do to devote to this subject, and sums it up so perfectly that I see no reason to re-invent the wheel. The following quotes are taken from page 142 of the 2008 Sonlight Catalog.

"When history "comes alive," your kids remember more of what they study. With other educational media, and most especially textbooks, students don't read stories. They read reports about subjects. In fact, textbooks seem less like books, and more like "storage space" for dump truck loads of facts- as many facts as possible. There's just one problem: they leave out all the drama. The conflict, the context, the emotion, the story- so there is nothing left to attract the interest and attention of student readers.

Sonlight, by contrast, with its "real books" approach, brings you right "there" to see, feel and hear what happened- even if it was 2000 years ago. With the kinds of books Sonlight carries, you get to experience history. They draw you into the story so that all the things traditional textbooks and classroom materials tell you you're supposed to memorize... you memorize "coincidentally". You can't help remembering the names of the key characters, the places they go, the events they participate in. Somehow, when you are caused to feel something, emotionally, about a person or event, you seem never to forget. The images and experiences are forever imprinted on your mind.

When you enjoy reading your school books, when one of your favorite things to do each day is to read the books that are part of your curriculum, and when the books themselves make it easy for you to remember your lessons, you've got the easiest learning process possible."

And having taught this curriculum for 5 years straight, I can heartily endorse the truth behind these words. And that is one of the reasons we use Sonlight.

"I have chosen him. He must direct his children. He must see that the members of his family after him live the way I want them to. So he must direct them to do what is right and fair. " Genesis 18:19 NIRV