Homeschooling Curriculum Review of Sonlight Core B

Sonlight Core B is a homeschooling curriculum ideal for ages four to six. Sonlight Core B, from my experience, is appropriate for a bright three year old. Being targeted at a larger age range makes it easy to use with multiple children at once. Core B forms the base of your homeschooling program. Sonlight Core B comes with twenty-nine books of varying subject and type. It does not include language arts, math, handwriting, and other subjects. This allows you to customize the program to meet the needs of your child. Sonlight Core B alone provides a gentle introduction to school by providing regular, quality reading to do with mom. Sonlight Core B can be beefed up for a child ready for more challenges by adding programs for reading, math, and handwriting. This flexibility allows you to use Core B as a preschool or kindergarten program whatever your child's needs.

Sonlight Core B provides an excellent selection of books. The books will expose your child to a variety of cultures, settings, and time periods. These book will help a young child to think beyond the world as they know it. Children through these books will begin to realize that all people are not like themselves. Books part of Sonlight Core B such as People, Then and Now, and New Toes for Tia help children to learn that people, close by and far away, may look and live differently. These books broaden a child's world view.

The selection of books included in Sonlight Core B is excellent. There is a wide variety of stories both in length and topic. At first glance you may find that same stories are "too easy" or "too hard." This is a good thing. Children do not need to be challenged and stretched constantly. This will lead to children feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. While some stories and topics will be easy for your child to digest others will stretch their abilities.

The instructor's guide included with Sonlight Core B is so-so. While the instructor's guide provides parents with a ready to go schedule the readings are not organized very well. Sonlight did not always offer and instructor's guide to accompany Core B. Before the instructor's guide by Sonlight was created a couple of women created their own schedules and made them available via a Yahoo group. They are still available. Amy's schedule organizes the readings by theme. This makes it easy to add in hands on activities and other books. We are using the theme schedule currently and thoroughly enjoy it. Janet's schedule organizes the readings from easiest to hardest while adding in lots of extras. Janet's schedule makes a challenging preschool program or an excellent Kindergarten program.

If a Classical or Charlotte Mason approach is appealing to you, you will like Sonlight. Sonlight Core B is literature based. Most of your time will be spent reading, and you will likely want to add more hands on activities. Sonlight Core B is not overly academic and is perfect for your child's first year of homeschooling. Overall, Sonlight Core B is a very well put together program.