At the beginning of the year we relocated from Texas to Florida. We’ve made a few moves over the years so we had a decent idea of all the new things headed our way. Of course, we hadn’t made a major move since our boys started school. The school adjustment was probably the only true concern I had when we decided The Sunshine State was going to be our new home.
We have always homeschooled but not full-time. The boys attended a university-model school previously. What that ultimately means is I had a crutch. The boys were on campus two days a week and the teacher sent home lessons for the other three days. It was magnificent.
As we embraced our hotel life and temporary living arrangements I began to research homeschool curriculum. I found so many wonderful options that align with our family needs I had a tough time narrowing things down. Literature-based curriculum was very important to me even before my boys were actually in school. I love to read. So we read a lot. Naturally, I was drawn to lit-rich programs because of my own enjoyment and interest. My list was long so I just started reviewing. First up: Sonlight. Sonlight has been around for years and I was looking over the website when I came across the Sonlight Invitation. It’s a try Sonlight for free option. So we did!
We loved Lois Lowry’s Gooney Bird Greene! This is one of the two books Sonlight offers for families who would like to try out the curriculum. It was nice that this fit perfectly in to the age group of my two oldest boys but it’s great even if your children fall outside of the age range. The book is provided so you can utilize the notes and questions for each assigned reading. This gives you a true understanding of how Sonlight’s programs work. We had a wonderful experience and it showed me how easy it would be to bridge the narrow age gap between my two boys.
I recommend giving the Sonlight Invitation a try for anyone who is researching homeschool curriculum options. First, actually using the lesson plans is a huge opportunity to truly understand how this will work with your family. Second, you don’t have anything to lose. If you love it then wonderful, now you just have to choose your level and you’re off and running. If it’s not a good fit then you have a new book to add the shelf.
Have thoughts or questions on curriculum? Let me know. Wishing you the best during this exciting time of research. ~Sarah
