Sonlight Homeschool Curriculum Chat

At Cedar Hill Academy, we want to help you have the most successful homeschooling years with your children.  We offer support to you by having classes each week to help lighten your load all the while giving your children the social interaction they crave and fun learning experiences.

 Additionally, if you choose to supplement our classes with at home curriculum, we want to give you resources to help support your decision.  This is the first in a series of blog posts that will give you an insight on different curriculum options from the viewpoint of veteran homeschool moms.  When we were choosing the women we asked to share, our criteria was that they had to have used a specific curriculum for over two years with successful results.  All of these women also have Christian worldviews.

 First up, Chesiree, who is a homeschool mom to three children.  She has graduated her oldest son and he is now a flourishing college student.  She has a high school aged daughter and an upper elementary aged son that are still using Sonlight with great success.  Here are her thoughts on Sonlight and how it has blessed their family (The children's names have been removed for privacy):

 CHA: Why did you initially choose this curriculum? 

Chesiree: Our family has used Sonlight since 2008.  Up until that point, we were struggling to put together something for our oldest son, who did NOT enjoy reading in the least.  He was only just beginning to read and to even ask him to read had me bracing for a battle every day.  I was finding it difficult to be consistent and I had a strong sense of being overwhelmed.  E* and I were often at odds and just struggled to work together without daily conflict. As with a lot of new home schoolers, homeschooling was not what I had imagined it would be.  I was researching several options when I came upon Sonlight.  I had a few very strong, supportive friends who had chosen a Charlotte Mason approach and so I began to look into literature based learning.  Being a literature based curriculum, I knew it was risky at best to consider this for E* but it had so much to offer for me.  It sounds selfish but I reasoned that if I could find something that worked for me as a parent/teacher then I would have a better chance at consistency and a more joyful, relaxed atmosphere (which had not been our mindset to this point..lol).  I just prayed that the literature based approach would gently encourage E* to learn to love to read.  

 CHA: Was there any cost involved in purchasing the materials?

Chesiree: We chose to make the commitment.  It was a pretty costly initial investment for us. We chose to use their Core (which includes Bible, History, Language Arts, Reading, and Grammar) along with their science Core.  I had used Math-U-See up to this point and Sonlight actually had this option as a suggested math curriculum, so we continued on with this math curriculum.  The initial cost was about $1100.  I do believe there are ways to cut that cost, using your local library, online sources, and other tips and tricks but I knew myself well enough to know that honestly, it must be easy and convenient for me to be consistent. The yearly investment is significant and varied from about $800-$1000 but with K*, our daughter only 3 years behind E*, we could see that the pain of writing that check every year would soon decrease.  Sonlight offers a payment plan WITHOUT interest of 3,6,9, or even 12 months to pay with installments which we used every year.  With Sonlight, once the initial Core is purchased, only supplemental items are needed for additional student.  This made our investment for K* when she began so much less.  I would say we would spend about $300 a year on supplements and for her math curriculum which is purchased separately.  They do update their readers yearly and I would say that on average we have to buy 3 new books yearly for the updated schedule to match up.  They are a minimal cost.  Ordering from year to year can be slightly confusing with new reading material updates that have to be incorporated into what you have already purchased.  For this, we just contact the online chat representatives and their take a look at our cart to make sure we haven’t missed anything.  It works so well.

 CHA: What are some of the best attributes of this curriculum?

Chesiree: Your schedule is absolutely laid out for you day by day.  You have a choice of a 4 or 5 day curriculum.  Notes for each section, tips, maps, extra materials, and online resources made it very easy to begin.  I could walk to my big blue binder every day and know that my day was prepared, my week was laid out, and I had 36 weeks of lesson plans ready to go.  It was priceless to me at that point.  I really was in love from the beginning and we dug right in.  From the beginning, you could see E* really sink into these books.  I think it was totally unintentional on his part..lol..but we could see it working and that was an amazing answer to prayer for us.  After all our struggles, he was 8 years old at that point and we knew we needed to find some answers.  This was our answer. We had much success that year.  We watched him transform into what he is now, which is a voracious reader who is taking advanced literature classes in his college courses and is a lover of classic literature.

 CHA: Are you still using it for the same reasons or have your reasons changed?

Chesiree: We still use Sonlight with our middle daughter (15) and our youngest son (11).  It has done a wonderful job preparing our oldest son (20) for his college career, not to mention he was more than ready to participate in a program here in Washington called Running Start for his Junior and Senior years which allowed him to receive his High School Diploma and Associates of Arts 2-year degree from our local college.  We have watched it turn all 2 out of our 3 children in to avid readers (that 3rd one is on his way though..lol).

 CHA: How was this curriculum a good fit for your family? How would you recommend it to be used?

Chesiree: As business owners, we still use Sonlight for the reasons that we began using it 11 years ago...convenience and thoroughness...it is all done for me.  You can work the curriculum to its fullest potential or you can back away and pick and choose what you participate in.  For anything to work properly, it has to be the right fit for your family and you must be honest enough with yourself to look at your strengths and weaknesses to discern what would work best for your children and yourself. 

 Thank you so much for you wisdom and knowledge Chesiree!

We have a lineup of other wonderful curriculums to highlight so make sure you sign up on our mailing list so you don't miss one! 

 Do you have a specific curriculum you would like to see featured here?  Please leave a comment and we will try to do a feature for you! 

Bring Joy to Your Homeschooling by Choosing the Right Curriculum

We have looked at some of the methods of homeschooling, now let's take one step further on the homeschooling journey together....curriculum.  Before we start on that important decision, we want you to know, we strongly feel that any curriculum you choose should be used as a tutor, not a master.  It is so easy to fall prey to the idea that you must do everything that a curriculum says and stay on the authors timeline.  If you teach by this idea, you and your children will start to see the joy run out of your days as the added stress will create tension in your home. Rushing through a topic because you need to be on lesson X by such and such a date, defeats the idea that learning should be a fun and a marvelous journey of discovery.  Yes, there will be times that you will need to buckle down and just get your lessons done but we pray that most of your time learning together with your children is full of happy and interest filled moments.  With that said, curriculum can and is a very important asset and tool as you homeschool. 

There are two very important things to consider when you are choosing curriculum.  First, what is your teaching style?  Do you like to have a scripted teachers manual that tells you exactly what to say and has your lessons all planned and organized?  Do you like to have a main topic and then take it from there exploring whatever you or your child feels is the most exciting, related and relative sub-topic day by day?  These are two extremes, but you can probably think to yourself as you read these two examples which one you fall closer to.  There are many online quizzes to find out your teaching style, so have a little fun discovering your personal preferences.  Next, a very important step in having a successful homeschool journey is knowing what learning style your children are.  We do think the best approach to learning should be hands-on that incorporates as many of the learning styles as possible, but each of your children will usually favor one or two of the typical learning styles.  See the graph below for a short overview to help you determine your children's style.  If you have more than one child you are teaching, you will most likely have more than one learning style in your home.  Once you understand how your child learns best, you can easily adapt most curriculums to fit their needs.  Always remember though, for best retention and enjoyment, capitalize on you and your students’ strengths as you choose your path of education.

One of the reasons that we are so excited to be on your journey with you, is that we know that it can be hard to walk alone.  Not only are you supposed to teach your children by planning their education, but you have other household and maybe even professional workloads to take care of and attend too.   Choosing to benefit from enrichment classes with a few half days a week, will alleviate some of the pressure you feel. You will have a little extra time to do life's necessary things like planning your at home learning time, grocery shopping, phone calls or even an uninterrupted cup of coffee at Starbucks!  Additionally, your children will get the social interaction that they crave and be infused with the excitement of joyfully learning. That is why we are looking forward to starting the Saplings and Seedling classes in September! We strongly believe that you and your children will be getting the best education as we partner together.  We are also here to support you as you wade through the mountains of curriculum that is offered out there!  We have asked some well-respected, veteran homeschool moms for feedback on curriculums they have used and love. Over the coming weeks, we will impart their thoughts with you about Sonlight, All About Reading, Classical Conversations and more! 

Are you struggling with making a decision on curriculum or adding enrichment classes to your homeschool days?  We would love to chat!  Leave a comment or send us an email so we can support you on your journey!

Three take aways to help guide you:

1. Never to be the slave to your curriculum. 

2. Prayerfully choose a curriculum that fits your teaching style and your children's learning styles.

3. Don't hesitate to ask us for help and guidance.  We are here for you!

Homeschooling is Like Ice Cream

Spring is just around the corner and the season brings with it a time of renewed vigor and thoughts of the bright possibilities to come.  It is also the time of year that homeschool parents start thinking and planning for the next school year! Some of you have already been educating your children for years, but if you are like most parents, you always look to see if you need to change your routine or look at new opportunities to enhance what you are already accomplishing at home.  Others of you are just starting on your homeschool journey and don't even know where to begin.  We hope in the coming weeks to be able to help guide you, whichever phase you are currently in, as you plan the important educational goals for each of your children. 

First, in the planning process, it is wise to look at the different methods of schooling to see which method fits your family.  Think of it like a large ice cream filled waffle cone. Your decision to homeschool is a good foundation like a giant, sweet-smelling waffle cone.  With a slightly crisp waffle cone in your hand, you need to decide which delectable, creamy ice cream to fill it with.  But which flavor should you choose? As you are looking through the slanted glass, you see there are many flavors and colors to choose from.  Right away, some flavors will stand out as possibilities and others will be absolute no-ways! The same will be true as you look at the different homeschool methods.  As you research the methods, you will look at some and know right away they will not be a good fit for your family.  Others you will jot down to investigate a bit more deeply.  Here are a few of the many methods to help you on your search:

Unit Based Studies

Traditional Method (schooling at home)

Eclectic

Charlotte Mason

Unschooling

Classical Education

This is an article by Parents magazine that helps describe a little about some of these methods and more https://www.parents.com/kids/education/home-schooling/homeschooling-methods/

Like we said, these are just a few of the different approaches you can take to bless your children with a well rounded education.  We do hope that in your planning, you will be thinking about Cedar Hill Academy and the benefits we offer you and your children.  Let us help relieve some of your teaching load and give your time to get other important responsibilities done, let your children create their tribe of friends to collaborate and learn with while they explore learning in new and fun ways that will delight them!

No one has ever said that homeschooling is easy, but it is so worth it! Let's walk this journey together as we help lighten your load through support, create friendships and have fun on this education adventure!

Reading is the Magic Key

The Who Was? Series is very distinguishable by the unique cover art by Nancy Harrison. Each cover accurately reflects the life of the individual with vivid details that really help you recall the information you are learning long after you set the book down.

While these are chapter books, the font and size of print in these books are perfect for the intermediate reader. It would be a excellent book to “partner read” with your child. Partner reading is a very simple concept that can help your children gain confidence and build reading stamina in reluctant or early readers.

We are busily transforming the Cedar Hill Academy facility with anticipated excitement for fall classes to start in September! Our library is growing and we will have ample amounts of titles to choose from to excite our students. We hope to help instill the love of reading and learning into all of the children at Cedar Hill Academy. One of our favorite quotes is by Alice Joyce Davidson, “Reading is the magic key to take you where you want to be.” With a good book and an abundant imagination, adventures have endless possibilities!

Reading well written literature is one of the richest and most fun forms of gaining knowledge.  There are countless types of books to get lost in, but if you have a young learner that loves non-fiction, the Who Was? Series of books will fast become a favorite.  There are 178 different titles in this series, ranging from Michael Jordan to Nikola Tesla to Abraham Lincoln.  As Presidents Day approaches, we encourage you to choose one of the eleven president illustrated biographies or even one of the five first ladies that have been featured so far and read it with your children. You will probably learn just as much as they do! You can usually find most of the titles at your public library or they do have them on Amazon as well.

Simply choose a book and ask them to “partner” with you in reading the page. If you have a child that is very reluctant, start with one sentence, then you read the rest of the page. As his/her certainty in their ability builds, ask if they would like to increase the amount of reading they do each time you sit and read. You will be amazed at how quickly their abilities increase and blossom!

Creating Lifelong Learners

As we learned last week, the unit-based study method improves attitude, academic achievement and retention in our children.  Now while the thought of creating or implementing a unit-based study is appealing and the benefits do far outweigh any negatives...there is one thing that can scare the faint of heart away from accomplishing a unit study.... the mess.  As homeschool parents, we are not immune to the fact that our homes will be messy because of the constant stream of activity going on each day, although for some of us the thought of sticky glue, gallons of glitter, paper bits and globs of wet paint almost make us cover our heads and cry.  Is one more mess, days of glitter on the floors (even after the tenth time sweeping) and wiping down the tables and walls cleaning stray paint really worth the effort? In the end, yes but there is some good news! You don't have to plan the study all by yourself or clean up the mess when you enroll at Cedar Hill Academy!  Your children will get the opportunity to be immersed in creative learning and the mess stays out of your home!  Albert Einstein has many inspiring quotes, but this is a favorite of ours, "Creativity is intelligence having fun."  Learning should be fun if you are striving to create a lifelong learner.  Why would you want to create a lifelong learner? 

There are many compelling reasons but here are 10 to ponder:

1.        Students become self-starters

2.      They are highly motivated to learn

3.      Expands their worldview and strengthens personal beliefs

4.     Life will always be fascinating and full of adventures

5.      Helps develop an entrepreneurial spirit filled with hours of relentless tinkering, exploration, creativity and innovation (think Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford) 

6.      It keeps their minds active even when they are old

Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”

7.      Creates great conversationalists that can engage many types of people and backgrounds

8.      Helps learn practical life skills

9.      They have higher self confidence with each new skill learned

10.  Naturally become a well-rounded person

 Learning through experiences, like hands-on studies, is a wonderful skill you can give your children to help create lifelong learners. Let's work together to help instill the love of learning in your children so they can grow and develop to be well rounded students and people that enjoy learning new things for a lifetime!

Enrollment is open now for the 2019/2020 school year!

Using Unit Based Studies Will Improve Students Attitudes, Achievement and Retention

At Cedar Hill Academy, we are passionate to instill the love of learning in our students.  To help them on the path of discovering that learning is fun, we use the teaching method of unit-based literature studies.  In a study at Mercer University comparing traditional textbook based learning vs. a unit-based method, the evidence was overwhelming that unit-based studies helped improve student attitude, academic achievement and retention of material by a large margin. 

Unit based studies are a natural and thrilling way to learn as you incorporate many subjects surrounding a central theme. Instead of reading a textbook and then doing worksheets to test for memorization, unit-studies are a much more effective (and we might add fun!) way to learn.  As you crack open a wonderful work of children’s literature, such as Jan Brett’s The Three Snow Bears, you can watch the children becoming enthralled with the story, so much so, that they can’t wait to learn more about all the elements within the tale.  In this particular story, it would be a natural progression to study about the Artic region, the properties of ice, geometry of building an igloo and comparing this story to the traditional tale of the three bears. These are just a few ideas to get us started on a journey of discovery based on one piece of literature. Unit based studies also leave room to explore student questions and interests, as it is a less rigid than a traditional subject matter curriculum. I like using rich children’s books as the center of most of my unit-based studies and expand our learning to many subject matters using the central idea or theme of the book. I believe that the natural flow of using unit-based studies encourages student to question and explore as they grow!

Some of the authors that we will be using next year for our studies include Eric Carle, Jan Brett and Maurice Sendak.  I can’t wait to partner with you to help create an enriching educational experience for you children, give you guidance on your homeschool journey and help create a break in your week while your children attend classes to concentrate on your other life needs.  Let’s create the best school year yet together!

♥ Mrs. Twani

Why Should You Choose a Homeschool Enrichment Program?

As a homeschool parent, life can be overwhelming and flat out hard.  You never feel like you get enough done, whether that be school work, housework, parenting, jobs, helping people… basically there is not enough time!  At the end of the day, we all want to lay down our head on our pillow and think to ourselves, “That was a wonderfully productive day! The house is clean, laundry done and put away, I studied my Bible, everyone was fed three healthy meals, school work went well and I got done what I planned, sports practices were successful, I helped the neighbor, worked the amount of hours I needed to at my job, got to take a shower and relax.” If you have ever had a moment like this, you know they rarely happen!

It is time to step back and reassess what you can do to help make life run more smoothly! Sometimes, that means that you choose to get help in areas that profit your family the most.  If you are a homeschool parent, one of the ways to create more time in your week is to add enrichment classes to your children’s’ education plan to boost their learning and provide some time for you to get other life necessities done! 

As a homeschool parent you are fully involved in your child’s learning plan so just adding activities without really looking at the benefits is not your style.  So, how do you choose a program that will fit your family’s needs?  Here are a few tips on how to find the program that will be the perfect fit for your family:

1.       Does the teacher teach in the style that your student learns best? 

2.       Do the moral values of the teacher match your families?

3.       Is the program designed to help relieve some of the pressure of teaching every subject at home?

4.       Will your child get the social interaction they crave?

5.       Is the class size small enough that your student will thrive?

At Cedar Hill Academy, we are committed to having a fun, nurturing hands-on environment where students can blossom as they learn.  They will be able to get messy doing projects that will capture the wonder of learning and the perfect part….you don’t have to plan the activity or clean up the mess! We feel strongly that children learn best when they are passionate about what they are doing. We all learn best that way!  With the unit study method of teaching, all of the subjects that children would normally whine and complain about become integrated into new discoveries each class day that they look forward to experiencing. No more morning tears about learning!

If you would like a Christian homeschool mentor to help guide you on your journey, classes that your children can’t wait to come to and which enhance their learning adventure, and extra time in your week, you have come to the right place.  We welcome you with a hug, warm cup of tea or coffee (hello… Mom caffeine bar) and the wisdom of many years of teaching.  We are excited to partner together on this experience of a lifetime! 

5 Benefits of Homeschooling

If you do a quick Google or Pinterest search for the "benefits of homeschooling" you will be bombarded with hundreds of ideas and thoughts. In order for your homeschooling to fully thrive though, you need to be able to distinguish what YOUR family believes are your foundational reasons for homeschooling. Having your reasons WHY will help you make it through the days that aren't so easy (yes, they happen...sometimes often), when people are questioning your decision and to help you meet your goals as a family through the years to come. Your motivations might change over time but the reasons why you start to homeschool will always be a source of strength that you will draw from in good seasons and bad. I challenge you to write down your top 5-10 reasons you are choosing or considering to homeschooling. Yes, write it down. If you feel like it, make it pretty (or not) and post it in the area you study each day or put it in a file that is easy to see so you can pull it out and be reminded of why you chose to make this very important decision.

For some inspiration, here are 5 of the benefits we feel are blessings of homeschooling:

1. Time

We are only allotted a small amount of time before our children will be ready to leave our nest and make their mark in the world. If you have the family motto of "we do life together," this should include education. I often joke to people that comment about having the boys with me all the time, that "we run in a pack." Does that mean that we are together 24/7? No, but we do spend a lot of time together that we would not get to if they were gone to different schools for many hours a day.

2. Sleep

Growing children need sleep. There are so many studies that have shown that health is directly related to sleep quantity and quality. Homeschool children have the luxury of being able to get a few extra hours of sleep if they need. When they are going through a growth spurt that might mean a lot of extra sleep time!

3. Individualized Learning

Labels can have such an immense impact on our children. Having the ability to teach a child the way they are most successful learning without the stress of "falling below grade level" or "being too far ahead of the curve" is one of the most important aspects of homeschooling.

4. Family Values and Beliefs

When you are truly the primary educator and directing the path your child's education will go, you have the ability to instill your family values and beliefs into all aspects of their life. You can take action, instead of reacting to what is being taught or to the situations and issues that are presented to them while away. When you decide to enrich your homeschooling experience with outside classes, you have the option to choose a program that mimics your worldview and upholds your family’s values and beliefs. There is no "luck of the draw" in homeschooling.

5. Flexibility in your Schedule

When you are the one that sets your routines, you have the opportunity to travel, take days off or adjust learning that fits the needs of your family. Disneyland in February, yes please! Want to take a play day on Friday? You have the ability to motivate your children to give a little more effort to get things done earlier in the week for the fun day! You also have the opportunity to help others during the week if the need arises and that is a lesson that you will all grow from.

As a veteran homeschool mom who has taken advantage of some outside enrichment over the course of our journey, I am a huge proponent that the benefits of homeschooling and believe the benefits FAR outweigh any negatives that might arise as you learn together.

I would love to hear some of your reasons that you are homeschooling or considering to homeschool your children!

Warmly,

Staci

Why Cedar Hill Academy?

There is so much that goes into starting a new venture but one of the most important ingredients is passion. The dedication to a belief has to be so overwhelming that all of the self doubts fade away and give you the courage to press on to create a service that you know will benefit others.

Cedar Hill Academy is being established with just such a passion. A devotion to help homeschool parents enrich their homeschooling experience with their children, to create an environment of learning where it doesn’t feel like work because in the end, anything you do with vigor and enthusiasm never feels like a job.

As we set off on this journey together, we hope that the time we spend together brings giggles, new discoveries, eyes wild with excitement, growth in character and lasting life long memories of our time together.

We pray that you will join us on the journey of discovery both for your children, yourself and us. Welcome to the Cedar Hill Academy family!

Warmly,

Twani and Staci