TOG or Sonlight for 6th and 7th...

[Karenathome]

We are just finishing our 4th year of TOG. TOG was a bit much, but we learned a lot! Over the course of the 4 years, we transitioned from LG to UG. We participated in a TOG co-op, so TOG seemed to consume us. This year, Year 4, we bowed out of the co-op, had a great year as far as grammar, math, Bible, etc went, but history was on the back burner. We read quite a few literature selections, but not as many history books as we usually did in other years.

In the fall I will have a 6th and a 7th grader. I've always looked at Sonlight, but for one reason or another, have done something else. Core 6 is calling loudly to me this year! :) I like the idea of everything laid out for me, and hope that the overwhelmed feeling that always followed me with TOG will be kept at bay... I also like the idea of following a spine text, instead of jumping from one book to another.

What do you think? Core's 6 and 7 over the next 2 years, and then re-evaluate for high school for the oldest? Will I regret the whirlwind 2 year tour of Sonlight? How have those of you who have used Sonlight Core 6 and 7 liked it? Too fast a pace?

Would love to know why Tog'ers switch to Sonlight and why Sonlight'ers switch to TOG. I realize that a lot of hs'ers with several kids find it easier to use 1 year of TOG vs. several Sonlight cores, but with my 2 kids, that's not a huge issue because they are so close age-wise...

Send all of your great wisdom, oh wise ones!!

[Baseballmom]

I am in the same boat. We are finishing our third year with TOG. I have loved it, but this year I have been very overwhelmed. I am considering Sonlight or Winterpromise next year. I just want a curriculum that does all of the work for me, for just one year. We will probably come back to TOG later, but we need a break next year. I would go for it! Sonlight is great, and I think TOG lacks the great read-alouds that Sonlight offers. I hope this makes since, I just got home from two baseball games.

[choirfarm]

I haven't use Sonlight Core 6 or 7, but did use Cores 3, 4, and 5 before doing TOG redesigned 1 this year. I think you will find Sonlight A LOT easier than TOG which may be what you want. And you might be able to just open up the schedule and go like they say you can, but I never could. I was always on week 18 with the readaloud, week 20 with readers adn week 16 with history. Actually, most of the time I completely redid their schedule and added in tons more information and made out my own tests and such. I like TOG because all of the research has been done for me. i just pick and choose levels so it was actually less time consuming than trying to beef up Sonlight. I like that TOG has questions for the children to answer about history and worksheets for the literature selections. With Sonlight, you had to retype the questions from the readers and they were NOT in depth at all...basic recall type questions. I just didn't know if my children were learning unless I gave them some extra things to go with it. Mapwork never got done with Sonlight. With TOG I have been amazed!!! My 5th grader aced the Unit III rhetoric level map exam that I gave him. (I picked and chose from among the different exams on evaluations and the internet to make my own.) I like that my 7th grader, 5th grader and K can study the same thing. I like that I can choose from different levels on different weeks if I so choose. On the other hand, some people really like Sonlight and find it easy to use. I just didn't think it was enough so I was trying to come up with my own questions and finding more books for them to read. TOG has been much more challenging. With Sonlight it is basically just reading and no other work unless you do the writing that goes with it. I hope that helps.
Christine

[Heather in VA]

I've done Core 6 and part of Core 7 as well as tried to use TOG. I find SL much better all around. Honestly Core 6 wasn't my favorite but neither my dd or I are big fans of ancient history so it was more the time period than anything else. We enjoyed the 2nd half more than the first as we transitioned into the Middle Ages.

I would seriously encourage you to get the LA in Core 6 - you don't have to with Core 7 because the writing comes with it. The writing is very good. I think it's much better than TOG in that area. You don't need to do the rest of the LA in Core 6 but it's worth the money to have the writing assignments. I did Core 6 before they revamped the LA but now LA is nearly all writing and really brings something great to the study.

I find very little value in handwriting comprehension questions so I never bothered with retyping them. It's about having discussions. We would do the discussions and the mapwork at the same time so it got done all together. I used the questions as a framework and to help me since I didn't read the readers myself.

I tried TOG since it was so popular here but I found the amount of work was intense and never felt like we were getting more out of it than we were with SL, which was much less prep work.

[Tiffani]

I have used SL core K, 3 & 4. When we got to core 6 this year I was very disappointed. For me it had to do w/ how it started. SL starts off "Ancients" w/ the Nomads. And then it gives very little attention to the Israelites (but that's b/c of SOTW). Well, I switched to TOG and loved, loved, loved the book selections and the depth of Creation. We have slimmed down even more now and are solely using MOH, but if you're used to TOG I think you'll be unhappy w/ SL.

[Melissa in CA]

Originally Posted by choirfarm
I haven't use Sonlight Core 6 or 7, but did use Cores 3, 4, and 5 before doing TOG redesigned 1 this year. I think you will find Sonlight A LOT easier than TOG which may be what you want. And you might be able to just open up the schedule and go like they say you can, but I never could. I was always on week 18 with the readaloud, week 20 with readers adn week 16 with history. Actually, most of the time I completely redid their schedule and added in tons more information and made out my own tests and such. I like TOG because all of the research has been done for me. i just pick and choose levels so it was actually less time consuming than trying to beef up Sonlight. I like that TOG has questions for the children to answer about history and worksheets for the literature selections. With Sonlight, you had to retype the questions from the readers and they were NOT in depth at all...basic recall type questions. I just didn't know if my children were learning unless I gave them some extra things to go with it. Mapwork never got done with Sonlight. On the other hand, some people really like Sonlight and find it easy to use. I just didn't think it was enough so I was trying to come up with my own questions and finding more books for them to read. TOG has been much more challenging. With Sonlight it is basically just reading and no other work unless you do the writing that goes with it. I hope that helps.
Christine

Wow Christine, I could have written this post!

I have used SL Core 6 (as well as 1, 2, 3, 4, 100, 300, 400) and am switching to TOG this year for all the reasons Christine mentioned above. I want a curriculum with more independent work, comprehension questions, discussion questions, etc. Sonlight's mapwork was uninspiring for us, and just plain confusing and..well...bleck! I have not started TOG yet, but already love the mapping. With SL I was always making up my own schedule, adding things in, taking things out. It wasn't open-and-go for me at all.

Switching to SL may be the perfect solution for you. It's a great curriculum and your children might really thrive, but it might also be disappointing if you're use to TOG. Plus you are just getting to the age when TOG seems at it's best. The Dialectic level looks wonderful! I cannot wait for our Friday discussions, and the added responsibility my son will have in making out his own schedule, Completing his SAP's on time...etc. You will not get this level of responsibility in SL. SL is basically reading, and if you're not reading the history or readers or read-alouds with them, then you really don't have much knowledge for any form of discussion about what they are learning. And SL doesn't believe in tests, etc. so you won't have anything concrete to know whether they are actually learning unless you make up some of your own. You can buy the SOTW tests to use, which is what I did, but SL speeds through the SOTW books at such a fast pace that you are sometimes doing several tests in one weeks time. It got crazy.

With TOG Dialectic level, your child is to work more independently, freeing up a lot of time for you. Also, I am assuming you used four years of TOG classic. If so, you might want to trade those in and get the 50% off deal on the redesign. That is what I have, and frankly it looks easy as pie to schedule.

I guess you need to decide what is most important to you in a history curriculum. And oftentimes it helps to just go ahead and try a different curriculum to see if you like it. If not, you can go back to what you do like. It's not as if it will be a wasted year...your children WILL learn with either choices! As I said, SL is wonderful and I have always been rather loyal to them...they have treated me like a queen for years! I am just needing more than what they are currently offering; I am wanting my son to start owning up to his own education, while still being accountable to me. I think TOG is better geared for this. I WILL miss the Read-Alouds SL schedules, but I plan to pick some books to read aloud...just for the fun of it.

[momee]

I have just switched from TOG (year 1 unit 4 doing most but not all weeks all the way through year 1 unit 1) basically the whole cycle.

I was exhausted using TOG - spent ALOT of time deciding what to use, getting books ordering books, reading teacher's notes, info and the books themselves.

TOG is an awesome program, no doubt about it. It just was too much for me with three children to school and various outside commitments. I felt waay too much of my personal time was spent planning.
My son was discouraged because of the lack of answers clearly laid out for him and the continual changing of books each week or two. He basically begged me for something with a concrete schedule so we went with Sonlight. I ordered Core 200 after much angst of leaving such a rigourous and well thought of program as TOG.
You know what? He LOVES reading again, is very happy with his work performance (he never felt like he'd done enough to have meaty discussions or could meet expectations with TOG).
Now he knows exactly what he has to do, does it in a fairly brief amount of time and is learning SOO much about things that matter to both of us now.
Any specific ?s ask away.
They're both great programs, you just have to find what fits you.
I was sure we'd send SL back with their love to learn guarantee and be back with TOG. NOPE!~~
Plus now I can actually teach my youngers instead of fending them off because my older needed so much interaction from me daily.

[Sahamamama]

Three votes for SL, three votes for TOG. :confused: The more I read, the more mixed up I get!

[paula j]

I have used sonlight for the past 4 years with my ds and I do think it makes a difference if you are only homeschooling one or two who are close enough in age to do the same core. My ds has thrived on sonlight and the read-alouds are so good that we keep finding ourselves hunting for sequels.:D

We will be using core 6 next year, I already have most of my materials and have been going through them and they look really good. It does use two volumes of SOTW but I don't think it will be a problem for us. I have ordered the tests but we won't do them all, maybe one or two a week. I also have the activity guides for the reader lists and for the maps, I like the maps way better than the ones that come in the sonlight IG. I think it may be because they are larger and easier to see. I also have my core 7 materials and the activity guide is definately aimed at older children for SOTW 4, it has outlining and better comprehension questions instead of coloring pages.;)

I have also been reading through the readers from core 6 and they are really good, the ones I have read so far anyway. I especially loved The Bronze Bow, it may be worn out my the time ds gets to it as my dm, db, and dsil have all read it now too.:001_smile:

I like that the sonlight IG is all planned out for me, too. I do add activities and things from time to time but I just add them on, don't change the whole thing. On weeks when we are busy, all I have to do is look at the IG and see what we need to read and then just go over it with ds to make sure he is comprehending.

I hope this helps you.

Blessings
Paula

[Karenathome]

I guess I have come to the conclusion that we will try Core 6 and see how it fits me and the kids. It's amazing how different and unique each homeschool is - must be the reason we homeschool!! ;)

Thank you ladies for the wonderful insights. It will be interesting to see how it goes...

Karen

[siloam]

We are just finishing our 4th year of TOG. TOG was a bit much, but we learned a lot! Over the course of the 4 years, we transitioned from LG to UG. We participated in a TOG co-op, so TOG seemed to consume us. This year, Year 4, we bowed out of the co-op, had a great year as far as grammar, math, Bible, etc went, but history was on the back burner. We read quite a few literature selections, but not as many history books as we usually did in other years.

In the fall I will have a 6th and a 7th grader. I've always looked at Sonlight, but for one reason or another, have done something else. Core 6 is calling loudly to me this year! :) I like the idea of everything laid out for me, and hope that the overwhelmed feeling that always followed me with TOG will be kept at bay... I also like the idea of following a spine text, instead of jumping from one book to another.

What do you think? Core's 6 and 7 over the next 2 years, and then re-evaluate for high school for the oldest? Will I regret the whirlwind 2 year tour of Sonlight? How have those of you who have used Sonlight Core 6 and 7 liked it? Too fast a pace?

Would love to know why Tog'ers switch to Sonlight and why Sonlight'ers switch to TOG. I realize that a lot of hs'ers with several kids find it easier to use 1 year of TOG vs. several Sonlight cores, but with my 2 kids, that's not a huge issue because they are so close age-wise...

Send all of your great wisdom, oh wise ones!!

My experience mirrors Christine and Melissa's. TOG is a much better fit here.

With SL I was always tweaking things, adding hands on, my oldest needed more reading material, my 2nd dd less and we were almost never able to finish up a SL core in a year. Just way too much volume. Never did mapping, timeline work, writing, or questions because I was too busy trying to stay on the reading schedule. You see I enjoyed the reading, but not the other topics, so it was easy to push them to the side.

With TOG I spend a little more time planning than I did with SL, but I spend less time on history while nailing mapping, timelines, writing and lit sheets. Once more I can still use SL books. :D

Now down to the practical. There are two touch and feel differences I want to alert you to. One is that SL history generally flows where TOG is a unit study. That means with SL you really could take out all of the week and day designations, move them by one day, put them back in and you would never know the difference. Second is that all the supporting information (mapping, timeline, questions) are in the appendix of SL and not with the weekly schedule in the IG.

The one possible red flag I see, is that you state you don't like jumping from one book to another. SL will still have some of this. You will jump from SOTW to the picture text, and occasionally to another of the history text. Obviously SL does not do it to the degree that TOG will, but if you are in the club of people who want to read a book from beginning to end then you sill might not like SL. You can have 3-5 books going at once. In fact there is a whole group of people who use SL in a "stack" method. They basically stack the books up in order read and just read one book at a time to get around this problem. :D

SL has a great guarentee, so you really can't loose anything but time by trying it out.

Blessings,

Heather