It's been one of those.....

So yes, it's been one of those weeks, or week and a half I should say. Nothing bad, nothing major,  just life. Kids. School. Doctor appointments. Dentist. Curriculum searching and ordering time. No one is sleeping since the time changed time. Just all of that kind of stuff.

I have a running list of blog ideas I get so excited about, and then by the time the day is over, school is done, house cleaned up, kids bathed and settled down and I think maybe, just MAYBE I can write now, I realize it's 2 A.M. Therefore there has been a slight lag in posting!

School has been busy because we are going to the beach in around 6 weeks or so and there are certain things I definitely want finished up before then so we are doing a little more than usual in a few areas. My little bean has been making leaps and bounds with his reading suddenly and I am so proud of him. My big boy as I mentioned before, finished up science and is almost done with everything else for his 5th grade year as well. The princess is really enjoying her "school" and flying through it like I figured she would.

As far as the curriculum search I mentioned, most things are decided, because they are what we did last year. There are just a few undecided things I have been researching. For the big boy, we want to add in a little more writing and grammar work and there are a couple programs I am looking at for that. He has also mentioned he is interested in learning Latin. The only thing I am really deciding on for Bean is math, and then for the princess I am just going to see how quickly she goes through this. Or at least I tell my planning obsessed self that! Hopefully this week I can get a few more things done.

Sonlight Science E Review

This year for my oldest son's 5th grade year, I let him choose (from a few of my picks) the topics he got to cover this year. He decided to go with Sonlight's Science E:  Electricity, Magnetism, and Astronomy. 

He has flown through this year in Science, and we finished up weeks ahead of where I had planned, because he wanted to do more every day. Needless to say, science is one of his favorite subjects, and this year he loved it all. I absolutely love that the experiment kits that come with Sonlight's science have EVERYTHING you need. There are over 90 experiments, a cool little DVD that shows all the experiments in case you miss one or just can't figure something out, and lots of great books. He learned about electricity, magnetism, light, color, microscopes, astronomy and space, inventions, chemistry, modern technology, and early American life. I asked him to write a little paper after he finished this week telling me his favorite things, and he couldn't narrow it down, he loved it all. He has had so much fun with the experiments. 

From the teachers perspective, I loved what I love about all sonlight courses - the wonderful, rich, REAL books, the fact that the bible and creation are woven into everything that we read and do, and the wonderful instructors guide! There are a few usborne book titles which are amazing books. While they do have some references to other ways the world began, etc. the instructors guide is sure to make a note of where these references are made and point out that you will want to discuss these things with your children. I know I have talked with some people that are turned off to sonlight because they choose some of these titles, however I think even though we teach things to our children from a Christian viewpoint, that it is important for them to know and understand the other viewpoints that some people may have.

Sample IG page 

Sample IG notes page 

Sample Student sheet and teachers answer sheet 

That all being said, we were so happy with this program this year. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. When I told him last week that this was the last week of it he just looked at me in shock! I have yet to order for next year yet (although I will be within the next few weeks!) and he is anxious to get started on what he has chosen for his 6th grade year. We will definitely be going with Sonlight for Science again - stay tuned to find out which one we choose to use next!