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From the lens Winter Promise Versus Sonlight.

SL or WP thought bubble
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Do you have more questions that were not answered her?
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  • Elizabeth B. Mar 29, 2012 @ 9:39 am | delete
    Wow, I found WP's books to be overly intense and mature! I tried Children Around the World after several years with Sonlight. My 2nd-5th graders (the target age for CAW) were not ready to read graphic descriptions of gang warfare (including threatened rape and threatened immolation of an infant) or of circumcision rituals. Sonlight, on the other hand, has chosen the books carefully and we have loved them all!

    Also - you mention "getting the kinks out" - WinterPromise has been around for at least ten years. But they don't have their supply chain worked out: I placed an order in August, and I was still receiving key curriculum pieces that were needed in the first few weeks in January!
    Sonlight has *great* supply chain handling. If something will be late, they let you know! And I've never had to wait more than two weeks.
  • Liza Feb 29, 2012 @ 7:39 pm | delete
    We are new to homeschooling this year and using Winter Promise Sea and Sky. My daughter loves hands on, and history/science. She loves this program, especially the literature piece. It really makes things come alive for her so that she can retain them. Haven't decided between SL and WP for next year, but WP has been great so far. One caveat: I also got the reading program to go with WP, and it was too much for my daughter. We've just stuck with the core reading materials and that has been enough.
  • Pukeko Aug 11, 2011 @ 1:01 am | delete
    Thanks for the introduction to Winter Promise. Many of my friends already use Sonlight. Great lens. Blessed.
  • DianaHarper May 27, 2011 @ 11:20 pm | delete
    I used Sonlight one year, and have the Winter Promise catalog. I appreciated the insight and resources available in this lens. Blessings!
  • Kay Apr 20, 2011 @ 11:15 am | delete
    Just wanted to leave a comment as a SL user of 4 years. IMHO, Core 3 (not sure what letter they call it now, but it's part 1 of Intro to American history) is far and away superior to the three previous SL cores (K, 1, and 2 - not sure what letters they are now). I continued with the first 3 cores, not because I loved them, but because I loved the idea of them. With the exception of maybe one or two books, Core 3 is the fulfillment of that idea and makes me glad at stuck it out with SL. I am looking forward to Core 4 (whatever it's labelled now!) as a continuation of the Intro to American History.

    I am intrigued by Winter Promise because it uses Mystery of History as it's spines. The SL spines for Cores K-4 are, in my mind, their weakest points. I'm definitely going to look into WP when we finish SL Core 4.

    Anyway, just wanted to give a shout-out for SL Core 3 since your experience was through Core 2.
  • eclecticeducation Apr 1, 2011 @ 1:23 pm | delete
    I'm considering Winter Promise animals for my little guy. He totally loves animals. It may be a good start for him. I'll probably pick and choose activities like I do with all other curriculum. lol!!! Thank you for the review. Blessed by an April Fools Angel. :)
  • Janiece Feb 16, 2011 @ 9:59 pm | delete
    We have used Sonlight several years, and enjoyed it. I might check into Winter's Promise. It sounds interesting.
  • Jennifer Daughtry Jun 2, 2010 @ 6:31 am | delete
    Heart of Dakota is also an excellent Charlotte Mason style, biblically-based curriculum. They are currently adding a guide every year. Don't know if they will do high school.
    It uses living books and is comparable to Winterpromise and Sonlight and better-priced in my opinion.
  • JulieS Oct 14, 2008 @ 10:59 am | delete
    Sonlight has a wonderful reputation among homeschoolers. I have used Konos mostly, but I have friends that use Sonlight. I have heard from them that some of Sonlight's choices of books are objectional. There will always be differences in opinion, so just be aware. We should always adapt a curriculum to our children rather than the other way around. You might enjoy visiting Used Sonlight Curriculum and Books
  • Kristen Aug 29, 2008 @ 1:55 pm | delete
    I've read several reviews like yours claiming that WP becomes a "secular" curriculum once you remove the Bible portion. The author of WP wrote me a lengthy and thoughtful email disagreeing with this. Homeschoolers should check each package separately. Packages like American Crossing I (with Time Travelers) contain a Christian Spine. We are doing American Story I and I am adding in One God, One Nation by CLP -hopefully this will help add in Christian perspective.
    Also I agree with the "heart wrenching" SL comment. I moved away from them to give my children a few more years to be CHILDREN!
    Thanks for taking the time to review.
  • triathlontraining Jun 20, 2008 @ 11:22 am | delete
    Huh! I had no idea there were different curriculum methods. Thanks for the info! 5*

    Found you on Squidu.
  • Ashley May 12, 2008 @ 8:34 pm | delete
    Thank you Jimmie!
    I found your post VERY helpful...I have used Sonlight for the same Cores as your family and have been trying to decide what to use next year, to use WP or to create something all of my own...Your review has me leaning heavily on WP.
    As a side note, Sonlight, while clearly stating to Christian, uses some very questionable books for many. I found that WP appears ' more Chrisitan', due to the lack of many of these books. This is just my thinking throught what I have seen in their catalog.
    Again Thanks Jimmie!
    Ashley
  • Amber Apr 22, 2008 @ 10:26 pm | delete
    Thanks so much for posting pictures of the WP materials, especially the notebooking crafts & the timeline! That gave me a much better picture than the official website did - your blog post was very helpful to me! We enjoyed Sonlight PK & K. I've made up my own thing for two years, but am considering WP for 3rd grade. I appreciated knowing the WP books were "less emotionally wrenching", as this is one SL thing I did want to avoid. Thanks so much for your post.
  • groovyoldlady Mar 30, 2008 @ 3:17 pm | delete
    I've heard of Sonlight, it's been around for years, but I've never heard of Winter Promise.
  • Alexandra Mar 30, 2008 @ 10:48 am | delete
    What a wonderfully thorough review of both programs! I'll be checking out WP books. I'm always looking for quality literature. Thanks!
  • Marsha Mar 30, 2008 @ 9:27 am | delete
    We used Sonlight Core K and Core 1 and switched to WP AS1 this year. The hands-on activities, readers tied in to the main theme, and less intense (but still excellent) adventure reading selections makes it more appropriate for my young boys.

    WP is definitely still a young company and I hope they work out their Customer Service issues soon. I often forget that they even claim to be Christian (do they?) since there are not any overtly Christian books, comments, characters in their program.

    Great post, Jimmie!

by

Jimmie

A homeschooling mom who loves to teach and learn, especially using living books and lapbooks. I've used both Sonlight and Winter Promise curriculum.

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