Even before our first year of homeschooling, I attended a conference and fell in love with Sonlight's literature-based program, but resisted because of cost and the idea that I could do it on my own just as well. Well, I could just kick myself for not starting with it at the beginning. My planning now involves only printing, highlighting, and putting the schedules in the kids' notebooks. It is a dream. And our year has run so much more smoothly as a result.
One page of Gracie's weekly schedule. One color tells her what she can do on her own; the other shows what we do together. I only add in our math and a few extras on the bottom.
Sonlight is based on great books. The Witch of Blackbird Pond has been the favorite so far this year. (And you can see that I still couldn't totally stomach the cost of Sonlight, so we get many of our books from the library.)
"When life's got you down, gratitude can seem like a chore. Sure, you'll go through the motions and say the right things -- you'll thank people for help they've provided or try to muster a sense of thanks that things aren't worse. But you might not truly feel grateful in your heart. It can be like saying 'I'm happy for you' to someone who just got the job you wanted. The words and the feelings often don't match.
"This disconnect is unfortunate, though. It comes from a somewhat misguided view that gratitude is all about looking backward -- back to what has already been. But in reality, that's not how gratitude truly works. At a psychological level, gratitude isn't about passive reflection, it's about building resilience. It's not about being thankful for things that have already occurred and, thus, can't be changed; it's about ensuring the benefits of what comes next. It's about making sure that tomorrow, and the day after, you will have something to be grateful for."
From "Gratitude is About the Future, Not the Past" by David DeStano
3 comments:
I'm glad this is working out so well for you guys!
Leigh! We use Sonlight too and LOVE it!
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