Last month, we announced the winners of our cover photo contest for the 2008 Sonlight Curriculum catalog. Now we want to offer you a glimpse of our photo contest winners in each of the special categories for 2008.
When we asked for your photos for Sonlight's annual catalog, we received over a thousand submissions! We will proudly feature many of these photos in this year's Sonlight catalog—look for it April 1! The Sonlight team chose a top photo for each of five special categories (photos of students learning math, photos of middle and high school students, photos of dad's interacting with their children, photos of students enjoying electives, and culturally diverse photos). We plan to present these winners with a matted, framed print of the catalog page where their winning photo is featured.
Without further ado, the winners are...
Winning math photo
Five-year-old Addy B of Reed City, MI, does Singapore Math with her dolls and shoes. "Sonlight's Singapore Math really works for us," writes Addy's mom, Sue. "Addy has started to demonstrate number concepts in her head that apply to everyday living.
"Earlybird Math 2B gives a gentle introduction to the concept of subtraction with an example of children removing their shoes. To make the concept more visual, we grabbed some of Addy's dolls and shoes to practice." For Addy's first year of Sonlight, she's using Core K with electives.
Winning photo featuring a middle or high school student
"When people ask me what curriculum I enjoy, Sonlight is my number one recommendation--especially at the high school level," reports Cheree D of La Canada, CA. "I love that Sonlight teaches my children to think. All authors have a bias; Sonlight not only acknowledges this, but also teaches my children to recognize and analyze different views from a Christian perspective. "I treasure the interaction and lively discussion we enjoy as we learn together. I feel like I am on an educational adventure, too!" Here Cheree's twin daughters, Cassandra and Corina, enjoy some time together while studying American Literature. The twins have used Sonlight for six of their ten years as homeschoolers.
Winning photo demonstrating "Dad" involvement
Seven-year-old Eric Z of Kansas City, MO, proudly reads, I Can Read It! Book 1 to his daddy and sister, Emily (3), for the very first time. "When Eric was kindergarten age, my husband and I wondered if he would ever learn to read," writes his mom, Christa. "I discovered all attempts at seatwork were getting us nowhere. After repeated failed attempts, I put away most of our 'school' stuff and chose only to continue our Read-Aloud sessions. Three days after Eric's seventh birthday, it suddenly all seemed to click. "Eric led me to a chair, pulled out the first I Can Read It! book, and slowly read aloud the page about 'Pat the Rat.' When Daddy got home from work, Eric dragged him to the couch where everyone piled on and listened to Eric read. Eric couldn't stop smiling; he was so proud of himself. And so were we! It was truly a milestone moment--and we look forward to many more as we continue on our Sonlight journey." The Zs use Core 2 and have homeschooled with Sonlight for four years.
Winning electives photo
"With six children, it’s such a blessing to be able to re-use so much of Sonlight's curriculum and to be able to have multiple ages work together on the same Core program," writes Amy S of Washington Township, MI. “I also appreciate that, with Sonlight, all of the scheduling is done for me so I can do what I like most—teaching, learning, and discussing topics and issues with my kids. What an excellent investment of our money!” Here, Amy’s daughters, Anna (10), Erin (14), and Sarah (15), enjoy praising the Lord together with their voices, a piano, guitar, and bass. The S family has used Sonlight for seven of their eight as homeschoolers.
Winning culturally diverse photo
"I had been looking forward to Core 5 ever since we started Sonlight and I have NOT been disappointed!" says Lois D of China. "We're especially enjoying studying China since we live and work here! As soon as the Sonlight box arrived, all the children wanted to open the Ancient China Treasure chest and start right away! Grace especially enjoyed doing Chinese writing because she'd already learned some in Hong Kong before she joined our family." Here Lois' children, Hannah (10), James (10), and Grace (8), enjoy practicing calligraphy. The D family has used Sonlight curriculum since they started homeschooling six years ago.
If you entered a photo this year, please know what a joy it is for us to catch a glimpse of your family using Sonlight. Thanks for sharing with us, and please submit photos again in 2009.
You could be a photo contest winner next year!
You can already submit photos for the 2009 Sonlight catalog. Submit a photo here, or find the details on the types of photos we're most likely to select. Don't forget, a picture is worth a thousand words, but we need an excellent, benefit-laden caption to go with every photo...so tell us your Sonlight story!
