Can you believe how much your children have grown since kindergarten? Remember when they would crawl into your lap for you to read to them? And now look at them!
One of the unique privileges of homeschooling is being there for each step of your children's development. You help them gain the wide range of skills they'll need in life, like self-motivation and the ability to follow a schedule and complete assignments without constant supervision.
Core 100 capitalizes on those skills to transition kids to more independent learning. You may remain as involved as you like, but if your students are ready, they can follow the Instructor's Guide and direct their own daily studies. This gives you more time to focus on younger children or to read the great literature in Core 100!
This Core is best for children ages 13 to 16 and advanced 12-year-olds.
You've studied American History before; now it's time to go deeper. Get a back stage pass to see the players of our history as real people.
Move chronologically to discover fascinating empires before Columbus. See why Benedict Arnold became a traitor. Meet the founding fathers who dared to create a Constitution that has become the model for countries around the world. Walk with courageous Sacajawea as she navigates the adventure of a lifetime. Survive WWII with a Japanese-American family in a California internment camp. See the daily struggles of normal African Americans who courageously changed history through the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Core 100 takes you deeper into the complex fabric of American society. Meet Americans who lived such different lives: former slaves who established a new town in Canada, teenagers who fought in the Civil War, miners who searched for gold in the Idaho Territory, Chinese immigrants who tunneled through mountains, Irish immigrants who survived the Great Depression and more.
Core 100 goes way beyond historical highlights and uncovers the fascinating ups and downs of our nation's story.
A Sonlight high school Core typically combines two 36-week courses: History and Literature. Our recommended Cores work well for most families. You may use the standard Core 100 or create a unique Core experience.
To customize, select any History 100-300 course (or, Government 400 AND Economics). Combine with any Literature 100-400 course to build the Core that meets your student's interests and academic goals.
All Core benefits apply to the Core that you create.
Your History 100 Instructor's Guide (IG) weaves all your materials into one exciting and cohesive program. Starting in this upper-level program, each course includes both a Parent Guide and a separate Student Guide. This means you'll get a History and Bible Parent Guide, as well as a History and Bible Student Guide.
Your Parent Guide mirrors the Student Guide, but also includes answers, provides extra notes and allows you to check their progress and discuss their reading. This format allows you to be as engaged or as hands-off as you and your students like.
Click here to request the first three weeks of these guides for free.
I built Core 100 on the foundation of Joy Hakim's award-winning A History of US series. Her volumes are some of the most fascinating histories I've ever read. Filled with photos, illustrations and political cartoons from across the decades, Hakim draws you in to the story of our nation.
Some homeschoolers use these books with younger students. The books' language is certainly easy enough to understand. But we use them at the junior and senior high levels because of the author's attention to details (like the devastation of the Civil War, Prohibition and the civil unrest of the 1960s) that are simply not as important for elementary students to think about. We also move more quickly through each volume than younger students could.
We balance Hakim's more liberal perspective with extensive notes in the Instructor's Guide. These notes offer counter-arguments to some of Hakim's perspectives. With A History of US and the IG combined, you have an extraordinary tool to help your children think critically about and truly understand American History.
In addition to A History of US, many other Core 100 books bring life to American History. Some highlights include:
Teach your children to live out their faith. The Core 100 Bible program includes Scripture reading and practical lessons in how to study, interpret and apply the Scriptures in everyday life. Help your students build their theological framework, explore the evidence for our faith and develop discipline in prayer. I put this program together to help you raise children who love God and know what and why they believe.
Your Literature 100 Instructor's Guide (IG) weaves all your materials into one exciting and cohesive program. Starting in this upper-level program, you receive both a Literature and Language Arts Parent Guide and a separate Student Guide.
The Parent Guide mirrors the Student Guide, but also includes answers, provides extra notes and allows you to check their progress and discuss their reading. This format allows you to be as engaged or as hands-off as you and your students like.
Free sample? Request one here.
View history from real-life perspectives through American Literature 100 — a stunning selection of books that adds color and depth to learning. From thrilling classics like The Call of the Wild, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to gripping biographies and a favorite book from my childhood (They Loved to Laugh), you'll find many treasures that grow your children's writing abilities, vocabulary, cultural literacy and love of learning.
The counter-cultural view presented in Dating With Integrity challenges your children to stop and think about how they view dating. It also provides a great opportunity for you to discuss positive, healthy interaction with members of the opposite sex.
The Language Arts in Core 100 corresponds closely with the literature your students study. This complete writing program develops the critical thinking, literary analysis and creative writing skills your children need to effectively prepare for college and engage our culture.
Your children are growing up so fast--be thankful you get to be there each step of the way. Enjoy this special time with your blossoming scholars as you watch them discover their roots through Core 100.
Third edition. The story of the United States told through well-written, vivid, short biographies and hundreds of period illustrations, political cartoons, etchings and photographs.
Though the language is easily understandable when read to children in the elementary grades, the attention to detail and the topics covered serve well for older students. Can also serve as a pleasant adult reference for American history.
Extensive notes in the Core 100 Instructor's Guide offer counter-arguments to some of Hakim's perspectives and help children develop critical thinking skills. Eleven Oversize Pb volumes, profusely illustrated.
Set in pre-Word War II America, this charming collection of short stories recounts the visits of a brother and sister to their eccentric grandmother in a small town in rural Illinois. A National Book Award finalist and Newberry Honor Book.
A treasury of more than 150 classic works by six of America's finest poets.
Beautifully illustrated collection of American poems — or poem excerpts — by Sandburg, Frost, Dickinson, Poe, Whitman, and Longfellow.
Oversize Hb, full-color illus.
It was a dark and stormy night when Meg Murry, brother Charles Wallace and their mom decided to have a midnight snack in the kitchen. Then a most disturbing stranger appeared. "By the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract ..." she told them. A spellbinding story of adventures in space and time. Winner of the 1963 Newberry Medal.
Born the son of an African king, Amos Fortune was captured by slave traders in 1725, brought to America and sold at auction.
For 45 years, he worked as a slave and dreamed of freedom. At 60, he began to see his dreams come true.
Pb.
A beautifully illustrated, scholarly look into the civilizations before Columbus. Focuses on three main questions: Was the "New World" really new? Why were small groups of poorly equipped Europeans able to defeat large Native American societies? What impact did the thriving native civilizations leave on the land?
Presents new research in a compelling case that Native Americans created societies that were older, bigger and more highly developed than historians have traditionally thought.
Consumable. 36 weeks' worth of Bible study questions... with spaces for you to write your answers.
What a rich book the Bible is!
We believe its words are compelling and true. Moreover, God speaks through the Bible, if we will only listen with the aid of His Holy Spirit.
You don't need someone to "hold your hand" as you study God's Word. Turn to God Himself, ask for His help... and study His Word!
That's why you won't find a lot of explanatory text in Sonlight's Bible Study Sampler. Nor will you find leading questions. Instead, you'll find 36 weeks' worth of very simple, standardized questions... with spaces for you to write your answers.
Each week you will study two passages from the Old Testament and three from the New. You will dig into the meaning of various songs, sayings, biographies, prayers, and more. You will grapple with prophecies related to Jesus, His miracles, teachings and parables. You will also pore over key passages from each of the New Testament letters.
Enjoy this sampler from the greatest Book ever written! X Pb.
Fast-paced story of a widow and her two children who try to make their mark in an 1880s Idaho gold-mining town. Fun!
S Pb.
With only a guide book to show them the way, the Todd family sets out from their Arkansas home on a two thousand mile trek to claim uncharted Oregon Territory.
Engaging and inspiring! Pb.
It's 1936 in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy who never knew his father, but Bud's got a few things going for him.
One is a collection of flyers for Herman E. Callowy and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression. Bud's got an idea those flyers will lead him to his father, and once he hits the road to find this mystery man, nothing can stop him.
Bud, Not Buddy is full of laugh-out-loud humor and wonderful characters, hitting the high notes of jazz and sounding the deeper tones of the Great Depression.
The gripping tale of a heroic dog who, thrust into the Alaska Gold Rush, faces a choice between living in man's world or returning to nature.
A thrilling, memorable story. Pb
The exciting, thought-provoking and true story of Cameron Townsend-- founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators--and his mission to translate the Bible into every language.
X Pb.
Offers a practical Biblical model of male-female relationships based on our status as sons and daughters of God.
"We must treat each other as brothers and sisters right up to the point of our becoming engaged," says the author. Raises basic questions too often overlooked. Challenging! Highly recommended for parents of children beginning to show interest in members of the opposite sex and for mature sixth graders and older.
An astonishing story about growing up, about love and disappointment.
One day his teacher assigns a letter-writing project, and Leigh chooses to write to Mr. Henshaw, his favorite author. Mr. Henshaw's surprising answer changes Leigh's life.
By one of our kids' favorite authors. Poignant! Pb.
When he accidentally kills a Manchu, a Chinese boy is sent to America to join his father, an uncle, and other Chinese working to build a tunnel for the transcontinental railroad through the Sierra Nevada mountains in 1867.
Based on the experiences of the Chinese who built the transcontinental railroad at the time of the War Between the States, this is the story of one boy's fight for survival amid brutal working conditions and bitter cold. Stunning.
S Pb.
Newbery winner. An inspiring coming-of-age story set in a settlement of runaway slaves who have escaped to Canada.
Eleven-year-old Elijah is the town's first child to be born free. But instead of feeling like a brave beacon for freedom, Elijah just feels like a "fra-gile" boy who is scared of snakes. When duty calls, however, Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey that might make a hero of him yet. A powerful story of a boy grappling with the harsh realities of racial injustice.
Was Jesus a great teacher, a good prophet, or the Son of God? Muncaster reflects on Scripture in light of scientific, historical, archaeological, and literary discoveries to justify faith in Christ.
Respond to skeptics with authority regarding the validity of Christ's life, crucifixion, and empty tomb.
Faithbuilding.
X Pb.
The true story of one Japanese American family's attempt to survive forced detention, and of a native-born American child who discovered what it was like to grow up behind barbed wire in the United States.
Seen through the eyes of a child, the story of a Japanese-American family's four years at Manzanar internment camp during World War II. Eye-opening. Did such things happen in the U.S.?
Pb.
You've heard of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. But who were the rest of the boycotters? Why did they summon incredible courage and risk their jobs and personal safety? How did they pull off a city-wide boycott that lasted over a year? How did they get across town to their jobs every day? How did they change history?
This gripping historical work brings a major Civil Rights event to life.
Easy-to-read help for teens who want to live life to the extreme, find true love, commit to life-long friends, prepare for a meaningful career—to live a life that matters.
Inspiring!
X Pb.
A coming-of-age story about a Native American boy at the time of the white settlers' arrival. Angry that his father invited the strangers to their family's special once-a-year celebration, Moss heads out into the woods. While there, he unexpectedly faces his "away time," a rite of passage where Moss must face himself, find a new name and decide what work he will do as an adult. He also must find a new story to tell his people.
But what will Moss find when he heads into the forest? Will he come to accept the strangers as guests?
Get all the lesson plans and teaching helps you need to effectively teach History, Geography and Bible for the entire year.
Use this Parent Guide in conjunction with the American History Student Guide. Together, the newly improved American History Parent and Student Guides weave all your Core 100 History and Bible materials into one easy-to-follow, cohesive program.
The two guides mirror each other exactly, except that this Parent Guide provides extra notes about the books and fills in the answers to the student questions and assignments. This format allows you to engage with and guide your students without reading all their books. It also allows students to direct their own day-to-day studies, if you prefer. The 2013 updates also make it much easier to find what you're looking for in each guide.
Resources in this Guide include:
This loose-leaf guide is ready for your binder. (Binder not included; get a sturdy, perfect-fit binder with the exact tabs you need here: Binder | Tabs.)
This Parent Guide qualifies for a Repurchase Discount.
Get the daily schedule and tools your student needs for History, Geography, and Bible for the entire year.
Use this Student Guide in conjunction with the American History Parent Guide. Together, the newly improved American History Parent and Student Guides weave all your Core 100 History and Bible materials into one easy-to-follow, cohesive program.
The two guides mirror each other exactly, except that this Student Guide does not include the Parent/Teacher tools (extra notes about the books and all the answers to the student questions and assignments). This format enables students to direct their own day-to-day studies. The 2013 updates also make it much easier to find what you're looking for in each guide.
Resources in this Guide include:
This loose-leaf guide is ready for your binder. (Binder not included; get a sturdy, perfect-fit binder with the exact tabs you need here: Binder | Tabs.)
Delightful Newbery Honor story of what happened to a twelve year old white girl who was captured by Seneca Indians in 1758.
Pb, illus.
From the author of the Newbery-winning A Single Shard comes a carefully researched novel about the 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers, the Korean War and the very real ups and downs of life.
Get all the lesson plans and teaching helps you need to effectively teach Literature and Language Arts for the entire year.
Use this Parent Guide in conjunction with the American Historical Literature Student Guide. Together, the newly improved American Historical Literature Parent and Student Guides weave all your Core 100 Literature and Language Arts materials into one easy-to-follow, cohesive program.
The two guides mirror each other exactly, except that this Parent Guide provides extra notes about the books and fills in the answers to the student questions and assignments. This format allows you to engage with and guide your students without reading all their books. It also allows students to direct their own day-to-day studies, if you prefer. The 2013 updates also make it much easier to find what you're looking for in each guide.
Resources in this Guide include:
This loose-leaf guide is ready for your binder. (Binder not included; get a sturdy, perfect-fit binder with the exact tabs you need here: Binder | Tabs.)
This Parent Guide qualifies for a Repurchase Discount.
Get the daily schedule and tools your student needs for Literature and Language Arts for the entire year.
Use this Student Guide in conjunction with the American Historical Literature Parent Guide. Together, the newly improved American Historical Literature Parent and Student Guides weave all your Core 100 Literature and Language Arts materials into one easy-to-follow, cohesive program.
The two guides mirror each other exactly, except that this Student Guide does not include the Parent/Teacher tools (extra notes about the books and all the answers to the student questions and assignments). This format enables students to direct their own day-to-day studies. The 2013 updates also make it much easier to find what you're looking for in each guide.
Resources in this Guide include:
This loose-leaf guide is ready for your binder. (Binder not included; get a sturdy, perfect-fit binder with the exact tabs you need here: Binder | Tabs.)
After his parents die, Jeffrey Magee awes his friends with unbelievable feats.
Fun! Yet disturbing.
Pb.
Stunning book about the clash of two cultures--the culture of whiskey makers in Prohibition-era backwoods Virginia, and the culture of an anti-whiskey Christian preacher.
Gripping and thought-provoking.
Pb.
A delightful true story of an American woman journalist who moves south of the border and marries a Mexican man in the 1930s. As the new Señora comes to love her new family and life, she must learn to navigate a new language, customs, (seemingly) dramatic Latin emotions, and a culture that feels stuck in time one hundred years earlier.
Told with engaging clarity and insightfulness, De Treviño shows us a culture so close to the United States, but so rarely appreciated or understood.
Billie Jo, a 14-year-old girl caught in the Oklahoma dust storms of the 1930s, reveals the grim realities of a life lived in that time and place.
Newbery Medal plus multiple other awards. Set in the form of a free-verse journal, this is a gripping story of maturation and redemption.
Pb.
The Sawi cannibals of Irian Jaya think Judas is a hero for "fattening Jesus for the slaughter." This is the amazing story of how God prepared a tribal culture to receive the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Some violence.
X Pb, B & W photos.
The full text of Irving's classic accompanied by black-and-white renderings of illustrations by Arthur Rackham.
A wonderful, oversize "coloring book." Consumable.
Pb.
Mrs. Gladstone is the elderly, crusty president of a chain of shoe stores. Jenna is a gangly, gutsy 16-year-old who sells shoes after school. When Jenna drives Mrs. Gladstone on a cross-country "road trip" to visit several shops in the chain, the two learn a great deal from each other.
Meanwhile, Gladstone's son plans to oust his mother and turn the company into a discounter of low-quality shoes... but not if Jenna can help it. Delightfully touching.
Sacajawea, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark come to life in a beautifully told narrative.
Closely adhering to the explorers' journals, this historical tale recreates the adventure, intercultural nuance and triumphant hope of this legendary expedition. With chapters that alternate between Sacajawea and Clark's voices, readers walk away with a true sense of having experienced history.
A biography of the Cherokee Indian who invented a method for his people to write and read their own language.
The story of one of the great leaders of the Cherokee nation... as well as the fascinating and disturbing story of cultural transformation and subsequent oppressive injustice that ended in The Trail of Tears. Pb, illus.
A brief, fun overview of the sweltering summer of 1787, when fifty-five delegates gathered to establish a stronger central government. Gives students a foundation for understanding the people, events, debates and decisions that produced the Constitution of the United States.
Adventuresome and feisty 12-year old Lizzy Tinker has to learn how to fit in with her community, 17th century Puritans in Holland.
William Brewster, head of the separatist movement, takes in the orphan as his own and encourages her to work hard and resist temptation. Lizzy struggles to do what is right. Pb.
Famous tale of a boy's life in a small town on the banks of the Mississippi River. Pb.
Yancey confronts key sections of the Hebrew Bible (Job, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and the Prophets) in search of a deeper understanding of Jesus and the central human issues He saw answered in those ancient scrolls.
Many Christians quietly consider the New Testament more important than the Old. Yet Christ studied the Hebrew Scriptures. Yancey confronts key sections of the Hebrew Bible (Job, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and the Prophets) in search of a deeper understanding of Jesus and the central human issues He saw answered in those ancient scrolls. Powerful and insightful.
A wrenching look at the American Civil War through the eyes of its youngest soldiers.
Thousands of Confederate and Union soldiers were merely boys of 12 to 16 when they went to war. They fought and struggled alongside men three times their age. In this work, their photographs and firsthand accounts bring to life the realities, hopes and devastation of war.
Modern classic about a pastor who gives up a comfortable life in the countryside to minister to gangs in New York City. Gripping.
X Pb.
This accessible volume tells the story of the "Father of the Constitution," James Madison.
Follow Madison through his rise in politics; his struggle to help create and defend the Constitution; his friendship with Thomas Jefferson; and a long, happy marriage. Discover his lasting influence on the United States of America.
In order to escape religious persecution, a group of English Separatists set sail for America in 1620, hoping to establish a new colony.
From the Landmark Books series. Award-winning author recounts the tale of America's Pilgrims from Scrooby, England to the New World through 1623. Abundant first-person accounts from the historical records give a strong sense of realism.
Pb.
A fascinating, colorful look at the Panama Canal, the idea behind it, how it was built, the men who built it, how it operates . . . and a whole lot more.
Pb, photos.
A young soldier from West Virginia faces the Battle of Gettysburg knowing his two cousins may be fighting him.
Thought-provoking.
Pb.
Four friends from a class of social outcasts attempt to win an Academic Bowl with the help of their encouraging teacher. Sarita says, "As a two-time Newbery Medal winner, you know she has a good writing style. But this book has a wonderful story-line as well. It has the best of all worlds mixed into one."
A gripping account of how the United States joined WWI and helped turn the tide of the entire war.
This fascinating narrative brings the war to life and reveals how the US mobilized industry, trained "doughboy" soldiers, and promoted the war at home. Portrays the deep human cost of the war as well as the heroic actions of those who fought for their country.
In the 1830s, a young orphan with grave blue eyes heads to a new life in North Carolina. As she learns to adapt to her new Quaker surroundings, her new family and friends wonder if this solemn girl will ever learn to laugh.
One of Sarita's favorite books from her childhood.
The unforgettable story of a young girl whose father stands up for principle in the face of deadly prejudice.
An all-time favorite. Disturbing; not for younger children!
Pb.
A study of the life and character of the brilliant Revolutionary War general who deserted to the British for money.
A stunning character study; an entertaining biography. Written by a multiple award-winning author.
Pb, illus.
This story takes place in the real world of New York City, but holds a fantastic puzzle at its heart. A young girl's life starts to unravel when the mysterious notes begin to arrive, scrawled on tiny slips of paper: I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter ... Miranda realizes that whoever is leaving the notes knows things no one should know. Can she prevent a tragic death or is she already too late? Winner of the Newberry Medal and a New York Times bestseller, When You Reach Me is an original and delightful read.
Provoke your prayer life to impact the world. This devotional offers a 40-day journey "from words to relationship" with God.
Discussion and meditation, laced with personal stories, make the six-week "prayer lab" engaging for new Christians and longtime believers alike.
Essential.
Pb.
Clearly explains the key players, ideas, economics, ideologies and lasting effects of WWII.
Find fascinating answers to major misconceptions about the biggest war in the history of the world. For example, WWII was fought primarily in Western Europe and the Pacific, right? Actually, most of the fighting was between Germany and the U.S.S.R., on the Eastern Front. Intriguing.
Mary Alice, a middle-class high school girl from Chicago, leaves the big city to spend 1937 in rural Illinois with her rough-around-the-edges and unconventional grandmother.
The zany, adventure-filled experience is not only eye-opening for Mary Alice, but heart-warming and hilarious for readers as well. Pb.