Core D

Settle foreign lands, battle for freedom and form a revolutionary new government!

• Relive American history from the early Native Americans through the 1850s.
• Embrace the innovative spirit that characterized early American history.
• Meet Incans, Aztecs and Mayans, sail with Columbus, journey with Lewis and Clark, and invent with Benjamin Franklin.
• Bond with your children as you spark their love of learning!

Totally interconnected learning

Core D marks the beginning of a new kind of Core. For the first time, History, Geography, Read-Alouds and Readers are all linked together. Meet Paul Revere in a history book, then see him in a Reader. Get to know George Washington in a biography, then see him again through children's eyes in Johnny Tremain and Phoebe the Spy. As your children learn and discover in this style, they'll make astonishing connections between the people, places and events in American history.

Core D is great for 9-, 10- and 11-year-olds and advanced 8-year-olds.

Discover the fascinating foundations of a unique nation

Bring life to your American heritage. Ask questions such as: What makes this nation different? How did it come to exist? Why don't we have a king? Who lived in North America before Christopher Columbus came? Why did settlers risk everything to start over in the New World?

Even if you're not from the U.S., learn valuable context for the world as it is today. See firsthand how the first modern democratic republic began. Discover how Americans fostered personal freedom and the spirit of innovation that so many countries emulate today.

A tour of Core D

The Landmark History of the American People serves as your central History book this year. It's a fascinating approach to American culture and events over the past 350 years. Learn about the social forces and cultural influences that have made Americans the unique people they are. Learn how necessity drove early settlers to innovate and to leave behind certain European conventions.

Biographies, historical fiction and absorbing readers add depth to your study. Key players in early American history will come to feel like old friends. Meet people you should know for cultural literacy--fascinating characters like Pocahontas and John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed).

And meet ordinary Americans who did extraordinary things for God around the world. Like Adoniram and Ann Judson, the first American missionaries. Follow their adventures as they share God's love in Burma and translate the Scriptures. Watch God work mightily even when Adoniram is imprisoned!

My vision for Core D

My overarching goal for this Core and its companion, Core E, is for children to understand the context and progression of American history. I want them to grasp why people came to a new land and how they persevered and settled the continent.

I want them to know that entire civilizations lived here before the Europeans arrived. That our Founding Fathers struggled mightily to create a new sense of equality and write a living Constitution. I want them to see that settlers and founding fathers were faced every day with decisions about how to live in a new world.

In the lower grades, we shy away from discussing too many harsh realities of our early history. We touch on struggles between American Indians and settlers and the sad realities of racial conflicts, but we don't dwell on them.

Instead, we focus on the creative, hardworking, vibrant spirit that helped families of early settlers, immigrants, pioneers and pilgrims overcome great obstacles.

We celebrate the positive in our history: the establishment of a government by a free people apart from a king, the move toward unprecedented equality, the compassion that has historically flowed out of the American Church, two Great Awakenings that led thousands back to God ... I could go on. As a people, we Americans have been far from perfect; but there's still a lot of good in our history to teach our children.

As you take this exciting trek through the early American years, we've got the tools you need.

You receive:

Instructor's Guide

Just open up your Core D Instructor's Guide (IG) each day to see what's in store. The daily schedule, discussion questions, notes and helps turn your great books into a cohesive curriculum. Your lesson plans are done for the entire year! You spend almost no time preparing and lots of time in quality face-to-face interaction with your children. Request the first three weeks of this guide for free.

Hands-on activities

New for 2011, you now get many hands-on activity suggestions that coordinate with what you're reading and learning in Core D. Choose from weekly suggestions that reinforce concepts and might cause serious fun during school time!

History & Geography

Travel through American life with story-based history books, biographies and enriching extras. Tie everything together with the timeline that helps you visually map the progression of early American History. Get ready to:

• Discover empires that thrived here long before Europeans arrived in the New World.
• Sail with Christopher Columbus on his first journey of discovery to the Americas.
• Cheer as a strange tribal law saves the first permanent English settlement in America and the life of Captain John Smith.

Bible

Bible readings in Core D include the Gospel of Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, Paul's letter to the Colossians, the Old Testament history book of Judges, and the love story of Ruth. The few days left over feature some psalms and proverbs. You'll also memorize Scripture each week. To enhance this Bible program, add the Additional Bible Study Package D.

Read-Alouds

Spend many wonderful hours reading together this year. Some of my favorite Core D Read- Alouds include:

• Walk the World's Rim, where you meet Europeans in Texas long before the Pilgrims landed.
• The Sign of the Beaver, a Newbery Honor tale about a white boy rescued by an Indian chief.
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond, a Newbery Medal book about family, justice, and courage. (And despite the title, there is no witch nor witchcraft in this story.)

Readers

With Core D, your children's Readers tie directly into the History content of the Core. These masterfully written, adventure-filled stories help cement the transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn."

For children who are voracious readers or are on the older end of the Core D age range, choose the Readers D Advanced package. You'll get all the Regular Readers plus nine more gripping books.

Music to a mother's ears

Years ago, my youngest girl closed a Core D book, sighed and said, "I've never read a book that I didn't love." I think you'll find that a testimony to the quality of Sonlight books. May it be that your children develop a similar love of learning this year!