4. Two Children with Different Reading Abilities
If you have two children using the same program, you might have a more advanced reader and a less advanced reader. (This is most obvious when the two children are different ages, but this even happens sometimes with twins.)
In Sonlight A, B, and C, you can simply choose a different Reader package for each. And in D, you could get the Advanced Reader package, and allow the stronger reader to do the additional books.
But what if your children are using Sonlight E or higher? Or what if you know you'll need to add more books because your children race through them? (Many Sonlight titles are compulsively readable, after all!)
How can you adjust the Sonlight Readers to fit the needs of a more advanced and a less advanced reader?
As always, you have options.
- Some moms let their children read the scheduled Reader however fast they please, but not start the next Reader until the next book is scheduled. Meaning, if the child finishes Prairie School in one day, and it's scheduled for one week, that's fine, but the child cannot begin Cora Frear until Cora Frear is scheduled. These parents make additional books (such as sequels, or other classic children's lit) available, so their children are reading at all times.
- Some moms let their children read all the books they want, whenever they want, with the understanding that when a book comes up in the schedule, the student will read it again, at the proper pace, and talk through the questions.
- Some moms assign their stronger readers more than one day at a time, and add in additional books by topic. So if the schedule assigns Prairie School for a week, the less strong reader would do one day's worth, the stronger reader would do two or three, and when the stronger reader was finished early, the mom would assign some additional book (not from Sonlight) on pioneer life.
- Shameless plug: some moms add on Sonlight's Summer Readers. These are books that don't necessarily have the same historical insight, or haven't found a permanent place in the curriculum yet, but are excellent and enjoyable books (not just in the summer).
And I'm sure there are myriad others, including just "Read at least thirty minutes. Have you finished your Reader? Choose one from this stack of additional books."
It is always good to leave enticing books lying around!
Amy Lykosh
John and Sarita's oldest daughter
Second-generation Sonlighter
Homeschooling mom to five
