I am coming to this late, but here’s my two cents for what it’s worth…
We used SL for years. My oldest child completed high school having used SL, and my next child was the reason I changed to a total CM format. I’ve covered that in other posts, so I’ll just skip right to the part about why I changed.
First the reason we used SL (and still recommend it for those who are looking and are not interested in CM or aren’t daunted by tweeking it) we really love the literature rich focus of SL, and our family had grown attached to several books. I was one of those people who *did* combine children but because of the age range of my kiddos that still meant combining 2 cores with two kiddos a piece working in each of the cores – so it can be done and is done by many SL users. The cores I used corresponded to each other – ie they both covered the same period in history. My youngest was just along for the ride at the time as I had a reading program, math, and handwriting for her, and she simply listened in to everything else.
The down side of SL for me as the teacher/ scheduler – Just combining two cores, because I still did history readings together as a family and had the older kids read some of their history on their own later, was EXTREMELY labor intensive. The sifting through of the books to schedule only the ones that I thought we could get through, the disappointment of the kids if I skipped a favorite read aloud, the LONG school days that are just part of SL if one is even halfway trying to follow the schedule, and the dilema of choosing an extra activity (like piano) or getting the work done was a constant stress. (Obviously others (you) may not have these same issues.)
When I decided to go total CM method in our schooling, I knew that I would not be able to make SL into a CM friendly program because it would mean cutting out too many friends… er… books that we loved. However, I am very able to add in the books we really liked from SL and incorporate them into SCM. I really need to do a bit more of that as I’ve not scheduled as many of those books yet this year. At any rate, I find it easier to add in items than I do to leave out items, though this has changed somewhat with confidence in my ability to utilize CM’s methods without “training wheels”.
And that, I think, is probably the biggest issue as to whether SL would be good for you and your family – are you able to freely pick and choose without guilt or second guessing whether a book or activity is necessary? Will you feel compelled to use the books because they are part of the program? Are you comfortable using SL’s IG as a basic guideline or perhaps as a scheduling spine and tweeking, possibly dramatically, to make it much more CM and friendly to your family? Are you comfortable setting aside the workbook pages and utilize narration? If you can, then by all means, go for it. They have forums, or did the last that I knew, and there are even ones that talk about combining cores, so you can peruse that to get ideas for your use.
Another thought is that you simply skip a box curriculum and create your own. If you aren’t confident enough to do that, borrow some IG’s from programs that you like; look them over, compare them, and get ideas. Look over book lists, choose a spine, and then lay out your own guide. Honestly, I think it’s the idea of doing this that is much more daunting then the actual doing – or at least it has been in my case.
Blessings to you as you consider your choices.
~jacqleene
