The Simple Life at Home

I am so excited about what we are doing for our homeschool this year. Once again we are using Sonlight (this is our 3rd year with them). The two previous years we have studied American History. This year though we are learning about the Eastern Hemisphere. It is fascinating, I have to say. I have learned things I never knew. So far we have covered China, Japan, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Antartica, and the Pacific Islands (I may be forgetting some places we've studied). Upcoming still is Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India, the Middle East, and Africa.

The thing I LOVE about Sonlight is the way that it teaches about cultures. It doesn't rely on dry textbooks. It uses beautiful, living literature to communicate a culture to a child. Truthfully, how much do you remember from textbooks? Once the test was over, I know most of that information left my head. But great books...I can still remember things very clearly that I read as a child and young adult.

I also love the way that Sonlight is so balanced in its presentation. It doesn't present America as a perfect country and all others as backward. It acknowledges that Western ways do have their faults. I firmly believe that when John 3:16 says, "And God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever might believe in Him will have eternal life" that the entire world is meant there. Not just people like us. We have learned about Bhuddists, Hindus, animists, pagans and the like. I think it's healthy that my children learn that ours is not the only viewpoint in the world. We've examined the faults of different religions and I'm amazed at my kids' insight into how sad it is that no other system of religion offers true salvation or hope.

So as we continue studying the world, I'll let you know what new things we learn.