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Our Family

Many of you know me as Joy from Alaska.  Many of you also know me as Joyful Light.  My real name is Joy Swedberg, and our family lives in North Pole, Alaska.  I picked the name Joyful Light, because my middle name (Elaine) means light.  Our family works at a missionary radio station called KJNP which stands for King Jesus North Pole.  You can read more about our family at our family website.

Our family has two daughters, both have been homeschooled their whole life.  Because she was ready, we started my oldest daughter, Ashley, in the Robinson curriculum when she was five.  Since her birthday is in the fall, she was still too young for kindergarten.  She was already reading some, and it did not take her long to be reading chapter books.  She loved to read, and even at that age she could read seven chapter books in one weekend!  This greatly helped her to start writing well at an early age.  Learning the math facts took more time for her.  I also worked out of the home so was unable to sit with her while she was doing her math flash cards.  Because of this we needed to switch to written material for math.  We used Spectrum workbooks and printed drill sheets for this.

When Ashley was old enough for Kindergarten, we enrolled her in an correspondence homeshool program.  Because it was state funded, we had to follow the rules of public schools, but we could chose our own curriculum as long as it was not religious in nature.  Curriculum that was religious in nature can still be used - but all the materials for that course comes 100% from the parents pocket - not the school's.  We turn in grades to the school once a quarter, with work samples of each class, and a brief description of what was learned each quarter, and how much time was spent in each subject.  We also keep close contact with the teacher assigned to our family.  A certified teacher signs their name on the grades once they look everything over.  We are happy with this choice that we made.  We can homeschool, and do have a wide choice of curriculum.  Also, our daughters will still get the same diploma that the public schools issue.  Our reason for this decision, is that there is a certified teacher over us to keep track of the school records, and that our daughters will get an official diploma when done with school. 

Because our family is enrolled in this type of cover school, we need to provide written samples of work completed for each major subject - including science and history.  Because of this, we needed to find a source for these subjects in addition to the Robinson Curriculum.  For the most part we have used Sonlight.  The cover school provides the non-religious books that Sonlight uses.  They will not provide the religious books or the teachers manuels - those we need to purchase on our own.

When my second daughter, Kimberly, was old enough to start school, she was very different than Ashley.  She also did start to read a young age, but her comprehension was not as great as Ashley's was at that age.  Because of this it took her longer to get into reading the books in the Robinson Curriculum.  For first grade, we had to use Sonlight as those books were easier to read.  We used core 3, so that both girls could work together for history.  Ashley had already done all the Sonlight books prior to core 3, and Kimberly was able to handle most of the chapter books in core 3.  The others were read to her as needed.  Her writing was not advanced like Ashley's was.  At that age Ashley was able to write simple reports to turn in to the school.  With Kimberly, we had to get creative and she drew pictures of what she learned instead.  Again for math we used workbooks for Kimberly instead of flashcards.

When Kimberly was in second grade, Sonlight core 4 was too difficult for her.  Ashley read the history books for core 4 out loud to her.  I checked up on what was learned later.  For reading, we went back to Robinson for a year and she read one book a week, reading all the Bailey, Dotty Dimple, Bobbsey Twins, and a few of the easier books.  This was like pulling teeth!  No vocabulary work was expected for her - she was not ready for it.  Keeping up with science and history became increasingly difficult as I still worked out of the home.  Report writing was not always an option for Kimberly, she was still too young to handle that.  I enjoyed being creative finding other things for Kimberly to do to turn in for history and science, but due to lack of time could not do all that I thought I should.  I knew Kimberly was learning, but I also knew her comprehension was not as good as it could be.  I often knew what she knew, but had a hard time keeping up with finding out what she did not know yet.

When Kimberly was in third grade, and Ashley was in 7th.  I found out that the science books for grade 7 through Sonlight could not be purchased through the school because they were religious in nature.  We could have purchase them ourself - but I was also ready for a change.  I checked into using Switched on Schoolhouse.  The school then told us about OddessyWare.  OddessyWare is basically the same as Switched on Schoolhouse with all the religious content taken out which made it permissible for us to use it through the school.  We decided to try it for a year.  Ashley and Kimberly loved it, and it gave Kimberly the challenge that she needed to help her with comprehension.  I loved it because there was far less stress on me - less grading, and there was material to print out to turn into the school.  I could also tell easier what was and what was not being learned.  For reading, Kimberly was not ready for more of the Robinson books, so we used the advanced chapter books through Sonlight.  Both girls continued using Sonlight for History.

This past year we continued using OddessyWare for all the subjects except math.  Kimberly still was not ready for the Robinson books.  We did start going to the library more, and Kimberly was encouraged to pick out at least one book a week to supplement OddessyWare.  I then learned that Kimberly will read library books that she picks out herself, and she would pick out several on a variety of topics.  This was the year that she started enjoying reading more.  Ashley still wanted to read the Sonlight books along with OddessyWare, so she did two curriculums for history.  She is a book worm and a speed reader so it was not too much for her.  I gave her all the Sonlight books, told her to read them and put them in the right chronological order herself.  She loved that task.  She also read more of the Henty books as she was studying that time period of history.

Just now this summer of 2009, Kimberly is at the point where she may be ready for Robinson again.  She also found the vocabulary flashcards, and on her own decided to start learning them some.  So Robinson is still used in our family some - but it is not stressed as a main curriculum right now.  I would still recommend it to others, but with the point that other books will still be needed throughout the years of school.  Sometimes because the student reads so well, they need the extra reading material (like Ashley).  Sometimes because the student is not ready for the next group of books (like Kimberly.)  Sometimes because a family is in a situation where they need to have an actual curriculum for science and history.  I could use the ideas on the pages of this website, but while working outside the home with a daughter who sometimes needs more help, it just was not working well right now.   Also, with any curriculum out there, you will always want to add something else, or tweek it to make it more friendly for your family.  The best rule is to be led by what God says is best for your family, and know that every year it could change slightly do to the needs of the students.

Be blessed as you endeavor to train your children in what God's will is for your family.