The Sonlight Core programs have been designed to work with a variety of ages so you have the flexibility to choose a program that most interests and best meets the needs of your student. Sonlight encourages you to choose first based on content. Once you have chosen the content you wish to cover, take a look at our Core Program Chart (http://www.sonlight.com/core-choosing-chart.html ) and look at the recommended grade levels for each Core program that covers that content. You may also wish to view a chart organized by theme here: http://www.sonlight.com/core-program-themes.html . We would also encourage you to read How to Choose the Right Materials for Your Child (http://www.sonlight.com/how-to-choose.html). You might also wish to gain input from other Sonlight users on the Sonlight Forums at https://forums.sonlight.com/ .

When teaching multiple students there are different approaches that can be taken:

  • -select the program most suited to the younger child and supplement for the older child, or
  • -select the program most suited for the older child and simplify what you use with the younger child, or
  • -select a program that falls in the middle of the range of ages/grades of your children and make minor modifications to meet each child's needs, or
  • -select complementary core programs which cover the same content at different levels of difficulty; for example, using the Intro to World History, Part 1 (Core B) with the World History, Part 1 (Core G) has been very successful for many Sonlight customers.

Whatever approach you use, you would read the Bible, History and Read-Aloud materials in the Core program out loud to the children as a group so that you use your time most effectively and have convenient opportunities to discuss what has been read.

One option would be Sonlight's Core A program. Core A is typically used by K, 1st or 2nd graders. This Core may be like be a great fit for your children. You have your choice of readers with Core A. Your choices are K, 1st or 2nd grade Readers. You would order the Core with one set of readers, then separately order the other set of readers and language arts for your 2nd student. Below is the link to all the Core A packages we offer: http://www.sonlight.com/homeschool-curriculum.html?core=A

If you would like to use all subjects with Sonlight, and your 1st grader is at Grade 1 level with reading, language arts, handwriting and math, then Sonlight's Full-Grade Package for Grade 1 is another option: http://www.sonlight.com/1MSP.html This package will include Core B with Grade 1 Readers and Language Arts, Science B, Handwriting 1, Math 1, Bible B and all required resources. You would only need to add in Readers and Language Arts, Math and Handwriting for your 2nd grader along with any extra consumables. They would be able to share the Core and the Science programs as those are both recommended for 1st, 2nd or 3rd graders.

One suggestion that may help you in making your choice would be to write out a chart with the names of your children on one side, and the year across the top. Then look at how each of your options would work over the next few years. There is no one right choice. All choices are valid options! The idea is to choose the program that best meets the needs of your family.

If you feel a different option in combining children would work better for your family or if we need to customize choices because either child is working above or below grade level in specific subjects, please let me know and I will be happy to assist you in customizing Sonlight for your children.