Georgiana Daniels Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 For those of you who use TOG, at what age did you start your kids? The website says kindergarten, but I'm wondering if it's too involved for a 5-year-old and we should instead focus on the 3 R's. Also, I have a dd who will be 5 at the start of next school year. Instead of starting with my now 5-year-old, would it possibly be better to wait until one is 5 and one is 6 and work them at the same time? After all the TOG threads, I'm really interested in the program, but don't want to jump in before my kids are ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorbackmama Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I recommend no earlier than 3rd grade unless there are older siblings. Then I'd allow a 1st grader to join in, but not K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart'sjoy Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 :iagree:TOG is best when kids are ready to write one or more paragraphs. FIAR was a perfect flexible choice for pre-k -2 for us. However, I did start TOG yr 1 halfway through first grade with dd who was done with phonics, writing 3-4 sentence paragraphs, and reading chapter books. I made the jump because I looked at where we needed to go in history and saw the huge gap in my knowledge. I wanted to get some practice under my belt with a program that I could use with all 3 kids at 3 different learning levels. If you ask me was TOG the best choice for my kids at the time I made the jump (1st, pre-K, toddler), the answer would be, no. Something like FIAR, WinterPromise, or maybe Sonlight would have been easier and a better fit for them. I am gambling that it will pay off in 4th grade an up with a prepared teacher, me. I can definitely see the major themes in history now. There are some wonderful posts about how TOG is used with just K+1st on the TOG forum. For us TOG with a 1st and preK looked like picture books, read aloud chapter books, a few salt dough maps, and activites like papertowel roll aquaducts and wood Arks, and Cathedrals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 (edited) For those of you who use TOG, at what age did you start your kids? The website says kindergarten, but I'm wondering if it's too involved for a 5-year-old and we should instead focus on the 3 R's. Also, I have a dd who will be 5 at the start of next school year. Instead of starting with my now 5-year-old, would it possibly be better to wait until one is 5 and one is 6 and work them at the same time? After all the TOG threads, I'm really interested in the program, but don't want to jump in before my kids are ready. I don't know that TOG is "too involved" for a kindergärtner because you don't have to do it all, KWIM? And frankly, they don't schedule tons for LG stage. If you were to just use the primary readings, it would be an excellent history for a youngster. I would wait a year or two before adding in some of the other aspects like the Student Activity Pages and the vocab, but I don't see why you couldn't use it for a K'er. One reason I can see for using TOG early would be that you would surely get your money's worth from the curriculum... Here are a couple quick samples depending on when you begin. K...Y1 (LG) K & 1...Y2 (LG) 1 & 2...Y3 (LG) 2 & 3...Y4 (LG) 3 & 4...Y1 (LG/UG) 4 & 5...Y2 (UG) 5 & 6...Y3 (UG) 6 & 7...Y4 (UG/D) 7 & 8...Y1 (D) 8 & 9...Y2 (D) 9 & 10...Y3 (D/RH) 10 & 11...Y4 (RH) 11 & 12...Y1 (RH) 12...Y2 (RH) K & 1...Y1 (LG) 1 & 2...Y2 (LG) 2 & 3...Y3 (LG) 3 & 4...Y4 (LG/UG) 4 & 5...Y1 (UG) 5 & 6...Y2 (UG) 6 & 7...Y3 (UG/D) 7 & 8...Y4 (D) 8 & 9...Y1 (D) 9 & 10...Y2 (D/RH) 10 & 11...Y3 (RH) 11 & 12...Y4 (RH) 12....Y1 (RH) As you can see, TOG will definitely pay for itself in the long run! ;) I would Definitely focus wholeheartedly on the 3 r's, but adding in some history and fun history projects couldn't hurt, could it? :confused: So many have no problem using SOTW with youngsters, yet TOG's history books are interesting colorful picture books. Yes, the entirety of TOG is waaaaay too much for a K'er or even a 1st grader, but the basic history schedule seems quite do-able if you ask me. You just add on the other parts as your child is ready for them. ;) My opinion of course. :D Edited June 27, 2009 by Melissa in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 until 3rd grade, but that doesn't mean it's not suitable. You can simply do everything read aloud and ask the questions out loud from the worksheets. The projects could be selected in such a way that they were age appropriate. Because of older siblings, we used it in K and 1 in that way, along with coloring pages from SOTW Activity guide. Worked fine for intro. to history. IMO, the 3 R's should be your focus, history should be reading and exploring. Just my opinion :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 Thanks! Lots of great info to chew on and think about :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koko Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 We've used TOG the past 4 years. When we started I had a K son (and a 7th and 10th grader). I would definitely focus on the 3 Rs with a little one and add TOG in, at whatever involvement level is appropriate, after that. My baby boy just finished K and I just did phonics, Bible, math and handwriting--no TOG-specific material. He listened in a few read-alouds according to his interest. He's still not ready for much more, but I will be adding in some history and lit selections and include him for read-alouds with my 4th grader. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCoffeeChick Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 My son's favorite subject was history last year. We used TOG year 1. Obviously, we used very little of it, but like the pp said, I plan on getting my money's worth by the time we are done with homeschooling. :) Our weekly schedule for TOG looked like this: Monday: Primary History Reading & Bible Readings, make a page for our "People of the Ancient World" Notebook. Tuesday: Map of the region studying. Plus learning the continents & oceans, and reviewing the other areas previously learned. Wednesday: Bible/History activity. Normally some sort of craft or color page. We made a model ziggarat, puppets, different recipes, costume pieces ... everything easy and fun. I found most of the ideas on the internet. Thursday: Related books from the library on the couch. A mini-book for our lapbook. We made our own lapbooks, as the one TOG sells is too old for K. I'd just pick something we could make a book out of and print things out from the internet. Friday: Normally this was our day off, but if we did not finish our project from Wednesday, we would finish it up now. So, I will say TOG is absolutely doable with a Ker. But, it is very, very easy to get caught up in all that is TOG. Keep in mind that you will go through the curriculum 2-3 more times before your dc are done, giving you plenty of time to do more next time around. Unfortunatly, due to financial reasons, we won't do TOG 2-4 until our dc are older, but I look forward to using it then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 Unfortunatly, due to financial reasons, we won't do TOG 2-4 until our dc are older, but I look forward to using it then. This is part of the reason I didn't want to jump without examining all angles. I do like the idea of using the same material for several rounds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwka Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 This might help: http://tapestryofgrace.groupee.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9161049621/m/4541013662?r=4551080762#4551080762 http://tapestryofgrace.groupee.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9161049621/m/74110294?r=84210935#84210935 http://tapestryofgrace.groupee.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3891049621/m/2351013782?r=2051094782#2051094782 http://tapestryofgrace.groupee.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3821059621/m/4441030351?r=9281080842#9281080842 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 For me, I would only use it before 4th-5th unless I had older kids using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Here is the thing, you can use it with younger kids, but the temptation is going to be to do too much just because it is there, KWIM? Most of the people who have younger kids that buy it buy it for themselves, so they can be reading along with the kids, but at a higher level. Thus I would only recommend it at this age if you are relaxed and wouldn't try to do too much and if you wanted to self study and know you would actually follow through with that. :D Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 Great suggestions, ladies. Yes, I do wonder if it might be more for me, LOL! I like the idea of taking bits and working at a slower pace. Thanks for the links, too! I didn't realize non-members could view the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Great suggestions, ladies. Yes, I do wonder if it might be more for me, LOL! I like the idea of taking bits and working at a slower pace. Thanks for the links, too! I didn't realize non-members could view the forum. I work at our pace, not the pace the program sets. In the end it will probably take us about 6 years to do a full cycle of TOG, but I am ok with that. :D Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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