The Encyclopedia of the Ancient Americans. It has a lot of information on Native American tribes as well as wonderful projects to do with the kids (in full color!!!!). We have really enjoyed this book. HTH, Lee

on 4 kids. TOG costs a fair chunk between the program and the books I buy to support it. I could probably buy less books, but I just can't help myself!!! We also pay for all four kids to take swimming lessons, art lessons, gymnastics and music lessons. That adds up fast! But even so, I figure that is a bargain when I compare the cost of sending 4 children to private school (public school will never be an option for us!) Blessings, Lee

I watched both Gods and Generals and Gettysburg on my own. I thought on the whole the movies were a too violent for my sensitive 4th grader. So I used selected scenes to illustrate different people or events in the civil war. One example: I was explaining to the children how the civil wore tore many families apart. That brothers sometimes fought brothers. To illustrate this I showed a scene from Gods and Generals that showed a Union Irish regiment fighting directly against a Confederate Irish regiment during the Battle of Fredericksburg. This scene got the point across to the kids in a way that I never could have. I did have the kids watch Shenadoah (I'm sure I spelled that wrong!) and they liked it. HTH, Lee Lee

I'm going away tomorrow for a girl's weekend with some of my oldest and dearest friends. Daddy will be spending some quality time with the four monkeys!!! I'm excited, they are excited and even Daddy is excited!!! YEAH!! Blessings, Lee

and I love TOG. TOG has so much more detail and information included. The price difference is great, but TOG (even with the new price increase on Feb 1st) is still worth the money, especially if you plan on homeschooling through high school. HTH, Lee

We started homeschooling our then 2nd grader and 1st grader four years ago after 2 years of public school. At the time it was a temporary solution to living in a poor school district (Washington, DC) while my husband was stationed at the Pentagon. Now we've moved to a much better school district in a different state and yet I am still at it!!! I've also added my two younger kids to the mix, so I'm currently home teaching a 5th grader, 4th grader, 1st grader and a kinder! I love the control and flexibility that I have over what we teach our kids. I love that my kids are each other's best friends. I love that I get to see the lightbulbs go off when one of kids learns something new. And I love that I am gaining an education that I never received through high school, college and graduate school! One of the neatest things that have happened since I began teaching my children at home is seeing friends who laughed in disbelief when I told them that I was going to homeschool now becoming homeschooling families themself!! And now I'm the expert :) Blessings, Lee

I used different programs for Ancients, but wasn't pleased with them. I switched to TOG and started Year 2. At first it was a bit difficult, because of the built in review at the beginning of the year, but that only lasted a few weeks. We are now finishing up Year 3 and will start Year 4 before the end of the school year (I got off schedule because I took a year and a half to do Year 2...there was so much great stuff in that year plan!) Blessings, Lee

Tapestry covers history, literature, church history, art, geography and has a writing component as well (I don't use the writing). Tapestry can be a bit confusing and overwhelming at first, but it is a great curriculum. I would suggest printing off their free sample for the year plan that you are interested in. That would give you a chance to read through the lessons and get a "feel" for how the program works. I've used TOG for the past three years and I pick and choose what to use on a week by week basis. I've made it work for my family by not following every little thing that they suggest! ;) BTW, the program doesn't come with the books. You choose which books to buy or check out of the library. I tend to buy books that will be used for several weeks and check out the rest from the library. As to your second question Redesigned is a complete re-working of the curriculum. They have reorganized the material, updated book suggestions and in general made it easier to use. Unfortunately I haven't been able to use the re-design yet (I'm using Year 3 this year and they are just finishing Year 2), BUT I have bought the Redesign to use my next time through. HTH, Lee

I absolutely love history and literature. My favorite curriculums are Tapestry of Grace and Ambleside online. I have come to enjoy teaching math (MUS) and Science and have an appreciation for the subjects. Honestly though, if my week get crazy the first thing to be dropped in Science. Blessings, Lee

My fourth grader is doing the following: Intermediate Language Lessons Latina Christiana Tapestry of Grace Year 3 MUS Gamma Typing instruction book I found at a Used Curriculum sale Exploring Creation Swimming Creatures of the 5th Day Bible (Awana and Family devotions) Spell to Write and Read IEW homeschool art class gymnastics piano lessons drama productions at church and youth theatre Wow, that seems like alot, but it is actually quite manageable. Blessings, Lee