I just wanted to say a word of encouragement to those looking into, or just starting out with Tapestry of Grace. Especially if you are teaching several grades. I had a really hard time wrapping my mind around this curriculum. I almost gave up several times. But I'm not one to buy and pitch (mostly because I don't enjoy selling stuff online and I don't want to waste the money:D) so I stuck with it. I will only say that this curriculum has somehow struck the perfect balance between rigor and flexibility that I wanted with my schooling philosophy. The socratic style discussion/lecture time has become a treasured time in our week. We make tea and snacks and we discuss the topic (they have finished all their readings and worksheets by this time). I rarely do the crafts, but I can if I have the fancy. They give me the ideas, which for this artistically challenged person is essential. I'm learning that I can let the kids read up or down out of their level without the world stopping- perfectionist moms unite! I can even substitute books if I think a fiction book would fit that period of history and it flows into the system nicely. I have skimmed over some weeks and taken two weeks on units that I find critical (Civil War and Reconstruction, etc.). I just love it. But I didn't at first. I almost never visit their website- it hurts my head. It isn't the place to start, or spend any great amount of time, in my opinion. This is the type of curriculum that you just have to *DO* and then shape it, form it, into your family's rhythm. I just had to share. Jo

I voted Africa. The landforms, landscapes, flora and fauna, the extreme contrast to European or Western society would be more instructive, IMHO. I would looooooove to visit Africa.

Welcome! I have four grades this year and will have 5 next. I use TOG for the express purpose of keeping them all on the same page. It took me 10 weeks or so to get in a groove, but now I know the system and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I can bounce my kids around in book suggestions (they have recommended books for each age level, but sometimes I want the kids to read above or below their reading level). I used SL my first year (8 yrs ago) and I loved it, but I could NOT reconcile the different ages and grades. I would prefer maybe using Veritas Press for my oldest son, but TOG really does meet all my needs. My top suggestion is to get very familiar with the system before starting your school year! Print out the sample chapter, put it in a binder, look up the books at your library, look into the suggested lay out of the week: read history Mon., literature on Tues., Geography and activity pages Wed., Lecture Thursday, Writing assignment after lecture due on Friday. People lay out their weeks differently, but that is the rhythm we have found. As for the toddlers specifically, I have the kids do their readings and activity pages independently in the mornings while my toddler is awake, and I do any lecture and/or arts/crafts during nap time. My goal is to have all kids look at the TOG week, get their books, make their copies if necessary, and get all the work done before Thursday when we meet for discussion. They *love* the lecture/discussion- I make cookies. :D I hope that helps. Jo

We pay 300/mo for the oldest kids to take piano, and 300/mo for Tae Kwon Do for the oldest 5 kids. That is it for regular extracurriculars. I wish I could give them formal art instruction, but we just can't. I'm not even sure I call Piano and TKD extracurricular. I think they are essential components in our education plan. So it is like buying "curriculum" in a way. We hope to expose them to as many of the blessings of this area of the country as we can for free or relatively inexpensively- surfing, hiking, military tours, etc. We save for each of our kids college accounts through automatic withdrawls each month, we also max out our IRAs, and we buy used cars that we drive into the dust no matter how dingy they look. :D:D Despite relatively frugal living, we are going to need to cut back on the monthly costs so we can get the kids through college with as little, to no, debt. It has been on our minds a lot lately. Jo I wanted to add that we are going to start SeaCadets in the fall. This is an awesome place for our kids to be involved in this program. -USS Arizona, USS Missouri, etc....

Thanks everyone! This was helpful. Jo

We are trying to save a little money this month. We are set in our coffee ways. But we would like to know if there is a good off the shelf brand of coffee. Do enlighten. :D Thanks. Jo

So sad. She has always been so humble, so behind the scenes, always pointing to Christ and not herself. Praying now. Thanks for letting us know. Jo

They don't go geographically far from any coast. They don't have the concerns about medical accessibility (because they are always so close to home). And they don't go out for very long. It is our (the U.S.) Navy that does the secret and risky deployments for 6 months at a time. They aren't the same at all. Now I'll agree with you that some of the male/female relationship arguments we hear are overstated, but life aboard a Norwegian sub that toodles around in the ocean off their coast and can pull in when the coffee supply gets low, is a whole lot different than the stressful and rigorous life aboard a U.S. sub. Problems will arise more frequently because of the nature of their mandate. I'm just saying that submariners that have done joint exercises and toured subs from those countries laugh at the comparison.

Talent pool increases. Subs want them. The Navy recognizes that more women are graduating from science majors than men. They need and want the best of the best. They are an elite community. However, The denial and reality that women have ovaries and a uterus is annoying to me. Nuclear powered subs are unique, quiet, sneaky little buggers. The goal is to keep them under and keep them silent. There are potential legal ramifications to exposing fetuses to radiation that have yet to be addressed. There are also laws to prevent women from peeing on a stick monthly. :glare: If a woman ends up pregnant off the coast of some enemy nation, guess what? Mission cancelled, submarine back out to sea, surface, and remove woman from sub. My opinion: Fine. You women want to be pioneers on subs? Sign on the dotted-frickin line. If you show up pregnant for deployment: you lose, you pay. You get preggo while on deployment: you pay. No one really knows the effects on a growing uterus...women have been warned, the Navy should have no responsibility as long as women have been properly warned. After the confinement and maternity leave you are now a complete waste of time to a submarine. You are unqualified, and career-wise you are toast. A male junior officer with an injury of any significance would automatically be disqualified for submarine service. It is a very unique community. You can't be infirm in any way. A woman has a right to child bearing, don't get me wrong. But submarines are incredibly careful about radiation exposure, so much so that it makes my husband's eyes glaze over when he processes the units of exposure. All this is done because the Navy rigorously and continuously monitors all personnel and their exposure to the radiation. It is different than a carrier. The crew of a sub is so small that the loss of one person is a significant hit. All this rah, rah, women can do anything annoys the heck out of me. I have no doubts we (women) would do fine intellectually, but we can't deny the unique experience aboard subs. Ask a recruiter how many women it takes to recruit to get one woman to make chief versus a man. Women just don't stay in- they have babies and families. These are the facts for the Navy. It is a sticky, ugly situation. Sebastian (a lady) has a great perspective. Better than mine. But I speak from the perspective of Admirals and their staff and what they worry about. Jo (a submariner's wife and life long Navy dependent- daughter, then wife)

I have the option to do my testing for the kids computerized or traditional bubble test on paper. What are the SAT/ACT tests these days? (Loser alert) I'm just getting up to speed on the whole testing thang'. I only test for higher education purposes, so I might as well do what they will have to do in high school. Thanks for your help. Jo

Thanks so much everyone. I stumbled upon the TOG credit assignments....once....by accident. Having the link will help. Thanks.:D VB Caroline, thanks for the literary analysis site. I will read through it. I think a summer introduction is what we need. I really appreciate all your input. Jo

And comment if you feel moved. This is my first year with High School. Math: Algebra I Latin: 1st/2nd Form then on to Henle English: R&S grammar, Vocab. from Classical roots, Finish IEW History: TOG (modern) Literature: TOG (modern) Science: Apologia Biology (looking for a co-op lab, probably will be me) Logic: Traditional Logic I (then II?) Electives: Tae Kwon Do (going for black belt before 11th grade), Piano, Computer Science course with Dad- probably on weekends. Can I give credit? I don't know how to credit them all yet, and I need to review TOG's literature instruction. We may need a short course over the summer. We have done no real literary analysis yet. Any suggestions? Jo

My son 8th grade is finishing up early modern (TOG) this summer. That means we will start Modern History cycle in 9th, which has us taking early modern his Senior year. Is this weird? Or do you think it will be okay? I have thought about going year round and cramming to get modern done so he will at least start part of ancients in 9th, but after twisting myself in knots to make this work, I've come here......... I am concerned about the literature aspect. I'm afraid the Rhetoric offerings for Modern might be essential. What do you think? Thanks. Jo ___

My son 8th grade is finishing up early modern (TOG) this summer. That means we will start Modern History cycle in 9th, which has us taking early modern his Senior year. Is this weird? Or do you think it will be okay? I have thought about going year round and cramming to get modern done so he will at least start part of ancients in 9th, but after twisting myself in knots to make this work, I've come here.........:D I am concerned about the literature aspect. I'm afraid the Rhetoric offerings for Modern might be essential. What do you think? Thanks. Jo

We were hoping to plan a huge study on WWII next year since we live in Hawaii and there are so many resources. I just went to the TOG website and I'm amazed at the sparse mention of the Pacific arena in WWII! As a matter of fact, all of WWII looked a little light. Am I missing something? For those of you who have done Year 4 Unit 2, Can you tell me what you thought? Thanks. Jo

What is the best site for downloading (ipod) books, lectures, and radio programs? My son was interested in audible.com but I'm sure there are others that I don't know about. My ipod has been shamefully underutilized. Thanks. Jo

And, don't laugh, but you know what I fear most? Getting it done with the preschoolers around(18 mo, 3, and 5). :001_huh: The kids at the top and the bottom are both all-consuming, *AND* they want to be fed and have clean underwear! The nerve. The reading-load is terrifying. I'm going to have to stay up until midnight and get up in the dark to get it all done. I can do this....I can do this.....I can do this.....

....and I know it will only get harder. I'm scared and feeling wholly unprepared for the responsibility. But, I really appreciate all the resources you share on this board. Just thought I'd share. Now, I'll go put on my big girl pants and get back to work. ;) Jo

:lurk5:

green beans are always a good stand-by. And the sesame seeds will be a nice touch. Thanks for the suggestion. Jo

It will be a dinner sandwich with homemade rolls. Chips seems too informal, although I haven't completely ruled them out. This pulled pork is more asian- soy and ginger- than traditional bbq. I don't really want to do a traditional green salad. What else would you serve as a side? Thanks for your help. This will be my fourth time entertaining guests in a week, so I'm needing inspiration. But this is a very special sailor that needs some hospitality after a hard few months on his own, so I kind of want to spoil him.:001_smile: Mahalo! Jo

I've tried SOOO many. You know what I ended up with? A standard school Mead Teacher's Plan Book: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/361171/Mead-Teacher-s-Plan-Book-8/?cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Google-_-Calendars_and_Planners-_-361171&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=plusbox-beta&mr:trackingCode=0E54DB1A-EC81-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA Love it. And I have 5 grades going at this point. I just use the first initial of the child's name, the abbreviated assignment with page numbers. (Zaner-Bloser is ZB, Spelling Workout is SWO, IEW, etc.) It has rows for 8 subjects. I use Bible, Math, Latin, Lang Arts, History, Science, Other, and preschool. The key is what you will *USE.*

Do I need to cook the turkey breast before adding it to the crockpot? I've only ever made turkey or chicken soup using an already oven-cooked carcass. Can I just add the onions, celery, carrots, and raw turkey breasts with the broth and let that puppy cook all day? :bigear: :bigear: :bigear: I'm a loser cook. :D And I'm trying to stay off of the computer during Holy Week, so please answer! Thanks. Jo

bump- necessary in the age of healthcare debate.;)