Tapestry of Grace Questions

[Tracy]

I recently posted these questions on a yahoo list, so forgive me if you have already seen this. But I wanted to make sure to get as much input as possible before investing in TOG.

 

By way of background, I have a verbally gifted 4yo dd (reading at 2nd grade level last I checked) and an almost 2yo ds. I am 40yo, so more children are very unlikely. So I would only have one lower grammar age student next year. I want to start on ancient history next school year, regardless of what curriculum I use.

 

1. I have noticed that a lot of people seem to buy many of the books, and I wonder if anyone has been successful in using the library for most or all of the books (especially in the lower grammar stage, where there are so many more books). I did a trial run at our library and ordered the entire first page of books for all levels for week one of the free on-line samples. Ninety percent of them came within a week.

 

2. I have also noticed that many people specifically purchase one book as the spine for the curriculum. I kind of like the idea of having the book here in case the library books don't show up. But then the costs start to outweigh the benefits of the program. How helpful is having the spine in the lower grammar stage? If you use one for lower grammar, what do you use?

 

3. One of my biggest concerns is that Tapestry of Grace has a heavy Protestant influence, and we are not Protestant. Because my family members are all different religions, it is important to me that all religions be treated with respect. Has anyone come across anything in the program that is disrespectful or that belittles another religion (for example, saying that they are going to he** or cannot be saved)?

 

4. The company is really pushing the digital version (but I wonder if it is just because they make more profit off of it). I like the idea that in 5 or 9 years, when we have reached the upper levels, I will have access to information about new books added to the program. But I wonder how often this happens? The digital version is cheaper up front, but then there are the printing costs and the fact that you cannot resell it.

 

5. One of the real benefits of the program is the ability to teach multiple children from the same curriculum. Is it still worth it with only 2 kids? (And, of course, ds is sure to be the mathy one, right?)

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Tracy

My Homeschool Journey: http://myfamilyiseternal.blogspot.com/

[M&M]

I recently posted these questions on a yahoo list, so forgive me if you have already seen this. But I wanted to make sure to get as much input as possible before investing in TOG.

 

By way of background, I have a verbally gifted 4yo dd (reading at 2nd grade level last I checked) and an almost 2yo ds. I am 40yo, so more children are very unlikely. So I would only have one lower grammar age student next year. I want to start on ancient history next school year, regardless of what curriculum I use.

 

1. I have noticed that a lot of people seem to buy many of the books, and I wonder if anyone has been successful in using the library for most or all of the books (especially in the lower grammar stage, where there are so many more books). I did a trial run at our library and ordered the entire first page of books for all levels for week one of the free on-line samples. Ninety percent of them came within a week.

 

Using the library is a great option, I believe that is what Marcia (author of TOG) originally did when she was developing TOG. I only purchase LG books that are treasures, and we have 5 dc so it works better for us to have a good home library.

 

 

2. I have also noticed that many people specifically purchase one book as the spine for the curriculum. I kind of like the idea of having the book here in case the library books don't show up. But then the costs start to outweigh the benefits of the program. How helpful is having the spine in the lower grammar stage? If you use one for lower grammar, what do you use?

 

I think that having a spine is helpful when you don't want to dig deeper. I use SOTW for my LG and UG children and then add in extras as needed.

 

3. One of my biggest concerns is that Tapestry of Grace has a heavy Protestant influence, and we are not Protestant. Because my family members are all different religions, it is important to me that all religions be treated with respect. Has anyone come across anything in the program that is disrespectful or that belittles another religion (for example, saying that they are going to he** or cannot be saved)?

 

No, you will not find disrespect as far as I know. There is a TOG Catholic group, and although I am not Catholic, I did want to know if there was unintended bias. What I have seen from that group is the only issue is the reformation and that would be an obvious difference of pov. You can always change out books or ignore portions of the teacher's notes, but I don't think there is much to offend.

 

4. The company is really pushing the digital version (but I wonder if it is just because they make more profit off of it). I like the idea that in 5 or 9 years, when we have reached the upper levels, I will have access to information about new books added to the program. But I wonder how often this happens? The digital version is cheaper up front, but then there are the printing costs and the fact that you cannot resell it.

 

The digital is being pushed over the printed because when the economy took a downturn, TOG lost some of it's financial backing and had to find a less costly way to put out thier product. Without the digital, there might not have been a TOG today. Now that they have it, I think that they have really tried to expand the offerings and the way it can be used. Books go out of print very frequently these days, and since your children are still very young and you don't want to purchase a lot of books, digital may be a great choice for you. BTW, TOG seems to be on a solid financial base these days and has recovered from the loss of their investor.

 

5. One of the real benefits of the program is the ability to teach m

ultiple children from the same curriculum. Is it still worth it with only 2 kids? (And, of course, ds is sure to be the mathy one, right?)

 

 

Yes, I would say it is worth it. I am using it with two children now and will soon be adding in a third. When you have children in different levels it really makes easier, and if they have different strengths TOG gives lots of options. My dd loves reading and TOG has lots of that for her. My mathy son prefers maps and hands on, TOG covers that as well. I don' have to search for something different for each child.

 

Starting with young children give you time to work through the upper levels and get up to speed on the gaps in your own education. I wish I had purchased TOG sooner.

[Karenciavo]

1. I have noticed that a lot of people seem to buy many of the books, and I wonder if anyone has been successful in using the library for most or all of the books (especially in the lower grammar stage, where there are so many more books). I did a trial run at our library and ordered the entire first page of books for all levels for week one of the free on-line samples. Ninety percent of them came within a week.

I use mostly library books for the LG and UG levels. I have a 1/2 way decent library system.

 

2. I have also noticed that many people specifically purchase one book as the spine for the curriculum. I kind of like the idea of having the book here in case the library books don't show up. But then the costs start to outweigh the benefits of the program. How helpful is having the spine in the lower grammar stage? If you use one for lower grammar, what do you use?

Lower grammar and upper grammar have no history questions so as long as you find books that cover the topics being covered you're good. I don't use a spine at the grammar level for most years. This year we're working through Year 4 and I'm using The History of US when I can stomach it.

 

3. One of my biggest concerns is that Tapestry of Grace has a heavy Protestant influence, and we are not Protestant. Because my family members are all different religions, it is important to me that all religions be treated with respect. Has anyone come across anything in the program that is disrespectful or that belittles another religion (for example, saying that they are going to he** or cannot be saved)?

The authors of TOG are spiritually humble people. Belittling? No. I don't know what you mean when you say other religions. Referring to their Statement of Faith might be helpful for you.

 

The company is really pushing the digital version (but I wonder if it is just because they make more profit off of it). I like the idea that in 5 or 9 years, when we have reached the upper levels, I will have access to information about new books added to the program. But I wonder how often this happens? The digital version is cheaper up front, but then there are the printing costs and the fact that you cannot resell it.

Beginning in February you will be able to purchase TOG with the resale option. I would say a few books go out of print every year.

 

 

5. One of the real benefits of the program is the ability to teach multiple children from the same curriculum. Is it still worth it with only 2 kids? (And, of course, ds is sure to be the mathy one, right?)

I use it with two children. We are completing our 2nd time through all 4 year plans and still enjoy it.

 

 

Thanks for your help!

You're welcome Tracy. :001_smile:

[M&M]

This post by Janice in NJ is great encouragement as well.

 

http://tapestryofgrace.groupee.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8201059621/m/7101018012

[HSMom2One]

I agree with everything that's already been said. I'd only add two things: I don't get any of the books from the library due to the fact that we have limited library resources in our rural area. I instead choose to buy as many of the books in advance as I can, usually from used books sources or from BookMooch or PaperbackSwap. Any books I end up not having, I buy just before the beginning of each unit. When the year is done, the books that we want to keep for our family library will stay here, but any others will be sold as used books to recoup some of the money we've spent. This way, I only have to purchase the resource books four times per year. I can manage this reasonably.

 

The other thing I wanted to say is that I only have one child at home and we are using TOG. We LOVE it and feel it is worth every dime we've spent. As long as we are hs'ing, we will stay with TOG.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

Edited January 4, 2010 by HSMom2One

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Three responses-

 

I think it would be silly, if you are trying to follow a classical or WTM model, to try to study history without using lots of books. I think most history programs allow for library use. Once you have purchased a unit or year plan from TOG you will have access to the alternative reading list as well as the regular reading list. I would purchase those books you consider essential and get the rest from the library. Some are out of print and only available from the library or used book dealers. For spine books we've used whatever is in the top row of the history section. It is usually one book per unit. We also use SOTW.

 

I haven't found TOG to be disrespectful to other religions. Some of the books used are from the turn of the century and are very enjoyable but they do use language and terms from those times. If you were to not realize the age of the book you might be shocked. We have been doing spines as a read aloud so I just edit as necessary while I read. I think that you might look closely at the world view section. If those books don't fit your religious needs then drop them. I don't think it will damage the quality of the program. I do not have the impression that the folks at TOG intend to insult or offend anyone.

 

It is a useful program if you have multiple children because it allows for all age groups to be working on the same subject matter at the same time. You also don't need to purchase a base curriculum for each grade but can use the same curriculum with different reading assignments at each level. These benefits are the same with only one child. The only difference is that there are group activities, ie end of unit celebrations, designed with large families or co-ops in mind. You can ammend these to suit your family or eliminate them with no ill effect.

[Tracy]

This post by Janice in NJ is great encouragement as well.

 

http://tapestryofgrace.groupee.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8201059621/m/7101018012

 

Monique,

 

Thanks for this link. It is really inspirational! Thanks also for your previous post. I've been on the fence with this for a long time, because I have met so many people that invested in TOG and it didn't work for them. But for me, history and literature are so lacking, that I think I need to do what this link says--that is, work through the rhetoric level while my kids are young so that I am ready for it when my kids are rhetoric level.

 

Thanks!

[M&M]

You are welcome. I think the biggest problem with TOG for many is there are too many choices. Some people feel the same way about WTM. The trick is to understand the underlying philosophy of the curriculum, and then find the rhythm for your family. You wouldn't go to a buffet and try to eat everything there (unless you wanted to get sick LOL!) the same goes for TOG. Pick what you feel will work for your children and then enjoy!