TOG questions? trying to decide curriculum

[Lorriekay]

I thought I had decided on sonlight but of course am now debating over Tog VS SL.

I have one question about TOG.

What year would I start with for a second grader. I am assuming year one (which seems obvious) but want to be sure. If it is a 4 year rotation .. and assuming 12 years for elemenary, middle and high school grades they go through the whole rotation 3 times.

If my DS starts with year one then he will be *missing* some of it.. or not to worry about that?:001_huh:

 

Another ? about TOG. Most every thing I read about it is that one of it's strengths is that it is great for families with multiple kids and ages. That it's pricey but the cost is offset by the fact that it can be used over again with all the kids.

 

I haven't heard about many people who choose TOG for just one child when there isn't going to be more kids following LOL.

 

I just want to hear about kids who use it for a single kid with no plans of using it with a second child.

 

I just have one kid, who will be 8 for 2nd grade. I am trying so hard to choose between SL and TOG.

:confused:

 

any thoughts? and thanks

[specialmama]

I'm using TOG for one child, and we started in grade 2. Worth every penny! There is no other curric that I know about which is so finely laid out, covering many subjects along the same thread. What sold me on it most was that it equips your child to intellegently (and with respect) defend their faith. It teaches them to think. The discussion outlines and Teacher Notes are nothing short of amazing works. It is classical, whereas SL is not. The highschool Philosophy is AMAZING ~ even though I haven't used it, I do read it for fun and can't wait to get there! It's all there, I don't have to pull things together and research books, etc. Yes, for even one child, it is worth it.

 

Oh, and I would (and did) start with Year 1. It's uber fun and engaging.

 

TOG is NOT for you if you're the kind of person who MUST check off every little thing. There is too much to do; it is not possible to do it all. But if you're a tweaker by nature and don't mind picking and choosing, then you'd do fine. :001_smile:

[Melabella]

I will be starting TOG Y2 with my only child this fall.

 

It is expensive, but no more so than SL (I used SL two years ago). However, I purchased most of the books for both curriculums through amazon, half.com, or a local used book store. There are a few TOG books I decided not to purchase due to price, and will be substituting or just omitting them. Your library may have many of the books, but mine did not.

 

TOG provides SO much more for the money than SL, though. It really is too much. You must be able/willing to pick and choose or it could easily consume your whole day! The quantity, quality, and rigor of the TOG materials far exceeds those of SL - in my opinion. :)

 

If you did not study ancient history material this year, then definitely start with Y1.

[Shelly in the Country]

 

TOG provides SO much more for the money than SL, though. It really is too much. You must be able/willing to pick and choose or it could easily consume your whole day! The quantity, quality, and rigor of the TOG materials far exceeds those of SL - in my opinion. :)

 

If you did not study ancient history material this year, then definitely start with Y1.

 

:iagree: Even with only one child you would still get to use the TOG teaching materials through multiple history rotations. You can sell off the individual resources at the end of each year :001_smile:. I can't do that actually since I need to save everything for my youngers. And I assume the books will be so well-used by then that they won't be worth much :tongue_smilie:.

 

I think the IGs from Sonlight cost me around $70 for each Core (?). The TOG guides are more money, but they are reusable 3 times theoretically. They are actually a better value in the long run. You have to buy books every year no matter which curriculum you choose. Don't get me wrong, I like Sonlight. I still look through their catalog to pick extra readers for my kids, but my kids learned so much with TOG this past year. I'm not looking back :001_smile:.

[Lorriekay]

I don't know why it has taken me so long to get here. I have been fighting it but I realize now that TOG might be better for my son than SL. He loves activities and loves my involvement. I know that TOG leads them to plan their own weeks independently by year 5 so that would be good but he would thrive on the various activities and the way they weave together. I know that for SURE. My reservation was whether I wanted that much committment on my part and I made the mistake of saying a simple prayer night before last with my DS at bedtime. "help mommie know what to choose for homeschool" OY!

He needs the program with more rigor, more challenge but also one that I can tweak to his ability (up or down)

I know you can tweak with SL as well but with TOG it just makes more sense to me.

We can go deep or not. Use the higher or lower writing, reading assignments. Plus.. a Huge plus for us is the hands on activities which my son LOVES , and I mean LOVES. with SL I could easily make up my own (which I would be good at because I am also crafty) BUT with TOG it's all right there and I can pick and choose which ones we want to do.

I am very excited about it.

He didn't study the ancients in first grade. They did some scattered social studies, history.

So I guess I will start with year 1.

I will research more about that but def have decided to go with TOG.

My husband likes the idea of it more as well. He wants the one with the activities and loves the idea of the Unit study.

SL is unit study too? Or I believe it is a combination of unit study, classical .. eclectic, something like that LOL

:) thanks, loretta

[Tracy]

When considering expense, keep in mind that you get 3 rotations of material. There is a big up-front investment, but after the 4th year, you don't have to buy TOG year-plans anymore.

[Lorriekay]

after 4 years .. won't have to buy the IG's

 

Well honestly money is not an issue at all. I mean it IS in that I have wait till we get the money etc. but will not be a deciding factor.

 

The reason I mentioned the price of the TOG is because I noticed it seemed that's why many families were going with TOG is that is so easily could be used with more kids at the same time .. thus saving money.

 

I just wanted to reassurance that Tog would still be the best choice for a single child, or if sl would be best for a single child.

 

I've even heard people say that if they only had ONE child they would go with SL because of the ease of it and that they would only have to buy one core.

 

I was just trying to separate which one was BEST on it's own merits if you were taking the Single child VS the Mulitple child aspect out of the mix.

 

Basically one more crazy thing my mind is trying to worry about over this decision.

 

My brain was saying " Well TOG is good for families with more than one child" and I only have one child

 

and SL is perfect for families with one child because you can focus entirely on one Core at a time and really get into it.

 

Those things are still true.. sigh. But I can also get *really into it* with TOG and with only one child LOL.

 

I also read about the *family discussions* and how all the children studying from the same year of TOG at different levels could all participate and enhance the learning of the other children.

 

That that aspect was a big Plus of TOG. I was wondering if only ONE child that my child wouldn't be getting that aspect of it.. and that TOG would be weaker for one child as comparing to SL.

 

I know .. I know ... my brain can find very interesting minutia to worry about :smash::smash:

[dancer67]

I just took the TOG leap. We have used Sonlight before, and we didn't like it. I only have one child as well, and was hesitant to use TOG for that reason. But I found that many people here use it for only one child.

It is certainly cost effective since you can re-use it over and over, and you are able to pick and choose. I am a tweaker by nature.

Now, I haven't recieved mine yet. And I am praying that this really does work for us. I am just nervous since we have never really done a unit study before. But I am sure with all of the help from the knowledgable ladies here, I will be able to figure it out:D

[M&M]

Although I have 5 dc, I would still use TOG. It offers me the chance to learn ahead of my children, I wish I had purchased it sooner. This year my oldest will start high school, and I have a lot to prepare so I can teach her well. TOG give me all the tools, if we had it years ago I would have had time to work on the R level when she was in the G and D levels.

 

I don't think that TOG is more expensive than SL, once you have all 4 year plans you only need the books. You can purchase them or get them from the library. With SL, you are buy a new core and books every year...I am not bashing SL it is a great program it just is not cheaper than TOG.

[jewel7123]

There are several people here that use TOG with just one child. Hopefully they will read this and comment for you.