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[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[suzziesnowflake]

The good thing about OM is that you can return their books if it's within 30 days of recieving them. I did this. I switched from OM to Sonlight and we'll be going back to OM in the fall. Way too much for my LD son!

[chiguirre]

If you do go back to TOG, what would you use for the other subjects? Would you have to hurry up and choose curricula or do you have stuff on your shelves? Do you know of LA and math curricula that are a good fit for your ds? Would you cover science?

 

If you'd have to start from zero, I'd stick with OM 4 because it will be hard to get everything else ready in 3 weeks. OM4 is fairly light on content (although I admire the way they build LA skills bit by bit) so you could add in a bit of TOG without going completely overboard IMHO. Would you go with LE or UE? If you were thinking LE, I think it's very likely you could do almost everything without overwhelming yourselves (but I've never used TOG beyond the free Egypt sample, so use your own judgement). If you were planning on UE, you'd have to pick just your favorites, but you could still do some of it.

 

You're probably just suffering planning panic and it will get better once you actually start school. If OM doesn't work out, could you return it? Its resale value is pretty good, so you can recoup a good chunk of money if you don't like it after giving it a try.

[Murphy101]

Go ask on the OM board! Really it sounds like you are comparing it to TOG and freaking bc it's so different. But that is why you wanted it!!

 

Classic case of cold feet. :)

 

I have had the same feelings.

 

It's going to be okay.

 

Really.

:grouphug:

[mamato4girls]

Could you use TOG for history leave out everything else, and use OM for everything BUT History? Then you get 'the best of both worlds'!

[unsinkable]

Boy oh boy oh boy, am I in a total quandry! :confused: I have been homeschooling a LONG time. I should be past these sorts of curriculum decisions!

 

Waaay back in April, when I was totally burned out on school, very discouraged about our IOWA's with LD ds, and just plain tired, I made the decision to jump ship from TOG. I'm a long time TOG'er who started with Classic (do any of the Newbies even know what that IS ??) back when oldest ds was in first grade. I've got all the books. I've got the year plan sitting on my shelf (in all eight inches of binder and page protector glory :lol: ! ). I just couldn't face another year of reading everything aloud to my dyslexic ds.

 

So, I made the decision to head for the greener pastures of Oak Meadow. I dropped a hefty amount of money at their spring sale anticipating what a lovely, artsy, relaxed time we would have this year. Yesterday, however, I sat down to start planning ..... and I want to go back to TOG. :cursing:

 

AAArrrggghhh!!! I don't even know what I'm asking, if anything. I just needed to get that out of my system. We have three more weeks of break and I need to make a decision. Dh will flip if I tell him I spent hundreds on curriculum we won't be using. Bah!

 

I am looking at TOG Year 4 Classic (20th century, history ONLY) vs. Oak Meadow 4 which covers all the subjects Language Arts / Science / History. The OM is pretty 'lite' in the content areas, but that's what I wanted, so that we could focus more on the 3R's rather than getting so caught up in the "extras". Don't. Know. What. To. Do. I need another cup of coffee. :auto:

 

I bolded the part that I think is important. The 3 Rs are important. Skills vs. content.

 

I'd stick with Oak Meadow. You chose it for an imp. reason IMO.

[NanceXToo]

I love Oak Meadow. We just did it for fourth grade and we're looking forward to 5th (and K) in the fall!

 

What is it about it that's got you worried or thinking about switching back? Or are you just getting nervous because it's so different from what you've been used to?

 

We've had so much fun with Oak Meadow last year. It's creative, it's hands on, it's not dry and boring. You've already decided on it for good reason, you've already bought it, why don't you give it a chance- you know, get past the planning stage and actually do LOL- and then see what you think?

[Mommyfaithe]

You could try OM. If you hate it, you can re-sell it and re-coup at least some of your money.

 

Good Luck!

Faithe...who is also burnt out...and should not be having trouble making curr. decisions....but alas...wish there were a Christian OM program out there...sigh!

[Another Lynn]

Well, I've never used either, but I do identify with making curriculum purchases during a burnt out, possibly reactionary, feeling. I did that with HOD last spring. And while there are things I really like about HOD, and we did use it for part of that spring, when fall rolled around I was done and ready to go back to what I knew. Like you and OM, I had great reasons why HOD was what we needed - it was going to help me achieve better integration of skill and content areas - it was going to help coach my oldest into better written narrations. All those things were true and wonderful. But after summer, I still went back to my old ways.

 

I'm not sure which way I'm trying to encourage you, LOL. I don't regret trying HOD, nor do I regret changing my plans the following fall. OM may allow you to better adress weaknesses or TOG just might be a better fit for you. What's your 30 day mark for returning OM? - shoot for making a decision by then. And ask yourself if you can accomplish both goals if you stick with TOG. Comfortable is good and sometimes small changes are easier than big ones.

 

Not sure that helped at all :D!

 

ETA: If you feel buyer's remorse now, I'm guessing you'll feel it even stronger as you use it. Trust your gut.

Edited June 14, 2010 by Another Lynn

[....]

This might sound stupid, but what about using TOG and OM...but pulling parts out that you like and using those... OK, that was clear as mud. This is kinda what I do. I pick and choose parts of our curricula that I like and we use those parts. So, I end up with a huge pieced-together curriculum. I actually think using different kinds of curricula is really good for the kids, because they see a bunch of different ways to work through problems.

[StephanieF]

I'm in a very similar position. I bought OM3 for my 2nd grader but don't know whether I'm bold enough to use it as written. The other option as already suggested is perhaps to use OM but use the TOG books as read alouds etc and ask them to narrate or notebook. Perhaps a couple of afternoons a week could be used to do this as OM will be done in the morning.

What is the worst that can happen? I don't think that your dc can fail to progress using OM and you will feel a lot less stressed! Why don't you try it until Dec and then at least you will know one way or another, otherwise, you'll always be wondering!

Stephanie

[Rebecca VA]

I'm thinking of using TOG Year 4 Classic this year with my 8th grader. I, too, have most of the books, as well as many dozens of videos and DVDs on the 20th century. *And* my child has to have many of the books read to her (not because she's dyslexic, but because she has ADD).

 

If you decide to go TOG, keep in touch! We'll be treading the same path!

[Carol in Cal.]

...that when I think about changing curricula to make things easier, it makes them harder for a time because of unfamiliarity. There is a certain amount of energy that it takes to get something new off the ground.

 

Undeniably, TOG is a lot of work.

 

Can you get OM off the ground quickly--get your arms around it, see where you're going with it, get to the point where you're just 'doing the next thing' during the actual school year? If so, I say go for it. If not, I say, stick with TOG (better the devil you know...) but perhaps do it more slowly than a normal schedule.

[Guest ToGMom]

Hi Shari,

 

I recognize your name from the TOG forum and various TOG Yahoo groups...and, although I mostly "lurk" on the forum and groups, you may recognize me as I've been a TOG user for about 5 years.

I've jumped ship and come back again... :grouphug:

 

I am considering using "My Audio School" with my youngest this year...he isn't a fluent reader yet, but loves to listen to audio. Here's the link:

 

http://www.myaudioschool.com/

 

Molly Evert, a TOG mom, has recorded most of the books you would ever need for TOG...history, in-depth, literature, etc. and for $14.99/year, you get access to everything.

 

So, I don't know if that works for you or your son, but I thought it was worth sharing with you if you should decide to go back to TOG.

 

I'll be praying for you as you make this difficult decision...

 

~Amy

Edited June 14, 2010 by ToGMom
clarification

[Cinder]

I can relate somewhat. I'm leaning toward OM 7 for history (that's your fault, you know :tongue_smilie:) for ds2 but haven't bought it yet. Part of me says why not just do the BJU--might be easier. I'm waffling!

 

FWIW we did TOG Classic 4 a couple years ago. Ds1 didn't like it at all (but I think the co-op setting had something to do with that). He was doing dialectic. Ds2 enjoyed it more as far as the reading selections. He was in upper grammar, which included 4th-6th graders. We did some lapbooking, some outlining, not much writing. It was our first year doing TOG and it got me excited to continue. Fast forward: we did Biblioplan 2 this year after a rough year with co-op/TOG Yr1R.

 

Ok, now you've got me re-thinking TOG!

 

Cinder

[AngieW in Texas]

I've jumped to OM this year. My middle dd used it for history, health, and science last year and liked it.

 

My youngest is going to use OM6 for history and English. I'm going to have cut down on the number of writing assignments. My dyslexic dd would fall over dead with that much writing. I will supplement with my favorite books from SL Core 6.

 

My middle dd is going to use OM10 for history and English. I like the looks of both programs a lot. Next year I plan for her to use OM11 for history and science and OM12 for English (don't like the books used in OM11 English). I plan for her to take English at the cc for her senior year, so I don't have to worry about running out of English programs to do with her.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Guest counterculturalmom]

I saw this thread and wanted to offer a few corrections to the information shared in an earlier post about my website My Audio School. I would hate for someone to subscribe to the website, not having understood exactly what we are (and are not) offering.

 

It is true that I am a TOG user, but the website was not created specifically for TOG. Also, we do not have all the TOG books on our website. Instead, we have put together a website which is meant to serve a large variety of classical and Charlotte Mason home educators using a wide variety of curricula.

 

We have taken books which are in the public domain, and which have been recorded, and put them all on one website, organized by category and time period. We currently have over 500 distinct audio materials on the site, but we are limited to only using what is in the public domain (copyright expired) and that which has been recorded (we are not making these recordings ourselves).

 

There is a significant amount of unblocked content on the website (about 20% of what we offer) so you can check it out and see what types of material we are offering and what the format is, if you are interested.

 

Blessings,

Molly Evert

http://www.myaudioschool.com

[Cinder]

I am going ahead with OM 7 World History & English for my oldest (that's for you Cinder! LOL) as he will have no trouble with all the reading and writing. TOG and OM are such different programs, though! But, again, I keep reminding myself that's what I was wanting.

 

 

 

Phew! Actually, after I posted I thought, There's a reason we're not doing TOG anymore. I also love TOG, but it just isn't quite the right fit for us. I'm just gonna have to keep stalking you so I can be sure to use the right history program. :lol:

 

:D Cinder