1bassoon Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 I've seen some questions about the benefits of using TOG with younger students, and thought I'd start a thread to address this issue. I'm headed into my 2nd TOG go-around, and my K'er will be joining us very, very VERY minimally. TOG is a huge, huge program. Many new homeschoolers (and if your oldest is in K, you fall into that category. Trust me ;)) are so eager to jump right in, there would be a definite tendency to do TOO much with TOG. The benefit of doing TOG with your youngest being lower than grade 3 seems to me if you know, for a fact, that the TOG model works for your family for the long run. Then you can do a first pass "TOG-lite" for your sweet little ones, and use the time to educate and prepare yourself. But - honestly? It's a long shot that you'll do that. You're probably too busy wiping noses, cutting grapes, supervising naps, and adjusting to homeschooling. (Been there, done that, have many t-shirts!) I love to recommend to newer homeschoolers that they keep it in perspective the first years. SOTW with Activity Guides is plenty -more than enough - for grades 1-4. Look at TOG when your oldest hits 4th or 5th grade, and you're gearing up for middle school. That is when you can really, really reap the benefits. And I know I sound like a broken record, but the webinars put out by Lampstand press are just wonderful. The webinar on teaching Grammar & Dialectic students is much, much more comprehensive than just how to use Tapestry - it covers learning stages and ages, perspective, encouragement, and so much more. OK, there. I've played my hand and showed my bias. I'm excited - thrilled! - to do Year 3 again with my youngest. For our family, for right now, TOG is a great fit. I can easily see myself finishing the next 12 (gulp!!!!) years with it. I'll go around 4 times total! Yee-haw! But if you have younger students, I give you permission to not buy TOG, do something simpler, enjoy and love history, and come back to TOG when you need it. Any other thoughts? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyNellen Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 "Cutting grapes"... This made me laugh :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 I just saw this on the TOG blog: http://www.lampstandpress.com/index.php Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 I agree! Though I haven't checked out the seminars yet. Something else on my to do list. ;) Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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