Tapestry of Grace help

[LAmom]

I am considering TOG for next year and on. But, every time I go to the website I get overwhelmed. I just can't figure it out. I think I need something in my hands to look at. Do they even have a catalog? Even their forums are confusing to me!! :tongue_smilie:

 

Soooo, where do I start? Any advice, etc? It would be for a 3rd grader and 1st grader. I saw that I can download samples and will try to do that, but last time I tried my computer was wacky with that.

 

I still would need to add math, grammar, spelling, etc.? It is just history?

[Momma H]

It may not be a good fit. It wasn't for me at all. It is a wonderful program but it is pretty heady!

[bbrandonsmom]

I'm no help. I keep looking at it too, because from when I talked with another mom, it seemed to go more in depth later on, than Sotw. I think someone mentioned to me that for a 1st g it's too involved and Sotw is better, then to pick up TOG around 3rd?

TOG does have some sample lessons on there you can download. And also a sample breakdown of a week in planning.

[blessedathome]

I don't think TOG is heady at all. Like many Lit based programs, it is what you make it. We used it for dd from 1st thru 3rd grade but decided our family of extroverts need more group interaction so we switched to CC this year. Even my kinder listened in last year.

Their website has undergone some great changes recently and I am an affiliate so maybe I can help you find your way around. You can download free samples that will give you a better idea of what the program looks like and even try it before you buy it. I think it is one of the best around. Start here: http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/explore/

and let me know if you have more questions!

[johnandtinagilbert]

Starting with a 3rd grader is a great time b/c you'll be armed and ready, comfortable with an outstanding program in the few short years your oldest will transform to Logic staged thinking (dubbed Dialectic in TOG).

 

A pattern you'll notice with long time users of TOG is their wish they would have started sooner b/c the grammar years are a wonderful time to Self Educate. Once the kiddos get up in the ages, time is less available! With that in mind, I say yes, SOTW is fine for early years, but I find the living book selections in TOG more engaging AND you'll have plenty of time to get intimately acquainted with TOG.

 

My advice on dealing with TOG is to first download the 3-week sample (although I wish they would offer 3-week samples of more than just ancients) and then head over to my blog (in my siggy) and look up the TOG starters stuff I have listed there. You can also use my Week in Review posts to see the many wonderful things we do with our lower grammar students and TOG.

 

TOG is great and does a great job, especially if you have large families or different learning styles within your family...TOG reaches many students and makes a great teaching assistant for me!

[robsiew]

I've been looking into TOG as well. I think if you can wrap your head around it, it could be great. Personally, what I would suggest is finding someone you know who uses it and borrowing a unit to look at. The only way I could really wrap my head around was to see it. Or, what I'm planning to do is purchase a Classic year for inexpensively and play with it, see how much I really use it, then invest in the redesign if I just love it.

 

Here are some things I've figured out:

 

Unless you have a lot of $$ to put into books (yes, you can find them used to cut down on the $$, but it's a LOT of books!) you need to be willing to work with your library to get what you need. I would think you'd have to be flexible in either waiting for what you need or able to substitute a book if you can't get it right away.

 

Included in TOG are the following: history, writing (you need to purchase Writing Aids with it), geography (I believe there are map aids as extra here too), literature, art and activities, Bible (world view), vocab, and time line. The literature is more busy work in the Grammar levels IMO, but the upper levels look good to me.

 

Personally, what has drawn me to TOG (I'm considering it, have not used it yet) are the teacher notes and discussion notes in the higher grade levels. For the lower grade levels I'm not sure I would purchase. We do things pretty simply here and I think there's just too much I wouldn't use in the lower grades to make it worth purchasing right now. JMO though. I am looking for a more integrated Biblical worldview in our history so that's the other thing that draws me to TOG.

 

You may want to figure out what you want in a history program, then see if TOG fits it. In grammar stage we've been using SOTW and that has worked marvelously for us. We get history in 4 days a week every week and my kids LOVE the stories. This year we are even getting to a project a week. The only thing it's missing for me is a Biblical worldview. I'm trying to figure out right now the best way to remedy that. I may just look at TOG/Sonlight book lists and throw in a few extra books that would cover that.

 

Just some thoughts... hope it helps some...:confused:

[johnandtinagilbert]

I've been looking into TOG as well. I think if you can wrap your head around it, it could be great. Personally, what I would suggest is finding someone you know who uses it and borrowing a unit to look at. The only way I could really wrap my head around was to see it. Or, what I'm planning to do is purchase a Classic year for inexpensively and play with it, see how much I really use it, then invest in the redesign if I just love it.

 

Here are some things I've figured out:

 

Unless you have a lot of $$ to put into books (yes, you can find them used to cut down on the $$, but it's a LOT of books!) you need to be willing to work with your library to get what you need. I would think you'd have to be flexible in either waiting for what you need or able to substitute a book if you can't get it right away.

 

Included in TOG are the following: history, writing (you need to purchase Writing Aids with it), geography (I believe there are map aids as extra here too), literature, art and activities, Bible (world view), vocab, and time line. The literature is more busy work in the Grammar levels IMO, but the upper levels look good to me.

 

Personally, what has drawn me to TOG (I'm considering it, have not used it yet) are the teacher notes and discussion notes in the higher grade levels. For the lower grade levels I'm not sure I would purchase. We do things pretty simply here and I think there's just too much I wouldn't use in the lower grades to make it worth purchasing right now. JMO though. I am looking for a more integrated Biblical worldview in our history so that's the other thing that draws me to TOG.

 

You may want to figure out what you want in a history program, then see if TOG fits it. In grammar stage we've been using SOTW and that has worked marvelously for us. We get history in 4 days a week every week and my kids LOVE the stories. This year we are even getting to a project a week. The only thing it's missing for me is a Biblical worldview. I'm trying to figure out right now the best way to remedy that. I may just look at TOG/Sonlight book lists and throw in a few extra books that would cover that.

 

Just some thoughts... hope it helps some...:confused:

Just wanted to say I viewed classic first and bought redesigned and the perspective classic will give doesn't even touch the wonderful reorganization of Redesigned!

[bbrandonsmom]

 

You may want to figure out what you want in a history program, then see if TOG fits it. In grammar stage we've been using SOTW and that has worked marvelously for us. We get history in 4 days a week every week and my kids LOVE the stories. This year we are even getting to a project a week. The only thing it's missing for me is a Biblical worldview. I'm trying to figure out right now the best way to remedy that. I may just look at TOG/Sonlight book lists and throw in a few extra books that would cover that.

 

Just some thoughts... hope it helps some...:confused:

 

That is one thing I'm looking for-a program that really builds in the religions of the world, and not just one. I also don't want a program that is religious biased. I may have a faith, but I also am very scientific and factual, so I'd like a history spine that's not "This is how it is" type of thing. Not sure if that came across right. This way our kids can learn different views and form their own opinion based on faith and facts.

[Karenciavo]

Watch the videos.

There is a catalog, a brochure and a Simple Start Guide. The is also a scope and sequence for each year plan that may be helpful: S&S 1, S&S 2, S&S 3, S&S 4.

Download a sample.

 

After you do that if you have any questions ask here or at the TOG forums where the authors answers regularly. :001_smile:

[bbrandonsmom]

I've been looking into TOG as well. I think if you can wrap your head around it, it could be great. Personally, what I would suggest is finding someone you know who uses it and borrowing a unit to look at. The only way I could really wrap my head around was to see it. t book lists and throw in a few extra books that would cover that.

 

Just some thoughts... hope it helps some...:confused:

 

 

That's a good idea. It's always nice to be able to help out local moms. I was able to bring some of my curric to another mom to show her, and it helped her decided to h/s her k'er-following the school curric. I was able to borrow some of my curric till I got mine as well, and for that I'm thankful :)

[robsiew]

That is one thing I'm looking for-a program that really builds in the religions of the world, and not just one. I also don't want a program that is religious biased. I may have a faith, but I also am very scientific and factual, so I'd like a history spine that's not "This is how it is" type of thing. Not sure if that came across right. This way our kids can learn different views and form their own opinion based on faith and facts.

 

Well, I haven't used TOG so hopefully someone who has will chime in on this, but you are aware this is an unabashedly Christian curriculum, right? It will be very heavy on Christian content and will come from a Christian perspective. I'm sure it studies different religions, but my (uneducated) guess is that it will be in the context of a basic belief that the Christian God is the one True God. At least, that's why I'm considering it! :001_smile:

[robsiew]

Just wanted to say I viewed classic first and bought redesigned and the perspective classic will give doesn't even touch the wonderful reorganization of Redesigned!

 

Tina,

 

I've been going back and forth on this. An entire year of redesign is just so expensive and not to know if it's going to work???? Ugggg....

 

I'm hoping to carve some money out this next year though and likely will give it a shot. It just seems like a lot of money to spend!

 

My biggest fear is complicating something that is already working well for us!:confused:

[TracyP]

Tina,

 

I've been going back and forth on this. An entire year of redesign is just so expensive and not to know if it's going to work???? Ugggg....

 

I'm hoping to carve some money out this next year though and likely will give it a shot. It just seems like a lot of money to spend!

 

My biggest fear is complicating something that is already working well for us!:confused:

 

How about buying one unit of redesign DE - just $35 I think. That is how I ended up sold on TOG.:001_smile: I really think you will know 6 weeks in or so if it will work for you or not.

[TracyP]

That is one thing I'm looking for-a program that really builds in the religions of the world, and not just one. I also don't want a program that is religious biased. I may have a faith, but I also am very scientific and factual, so I'd like a history spine that's not "This is how it is" type of thing. Not sure if that came across right. This way our kids can learn different views and form their own opinion based on faith and facts.

 

Well, I haven't used TOG so hopefully someone who has will chime in on this, but you are aware this is an unabashedly Christian curriculum, right? It will be very heavy on Christian content and will come from a Christian perspective. I'm sure it studies different religions, but my (uneducated) guess is that it will be in the context of a basic belief that the Christian God is the one True God. At least, that's why I'm considering it! :001_smile:

 

:iagree: I don't know of any program that studies other religions as in depth as TOG does. They also don't take a side on contentious Christian issues (YE/OE for example) they leave that to parents. However, it is 100% a Christian curriculum.

[robsiew]

How about buying one unit of redesign DE - just $35 I think. That is how I ended up sold on TOG.:001_smile: I really think you will know 6 weeks in or so if it will work for you or not.

 

That's a good idea! I'm so "all or nothing!":D

[siloam]

Just wanted to say I viewed classic first and bought redesigned and the perspective classic will give doesn't even touch the wonderful reorganization of Redesigned!

Though I was sold on TOG via classic, and still haven't used Redesign yet. :D

 

Though I am not your average TOG user. I don't use many of the parts that were updated, and have gotten used to looking at the TOG webiste for book updates when needed. :001_huh: Though that will change as we start year 1 and finally use the D level discussion.

 

But I don't use the SAP pages, the writing, and I only rarely get to the teacher notes because I am still reading all the history aloud. I don't miss anything.

 

Heather

[johnandtinagilbert]

Tina,

 

I've been going back and forth on this. An entire year of redesign is just so expensive and not to know if it's going to work???? Ugggg....

 

I'm hoping to carve some money out this next year though and likely will give it a shot. It just seems like a lot of money to spend!

 

My biggest fear is complicating something that is already working well for us!:confused:

I was going to suggest buying one unit at a time to test it out then I read this:

 

How about buying one unit of redesign DE - just $35 I think. That is how I ended up sold on TOG.:001_smile: I really think you will know 6 weeks in or so if it will work for you or not.

so, I'll just :iagree:

 

:iagree: I don't know of any program that studies other religions as in depth as TOG does. They also don't take a side on contentious Christian issues (YE/OE for example) they leave that to parents. However, it is 100% a Christian curriculum.

Certainly, Christian, but covers other religions quite well. Something I actually like (as a Christian) is the comparisons between. I always grew up hearing about how so many religions were the same as Christianity and I think TOG does a nice job for me in pointing out differences. I value that.

 

:iagree:

Though I was sold on TOG via classic, and still haven't used Redesign yet. :D

 

Though I am not your average TOG user. I don't use many of the parts that were updated, and have gotten used to looking at the TOG webiste for book updates when needed. :001_huh: Though that will change as we start year 1 and finally use the D level discussion.

 

But I don't use the SAP pages, the writing, and I only rarely get to the teacher notes because I am still reading all the history aloud. I don't miss anything.

 

Heather

The classic sold me! But the redesigned rocked my world, especially b/c I do use the SAP (student assignment pages), writing and I live or die in the teacher notes :)

[LAmom]

Wow! Thanks so much for the help. I think buying a little bit to try out at first sounds like a good plan.

 

Can anyone speak further on how Christianity is brought into this curriculum? Through Christian books, scripture reading, etc? Where does the Christian perspective come in through the curriculum (alongside the parents). Does this even make sense? :glare:

 

Also, do those of you that use TOG already use the library a lot? Or do you buy all the necessary books to go along? Right now I am using MFW and I bought some and use the library for others. Don't mind the library runs but I also love buying books (just don't know if I can afford them all). :)

[LAmom]

:iagree: I don't know of any program that studies other religions as in depth as TOG does. They also don't take a side on contentious Christian issues (YE/OE for example) they leave that to parents. However, it is 100% a Christian curriculum.

 

 

Can I ask you personally, how are things with TOG and all the little ones? I have avoided TOG because I felt like I would be too overwhelmed with have a 6yo, 5yo, 3yo, and 1yo. I hardly can find time to think....so I feared I wouldn't have time to lesson plan, etc. You can PM me, etc. Just curious as to how it is working for you! :bigear: Do you like it for your 7yo and 5yo?

[sewpeaceful]

Can I ask you personally, how are things with TOG and all the little ones? I have avoided TOG because I felt like I would be too overwhelmed with have a 6yo, 5yo, 3yo, and 1yo. I hardly can find time to think....so I feared I wouldn't have time to lesson plan, etc. You can PM me, etc. Just curious as to how it is working for you! :bigear: Do you like it for your 7yo and 5yo?

 

Please don't PM your answer, if that is okay. I would love to know too! :)

 

:bigear:

[shanvan]

Just wanted to say I viewed classic first and bought redesigned and the perspective classic will give doesn't even touch the wonderful reorganization of Redesigned!

 

:iagree:I was going to discourage doing this as well.

[shanvan]

Wow! Thanks so much for the help. I think buying a little bit to try out at first sounds like a good plan.

 

Can anyone speak further on how Christianity is brought into this curriculum? Through Christian books, scripture reading, etc? Where does the Christian perspective come in through the curriculum (alongside the parents). Does this even make sense? :glare:

 

I would say that the Christian perspective is given in some of the assigned readings (Bible readings, church history readings), in assignments such as compare and contrast, but truly shines in the teacher's notes and discussion pages for the D & R levels. Often there are asides written for the teacher that help you with knowing how to lead your child through a discussion of many different aspects of how God is working his plan through history. I was pleasantly surprised to see quotes from one of our favorite Bible commentaries appear many times in the teacher's notes. There are also suggested assignments like Bible verse memorization. I wish I could give you a better idea--but I'm still drinking my tea--not fully awake!.

 

Also, do those of you that use TOG already use the library a lot? Or do you buy all the necessary books to go along? Right now I am using MFW and I bought some and use the library for others. Don't mind the library runs but I also love buying books (just don't know if I can afford them all). :)

 

 

I do a combination. For the first year I bought very few books, but we did happen to own many of the main resources for year 1, which is one of the reasons I decided to try TOG. We did quite a bit of substituting with history books if the ones listed were not available. My DS was in Dialectic level and I worried about substituting books because so many people complained that their children couldn't find the answers. Some even complained that using the exact books their children weren't able to find the answers to the student questions. Those complaints worried me greatly, but we have had very little trouble. I can't think of a single instance where DS was unable to answer questions I assigned. I'm not sure why others are running into this problem.

 

Now this is not so much an issue with the lower and upper grammar years. I will say though with redesign you have the option of looking at the material for the older ones AND you have an answer key to discussion questions--which I think is lacking in Classic, if I remember correctly.

 

For year 2 I was sold on TOG, so I did purchase many of the books used from online forums. I would like to think I can recoup some of the cost by reselling, but I have a feeling my DC are going to fight me when it comes time to sell. They get attached to books!

 

One way to reduce the number of books you have to buy would be to use one of their optional history spines (in redesign). For my D level DS in year 1 I bought him Streams of Civilization. That helped a couple of times when there were weeks I couldn't get to the library. Usually, though he enjoys the living books assigned more than Streams of Civ.

 

I prefer buying books a couple of units at a time because I make my decisions about which books to use according to a number of factors, such as:

 

1. What other school work and extracurriculars are happening. If the 4H Public Presentations (or some other intense project or activity) are coming up and Ds needs to prepare his speech we will often leave out the in depth history and any read alouds I was considering.

 

2. How much I want to use for reading aloud with younger DD. Often I want to include a reading from upper grammar so we can sit together as a family and learn history.

 

3. Whether or not we will be doing any of the art activities or projects suggested in TOG. These take time.

 

I went on and on, but I hope you can glean something from my rambling post!

 

Shannon

[TracyP]

Wow! Thanks so much for the help. I think buying a little bit to try out at first sounds like a good plan.

 

Can anyone speak further on how Christianity is brought into this curriculum? Through Christian books, scripture reading, etc? Where does the Christian perspective come in through the curriculum (alongside the parents). Does this even make sense? :glare:

 

Also, do those of you that use TOG already use the library a lot? Or do you buy all the necessary books to go along? Right now I am using MFW and I bought some and use the library for others. Don't mind the library runs but I also love buying books (just don't know if I can afford them all). :)

 

There is a Worldview component that brings in missionary stories but the main Christian component is woven throughout especially for D and R levels. Hopefully someone using those levels can be more helpful.

 

So far I have bought books that get used for 5+ weeks and a few that I just wanted. I use the library for the rest. I spent $65 on Year 2.

 

Can I ask you personally, how are things with TOG and all the little ones? I have avoided TOG because I felt like I would be too overwhelmed with have a 6yo, 5yo, 3yo, and 1yo. I hardly can find time to think....so I feared I wouldn't have time to lesson plan, etc. You can PM me, etc. Just curious as to how it is working for you! :bigear: Do you like it for your 7yo and 5yo?

 

I'll get back to this as soon as I can. Gotta run!

[abrightmom]

I do a combination. For the first year I bought very few books, but we did happen to own many of the main resources for year 1, which is one of the reasons I decided to try TOG. We did quite a bit of substituting with history books if the ones listed were not available. My DS was in Dialectic level and I worried about substituting books because so many people complained that their children couldn't find the answers. Some even complained that using the exact books their children weren't able to find the answers to the student questions. Those complaints worried me greatly, but we have had very little trouble. I can't think of a single instance where DS was unable to answer questions I assigned. I'm not sure why others are running into this problem.

 

Now this is not so much an issue with the lower and upper grammar years. I will say though with redesign you have the option of looking at the material for the older ones AND you have an answer key to discussion questions--which I think is lacking in Classic, if I remember correctly.

 

For year 2 I was sold on TOG, so I did purchase many of the books used from online forums. I would like to think I can recoup some of the cost by reselling, but I have a feeling my DC are going to fight me when it comes time to sell. They get attached to books!

 

One way to reduce the number of books you have to buy would be to use one of their optional history spines (in redesign). For my D level DS in year 1 I bought him Streams of Civilization. That helped a couple of times when there were weeks I couldn't get to the library. Usually, though he enjoys the living books assigned more than Streams of Civ.

 

I prefer buying books a couple of units at a time because I make my decisions about which books to use according to a number of factors, such as:

 

1. What other school work and extracurriculars are happening. If the 4H Public Presentations (or some other intense project or activity) are coming up and Ds needs to prepare his speech we will often leave out the in depth history and any read alouds I was considering.

 

2. How much I want to use for reading aloud with younger DD. Often I want to include a reading from upper grammar so we can sit together as a family and learn history.

 

3. Whether or not we will be doing any of the art activities or projects suggested in TOG. These take time.

 

I went on and on, but I hope you can glean something from my rambling post!

 

Shannon

I'm just listening in here but want to comment that this post is so helpful!! TOG calls to me and terrifies me at the same time . . .

 

Ladies, if a family wants to test TOG out do you think there is a unit that is ideal to do a practice run with? I am assuming something in Year 1 or 2 based on the content studied . . .

[TracyP]

Can I ask you personally, how are things with TOG and all the little ones? I have avoided TOG because I felt like I would be too overwhelmed with have a 6yo, 5yo, 3yo, and 1yo. I hardly can find time to think....so I feared I wouldn't have time to lesson plan, etc. You can PM me, etc. Just curious as to how it is working for you! :bigear: Do you like it for your 7yo and 5yo?

 

Okay, I'll try again. I love using TOG with these little guys. I don't find the planning at all overwhelming BUT I say no to LOTS of things. If you can't do this you will be overwhelmed.

Here is a sample schedule:

Week 4) *label / color world map, read MW p.24-27, assign The Making of a Knight and give worksheet to K

* start model castle, check K's progress with book (this will be her first independent reading assignment)

*read Castle, continue model castle, go over K's worksheet

Week 5) *cont. Castle, finish model castle

*review week, add draw and caption (narration) page to notebook

 

I have several other books on hand in a "book basket" to be read as wanted. So we do TOG 2-3 times a week for 15-45 minutes. We skip weeks if they look boring, we spend longer if there is an interest. TOG is a guide/booklist/activity generator for me. A lot of people could argue that it is way too expensive and in depth for this age group. That is probably true. I bought it for ME. I am learning along with my kids. I have a firm grasp of how TOG works so will experience no "fog" with a 5th, 3rd, 1st, K and preschooler at some point.:001_smile:

 

So it really becomes a personal decision. Will TOG get in the way of the "three R's" because you want to do it all? Are you iffy about whether it is what you want to use in the next cycle? Do you just want to be able to open a book and do the next thing at this stage? All of these would be great reasons to hold off for now. My vote would absolutely be for SOTW w/ AG for the first cycle if you are unsure. HTH!

[johnandtinagilbert]

Wow! Thanks so much for the help. I think buying a little bit to try out at first sounds like a good plan.

 

Can anyone speak further on how Christianity is brought into this curriculum? Through Christian books, scripture reading, etc? Where does the Christian perspective come in through the curriculum (alongside the parents). Does this even make sense? :glare:

 

Also, do those of you that use TOG already use the library a lot? Or do you buy all the necessary books to go along? Right now I am using MFW and I bought some and use the library for others. Don't mind the library runs but I also love buying books (just don't know if I can afford them all). :)

I would say *mostly* in the Church history subset. I think it would be easy to make TOG secular. I also love the tidbits in sidebars for the teacher and Christianity. I can't say, though, how "Christian" year 1, units 1-3 are, as I know they are ancients w/ bible and I started my TOG journey in unit 4 of that year.

 

I'm just listening in here but want to comment that this post is so helpful!! TOG calls to me and terrifies me at the same time . . .

 

Ladies, if a family wants to test TOG out do you think there is a unit that is ideal to do a practice run with? I am assuming something in Year 1 or 2 based on the content studied . . .

I would encourage something you have already studied, simply so you have a personal reference. I would not suggest units 1-3 of year 1 b/c many of the books are not as easily available from the library.

 

Okay, I'll try again. I love using TOG with these little guys. I don't find the planning at all overwhelming BUT I say no to LOTS of things. SMART MOMMA! If you can't do this you will be overwhelmed.

Here is a sample schedule:

Week 4) *label / color world map, read MW p.24-27, assign The Making of a Knight and give worksheet to K

* start model castle, check K's progress with book (this will be her first independent reading assignment)

*read Castle, continue model castle, go over K's worksheet

Week 5) *cont. Castle, finish model castle

*review week, add draw and caption (narration) page to notebook This is a great schedule! See, I don't find this to be any heavier than SOTW or MOH.

 

I have several other books on hand in a "book basket" to be read as wanted. So we do TOG 2-3 times a week for 15-45 minutes. We skip weeks if they look boring, we spend longer if there is an interest. TOG is a guide/booklist/activity generator for me. A lot of people could argue that it is way too expensive and in depth for this age group. That is probably true. I bought it for ME. I am learning along with my kids. I have a firm grasp of how TOG works so will experience no "fog" with a 5th, 3rd, 1st, K and preschooler at some point.:001_smile:

So it really becomes a personal decision. Will TOG get in the way of the "three R's" because you want to do it all? Are you iffy about whether it is what you want to use in the next cycle? Do you just want to be able to open a book and do the next thing at this stage? All of these would be great reasons to hold off for now. My vote would absolutely be for SOTW w/ AG for the first cycle if you are unsure. HTH!

The bolded part is right on and absolutely why I encourage people to get TOG early. It's not just for those years, it's getting the teacher ready for the years to come and I consider it teacher training -- very worthwhile!

[lovinmomma]

Okay, I'll try again. I love using TOG with these little guys. I don't find the planning at all overwhelming BUT I say no to LOTS of things. If you can't do this you will be overwhelmed.

Here is a sample schedule:

Week 4) *label / color world map, read MW p.24-27, assign The Making of a Knight and give worksheet to K

* start model castle, check K's progress with book (this will be her first independent reading assignment)

*read Castle, continue model castle, go over K's worksheet

Week 5) *cont. Castle, finish model castle

*review week, add draw and caption (narration) page to notebook

 

I have several other books on hand in a "book basket" to be read as wanted. So we do TOG 2-3 times a week for 15-45 minutes. We skip weeks if they look boring, we spend longer if there is an interest. TOG is a guide/booklist/activity generator for me. A lot of people could argue that it is way too expensive and in depth for this age group. That is probably true. I bought it for ME. I am learning along with my kids. I have a firm grasp of how TOG works so will experience no "fog" with a 5th, 3rd, 1st, K and preschooler at some point.:001_smile:

 

So it really becomes a personal decision. Will TOG get in the way of the "three R's" because you want to do it all? Are you iffy about whether it is what you want to use in the next cycle? Do you just want to be able to open a book and do the next thing at this stage? All of these would be great reasons to hold off for now. My vote would absolutely be for SOTW w/ AG for the first cycle if you are unsure. HTH!

 

 

I completely could have written this post. This is excellent advise and what we are going to do. I already have it all planned out. However, we are going to alternate weeks with science, so we'll cover 2 weeks of TOG in 1 week and choose 1 activity from the 2 weeks, but we won't do science that week. Then, the following week we will do 2 weeks worth of science and not do TOG. I think I just like the flow better that way.

 

We also aren't going to do ALL of the suggested mapping. I know that we will conver it again the following year, so I'm not too worried.

 

The above bolded parts are so true! I definately could have written this post.

[Guest aquiverfull]

I would say *mostly* in the Church history subset. I think it would be easy to make TOG secular. I also love the tidbits in sidebars for the teacher and Christianity. I can't say, though, how "Christian" year 1, units 1-3 are, as I know they are ancients w/ bible and I started my TOG journey in unit 4 of that year.

 

Tina, Can you elaborate on this a little more? I know in YR 1 there is a good bit of Bible due to the time periods being studied. In Yr 2-4 it looks like it's all Church History. Is this correct?? Is any Bible studied at all during those years outside of Church History? I see several books on the History of the Church and missionaries biographies, but are there any scripture readings scheduled, etc?? I'm just wondering how Bible study is woven into the latter years of the program. Thanks!

 

I would encourage something you have already studied, simply so you have a personal reference. I would not suggest units 1-3 of year 1 b/c many of the books are not as easily available from the library.

:iagree:I bought unit 1 of YR 1 and was so quickly overwhelmed with trying to schedule it all due to my library having almost nothing. A lot of the books were going to have to be brought in from other branches around the parish and I couldn't get a straight answer to how long this could take. So trying to plan became very difficult for me. Not being able to see the books in advance made it impossible for me to schedule anything. I wasn't able to even get TOG going because of this. I just felt too stressed so I bought something else. However, I'm considering trying again as I had intentionally planned because I really want my dd to study Ancient History this year along side our American study.

[lovinmomma]

I'd also like to say that no other curriculum but TOG has given me what I want for the YOUNGER years. Isn't that funny how for some people they can't imagine how you could use it for LG, but for me it's the complete opposite. The reason that I believe that is is because I know what I want my homeschool to look and feel like. I'm a CMish homeschooler with a bit of classical thrown in. I'm using TOG in a very CMish way. I know how to use TOG as my guide and teacher for ME, but I also know how to leave out lots of stuff so as to keep it light and fun in the young years where the 3 R's should be the priority IMHO. We are gonna have fun with it, we have a book basket for the other books that we don't get to, and we are gonna do some fun hands-on stuff to peak my children's interest. TOG is the icing on the cake. It is definately a very expensive way to use TOG in the younger years. I'm leaving out so much, but like a pp said...I bought it for ME. :D

[shanvan]

The bolded part is right on and absolutely why I encourage people to get TOG early. It's not just for those years, it's getting the teacher ready for the years to come and I consider it teacher training -- very worthwhile!

 

 

Also wanted to add that for many families the younger years allow more time to pursue some of the longer projects suggested in TOG which look like a lot of fun. We have to skip most of them because DS (12) workload is too heavy to allow time. Our extracurriculars are also pretty set now and more time intensive. We had extracurriculars in elementary years, but they were more exploratory and optional, not as demanding-- though I realize this will vary with the child, interest level, and family's philosophy.

 

Shannon

[shanvan]

I'd also like to say that no other curriculum but TOG has given me what I want for the YOUNGER years. Isn't that funny how for some people they can't imagine how you could use it for LG, but for me it's the complete opposite. The reason that I believe that is is because I know what I want my homeschool to look and feel like. I'm a CMish homeschooler with a bit of classical thrown in. I'm using TOG in a very CMish way. I know how to use TOG as my guide and teacher for ME, but I also know how to leave out lots of stuff so as to keep it light and fun in the young years where the 3 R's should be the priority IMHO. We are gonna have fun with it, we have a book basket for the other books that we don't get to, and we are gonna do some fun hands-on stuff to peak my children's interest. TOG is the icing on the cake.

 

I know I read/heard that this is really how TOG is meant to be used in the younger years. I seem to remember listening to an audio of Marcia stressing that the 3rs should be the main focus. Somehow I think that idea gets lost when people explore TOG.

 

It is definitely a very expensive way to use TOG in the younger years. I'm leaving out so much, but like a pp said...I bought it for ME. :D

 

Yes, knowing what you want your experience to look like and being able to leave out lots of stuff are key to using TOG successfully IMO.

 

Shannon

[bbrandonsmom]

What are the readers and biographies like in the early years? Do they seem to go by age level, as far as what topics they introduce, like war, famine, killing etc? Is there a constant reference to how GOD fits into the biographies regarding choices that people make, or can you omit that? (hope I can type that) I'm Christian, but I don't want every story we read have questions pertaining to religion and how would it be different if that person believed etc. Are there alternate questions to ask?

[TXMary2]

I'd also like to say that no other curriculum but TOG has given me what I want for the YOUNGER years. Isn't that funny how for some people they can't imagine how you could use it for LG, but for me it's the complete opposite. The reason that I believe that is is because I know what I want my homeschool to look and feel like. I'm a CMish homeschooler with a bit of classical thrown in. I'm using TOG in a very CMish way. I know how to use TOG as my guide and teacher for ME, but I also know how to leave out lots of stuff so as to keep it light and fun in the young years where the 3 R's should be the priority IMHO. We are gonna have fun with it, we have a book basket for the other books that we don't get to, and we are gonna do some fun hands-on stuff to peak my children's interest. TOG is the icing on the cake. It is definately a very expensive way to use TOG in the younger years. I'm leaving out so much, but like a pp said...I bought it for ME. :D

 

I also love TOG LG. I am using TOG with my 6yo ds and 14yo ds. LG and D. I think for LG it is a fabulous guide, the book choices are great, the activity choices are numerous and it just all around rocks!

Edited October 13, 2010 by TXMary2

[siloam]

 

Tina, Can you elaborate on this a little more? I know in YR 1 there is a good bit of Bible due to the time periods being studied. In Yr 2-4 it looks like it's all Church History. Is this correct?? Is any Bible studied at all during those years outside of Church History? I see several books on the History of the Church and missionaries biographies, but are there any scripture readings scheduled, etc?? I'm just wondering how Bible study is woven into the latter years of the program. Thanks!

 

 

 

In the early parts of year 1 you have whole weeks dedicated to Biblical topics. For example:

 

Week 4: Creation Through Noah

Week 6: The Patriarchs: From Ur to Egypt

Week 7: In The Wilderness: The Tabernacle and the Law

Week 8: In The Wilderness: Holiness: Worshiping God as God

Week 9: In The Wilderness: Slaves to Warriors

 

The last three weeks in particular have no other reading than the Worldview, if I remember right. It is the history.

 

But as the program moves on you do have less of this.

 

In the literature worksheets they will sometimes have character work, sometimes even referencing scripture.

 

At the D and R level they do list Biblical reading for the child, and the LG and UG levels they encourage the use of a children's Bible. Though I think they also list the Biblical passage for UG...I am too lazy to pull it out right now. :D But you already have it listed for the other levels, so you can modify if you wanted to use it with a younger child. It is just at times a lot of reading.

 

TOG doesn't have a Bible component once it is not part of history. In years 2, 3 and 4 you will need a separate Bible program. They will cover church history and missionaries as they come up in history, and other worldviews as part of the worldview section, but technically the Biblical time period has passed, so they don't cover it. They only cover that which is current to that time in history, make sense? Lit of that time, worldview of that time, architecture of that time, music of that time, art of that time. While the Bible is applicable to all ages it is not part of the history of that time, only the effect people and the church have on history at that time are recorded.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Blessings,

 

Heather

[Guest aquiverfull]

Yes Heather, that was extremely helpful!! Thank you so much for your detailed response. :)

 

And since I have you right here, can I ask you a few more questions? I know you've mentioned how much you substitute in TOG. When you do this do you find that you are still able to use much of what TOG has to offer...the teacher notes, discussion questions, mapping, vocab? Is it a lot of work on your part to make it work, do you have to come up with your own maps and discussion questions when you substitute books? Thanks!!

[siloam]

 

Yes, knowing what you want your experience to look like and being able to leave out lots of stuff are key to using TOG successfully IMO.

 

Shannon

I agree with this 100%. TOG can do lots of things. If you are looking for a program to tell you what to do, then watch the seminars and see if that sounds like something you would like. But if you know what you want then TOG can be contorted into all sorts of shapes it wasn't made to fit, you just use what works for you and drop the rest.

 

I personally don't use one of the foundational pieces, the SAP (student activity pages) because they just aren't a good fit. First of all because they overwhelm my kids, who prefer a big picture approach. Being handed several pages short circuits them, because all they see is a stack of work. If they use my overview then they see it all at once all on one page, pick up and go. In addition I don't need the lit worksheets because CW is seriously in depth in lit analysis. At the LG/UG level it was too much fluff in TOG to do both, and at the D level I am choosing to go with CW. Later that may change, as the focus in CW may change and I would like to do some of the Lit work, specifically when it ties into history, but I also have to keep manageable workloads. If I have to I will pick and choose as we go and only do the best of the best as my dd moves into more D level work.

 

Honestly I came really close to scraping TOG for this year, because I just have so much on my plate and use so little of the meat of TOG.

 

My oldest dd is just now approaching D and I am terrified she just isn't ready for the discussion, or will hate it, or we will love it and just not have the time to do it right, given I am already maxed out.

 

I am tired of never being able to do a week of TOG in one of our weeks, and that will probably only get worse as we move ahead and conversely frustrated with the reading load in TOG. But all my kids have dyslexic issues (translation-lots of remedial work going on and it is time intensive), as I do too. It takes my best friend 30 mins to read the teacher notes and it takes me an hour or more. When I am already maxed out it is hard to imagine finding an hour to read and an hour to do discussion.

 

Thus I find myself finally ready to use the meat of TOG but having no vision to implement it, no time. Now I am going to buy the Pop Quiz CD's and see if that can't get me by, if not I have decided I can drop the D level discussion and will continue to use TOG, but at that point it will more or less be only for literature recommendations and vocab work. I am going to do mapping, timeline work, memory cards from MOH, use MOH as our family spine and have my oldest read Guerber (she hated the D spine and it looks really light anyway and Guerber more in-depth). It is just frustrating to finally "arrive" so to speak but not have the time for it. :crying: Not TOG's fault just life.

 

Heather

Edited October 13, 2010 by siloam

[Guest aquiverfull]

Thank you Heather for your honesty and experiences. A lot of what you said really caused me to pause. I can't find what I want in a history program. I come close with a few but just not quite what I want. I'm almost at the point of doing my own thing. That however, is very overwhelming to me. Trying to tie all the pieces together is a ton of work and time. I frequently feel like there is not enough time in the day to do all that I need to do...housework, school planning, etc.

 

Then I can completely relate to your comment about the reading load. As I mentioned before I'm fairly sure my dd is dyslexic and when I was planning for TOG I knew she couldn't handle the D level reading. It's the sheer amount of books/pages required in a week. Although we didn't actually start TOG, I had that feeling that there was no way we could get through that much work in 1 week. Then I question as to whether it's worth it or not. I'm not sure I'd want to stretch out the cycle for more than 4 years.

 

Anyways, I appreciate your thoughts.. it's given me lots to think about.

[siloam]

Thank you Heather for your honesty and experiences. A lot of what you said really caused me to pause. I can't find what I want in a history program. I come close with a few but just not quite what I want. I'm almost at the point of doing my own thing. That however, is very overwhelming to me. Trying to tie all the pieces together is a ton of work and time. I frequently feel like there is not enough time in the day to do all that I need to do...housework, school planning, etc.

 

Then I can completely relate to your comment about the reading load. As I mentioned before I'm fairly sure my dd is dyslexic and when I was planning for TOG I knew she couldn't handle the D level reading. It's the sheer amount of books/pages required in a week. Although we didn't actually start TOG, I had that feeling that there was no way we could get through that much work in 1 week. Then I question as to whether it's worth it or not. I'm not sure I'd want to stretch out the cycle for more than 4 years.

 

Anyways, I appreciate your thoughts.. it's given me lots to think about.

 

I know there is at least one of the alternate R spines that you can get as an audio version, and most of the R level lit comes from the Norton Anthology, which again I am pretty sure you can get on audio, so my plan has been to continue but using mostly audio, which would allow us to go faster. Fast enough to be at regular pace???? I can't answer that one. At the R level they have documents in the loom about paring down, which I am sure I will make use of. :D

 

While I have already bailed on the D spines, mostly because my dd just adores Gerber, so why not (and she is doesn't have reading issues-just time management issues), I do plan on buying as many of the D lit books as I can on audio, I just haven't sat down and figured out if there are a lot of them or not.

 

After I posted I was thinking back on if I would change what I have done, and I really wouldn't I love the coordination of TOG. To date I have enjoyed our relaxed and in-depth pace. But I am feeling the squeeze of high school coming, and I think I am going to let MOH drive the ship for a few years to keep me moving. The younger kids will only do TOG vocab, lit and maybe mapping. I really need to look at the mapping in MOH and see if I think it is enough. The things that are driving me nuts about TOG classic mapping right now should be a non-issue in the redesign year 1. For my oldest I put TOG in order of the Guerber books, so if I can buck it up we will be set to do the discussion. There is a decent chance I will rise to the occasion, because I often do. I need to quit anticipating and just take the next step. Often it comes together even when I can see how, KWIM?

 

For me though I knew exactly what I wanted, and while TOG can be a lot, it is still easier than making my own thing. I also am blessed enough to be able to afford TOG. I just am cheap and wonder if it is worth the cost at times. When it really comes down to it my time is worth it, because my ideas of simplifying and only doing xyz won't last. I will find the time to make it complicated, so might as well be complicated with TOG. :D

 

Heather

[siloam]

Yes Heather, that was extremely helpful!! Thank you so much for your detailed response. :)

 

And since I have you right here, can I ask you a few more questions? I know you've mentioned how much you substitute in TOG. When you do this do you find that you are still able to use much of what TOG has to offer...the teacher notes, discussion questions, mapping, vocab? Is it a lot of work on your part to make it work, do you have to come up with your own maps and discussion questions when you substitute books? Thanks!!

 

 

Yes I still use all the pieces I want to (vocab, mapping, timeline, literature). Because TOG is topic driven those pieces fit with any book that covers the same topics. For example the kids love Mike Venezia books, so anytime TOG covers an artist or president I just buy the Mike Venezia version and ignore the TOG recommendations. When I started year 4 the year 4 redesign wasn't started, and many of the classic year 4 books were OOP, so I went in and schedule my Kingfisher Encyclopedia, for a world overview, my DK American Encyclopedia for an American overview, then I was able to pick up one alternate spine that was OOP. I read them in that order going from the bigger perspective to more detailed, but so far they have covered topics well enough for us.

 

With year 1 I am using two spines that include Biblical history, so while TOG schedules Bible we won't cover it. My Bible program (Bible Study Guide for All Ages) covers the whole Bible in 4 years, so we will eventually cover it directly from the real source. I felt my girls were familiar enough with the Biblical stories to pull out from them what TOG is looking for in terms of connections to history, but if I were to actually do the Biblical readings it would take us a lot longer to get through TOG year 1. Another modification or compromise in my part. But because they do know the stories and will read them summarized the mapping, vocab, and timeline work still fits.

 

Heather

[TXMary2]

I am tired of never being able to do a week of TOG in one of our weeks, and that will probably only get worse as we move ahead and conversely frustrated with the reading load in TOG.

 

I take about 2-3 weeks with myt LG to cover 1 week of TOG and 2 weeks with my D. I am currently tweaking and pondering how to speed it up with the D because I need/want him to cover all 4 TOG years for high school and he is currently in 9th. For my LG I don't care at all that it takes longer because he is only 6 years old and I know he will go through all the material enough times by the time he finishes school.

 

I know there must be a way for D and R's to do a week in a week - I just haven't found it yet.

[johnandtinagilbert]

 

Tina, Can you elaborate on this a little more? I know in YR 1 there is a good bit of Bible due to the time periods being studied. In Yr 2-4 it looks like it's all Church History. Is this correct?? Is any Bible studied at all during those years outside of Church History? I see several books on the History of the Church and missionaries biographies, but are there any scripture readings scheduled, etc?? I'm just wondering how Bible study is woven into the latter years of the program. Thanks! Heather did a great job of explaining this. In short, the church history and missionary bios are in the church history dept. Artist and musician bios are generally in In-depth or literature suggestions. The teacher's notes will talk further on the bios, go in depth when History is indeed about Church History (a great deal in year 2, as it is quite applicable to European history), and they point out via reminders about the studies of religions throughout. Some of the religions of the world studies are in history, others in church history. You really could take the religion out of the program, conversely, you could really focus.

 

 

 

What are the readers and biographies like in the early years? Do they seem to go by age level, as far as what topics they introduce, like war, famine, killing etc? Is there a constant reference to how GOD fits into the biographies regarding choices that people make, or can you omit that? (hope I can type that) I'm Christian, but I don't want every story we read have questions pertaining to religion and how would it be different if that person believed etc. Are there alternate questions to ask?

My bios explanation above should cover that for you; in short, you'll get plenty of biography and you can choose to include Christian bios or not (as they are "church history", not history core). The books are tender and any kind of reference to killing, nudity, or anything else that some may find objectionable is always noted in a few different places in the program. The authors took real care in making sure offenses (to anyone, not just Christians) would be forewarned. You're welcome to take home any of my levels (currently own 1, 2, 3) and have an extended looksy!

 

I agree with this 100%. TOG can do lots of things. If you are looking for a program to tell you what to do, then watch the seminars and see if that sounds like something you would like. But if you know what you want then TOG can be contorted into all sorts of shapes it wasn't made to fit, you just use what works for you and drop the rest.

 

I personally don't use one of the foundational pieces, the SAP (student activity pages) because they just aren't a good fit. First of all because they overwhelm my kids, who prefer a big picture approach. Being handed several pages short circuits them, because all they see is a stack of work. If they use my overview then they see it all at once all on one page, pick up and go. In addition I don't need the lit worksheets because CW is seriously in depth in lit analysis. At the LG/UG level it was too much fluff in TOG to do both, and at the D level I am choosing to go with CW. Later that may change, as the focus in CW may change and I would like to do some of the Lit work, specifically when it ties into history, but I also have to keep manageable workloads. If I have to I will pick and choose as we go and only do the best of the best as my dd moves into more D level work.

 

Honestly I came really close to scraping TOG for this year, because I just have so much on my plate and use so little of the meat of TOG. Oh my! :svengo:(cracking up)

 

My oldest dd is just now approaching D and I am terrified she just isn't ready for the discussion, or will hate it, or we will love it and just not have the time to do it right, given I am already maxed out. Block teaching saved the day for me in this regard. Be encouraged, starting D may mean answering 1 or 2 questions a week. In fact, we never have completed all the questions (for one child), but I did have the benefit (cuz of family size) of getting them all answered!

 

I am tired of never being able to do a week of TOG in one of our weeks, and that will probably only get worse as we move ahead and conversely frustrated with the reading load in TOG. But all my kids have dyslexic issues (translation-lots of remedial work going on and it is time intensive), as I do too. It takes my best friend 30 mins to read the teacher notes and it takes me an hour or more. When I am already maxed out it is hard to imagine finding an hour to read and an hour to do discussion. I take a while, too...at least an hour! More like 2 (including note taking) and we will never, ever stay on the weekly schedule. I'm completely resigned.

 

Thus I find myself finally ready to use the meat of TOG but having no vision to implement it, no time. Now I am going to buy the Pop Quiz CD's and see if that can't get me by, if not I have decided I can drop the D level discussion and will continue to use TOG, but at that point it will more or less be only for literature recommendations and vocab work. I am going to do mapping, timeline work, memory cards from MOH, use MOH as our family spine and have my oldest read Guerber (she hated the D spine and it looks really light anyway and Guerber more in-depth). It is just frustrating to finally "arrive" so to speak but not have the time for it. :crying: Not TOG's fault just life.

 

Heather

:grouphug: It will come. You do a great job of meeting everybody where they are.

 

Thank you Heather for your honesty and experiences. A lot of what you said really caused me to pause. I can't find what I want in a history program. I come close with a few but just not quite what I want. I'm almost at the point of doing my own thing. That however, is very overwhelming to me. Trying to tie all the pieces together is a ton of work and time. I frequently feel like there is not enough time in the day to do all that I need to do...housework, school planning, etc. Doing it all myself and taking a million years, endless nights and complaints of no husband time it what led me to TOG. All the work is finished for me, I just have to choose. Keep in mind, Heather, God bless her hard working soul, has dyslexic issues with her whole lot. Her day is truly full with remediation (She is really an amazing woman). Your day may offer more flexibility.

 

Then I can completely relate to your comment about the reading load. As I mentioned before I'm fairly sure my dd is dyslexic and when I was planning for TOG I knew she couldn't handle the D level reading. It's the sheer amount of books/pages required in a week. Although we didn't actually start TOG, I had that feeling that there was no way we could get through that much work in 1 week. Then I question as to whether it's worth it or not. I'm not sure I'd want to stretch out the cycle for more than 4 years.

 

Anyways, I appreciate your thoughts.. it's given me lots to think about.

We do stretch just to fit it all in, but I know there are plenty of families that skip certain components, which isn't all that hard to do. For example, there is a 3 week study on South America. You really could condense or skip that. There are several inserts on geographical areas that one may skip or simply cover lightly as a week long chapter. The thing is, once you get to know TOG, you will see many ways to adjust it to suit your needs.

[johnandtinagilbert]

 

I know there must be a way for D and R's to do a week in a week - I just haven't found it yet.

I know! Only do TOG...skip the rest of life! :lol:

 

I don't see it happening over here, either.

[Guest aquiverfull]

Heather, I always appreciate your perspective. I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts. Seeing how you make it work for you is very interesting. I know many others will find these posts helpful too. Tina is right, you truly are an amazing woman, I don't know how you do it all!! :)

 

Tina, thank you for showing how things can be eliminated or shifted around. That is helpful. I'm glad to know that there are a few of you who stretch out TOG. I just didn't think I would even be able to follow it because I knew we couldn't do all that in one week, and believe me I was planning on skipping some things and it still seemed like a ton of work. I'm still thinking, I'm going to bite the bullet and at least give it a good go. I thought after trying to plan, I was done with it. It always calls to me though, so I better just go ahead and test drive the 9 weeks I bought. I'll never know if it will work unless I actually try.

[siloam]

Heather, I always appreciate your perspective. I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts. Seeing how you make it work for you is very interesting. I know many others will find these posts helpful too. Tina is right, you truly are an amazing woman, I don't know how you do it all!! :)

Awwww, you two made me cry. A good cry. :)

 

Sometimes I don't know how I do either. Mostly by the grace of God because I am the one who is most likely to mess myself up. Like sitting on the computer all morning instead of getting math scheduled and papers corrected. :blink: Sometimes I just need it though. I need to remember what we have done, where we are going, and what is working to keep on going. Luckily this week is my planning week, so I can kinda get away with it. I really shouldn't but I can. :D

 

Mostly I just realize there are not any other good choices. The only good choice is to keep on running the race. It is a season that will end, and when it does end I know I will miss it. I try to stay focused on what is working, what is good about it instead of being discontent, or thinking about the parts that frustrate me. That is a battle alone. For example, the kids spent the first two days of this week bickering like 2yo toddlers. We had to spend way too much time on character issues. Good news is they haven't argued, fought or invaded anther's personal space yet today. I am sure it will yet happen, but Monday and Tuesday by lunch I had dealt with multiple episodes, so today is an improvement by far.

 

Heather

[shanvan]

I was returning some books to a long time TOG family. They are just acquaintances, not close friends. I have always had tremendous respect for them because they a obviously doing a wonderful job of raising Godly children and covering academics somewhat rigorously. They are almost done homeschooling (one year left).

 

I mentioned to the mom that we had begun using TOG a year and a half ago. I must have said something about how we just have trouble getting through a week plan in an actual week.

 

She just laughed and laughed and thought it was hysterical that anyone would even try! She said they just took their time going through it at whatever pace suited them. She had no idea anyone would think to stick to getting the week plan done in a week. I always assumed because they are doing such a good job they would obviously stick to the schedule strictly as it was planned.

 

I'm sure she has no idea how encouraging her laughter and comments were. (I know, I know...I shouldn't compare really....but sometimes I do).

 

Just thought I'd share.

 

Shannon

[johnandtinagilbert]

Not that this is positive encouragement, but I also consider that if they were in public school, they'd only get social studies and American government, and shallowly at that. If we only get through three years of R in all of high school, I am convinced they'll get a TON more than the alternative.

[johnandtinagilbert]

Just got a pm about this, so I thought I'd share.

 

Here's how I plan from week to week, essentially my "choosing" format.

 

Here's an example of one extended schedule. I actually have an updated version of this on my Homeschool Launch page (in my siggy).

 

Here's an easy to follow 1-week plan that I sometimes use with grammar kids and used when all the dc were in the grammar stage. I rotate heavy history and science with my lower grammar kiddos, so I generally Do follow this for them, but if there is a lot we want to cover (special interest or great activities), then I stick to the 3-week extension.

 

For what it's worth, I do make copies to hand out, etc. over breaks. This year, we'll finish 3 units and I have 2 of them already finished (copies, books chosen, etc). I'll get to the 3rd unit in December break.

 

This rotation is a great example of flexibility. My R boys are truly interested in battles and we're in the Civil War, so we added an entire week so we can really get into the battles and plans; therefore, we're spending 4-weeks on TOG Year 3, unit 3, weeks 23-24. We're doing more mapping, extra discussing and plan to lay out some plastic battle guys and "walk" them through the entire war at our Unit Celebration. They're having fun and it really doesn't seem like work to them (except the note cards I made them make :D insert evil laughter).

 

Flexibility, inspiration, direction, but not obligation --- I really do heart TOG.

[abrightmom]

I rotate heavy history and science with my lower grammar kiddos,

 

Tina,

 

What do you mean by this? One week history, one week science or something like that??

[bbrandonsmom]

This thread has been so informative-thank you soooo much Heather and Tina-I think you guys are so helpful.

 

Tina-thanks for the offer (you are so sweat) :) and the info on the books. Two history curric I've looked at had some books I would not let a K'er read, at least not mine (& prob not a 1st gd). He's a very empathetic child-even if it's a story. And the one curric that did note the books, I'd have ended up removing almost half of them-due to the violence in them.

 

I have to go back and read over the info-all this talk of D, R and something else has me pretty lost.

 

abrightmom-I'm wondering that too. It actually sounds ideal. You can really take a week to focus on something, instead of breaking it up. I'm sure it depends on the child and what is being studied though.

[johnandtinagilbert]

Tina,

 

What do you mean by this? One week history, one week science or something like that??

Sort of . At this point, my grammar staged kiddos can read independently as "assignments" throughout the day, so for a week or two, we'll work together heavily in history and they'll read independently in science (with maybe a light narration or sentence writing only); then the following week or two, we'll switch. It allows for depth where I want it, touching on topics where I want it, and a reasonable amount of school work. For younger grammar students, you could do the same with light read alouds, or simply by doing 2 days on, 2 days off, etc. Honestly, history and science at grammar stages (especially lower grammar K-3) are gravy, but still important enough for me that I won't skip them (as many people do).

 

This thread has been so informative-thank you soooo much Heather and Tina-I think you guys are so helpful.

 

Tina-thanks for the offer (you are so sweat) :) and the info on the books. Two history curric I've looked at had some books I would not let a K'er read, at least not mine (& prob not a 1st gd). He's a very empathetic child-even if it's a story. And the one curric that did note the books, I'd have ended up removing almost half of them-due to the violence in them.

 

I have to go back and read over the info-all this talk of D, R and something else has me pretty lost. D is Dialectic (what SWB refers to as Logic Stage) and R is Rhetoric (high school). You, my dear, have plenty of time!

abrightmom-I'm wondering that too. It actually sounds ideal. You can really take a week to focus on something, instead of breaking it up. I'm sure it depends on the child and what is being studied though.