Using TOG after following CM ?

[luvnlattes]

This is our first year with TOG. In the past we've used Sonlight and Winter's Promise and I tried to follow more of a CM approach. I went to TOG because I like having all my kids learn the same time period at their own level. With the other programs, while we all learned together, I always felt that somebody wasn't working at the right level. I like TOG and I want to commit to it for our history from here on out.

 

Having said that my kiddos aren't as crazy about it. They're used to "living books" so I'm getting a lot of comments about the books being sooooo boring from my older 2. I have my 11 yo doing UG history, in depth, and literature.

 

I have my 13 yo doing D history. I give him UG or D literature depending on the book. He struggles with making connections so I think TOG will be a great help to both of us. It will show me how to show him the connections to make through our discussion time. I also think at some point he needs to learn how to read a book for information.

 

Anybody else struggle with the book choices for TOG after following CM? How did you make it work? I know that I can substitute books but then I don't know if the information for the discussions will have been covered. The discussion and making connections will be a huge help for my oldest who tends to get bogged down in minor details. Maybe we keep plugging along and after a few months they get used to it????

[johnandtinagilbert]

Subbing the history core books is pretty easy and you'll generally find the answers in the info (particularly for your UG students).

 

You can also ask others what their listed core is for the week you're in. There have been so many updates, there are many versions of TOG floating about.

 

We don't always love the reading, but overall, we love the fluidity of the program as a whole.

 

I imagine many of the same books are used, too as CM; that was the case the last time I glanced.

 

Your 11 year old may be reading for D level books? That may help with the boredom. Don't forget, when you make that switch, you can use some D, some UG. You decide what you're going to chew on from the TOG buffet!

[luvnlattes]

Thanks for the reply, Tina.

 

I have 11 yo doing UG based on volume. In years past I've done the majority of reading out loud. With TOG they're more independent so I've tried to take the volume of reading into account when choosing the level. I was taking "boring" to mean "too technical" or "not interesting" rather than "too easy." I'll have to try and get a better description out of him!

 

We don't always love the reading, but overall, we love the fluidity of the program as a whole.

 

Thanks for your honesty here :) Maybe it's just the week(s) we're in right now.

[siloam]

I substitute a lot. Around Christmas we are going to start back in year 1, and I will use MOH as my UG spine and Guerber for my D spine, neither of which are scheduled in TOG. :D Oh and we will throw in SOTW because I own it on audio already.

 

But I don't mind the work it takes to do that. I love TOG for the vocab, mapping, literature, coordination of topics, ect...so a little bit of scheduling still takes a lot of work off me, if I were instead pulling it all together myself.

 

Heather