If you've switched to Tapestry of Grace (or Omnibus) from Sonlight...

[Swirl]

...was it worth it? How much more did you love it? TOG- was it that much different than Sonlight? TOG- Do you plan to do it through high school?

 

We've done Sonlight now for 6 years and I'm thinking about switching to TOG for my 7th grader next year.

 

Also, I have another child that will be going into Core 3 of Sonlight. Would you suggest I switch her too? What about the Cores 3-6 I have sitting on my shelf waiting her? Is the cost to switch programs worth it in time and money?

 

I really need to step it up a notch with my 7th grader next year, and while I really like the looks of the Veritas Press Omnibus, frankly I don't think he will be ready to handle it in 7th grade (maybe 8th or 9th). :)

 

Right now for my soon to be 7th grader I am considering two options:

1. Switching to TOG- and continue through high school. (possibly both children)

2. Continuing Sonlight (with supplements) through 7th or 8th grade and then switching to Omnibus.

[jewellsmommy]

ETA: I have no idea why there is a thumbs down in my top corner!!!??? It really needs to go away.

 

 

I only did k and part of core 1 with sonlight and then switched to TOG. I am really glad I did. I love it.

 

If you switch, switch both children and sale your old cores when you are comfortable. You can buy TOG by the unit and you don't have to buy every single book. It is easier to substitute books in TOG (at least for the younger kids) than in SL. But having all your dc studying the same thing at the same time is part of the beauty of TOG.

 

The teacher's notes are awesome. You feel really equipped to lead an informed discussion, lesson, or just answer questions. The better you get it, the better you can beak it down for those you are teaching.

 

You can never do it all and I don't have to feel guilty about that because I am going to come back to the very same place in 4 yrs and can do more then. All the extra notes I leave for myself will be waiting for me and I will know more the 2nd time around, kwim? That is the beauty of the 4 yr cycle and having it all together in one wk plan. I can see what my grammar student will be reading when we cycle back around in the dialectic stage. I don't stress as much about trying to cover it all. But at the same time, I love all the options laid before me. I don't have to come up with my own hands on stuff and I find us doing more because it is already in front of me.

 

Plus, the lapbooks and mapaids are so wonderful!

 

As far as handling and grasping, your older can participate in the younger's read alouds and listen in to the teaching at that level as well as the teaching at a higher level if you feel that the older stuff is over his head. It is very tweakable.

 

TOG is not as open and go as SL. Having the week laid out gives me the structure I need. But, I like the flexibility it gives me to schedule my individual days. Plus, this is great for your older guy to take on filling in his own day. I must also admit that being more responsible for the day to day itinerary as forced me to be familiar with what I am teaching and that has made me feel more vested in the plans. There are some weeks that I didn't plan at all though. We picked up the week plan and just started and where we stopped is where we picked up the next day and so on. That works in a pinch.

 

I hope that all made sense. :D I am not all together this week.

[melmichigan]

We made the switch to TOG this school year, and I have SL from Core K to Core 100 on the shelf. I have no regrets, we are starting our second unit of Y2 for LG, UG and D.

 

I would change both of your children so they are in the same time period, but wouldn't get rid of anything right away, at least until you have gone through your unit plans. You would be surprised how many of the SL books are used in TOG either as primary or alternative resources or fit in really well. I opted not to buy to many of the Literature selections this year and am fitting in SL where they line up quite easily. (I had already bought SL Cores 7 and 100 so there wasn't money to buy much in the way of additional materials this year.) It has actually gone quite well because there is an adjustment in the level of required work and using some of both has been a good transition for my DD.

 

I do plan to use TOG for high school and am glad I ended up getting it earlier than planned. I think R will be much easier after having worked with D for both my DD and I. Best of luck finding what works for you. :)

[TKDmom]

:lurk5:

 

I'm still waffling on history for next year, and some aspects of TOG look awfully nice...

 

 

 

 

ETA: I have no idea why there is a thumbs down in my top corner!!!??? It really needs to go away.

 

 

Hit Edit, then Go Advanced, and scroll down to the bottom where you can select different post icons.

[PeterPan]

As an alternate idea, you could put him in Omnibus 1 for 7th but trim it down, work him up to it. Do more, transition him, get him used to that type of work, and do it fully starting in O2.

[Ann.without.an.e]

If you go to the Veritas Website, you can see a sample of the Omnibus book and it has the whole book there for you to peruse. I sat there one night and read and read, enthralled with it. I am beyond excited about Omnibus, I have been reading, reading, reading because it is so interesting. This is coming from a non-history girl without nearly enough literature background :tongue_smilie: You should check out Omnibus, it is very thought-provoking material. I will use it alongside MOH with my DD starting ----next week :D

 

Here is a link to the sample of OB I, they also have the other levels too.

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=PgLPOn-8pZcC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

[JudoMom]

...was it worth it? How much more did you love it? TOG- was it that much different than Sonlight? TOG- Do you plan to do it through high school?

 

We've done Sonlight now for 6 years and I'm thinking about switching to TOG for my 7th grader next year.

 

Also, I have another child that will be going into Core 3 of Sonlight. Would you suggest I switch her too? What about the Cores 3-6 I have sitting on my shelf waiting her? Is the cost to switch programs worth it in time and money?

 

I really need to step it up a notch with my 7th grader next year, and while I really like the looks of the Veritas Press Omnibus, frankly I don't think he will be ready to handle it in 7th grade (maybe 8th or 9th). :)

 

Right now for my soon to be 7th grader I am considering two options:

1. Switching to TOG- and continue through high school. (possibly both children)

2. Continuing Sonlight (with supplements) through 7th or 8th grade and then switching to Omnibus.

 

Have you considered doing Sonlight 6 & 7 and then moving into Omnibus? This is my plan, and we started with 6 this year. We'll move into Omnibus 1 when they're in 8th & 7th.

 

This is my first year with SL, and I'm impressed with Core 6. My boys haven't ever had much assigned reading, and I think this is giving them a good introduction to that. The books are great, and we're learning so a lot. I'm using it for my younger boys' history as well, only I assign easier readers for them.

 

While I love the looks of TOG and have several friends that use it, I know Omnibus is more my style. When comparing the formats side by side, Omnibus just appeals to me more. I would love to use TOG, but I know I would become overwhelmed and fail.

[BlsdMama]

It depends what you're seeking. Sonlight and TOG are compared all the time but they're really not that similar.

 

I feel Sonlight is a packaged curriculum with a daily plan based around literature.

 

Tapestry is a plan without a daily IG, not an open & go curriculum, based around history with a strong emphasis on literature.

 

Sonlight will give you a warm and fuzzy feeling with great books, many of them fiction.

 

Tapestry works in great books, but they aren't the focus. The focus is placed squarely on history and uses lit to forward the goal of giving a strong education.

 

A friend and I were discussing yesterday - Sonlight inspires kids to LOVE books. I think it's a wonderful program for K-6. My personal opinion is that it is not challenging enough for high school. BUT keep in mind that this is my opinion, and that I only used Sonlight for one year with an academically focused child. That's different.

 

I am a complete and total Tapestry convert. I can completely understand why someone would continue to use Sonlight for a younger child. And I am using Tapestry with my youngers (simply because I have it) but I would not purchase Tapestry if my only child was K-3. YMMV.

[Swirl]

Have you considered doing Sonlight 6 & 7 and then moving into Omnibus?

 

This is probably what I'm going to do. I REALLY like the look of TOG, but I don't think I can justify to DH the cost of switching both of my children. :) (Plus I already have purchased most of Core 7.) I really need to have a lot of our school books on our own bookshelves due to our distance from the library. And as nice as our librarians are, the book selection is terrible. Relying heavily on the library is quite a nuisance for me- I'm pretty much stuck using interlibrary loan for what I want from them.

 

I was kind of leaning toward Omnibus for high school anyway, so it probably would be best to just continue with what we are doing and make the switch later. (I may need to make some modifications in transition, so 8th might be the best place to start.)

 

I think I can make Core 7 work, and will make the switch at 8th grade. I spent about half the night going over books listed in TOG and Veritas Press. I'm just going to add some of them to our Cores. I've also been following the outlining thread here and ordered some additional history texts to use for our outlining.

 

This is my first year with SL, and I'm impressed with Core 6. My boys haven't ever had much assigned reading, and I think this is giving them a good introduction to that. The books are great, and we're learning so a lot. I'm using it for my younger boys' history as well, only I assign easier readers for them.[/Quote]

 

Of all the Cores so far, I thought Core 6 had the lightest amount of assigned reading. I really like most of the books though. :)

[Swirl]

A friend and I were discussing yesterday - Sonlight inspires kids to LOVE books. I think it's a wonderful program for K-6. My personal opinion is that it is not challenging enough for high school.

 

Having used Cores K-6 myself, I would probably say wonderful program K-4. I almost switched at 5th, and really wish that I had. I probably will end up doing that with DD. :)

[Swirl]

My personal opinion is that it is not challenging enough for high school. BUT keep in mind that this is my opinion, and that I only used Sonlight for one year with an academically focused child. That's different.

 

I am a complete and total Tapestry convert. I can completely understand why someone would continue to use Sonlight for a younger child. And I am using Tapestry with my youngers (simply because I have it) but I would not purchase Tapestry if my only child was K-3. YMMV.

 

In your opinion, is Tapesty of Grace challenging enough for high school?

[johnandtinagilbert]

In your opinion, is Tapesty of Grace challenging enough for high school?

Not the person to whom you asked, but Yes! TOG offers plans for honors and general tracks. The work is challenging and the teacher's materials offer the chance for you to self-educate or simply keep up!. I'm a semi-academic-monster and I am well pleased with TOG. We've been using it since 2006, and with my gang, I've used all levels (first year in Rhetoric).

 

So far as Omnibus and TOG, the comparison is much like that of SL & TOG: O is a lit. program w/ history (so I've been told by those who've used both), while TOG is a history program w/ strong literature.

 

The lit in TOG, is so rich in complete capacity, that many people don't do the entire plan, which is perfectly acceptable. If I remember correctly, completely 3/4 of the lit. is still considered honors by the authors. I find it so strong that I will not complete full humanities studies (philosophy, government, fine arts) in the same year as the full lit. study. We'll read everything for good measure, but there is no way I can facilitate the discussions for each area all at the same time....weekend school is not an option here. Of course, I have a huge family, so if I had only 2 dc, I might push the envelope :D

 

At the same time, since all levels are presented together, you have the chance to lighten up wherever you'd like. As an example, my 8th and 9th graders are reading Rhetoric literature selections, but not doing the assignments. They are also reading the D selections AND then doing the assignments (which include terminology, analysis, and discussion). My rising 6th grader is doing Upper Grammar history, but D literature b/c it's a strong point for her.

 

For some the buffet is too filling, but if you have a little portion control, it's rather satisfying! I like to pick and choose. It works for everyone....students and teacher. It's VERY nice having everyone in one program. It makes life much easier and encourages family conversation about school.

 

HTH :) I have lots of blog posts on TOG. Several of my Weeks in Review are pretty TOG heavy, too. Blogs in my siggy.

[BlsdMama]

In your opinion, is Tapesty of Grace challenging enough for high school?

 

Absolutely. I have NO reservations about recommending Tapestry for high school. Also, if you're looking at something that will give a rigorous high school education, it offers Honors options and electives like Philosophy & Government.

[Mom22ns]

I just thought I'd share a link to the high school board where there has been a long discussion by those who have given up or are frustrated with TOG in high school. I have considered TOG over and over and each time I end up not going there, so I have no personal experience. I just thought this might give you a different perspective.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225413

[DawnM]

We switched to TOG and ended up ditching it and returning to SL.

 

Now, this was when my boys were 3rd and 5th grades, so it could be that I didn't give it a fair shot and my boys were too young.

 

It was more labor intensive for me, which I didn't care for at the time.

 

I also have a son with some learning delays (my oldest), so staying with SL has been better for us and I have stayed with the younger son's grade level, which works for both kids perfectly. In math, they are each on their own level.

 

If you have an accelerated child AND you don't mind putting in the extra time, TOG may be just the ticket.

 

Dawn

[BlsdMama]

Truly, truly Sonlight and Tapestry are different beasts.

 

I just had a friend switch over from Sonlight to Tapestry and even though I had told her they are very different and she expected it, it still surprised her how different.

 

Tapestry is NOT just Sonlight on steroids. :)

 

It's more, it's deeper, and it's a lot more work and planning.

There is no IG. It's on you. Tapestry is essentially a mini guide to a million topics in historical order. But it's up to you to schedule, keep moving forward, do the discussions, print off the sheets, and be VERY involved in your homeschooling.

 

Sonlight is an open and go curriculum. It's a wonderful way to be involved, read and share some really wonderful books between family members. I think it's the ideal elementary curriculum. I think it's a way to inspire children to love books. I think it gets them excited about history and science and literature. It's wonderful for someone who wants to get up Monday morning and GO!

 

Tapestry is NOT that. Tapestry is a rigorous college preparatory, historical based curriculum. Sonlight is to literature what Tapestry is to history. They use many of the same books in the earlier levels, but at the Rhetoric level you are in a different ball game entirely.

 

Tapestry CANNOT function and function well without an extremely involved teacher. It is NOT open and go. It is not a Monday morning jump into it curriculum. It IS a way to combine many children and many levels but it is not easy. I think it's easier than tweaking Sonlight levels to such a degree to try to combine levels ;) but if you don't care if your kids are combined, then it's not an issue.

 

I can't tell you how much I wish they weren't constantly put in the same grouping. It gives people this feeling that Sonlight and Tapestry are the same, but the "IG" is just more involved in Tapestry. Hence the TOG fog... It's the confusion you experience when you open up the "IG" and find out it's NOTHING like what you were expecting. It's SO much more, but it is a LOT more work.

 

I have a love/hate relationship with Tapestry. I love it. I think it's the curriculum every literature and history lovin' mama would write if she were remotely capable of DOING it or having the time to DO it or the energy, lol. It was my daydream curriculum but SO much more.

 

On the other hand we can't do it all. And there's the hate part. I actually sold my Tapestry last year out of frustration. I hadn't been buying the books - only getting them at the library and that further complicated the "open and go" issues. I think MANY more people would stick with Tapestry if it was sold in core packages like Sonlight so that they had everything arrive in a big box. I get jealous of my time... I look at pictures of other TOGGers and blogs and I think oh I wish I had time for all the extras. With soon to be SIX children ages seven and under, plus my 9yo, 11yo, and 14yo I simply don't have time to be SuperMom or even fake it on the best days. :D So I get a little jealous. People say it's a banquet and you have to pick what you want on your plate. That's great.

 

If you're someone like me who looks at the chocolate cake on someone's plate and says, "I wish I had room for chocolate cake," then I suggest you either don't do Tapestry or find a way to deal with it. My way to deal with it is to make the lesson plans, then pack away the binder and try to put on blinders. I didn't realize I was covetous of people with only two kids and more time to do the "fun" stuff until I began Tapestry with the banquet spread before me.

 

So, as one of Tapestry's biggest fans, I have to say, Tapestry absolutely, positively is NOT a one size fits all curriculum. If you want to be deeply involved and provide a rigorous curriculum that you have a lot of say in planning, it'll probably be a very good fit. If you enjoy your weekends and don't want to lay everything out and wake up on Monday and just GO, get something else. And, if it's in your budget, buy as many of the books as budget allows.

[BlsdMama]

And can I just add my mantra here:

 

USE the curriculum that will inspire you to use it, consistently, every day.

 

 

That might mean Tapestry. That might mean Sonlight.

 

I feel one of them is superior to the other. But I use plenty of curriculum that isn't the BEST out there. Sounds crazy doesn't it?

 

I remember when Ana was little and I spent hours pouring over reviews and catalogs because I wanted the BEST for her.

 

Later I found out the BEST is only the BEST if it's a good fit. If the BEST is sitting on your bookshelf collecting dust it isn't doing you much good is it?

 

I'm a fan of All About Spelling. I've bought Level One twice and Level Two once. I've sold it all. It's teacher intensive and I could just never find the time to fit it in and fit it in CONSISTENTLY. It's better for my son to get spelling consistently than to own the very best curriculum out there and not use it every day.

 

Homeschooling is a balance. And what fits for one won't fit for another. I won't apologize for what I use. I use what I use because it fits for one child or for this family.

 

If you choose Sonlight which might be a less rigorous program but it will inspire you to use it consistently and your children will be inspired to love literature, do it and don't apologize to anyone.

 

Tapestry doesn't have the same warm, fuzzy feeling as Sonlight. It's website is not filled with those cuddly family images that fills Sonlight's catalog to the tippy top.

 

But it is extremely strong college prep. literature which is what I need for my oldest. It has a great Dialectic book list for Year 2 - which excited my second son. I love Writing Aids. I'm looking very forward to getting my lapbooking kits for my grammar level students. I enjoy tying all of the children in together.

 

Tapestry INSPIRES me to actually use it. Sonlight was NOT doing that. I opened up the IG and was frustrated by it and the daily planned lessons. (No, really!) I'd look at some of the books on the upcoming book lists for the high school years and be very frustrated at the level.

 

 

The only other thing I'd add is this: Everyone wants to pick the curriculum they'll use for the rest of their homeschooling journey. I feel it's impossible. If it wouldn't cost me a small fortune, I'd actually use Sonlight for my 1st-4th graders. It doesn't make much sense as I own Tapestry, lol. But I LIKE Sonlight for elementary. But I don't think the middle years would prepare my children for Rhetoric level work in Tapestry. And I don't think Sonlight as an open and go curriculum (vs. Mom & Dad being VERY involved) would be preparatory for the level at which I want my oldest to function.

 

Pick the curriculum that works for you now. Ideally that would mean buying something now that will work for the next 15 years. But, I think we can tell from the flourishing FSOT market, that that is rare.

[DaffodilDreams]

OP, your post caught my attention. I know nothing about TOG but have used Sonlight, so I just looked at TOG's website to see what I'm missing. :001_smile: My question to anyone who uses TOG is do you purchase each of the 4 levels once and then use them again but with increasingly higher level activities/discussions each time you complete the history cycle? If so, that appeals to me for some reason.

[ChemMommy]

I own and have used SL K-5. I really liked SL and still recommend it for younger grades. The read-aloud and snuggle time is wonderful and kids really DO learn to love books.

 

However, I was not able to balance two or more cores and felt frazzled a lot. The kids were all over the place in history, too.

 

TOG appealed to me because the kids would all be on the same page of history regardless of their school grade. In my opinion, SL was NOT rigorous enough for high school. It's history was very scattershot and the upper cores did not seem to have a lot of unity. You can do American History or Church History of 20th century history, but no upper level in-depth Ancient history, for example (unless they've added it by now).

 

At the point that one would be in Core 9, another in core 6, and two in core 2, I gave up.

 

We went to TOG when my oldest was in 9th grade and started everyone in ancient history. TOG is totally history-driven. There are lots of non-fiction books on history. Many are excellent reads, few have been real drudgery. Lit and good books are secondary. I've had to add in all of the great SL books (while dumping some of the less popular ones--no more Ginger Pye!!!) for the two younger ones.

 

TOG is not planned day-by-day for you. My older two have had NO problem at all being told to read 50 pages of a book by Friday and figuring out how to do that. My youngest were 2nd and 3rd grade when we made the switch. They needed to be told what to read each day. Now they are in 4th/5th and plan with week of work quite independently of me. That being said, in the summer, I go through the manuals, decide what each child will read, order the books, and write up lesson plans in HomeSchool Tracker. The plans are pretty simple: Read pp 26-49 in Antebellum America, Read chapter 2 in Mormon Trail book, etc..

 

I regret that the littles don't get as much read-aloud time. We do "some" reading aloud still, but not nearly as much as we used to. I don't have the time anymore. I like that TOG is so chronologically presented. It's very well-planned, well-researched, and includes philosophy, fine arts, and government as extras at the high school level.

 

All in all, it was expensive to buy, but I only have one more TOG level to buy ever! Woohoo! The book list is more extensive than SL, by far! You can reused many SL books for TOG and for the LG and UG levels, it frankly doesn't matter if you have the exact book or just a similar book. For the upper grades, you don't often have to buy the lit books because most libraries will have Pride and Prejudice or Les Miserables. You do end up having to purchase the D and R level history books, though!

 

Hope that helps!

[M&M]

My question to anyone who uses TOG is do you purchase each of the 4 levels once and then use them again but with increasingly higher level activities/discussions each time you complete the history cycle? If so, that appeals to me for some reason.

 

 

Yes, once you purchase all 4 year plans you are set for the curriculum part. You would have to add in the books for whatever level you are doing. Again, yes, you continue to use the 4 plans over and over each time increasing in difficulty. The writing component is broken into 12 levels so that you have lots of flexibility with the writing level.

[Swirl]

Thanks so much for all the replies! I'm still trying to figure out what to do for next year. I make a decision, then read more about it, and change my mind. I really want a rigorous, college preparatory curriculum for high school. I'm going to check around and see, if possibly, I can find someone locally who has this curriculum. I need to get my hands on a guide, so that I can really get a feel for it. I may just end up ordering year two to check it out.

[Swirl]

If it wouldn't cost me a small fortune, I'd actually use Sonlight for my 1st-4th graders. It doesn't make much sense as I own Tapestry, lol. But I LIKE Sonlight for elementary. But I don't think the middle years would prepare my children for Rhetoric level work in Tapestry.

 

I'm really leaning towards TOG for high school, but what do I do about 7th & 8th??? I've been adding books to Sonlight this year from TOG and others, plus doing it the WTM way. Sonlight for DS now is almost just a book list. Looking at the TOG book list for 7th and 8th, I see many titles we've already read. I thought MAYBE I could continue this for 7th and 8th, then switch DS to TOG at high school and DD at 5th. BUT, you think doing this he would not be prepared for Rhetoric level work in TOG? This is a real fear of mine. He needs to be ready.

[SewLittleTime]

Thanks so much for all the replies! I'm still trying to figure out what to do for next year. I make a decision, then read more about it, and change my mind. I really want a rigorous, college preparatory curriculum for high school. I'm going to check around and see, if possibly, I can find someone locally who has this curriculum. I need to get my hands on a guide, so that I can really get a feel for it. I may just end up ordering year two to check it out.

I debated over TOG for a LONG time. We've been using SL since pre-k, but I just couldn't get TOG out of my mind. This summer I kept going back and forth over the two. I went with SL again b/c I just felt too scared to make the break. I wish I would have just started our year with TOG. We made the switch last week, and although we are only one week in, TOG is really wonderful. I can't really tell yet, but I feel like it will be a better long term curriculum for us.

 

My kids are each 3 years apart. I've been doing 2 full cores this year, and there just isn't enough time for me to do it and give attention to the other things in life that need attention. Eventually, when my dd gets school age, I would end up doing 3 cores! So, for me, having them on the same topic in history has been a desire and need to streamline our days. I've been adding hands-on to SL and other things to round out some things I felt we needed but weren't there. And we were not enjoying SL at all this year. My oldest is tired of reading historical fiction all the time. He loves non-fiction books. My middle one is just not loving core K. He needs more picture books, but wants to sit in on his brother's history. We all had needs and wants that SL just wasn't meeting any longer.

 

I needed sometime to get a feel for TOG. I bought a unit this summer and have been looking at it off and on since July. That may have helped me get in making the leap mid-year. I haven't found implementation that hard. It does require more planning b/c there aren't those little boxes to check, but I find that refreshing. I felt too compelled to check those boxes in my SL schedule. I felt like I couldn't just skip something. With TOG b/c there is so much and it's not scheduled daily, I can pick more easily what to do and what to leave out, and not feel so tied to the schedule. I'm not sure why that is, but it just is.

 

I agree that TOG and SL are two totally different curriculas. I encourage you to write out your long term goals, your needs, and the pros and cons of each. See how each one will fit in with your goals and needs. Putting down in front of you might help you in making a decision. I wouldn't buy an entire year. I'd get a unit and start with that. It's too big of a purchase to buy and then decide it's not for you. Just my 2 cents...

[Swirl]

I wouldn't buy an entire year. I'd get a unit and start with that. It's too big of a purchase to buy and then decide it's not for you. Just my 2 cents...

 

YES! I forgot I could get one unit at a time! Thanks

[BlsdMama]

I'm really leaning towards TOG for high school, but what do I do about 7th & 8th??? I've been adding books to Sonlight this year from TOG and others, plus doing it the WTM way. Sonlight for DS now is almost just a book list. Looking at the TOG book list for 7th and 8th, I see many titles we've already read. I thought MAYBE I could continue this for 7th and 8th, then switch DS to TOG at high school and DD at 5th. BUT, you think doing this he would not be prepared for Rhetoric level work in TOG? This is a real fear of mine. He needs to be ready.

 

I think it would depend on the child. Keep in mind I only used Sonlight for ONE year and that was Alt 7 when Ana was a 6th/7th grader. Other than that I've just compared Sonlight and Tapestry over and over and over again. :D

 

I have a dear friend who has just switched from Sonlight to TOG and her oldest DD is in the 9th grade. It is going to be a big leap for her. She is a GREAT reader and pretty academic, but Sonlight has really "trained" her to love a good story rather to read for the purpose of extracting information, organizing it, then discussing and writing it, kwim? Her mom said this year is going to be a hard transition for her. Sonlight "entices" you to love literature and then adds in history to that. Tapestry makes no qualms about tackling the hard stuff and assigning plenty of non-fiction. I see fiction as a supplement to their advanced Lit book list and their history, whereas I see Sonlight as the opposite. I think Sonlight does an AWESOME job of inspiring children to love books. I'm just not sure they prepare kids for the WORK that lies ahead in high school when we're prepping our children for college... Where there is less "fun" reading and where we have to take difficult passages, poetry, literature, and history, break it down into chunks, digest it, think about it, and then write about it.

 

If he has also been doing TWTM suggestions and you've been supplementing and you want to continue doing this, I think he'll be fine. But I also feel that's a lot of effort / tweaking for the parent. I know, I've BTDT.

 

My fear is not that a child in Sonlight for 8 years isn't capable of Rhetoric work. My fear is that after having a very warm & fuzzy approach like Sonlight for so long, they are going to find the work demanded of Rhetoric level TOG to be very exhausting. It's a bit like going from your morning walk to preparing for your first marathon. It can be very discouraging to make such a big leap all at once, kwim?

[luvnlattes]

My fear is not that a child in Sonlight for 8 years isn't capable of Rhetoric work. My fear is that after having a very warm & fuzzy approach like Sonlight for so long, they are going to find the work demanded of Rhetoric level TOG to be very exhausting. It's a bit like going from your morning walk to preparing for your first marathon. It can be very discouraging to make such a big leap all at once, kwim?

 

:iagree:

 

We switched to TOG in March...middle of the year I know, but it was time. Prior to that we had done Sonlight for 3 years and Winter's Promise for 1.5.

 

It was an adjustment, especially for oldest son. In the beginning we really missed the books we were used to from Sonlight and WP and I questioned whether or not had I made the right choice. But I did want ds to be able to read to find answers to specific questions. It has been a stretch for him, especially when the answer to the question is more inferred by the reading than specifically spelled out. It's taken time and hand holding but he's getting there. I'm glad we made the jump at dialectic stage rather than rhetoric. My next son, 11 yo, can make these connections much easier so it depends on the child.

 

There is still great literature included in TOG it just seems to be different from the types of lit we read for Sonlight and WP.

 

I saw your considering starting with a unit. I think that's a great way to get your feet wet and see how you like the curriculum.

[DawnM]

Gracious, after reading this thread I am wondering if ANY kids can successfully go from using SL in high school to college?????

 

:001_huh:

 

We have every intention of doing SL through 8th grade and possibly beyond. I am not that far yet, so I am not sure.

[M&M]

Gracious, after reading this thread I am wondering if ANY kids can successfully go from using SL in high school to college?????

 

:001_huh:

 

We have every intention of doing SL through 8th grade and possibly beyond. I am not that far yet, so I am not sure.

Of course they can. Sonlight is a very good curriculum that has been around for many years and many have gone on to college after using it. You can read just as may threads that say that TOG is too much. What it comes down to is what are you looking for in educating your children and how do you want to approach that education.

[LaurieM]

Of course they can. Sonlight is a very good curriculum that has been around for many years and many have gone on to college after using it. You can read just as may threads that say that TOG is too much. What it comes down to is what are you looking for in educating your children and how do you want to approach that education.

 

:iagree: There is no one perfect curriculum, thus the reason for so many choices! Choose whatever works best for your student and/or family and enjoy the process.

[DawnM]

Well, it was said somewhat tongue in cheek....but the bent of the thread implies that SL is far inferior of a high school education.

 

Dawn

 

:iagree: There is no one perfect curriculum, thus the reason for so many choices! Choose whatever works best for your student and/or family and enjoy the process.

[LaurieM]

Well, it was said somewhat tongue in cheek....but the bent of the thread implies that SL is far inferior of a high school education.

 

Dawn

 

Sorry, didn't mean to offend or seem dense. I'm working on minimal hours of sleep today so some of the subtleties of forum jargon are getting lost on me!;)

 

:::::back to lurking:::::

Edited January 11, 2011 by LaurieM

[luvnlattes]

Well, it was said somewhat tongue in cheek....but the bent of the thread implies that SL is far inferior of a high school education.

 

Dawn

 

Sorry Dawn, I hope my post didn't make you think that's what I meant.

 

We left SL because it was becoming clear I would need to 2 different cores with my kids and I really didn't want to do that, not because I thought SL was inferior. At that point I jumped over to WP which worked out well for the first year but bombed the second, so we switched to TOG.

 

My agreement with BlsdMama was because we definitely noticed a change in book styles when we switched. I didn't mean for it to sound like it was superior to SL. I wanted to let the OP know that the styles are different so a student may need time to adjust to that. At rhetoric level there is a lot more volume so trying to adjust to a new style at the same time you're increasing volume may be overwhelming for a student...and Mom! Sorry if I offended anyone.

[johnandtinagilbert]

I'm really leaning towards TOG for high school, but what do I do about 7th & 8th??? I've been adding books to Sonlight this year from TOG and others, plus doing it the WTM way. Sonlight for DS now is almost just a book list. Looking at the TOG book list for 7th and 8th, I see many titles we've already read. I thought MAYBE I could continue this for 7th and 8th, then switch DS to TOG at high school and DD at 5th. BUT, you think doing this he would not be prepared for Rhetoric level work in TOG? This is a real fear of mine. He needs to be ready.

We add a sort of WTM to TOG D to get them ready for high school. In addition to reading the history cores, I have them outline, then summarize with each core. If you are doing full-on WTM way in middle school (spine, literature, activity, writing, outlining) then you'll be fine in TOG.

 

The one benefit I think of staring TOG is D is the discussion leading. It's so nice for teacher and student to kind of grow into Socratic Discussions at the high school level. You Know you're getting the lit. prep. and history background that way.

 

Just my 2 cents. I'm off to read your other thread now!

[DawnM]

Really, I am not offended.

 

We tried TOG for a while and it didn't work well for us, BUT, my kids were younger and it may work better with older kids. However, I am really hoping that when my kids get to the HS level, they will be doing most of the work in cores by themselves and then I can focus on the younger child more.

 

Right now we have all 3 doing one core....my 6 (almost 7) year old can listen to most of the Core 4 stories just fine and then does his own math, LA, etc...it is working for us and I plan to do just do ONE core and adapt my younger to it as needed.....I refuse to do two cores.....I just can't. It is everything in me to do just one! :D

 

Dawn

[BlsdMama]

Really, I am not offended.

 

We tried TOG for a while and it didn't work well for us, BUT, my kids were younger and it may work better with older kids. However, I am really hoping that when my kids get to the HS level, they will be doing most of the work in cores by themselves and then I can focus on the younger child more.

 

Right now we have all 3 doing one core....my 6 (almost 7) year old can listen to most of the Core 4 stories just fine and then does his own math, LA, etc...it is working for us and I plan to do just do ONE core and adapt my younger to it as needed.....I refuse to do two cores.....I just can't. It is everything in me to do just one! :D

 

Dawn

 

I will go so far as to say (as a TOG super fan, lol) that I prefer Sonlight for the younger levels. Gasp!

 

But I couldn't adapt a core. Too much tweaking and time spent. I had originally planned to do the same so I could have three kids in the same history time period to simplify for me. *But* by the time I did the legwork, planning, and tweaking, the beauty that is the open & go guide of Sonlight became a lot more work for me. :)

 

I wish they'd stop getting compared.

 

They are so very, very different. Both are good fits for a lot of families. Just different kids and different families with different needs! It utterly depends on what the family needs and what gap they are looking to fill.

[DawnM]

Very true.

 

The time I tried TOG I felt like I was preparing at least 2 lesson plans, sometimes 3. It seemed a lot more work to me than adapting a core in SL....maybe I didn't "get" it or maybe it is just the way I am wired.

 

I am also a former English teacher and love the focus on Literature. I find it easy to substitute books in SL as needed and drop/add titles that are favorites of mine.

 

I am already planning out/looking at NEXT year and mentally tweaking it ahead of time! Now, a caveat, we are hoping to finish out Core 4 by sometime in April and start the next core around April/May and finish by Nov or Dec and move on to Core 6 or Alt 7 at that time. We are a bit behind and I am needing to tweak to the point where we can indeed finish early and/or skip things.

 

At this point, as I said, I plan to do SL through at least 8th grade. I will reassess of course, but there is a strong possibility we will continue SL through HS.

 

Dawn

 

 

 

I will go so far as to say (as a TOG super fan, lol) that I prefer Sonlight for the younger levels. Gasp!

 

But I couldn't adapt a core. Too much tweaking and time spent. I had originally planned to do the same so I could have three kids in the same history time period to simplify for me. *But* by the time I did the legwork, planning, and tweaking, the beauty that is the open & go guide of Sonlight became a lot more work for me. :)

 

I wish they'd stop getting compared.

 

They are so very, very different. Both are good fits for a lot of families. Just different kids and different families with different needs! It utterly depends on what the family needs and what gap they are looking to fill.

[AngelBee]

:lurk5: