Tapestry of Grace Redesigned

[Jen in DE]

Has anyone used Tapestry of Grace Redesigned year 1? What do you like and not like about it? What about Writing Aids? Do you need to buy all the books listed if they aren't in your library? What can you substitute and what can't you sub?

Thanks!

Jen

[Karenciavo]

What age are your children?

[Baseballmom]

I used it and loved it! I went through a unit at a time and bought all of the literature books and textbooks that the library didn't have. You have to use the exact title for literature if you want to use the provided worksheets. The topics for each week are topic specific, so you can use whatever your library has for history core and indepth. I like Writing Aids, but I have decided I need a little more hand holding in this area since this is not my strong area.

HTH,

Dorothy

[Langhaven]

We have used Year 1 Redesigned and it was my favorite year. I use an Amazon.com credit card which accrues points with usage that go towards my book purchases. With the gas prices today, I get a $25 coupon every few weeks that I devote to TOG books. This has helped a lot in funding spines and heavily used books throughout the year. The down side of this year, if you are sensitive to the corruption of that time period is all the pagan study which I have felt strongly about shielding my children from. At the same time, everytime I have skipped a week lesson due to being worried about that (i.e. the Mayan culture), I have regretted it. This year, my kids went to the Yucatan Pennisula on a medical mission working with Mayans and they actually visited some of the ruins. I think having read about some of the culture instead of skipping would have been helpful to them! We also skipped some of the ancient Chinese history thinking that we'd never use it, and then ended up adopting a chinese toddler 2 years ago, and kicked ourselves repeatedly, as two of my children went along on the trip to get her. :001_huh::001_smile:

 

I would recommend using all the History and In-depth selections since those are the ones that are used in the evaluations. If you choose to do their literature, you will need that particular selection as well. I love that you can pick and choose what make sense for your homeschool, and even if it is just a portion of what they outline in the lesson plans, you really get a lot each week. I also love that every one of my children is "on the same page" yet on different levels. Very mom friendly. I don't like the speed in which we travel through history, especially in year 2. There are times when I wish that we could linger and it might even make sense with younger children, or those that are just starting TOG and have lower elementary school children to take each year over a two year span so as to do more and read more of that particular level within the time period.

 

Just some thoughts - sorry for the random stream of consciousness here. I'm trying to manage dinner. LOL

 

Pam

[Jen in DE]

My daughters are 11 and 9 1/2. My younger is dyslexic, and they both have ADD. They love history. We are looking for something that allows us to go at our own pace. I got frustrated with Sonlight, because if we got behind on our reading books, it messed up language arts, and made it difficult to go on. I'm hoping that TOG gives me enough info so that I don't have to go through every resource to pull together my plans. Do you think this will work for us?

Thanks!

[Shenan]

I do not own the redesigned but have seen it. The layout is much nicer and more user friendly. I use TOG with our 17dd, 14ds, and 10ds.

 

I am thinking of purchasing Writing Aids ONLY because our internet access can be down right slow at times. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't really need it. Most of it is accessible through the internet on the Reproducibles CD.

 

You do not need to buy ALL the books listed. And you don't have to read ALL the books suggested. You can substitute whatever selections you would like. We have even substituted a different version of a literature book and had no problems filling out the worksheets. And we do not ALWAYS do the worksheets.

 

We do take the slow approach to it, 2 years for year 1 and so on, and remember YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL!!!! Even though I find myself wanting to DO IT ALL!

 

I have also discovered that my boys (my hands on learners) have retained more information after purchasing and using TOGs lapbook CDs. Something to consider, especially if you have hands on learners.

 

And I wouldn't recommend skipping anything in Yr 1. It has sparked some excellent biblical conversations with our kids! ESPECIALLY the China unit! I remember being a little hesitant also about telling/teaching them (one was 8 years old at the time) about buddha, etc. but was floored with our biblical discussions! The kids really understood and had a better biblical grasp than what I was giving them credit for. :thumbup:

 

Hope this helps.

[Langhaven]

The teachers notes in conjunction with the Evaluations give everything that you need to give a good discussion and prepare for the tests. This is how I work it. It isn't often that I have a chance to read the assignments myself with 6 children .

 

Pam