TOG R Lit.... HUH?

[lovemy9kids]

I must be an idiot b/c I have spent the last hour looking over the R level lit for Y3 and my head is spinning! I'm actually very frustrated to tell you the truth. I thought this was supposed to make things easier for those of us with a large family with a lot of different age levels. What I just saw will NOT make things easier for me. Why does TOG make it so confusing? I just don't get it. It seems like such overkill....... Like it would really kill the joy of reading anything. My son is going into ninth grade and he is a bright, self-motivated student, but this is too much. There are 2 hours of discussion! And that isn't even counting Geography, Government, Church History etc...... When is a mother of a large family supposed to find the time to do all of that? I don't have enough time as it is! I am sooooooooooooooo discouraged! I really like TOG, but I'm already experiencing home school burnout....how is this going to help? I really wanted to stay with TOG for all four rotations, but my son is going into ninth grade and I have to start using the R level material. How do you mom's do it with large families and a lot of little ones. You have time for all the lecturing etc.? Please shed some light on this for me. I'm wondering if I get some Progeny Press guides to go along with some of the books would that be enough for a credit? I just DO NOT HAVE TIME for what they are asking for. I DO NOT get how this is supposed to help us moms of many. Please don't shoot me for my rant.... I'm just so frustrated with all that is required of me with homeschooling all of our children. I want something to lesson my load....not add to it. Isn't that why she wrote TOG in the first place? I just don't see how their R level makes things easier for the mother. How do you all do it?:confused:

[lovemy9kids]

I guess I should have posted this over at the High school board...........

I'm sorry.....

[Mommyfaithe]

I hear you...and I agree. There is no way I would have been able to pull this off with my older kids when I had babies to take care of. History and literature do not need to be this difficult to teach. Discussions about books aphappen. Ecause we talk all the time about everything....but nothing shut my tally kids up faster than a list of questions we were supposed to talk about and somehow draw some particular answer.

 

Don't drive yourself nuts....I bought and sold TOG 3 times! I really wanted it to work...and I still drool over the idea of it...but I know it didn't work for us before.

 

Sorry I hae no answers...but I did want you to know you are not alone in your assessment.

Faithe

[MicheleinMN]

Feeling so much better that I only bought it twice. ;);)

 

 

Ambleside Online for my under high school age children. Studying Ancient Greece for 9th grade, Ancient Rome for 10th, Middle Ages & Ren./American history for 11th, American history/Govt. for 12th or something along those lines for high school.

 

As far as using R level in 9th grade, I think many people still use the D level adding in only a few R level books for 9th grade. When I used TOG, I had my 9th graders do mostly D level history with R level literature, or it might have been the other way around, but I do remember adjusting and picking and choosing books for my 9th graders.

Edited May 15, 2011 by MicheleinMN
TOG

[Guest]

I guess I should have posted this over at the High school board...........

I'm sorry.....

 

Actually I am glad you posted this here. I only have two kiddos currently and hoping to add a third so I will not be in the same boat as you but I am interested in hearing others' experience with that. Bumping this up for you :).

[profmom]

My solution is to use Potter's School's Classical Track for high school, but I also wanted to suggest that you look at MFW's high school. I think it is meant to be done much more independently, with a once a week parent meeting.

[HSMom2One]

Since I'm hs'ing one child at this point in time, I'm not going to be able to suggest anything from my own experience. But before totally throwing in the towel, why not talk to some moms of large families that include high school level? One that comes to mind is Tina (aka johnandtinagilbert) here on the boards. I'm always impressed by her scheduling and planning. Her blog is at http://www.lifeofthegilbertgang.blogspot.com/ I'm sure there are others that will chime in too.

 

But if you do decide to give up on TOG for highschool, I'd second the motion to check out MFW. I've checked that one out too, and have heard nothing but great things about that program too. It would just be nice to have all your family on the same subjects/eras of history, etc.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[HappyCrazyMama]

It was just too much for us as well and I also tried more than once.;):001_huh: It's a drag, I really want my kiddos combined all the way through high school.:grouphug:

Edited May 15, 2011 by Happyhomemama

[HiddenJewel]

I loved TOG Lit for Grammar and Dialectic but had to pass on the Rhetoric Lit. It was WAY too complex for what I felt we needed for high school. I still liked the history though.

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

I'm not where you are yet, but in the Loom there is a document about doing lit "light." Something about doing 1/2 of the literature assignments....like I said, I'm not where you are yet, but I am aware that it is there.

 

Also, the great thing about having all the grade levels on 1 page is that you can flex up and down. Remember, you'll have to pick and choose. You've probably already looked at the assigning credit pages, but those make suggestions for how to award credit based on how much work is completed. Marcia attended a private, college prep/ great books high school in New England and the standard is based on her experience and that sort of education. Perhap you can gauge what is appropriate based on public/ private high schools in your area.

[motherof5]

Just wanted to add to this post that I have similar frustrations with Tapestry of Grace, I have many kids that need my time . Subjects that cant be over looked like math and writing seem to have to take back seat because of the long discussion time that would need to take place with TOG. The amount of books required to "do" the program is quite a lot. Just wanted to let you know that someone else understands you.:iagree:

[mom@shiloh]

I can't add much to this discussion because I am just beginning to use TOG with my five youngest children. It sounds like you chose TOG for the same reasons that I did -- you wanted one thing that you could use for all your children and you were hoping that it would simplify your homeschooling.

 

Before I purchased it, I read numerous posts talking about how much time different families spent using TOG. Based on that, I felt the time commitment was reasonable. I'm not sure where I found those posts, but they're here somewhere!

 

Keep in mind that there's a huge learning curve with something new. I can remember almost hyperventilating when I opened my first Sonlight instructor's guide. It just seemed so overwhelming and I just didn't understand how it all fit together. Opening up my TOG guide was like that first SL experience on steroids! There are so many pages! And what do all these colors mean? And... and, there are so many pages!!

 

Now that I've had more time to just page through the guide it's beginning to make more sense to me and I'm seeing how I can use it and adapt it to our style and our time constraints. Will we spend hours in discussion? Not likely. It's more likely that I'll ask child X about something on our way to a soccer game and child Y and I will talk about something else while we wash dinner dishes. And by the time I've gone through the guides for a third time with my 6 year old, we still will not have plumbed the depths of this curriculum. And that's ok.

 

Jean

[delaney]

I am using Year 2 this year and I have seen these 2 hour discussion things. I do not choose it for the religious content so much of the discussion will not make sense to my kids however.....if you pick and choose a bit of the discussion to do one day per week you could really have some great conversations! It does help you to hit on things that make them think really hard from historical perspective or religious perspective. I think the thing about TOG is that we all feel compelled to do EVERYTHING because of the price tag. Then I look at it and think WAIT! For vocab, writing(partial), history, reading, art.....it really is a bargain!

TOG seems to be a blessing and a curse but it does get the job done. Ask Tina(Gilbert) how she approaches the discussions b/c she homeschools many and seems to really pull the value from TOG.

[lovemy9kids]

Thank you all. I really appreciate your encouragement. The thing is, I'm not even "new" to TOG. I'm just "new" to the R level. I can't imagine how overwhelmed I'd feel if I was just looking at it for the first time. I'm sure it is all more than fabulous. I just don't get how it is supposed to make things easier, and I thought that was what prompted the Author to write it in the first place. I can't really explain how I'm feeling........I guess I just have to realize my limitations and let it go.

 

So what about the Progeny Press guides? Would that work? There are about 4 guides that match up with the Y3 R Lit. Then I could just use TOG for the History?

[Mommyfaithe]

Thank you all. I really appreciate your encouragement. The thing is, I'm not even "new" to TOG. I'm just "new" to the R level. I can't imagine how overwhelmed I'd feel if I was just looking at it for the first time. I'm sure it is all more than fabulous. I just don't get how it is supposed to make things easier, and I thought that was what prompted the Author to write it in the first place. I can't really explain how I'm feeling........I guess I just have to realize my limitations and let it go.

 

So what about the Progeny Press guides? Would that work? There are about 4 guides that match up with the Y3 R Lit. Then I could just use TOG for the History?

 

I think it would work better...in hindsight...for us moms of many....and for our R level kids to have them write about the books they are supposed to be discussing...and then discuss their writing...sort of killing two birds with one stone. Where I live, we have never had access to other R level students to discuss the books...i think that would have been ideal.

 

I also think it would have definitely made more sense to pick and choose discussion questions and give those to my high schoolers to write about...or choose 3 or 4 and have them choose 1 from them.

 

I really love TOG...but I am so OCD about doing it all.

I may just collect up the classic editions again...used...so I don't feel guilty about NOT doing it all.

 

When I have a lot to pick and choose from...I find those decisions difficult....

I know I will not be spending 2 or 3 hours in one on one discussion with my poor high schooler...not formally anyway..lol. However, those discussion questions might serve nicely as essay topics....

Just brainstorming with you.....

Faithe...who still drools over TOG and really would love to use it with her younger bunch ...but is gun shy from my last 3 tries....

[HappyCrazyMama]

This disscussion has me waffling yet again.:001_huh: I could use TOG and the Lit. titles (SOME of them) but study them differently, everything would still be planned out, intergarated, etc. Hmmm...why do I read these threads, lol, :lol:.

 

My kids are 17, 8, 6, 4, 1. I might give it a go when the littles are ready for combining, right now I am combining the 8 & 6 yo with SL. I am going to stick with that for now. (REALLY, I MEAN IT :tongue_smilie:)

[HomesteadMommy]

I can't add much to this since I'm not using TOG yet. :tongue_smilie: But it's one of the programs I keep looking at over and over again. I might try it when my kids are a bit older.

But there has to be a way to cut back on the time TOG would take for that level. Pick and chose what books you want to read. I'm sure you could cut back on the discussion time with out hurting anything as well.

Maybe talk about the book at supper time? Then it wouldn't cut into the rest of the day.

[melmichigan]

Check out the Teaching R Literature Loom documents. At the very end are the lists to trim as needed without loosing the essence of the program. There are three levels. If it's still to much then I would pick and choose what books you really want to cover or that hold the most interest. My oldest is only in D but I am slowly working through some of the R material myself using these documents as a starting point. Make a list of your goals, what do you want to accomplish and then go from there. TOG is a guide, a resource. :)

[susie in tx]

It has been difficult for me to do the discussions as well. One thing that helped me this year was to have my oldest do the discussions online with a TOG instructor. She did the D level and she was 15 at the beginning of the year. I don't think it is necessary to do all of R level for high school.

 

This next year, my eldest will be attending a school 2 days a week and she will do her homework for that school the other days. I intend to supplement a little. I'm going to use the D, UG, and L levels for my others. I had originally planned to work with the oldest at the R level and the next one at the D level and fold in the others, but that doesn't seem to be the way it is working.

 

One thing I do is to not assign all of the questions. I also skip portions of the Lit that I don't think are applicable. Or history, or church questions or whatever. TOG has to fit what our family needs rather than the other way around.

 

But the R Lit is college level, IMHO. I would have no qualms with having a student work through D level their entire high school career and assign that student a full credit for each year.

[FiveOaksAcademy]

Check out the Teaching R Literature Loom documents. At the very end are the lists to trim as needed without loosing the essence of the program. There are three levels. If it's still to much then I would pick and choose what books you really want to cover or that hold the most interest. My oldest is only in D but I am slowly working through some of the R material myself using these documents as a starting point. Make a list of your goals, what do you want to accomplish and then go from there. TOG is a guide, a resource. :)

 

This was helpful!! Thanks!

[lovemy9kids]

I think I will just cut some of the books and use Progeny Press guides. Or maybe I'll just go with Sonlight!

[Michelle My Bell]

 

 

As far as using R level in 9th grade, I think many people still use the D level adding in only a few R level books for 9th grade. When I used TOG, I had my 9th graders do mostly D level history with R level literature, or it might have been the other way around, but I do remember adjusting and picking and choosing books for my 9th graders.

 

This is what I do.

[Guest]

I think it would work better...in hindsight...for us moms of many....and for our R level kids to have them write about the books they are supposed to be discussing...and then discuss their writing...sort of killing two birds with one stone.

 

I am not a mom of many and I am far from R so take this with a grain of salt ;) but one problem I would have with this is... do R level kids really have the time to dedicate doing this? With a discussion they do not have to make a rough copy, check spelling and grammar and rewrite ;). This can cut into their time from other subjects. I know with my kid, who will most likely follow a science related direction, I would want him to focus on science. I would also definitely be worried about burnout.

Edited May 15, 2011 by Guest

[melmichigan]

Another idea if you haven't looked at it is to check out the book lists on the TOG community site for their bridge year book lists. I'm not sure what year plan you are using but you can look at them here.

[Guest]

Check out the Teaching R Literature Loom documents. At the very end are the lists to trim as needed without loosing the essence of the program. There are three levels. If it's still to much then I would pick and choose what books you really want to cover or that hold the most interest. My oldest is only in D but I am slowly working through some of the R material myself using these documents as a starting point. Make a list of your goals, what do you want to accomplish and then go from there.

 

I like this :)! I don't have time for the self study now because I have other things to focus on right now (other programs to read up on and figure out :tongue_smilie:) but at least by the time Adrian is in D, if not before that, I do intend to go through the R level myself. I can definitely see how going through it yourself would help to figure out what you want to include and what you may just want to let go, depending on a given child's interests.

 

TOG is a guide, a resource. :)

:iagree: This is definitely true.

 

ETA: Good to know about the Teaching R Literature Loom documents. I am going to have to look that up soon just to get an idea. Thank you for posting about that.

Edited May 15, 2011 by Guest

[Susan in TN]

TOG Rhetoric Literature is Rigorous with a CAPITAL R! And Y3 really isn't bad compared to Y1 and Y2. I've been fairly relieved looking over the Y3 lit assignments ;).

 

That being said...look in your loom for the document that makes suggestions for cutting back on lit assignments. Do this. Or, look through the Dialectic suggestions and pick and choose from both groups. Do you have a couple students to combine? Then do that - or have the oldest student be the "teacher". If you have Invitation to the Classics then you can have them read the appropriate section before reading their assignment.

 

Do you have to have discussions? No. (There are times that I've given my R student my teacher's manual and said "here you go, please discuss amongst yourself" :lol:.) Now that we've been through a couple of years, I think sometimes it may be worth it to have the "discussion" before reading the material - I know that has helped me a great deal in the past.

 

FWIW, we do very little church history and govt., and no philosophy or art. Most of those things are present the regular history assignments/discussions enough for me to be satisfied that they are getting what they need in those areas.

[Guest]

If you have Invitation to the Classics then you can have them read the appropriate section before reading their assignment.

 

 

Glad to see someone using Invitation to the Classics. I just discovered it during one of my searches on resources for self study and have not come across it from someone here on the forums before (I didn't do a search though :tongue_smilie:). I just added it to my list of mommy resources to buy a couple of weeks ago :).

Edited May 15, 2011 by Guest

[TMarie]

When we reached TOG Rh level, we discovered Vertias Academy. ToG had laid a great foundation, but Veritas changed our homeschool!

(I know that Veritas isn't everywhere or for every child. And financially it is not an option for everyone.)

 

The other option I found was MFW for High School. It is sorta "TOG-light." A lot of the books & themes were the same, the biblical focus was there & the christian world-view. It seems much more doable. But as I said, we never used it because we have a Veritas here.

Edited May 16, 2011 by TMarie

[lovemy9kids]

I would also definitely be worried about burnout.

I agree. My son is very smart, but I think the R level lit as written would certainly damper his love of learning. Someone else said they thought it was a college level course. That is the impression I walked away with. Why do they need that in high school?

[MGK]

Make a list of your goals, what do you want to accomplish and then go from there. TOG is a guide, a resource. :)

 

:iagree:

 

This is how we are using TOG literature. My oldest is finishing 9th grade this year using TOG year 1. I knew at the outset she would not be able to handle the amount of reading required at the R level, so we adjusted the assignments accordingly. I think TOG is designed to help parents who want rigorous, in-depth literature classes and feel ill-equipped based on their own education to provide that level of depth. The discussion outlines provide great teacher education, and prepare you to discuss the literature in an intelligent way with your student - maybe not for 2 hours, and maybe not every week, certainly not in our home anyway.

 

For us, having everyone in the same time period for history has been a huge time saver, and has made for good dinner table discussions. I don't really see that being the case for literature since everyone is in a different book, so I always feel free to omit books or pick something totally unrelated to history if that seems best - we took a few weeks this year to work through IEW's Teaching the Classics, and ignored TOG literature for that time period. I'm ok with that because I remind myself that curriculum is a tool - I can adjust it to meet my needs.

[momee]

I have posted many many times about how TOG harmed my son's love of learning regarding literature. It is waaaay more than an average inteliigence dedicated academic student would encounter in an honors history or lit class. Two friends of mine who are honors lit high school teachers and one lit major graduate I've shown the reading lists to agrees.

 

The books are awesome, their choices top notch. The curricula is demanding and rigorous. Yep, it is. Agreed.

 

But with at least 5 other classes to attend to and possibly a sport, it's very consuming to do in conjunction with other studies. I wonder, really, how many moms are actually doing rhetoric level when we see so many who love it. I loved it until rhetoric.

 

For a mom, it is NOT easy to teach multiple levels and do TOG rhetoric IN MY OPINION unless you are very well educated yourself. To hold a one hour discussion on the literary merits of the Aenid is worthwhile yes, but no homeschool mom I know (and I know many) could do it each and every week at the level they present. I'm serious. And cook dinner? And keep up with grading their other student's assignments? And gather the books from the library ahead of time or order them through a source their one income family can afford?

Let's be realistic when we encourage these moms about the "greatness" and "rigor" of a curricula. It can be as rigorous as it wants, if it's not doable for me or my child how great is it?

Also, not to be mean, but until you have actually used the curricula, I think there should be a rule against praising it :)))

Being real...hoping it helps. It really is a great thing in theory and while I'm sure it works for some families I have a hard time believing many are using for rhetoric.

Here's a couple threads that might help you think some things through...

http://welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172079&highlight=bread

 

http://welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=251641&highlight=bread

Edited May 15, 2011 by momee

[Heather in VA]

Have you thought about Omnibus? It's much more independent than TOG sounds but still has a good assortment of Great Books.

 

Heather

[Jennefer@SSA]

:bigear::bigear:

 

Listening in. We are starting TOG Year 1 with my boys next year. My plan was to use it 5th - 12th. These threads are so helpful.

[Guest]

Also, not to be mean, but until you have actually used the curricula, I think there should be a rule against praising it :)))

Being real...hoping it helps. It really is a great thing in theory and while I'm sure it works for some families I have a hard time believing many are using for rhetoric.

Here's a couple threads that might help you think some things through...

http://welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172079&highlight=bread

 

Not to be mean here either but shouldn't this also apply to the thread that you linked here? How long had you been using SL when you started it ;)?

 

I have seen the TOG praising threads, I have read them and have participated in them. You will notice that everyone that has posted in them from what I have seen have shared their experience clarifying how long they have been using the program and at which levels. I have not seen anyone using it at the LG or UG level but praising what TOG can do for them at the R level. Should we wait 9 years before posting the quality of a program :confused::001_huh:!

[Guest]

I agree. My son is very smart, but I think the R level lit as written would certainly damper his love of learning. Someone else said they thought it was a college level course. That is the impression I walked away with. Why do they need that in high school?

 

Actually, with my burnout comment, what I meant was that having to write what a discussion would entail can spell burnout. I cannot comment on the rigor of the R literature study because I am not there yet, and have not taken a closer look at this point in time :). I take the word of those of you that have though that it is very involving and I will most likely just pick and choose what to use with my son. Knowing that he will most likely follow a science related field I would not want to bog him down with detail or depth he will not need. Some of it though will most definitely serve him well. We will see when we get there though. I am unable to comment one way or another at this level with a grade 1 LG student :tongue_smilie:.

Edited May 15, 2011 by Guest

[lovemy9kids]

I have posted many many times about how TOG harmed my son's love of learning regarding literature. It is waaaay more than an average inteliigence dedicated academic student would encounter in an honors history or lit class. Two friends of mine who are honors lit high school teachers and one lit major graduate I've shown the reading lists to agrees.

 

The books are awesome, their choices top notch. The curricula is demanding and rigorous. Yep, it is. Agreed.

 

But with at least 5 other classes to attend to and possibly a sport, it's very consuming to do in conjunction with other studies. I wonder, really, how many moms are actually doing rhetoric level when we see so many who love it. I loved it until rhetoric.

 

For a mom, it is NOT easy to teach multiple levels and do TOG rhetoric IN MY OPINION unless you are very well educated yourself. To hold a one hour discussion on the literary merits of the Aenid is worthwhile yes, but no homeschool mom I know (and I know many) could do it each and every week at the level they present. I'm serious. And cook dinner? And keep up with grading their other student's assignments? And gather the books from the library ahead of time or order them through a source their one income family can afford?

Let's be realistic when we encourage these moms about the "greatness" and "rigor" of a curricula. It can be as rigorous as it wants, if it's not doable for me or my child how great is it?

Also, not to be mean, but until you have actually used the curricula, I think there should be a rule against praising it :)))

Being real...hoping it helps. It really is a great thing in theory and while I'm sure it works for some families I have a hard time believing many are using for rhetoric.

 

 

This is exactly how I feel and I haven't even actually done any of the R level. Thanks for expressing it so well!

 

I'm looking at the Lightning Literature samples. Would that be an option? Or is Progeny Press better? Any one had experience with these?

[Susan in TN]

Have you thought about Omnibus? It's much more independent than TOG sounds but still has a good assortment of Great Books.

 

Heather

 

We actually used Omnibus for a year, and from my experience, it was far, far more difficult to implement than TOG. It required 1-2 hours of discussion EVERY DAY (as opposed to 1-2 hrs per week). It's also not on a history schedule that blends with any other (not even VP's grammar stage levels), so your kids are all over the place in history.

 

Omnibus is very well done, and I loved what they had, but having several children to teach and take care of, it just wasn't manageable for us.

[Heather in VA]

We actually used Omnibus for a year, and from my experience, it was far, far more difficult to implement than TOG. It required 1-2 hours of discussion EVERY DAY (as opposed to 1-2 hrs per week). It's also not on a history schedule that blends with any other (not even VP's grammar stage levels), so your kids are all over the place in history.

 

Omnibus is very well done, and I loved what they had, but having several children to teach and take care of, it just wasn't manageable for us.

 

We are just finishing our 3rd year with Omnibus and we certainly don't have 1 - 2 hours of discussion every day. We meet once a week for discussion - although it's not like we don't talk at all other times. I guess if meeting to discuss with a high schooler 1 - 2 hours a week is too much for the OP, then she's probably better off with textbooks or something.

 

Heather

[TXMary2]

I must be an idiot b/c I have spent the last hour looking over the R level lit for Y3 and my head is spinning! I'm actually very frustrated to tell you the truth. I thought this was supposed to make things easier for those of us with a large family with a lot of different age levels. What I just saw will NOT make things easier for me. Why does TOG make it so confusing? I just don't get it. It seems like such overkill....... Like it would really kill the joy of reading anything. My son is going into ninth grade and he is a bright, self-motivated student, but this is too much. There are 2 hours of discussion! And that isn't even counting Geography, Government, Church History etc...... When is a mother of a large family supposed to find the time to do all of that? I don't have enough time as it is! I am sooooooooooooooo discouraged! I really like TOG, but I'm already experiencing home school burnout....how is this going to help? I really wanted to stay with TOG for all four rotations, but my son is going into ninth grade and I have to start using the R level material. How do you mom's do it with large families and a lot of little ones. You have time for all the lecturing etc.? Please shed some light on this for me. I'm wondering if I get some Progeny Press guides to go along with some of the books would that be enough for a credit? I just DO NOT HAVE TIME for what they are asking for. I DO NOT get how this is supposed to help us moms of many. Please don't shoot me for my rant.... I'm just so frustrated with all that is required of me with homeschooling all of our children. I want something to lesson my load....not add to it. Isn't that why she wrote TOG in the first place? I just don't see how their R level makes things easier for the mother. How do you all do it?:confused:

 

I only use TOG with 2 kids, but I can see where you are coming from regarding the Rhetoric level. It is college level in my opinion. I use a combination of d/r for my 9th grader and we do not spend 2 hours on discussions. I pick and choose and customize, which is what TOG suggests to do. Try not to look at it as a whole or think it all has to be done. It is a great program so use it in a way that DOES work for you and your student.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

oops

Edited May 15, 2011 by Dulcimeramy
can't say what I'm trying to say, and am needed elsewhere in the house anyway. LOL

[PeterPan]

Quiverfull--You might find it helpful at this age to bring in some recorded lectures instead of doing it yourself. Tina (of TOG fame here on the boards) was jumping up and down when I showed her this link: http://college.cengage.com/history/lecturepoints/ You could also use Teaching Company (TC) classes. Basically I'm saying you can outsource components and let TOG be a framework that gets you there. Yes, the PP guides would be a fabulous alternative to bring in for some of the books.

[lovemy9kids]

Thank you for all of the ideas...I'm off to check out that link. :001_smile:

[FiveOaksAcademy]

Quiverfull--You might find it helpful at this age to bring in some recorded lectures instead of doing it yourself. Tina (of TOG fame here on the boards) was jumping up and down when I showed her this link: http://college.cengage.com/history/lecturepoints/ You could also use Teaching Company (TC) classes. Basically I'm saying you can outsource components and let TOG be a framework that gets you there. Yes, the PP guides would be a fabulous alternative to bring in for some of the books.

 

 

Wow. What a great resource! Thank you!

[AngelBee]

Quiverfull--You might find it helpful at this age to bring in some recorded lectures instead of doing it yourself. Tina (of TOG fame here on the boards) was jumping up and down when I showed her this link: http://college.cengage.com/history/lecturepoints/ You could also use Teaching Company (TC) classes. Basically I'm saying you can outsource components and let TOG be a framework that gets you there. Yes, the PP guides would be a fabulous alternative to bring in for some of the books.

Was going to suggest this as well. :)

[AStableBeginning]

I only use TOG with 2 kids, but I can see where you are coming from regarding the Rhetoric level. It is college level in my opinion. I use a combination of d/r for my 9th grader and we do not spend 2 hours on discussions. I pick and choose and customize, which is what TOG suggests to do. Try not to look at it as a whole or think it all has to be done. It is a great program so use it in a way that DOES work for you and your student.

 

Can you give me a little more detail on this? I have a rising 9th grader and we will be using TOG Year 1. We are transitioning from SL and I have 3 other schoolager's plus a toddler.

Thanks!

[Tracy]

Nothing to offer here. Just :bigear:!

[momee]

Marie - Point well taken!

I'll slink away now...but not before I say in that thread on SL, I was praising it for the ability to take the planning, book ordering and scheduling off my plate. And in my defense, I had used it previously for about 4/5 months but a year or two prior to the time mentioned in the baking bread thread :))))))

 

Anyway, yes, you are right.

Thanks for being a "friend" and pointing it out so nicely :D

[Guest]

Marie - Point well taken!

I'll slink away now...but not before I say in that thread on SL, I was praising it for the ability to take the planning, book ordering and scheduling off my plate. And in my defense, I had used it previously for about 4/5 months but a year or two prior to the time mentioned in the baking bread thread :))))))

 

Anyway, yes, you are right.

Thanks for being a "friend" and pointing it out so nicely :D

 

No need to slink away anywhere :). We are all having a nice chat here. You did not need to defend yourself, it was not an accusation. I just did not understand why you felt that someone that has just started using a program could not voice an opinion at whatever level they are at at the time ;). People voice opinions all the time. And things do change too. You can love a program one year and it may not suit your needs anymore the next. Ask me how I know :tongue_smilie:?

 

By the way I was just baking bread before posting this. Well... kinda anyway. I just put in the ingredients in the bread machine and let it do its thing ;).

Edited May 16, 2011 by Guest

[Guest]

Quiverfull--You might find it helpful at this age to bring in some recorded lectures instead of doing it yourself. Tina (of TOG fame here on the boards) was jumping up and down when I showed her this link: http://college.cengage.com/history/lecturepoints/ You could also use Teaching Company (TC) classes. Basically I'm saying you can outsource components and let TOG be a framework that gets you there. Yes, the PP guides would be a fabulous alternative to bring in for some of the books.

 

Thank you for posting this OhElizabeth. I had not seen it before. I will take a look when it is a little less noisy in here.

[purduemeche]

Some thoughts on the thread...

 

We are only in our 3rd year of homeschool (2nd year with TOG - moved away from SL) and have no high schoolers, but with some other life events we also are quite overwhelmed. Some tidbits I would offer...

 

+ one of the great warnings from TOG that we take to heart is to not try everything. They purposely give more than is possible to give us great flexibility. If 2 hour discussions won't work now, then forget them and move on. These threads have some great ideas for how to still meet the intent without the work.

 

+ when it gets hectic here, the husband/wife combo is critical. I realize this isn't always possible, like in a single parent home, but when possible, both husband and wife need to be doing the schooling. Too often homeschools turn into "mom's thing," which means that dads miss a golden opportunity to mentor their children and help mom.