TOG or Veritas Omnibus?

[Hope in God]

Could anyone give me guidance as to the difference between TOG and Veritas Omnibus in regard to parent planning? Does one requre a lot more time from the student to complete assignments? I have read that TOG is a pick and choose type curriculum and that you should not do everything, but in order to learn the material in a satisfactory manner would TOG take more or less time than the Omnibus? Lastly, is the content of the Omnibus too shocking for a rising 9th grader that is quite innocent?

 

I was thinking of starting with Omnibus 1 and then moving on at a fairly quick speed to get all 6 omnibus' completed by grade 12. My daughter's favorite subject is history.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Stephaniehomeschool]

Hello, I have used both programs and each has its benefits. If you are looking for strong history then I would choose Tapestry of Grace. If you are looking for a classical oriented strong literature program then I would choose Omnibus. They both require prep time and time to talk over weekly what you are learning. My second daughter is into her third year of Omnibus with a co-op and she has really enjoyed it- in part the books and in part the teachers and other students. She has had to really think and it has strengthened her.

The entire family is going into our fourth year of Tapestry of Grace and we have learned so much about world history and American history. I love how they weave the threads of history until we see the big picture. I used the rhetoric literature last year with my oldest (17) daughter and felt it was successful. She had been used to BJU literature and reading Great Expectations was a challenge. I find with both curriculums you have the opportunity to pick and choose which is great. Hope this has been helplful. Sincerely, Stephanie

[Hope in God]

Thank-you for the reply! How much time has your prep work taken per week with TOG? Next year my kids will be in grades 1, 3 and 9 (and I have no idea what I am doing). Did your second daughter do Omnibus and TOG at the same time? If so, did she find it too much work or did you go a little easier on the TOG?

 

Michelle

[Elinor Everywhere]

I haven't used Omnibus, but with kids' grades spread out like yours, I would seriously consider TOG. You can use one curriculum for all of them, just tailoring the books and activities for each child (TOG does this for you). That way, everybody is studying the same time period, like ancients for example, and each grade delves as deeply as is appropriate.

 

I've toyed with the idea of Omnibus for years (I LOVE the idea of it), but my kids, although the same age, are not at the same level, and TOG has enabled me to let each child work to their potential - being challenged but not frustrated.

[PeterPan]

Looks like your post got lost in the shuffle and is just starting to get replies! Well I think you can read old posts comparing TOG and Omnibus, no problem. You can see extensive samples of Omnibus at books.google.com But a couple more useful tips. One, you should call VP and talk it through with them if you're serious about Omnibus for her and want to do all 6. I think you'd be better to combine some of the years and drop a few books to make it work, rather than trying to do all 6 in order. For instance she may have already read some of the secondary books for Omnibus I or II. You might find it convenient to do a combined version of the best of O1/O4 for 9th, O2/5 for 10th, then spend two years on O3/6. Or some other variation. If you call, they'll help you work up a plan.

 

Additionally, if you want to track your youngers for Omnibus, you might find it straightforward to have them do the online-self-paced classes. My dd has done the online self-paced MARR and LOVED it. So then they'd be independent for their history, and you'd just be guiding your oldest for Omnibus. For your youngers, your time would be in doing the fun stuff (hands-on, gathering the literature to flesh out the topics, etc.).

 

I will tell you that my dd, also a history lover, says she doesn't want to do Omnibus, that she wants HISTORY, not a great books study. Omnibus is a great books study with the history spine and commentary to make it come together. (I have O1 and O2 and had planned on using them.) I think people can *change* in what they want, and sometimes people don't know what they want till they try it. But I'm just throwing that out to say that if she is really adamant that it's HISTORY that she wants, not a GB study, Omnibus is different. Well I'm speaking in circles here. How is it not history to read Josephus? Some of the things are, simply because they're the sources for "history" of today. So that's just something to think about, about what your dc really wants or what really suits them. Look at the student questions and discussion or writing prompts in Omnibus vs. TOG. Look at what's *not* in Omnibus that is in TOG. Then think about what fits your dc.

 

BTW, you might find this thread helpful. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2398477#post2398477

Edited August 5, 2011 by OhElizabeth

[Stephaniehomeschool]

Hello, I replied once but somehow it didn't post. I spend about 1-2 hours a week working on Tapestry of Grace but I have 5 children with 1 in Upper Grammar, 2 in Dialetic, and 2 in Rhetoric. My daughter does do less of TOG because of the Omnibus class with the co-op, but I expect her to understand and do most of the history reading and questions, as well as some of the literature. She loves to read so this isn't the challenge that it might be for some kids. When I ask her which she prefers Omnibus or Tapestry of Grace- she replies that she likes the group part of Omnibus and working with different teachers. My children do not love Tapestry, but I think they will appreciate the solid foundation they are getting once they graduate. Hope this helps. Stephanie

[Candid]

Could anyone give me guidance as to the difference between TOG and Veritas Omnibus in regard to parent planning? Does one requre a lot more time from the student to complete assignments? I have read that TOG is a pick and choose type curriculum and that you should not do everything, but in order to learn the material in a satisfactory manner would TOG take more or less time than the Omnibus? Lastly, is the content of the Omnibus too shocking for a rising 9th grader that is quite innocent?

 

I was thinking of starting with Omnibus 1 and then moving on at a fairly quick speed to get all 6 omnibus' completed by grade 12. My daughter's favorite subject is history.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Here's a good post comparing the two:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2656&postcount=2

 

Hello, I have used both programs and each has its benefits. If you are looking for strong history then I would choose Tapestry of Grace. If you are looking for a classical oriented strong literature program then I would choose Omnibus.

 

Hey Stephanie, can you explain the last sentence in your quote above? I've looked at Omnibus before but it doesn't seem to have more great lit than Tapestry (different, maybe). But maybe I'm missing something. Or maybe you looked at classical which I hear had less strong lit at the R level.

[PeterPan]

Candid, there are extensive samples of omnibus on google books, so you can read whole chapters. The history is more through the back door. They read spielvogel and see how it creates a context for the work. If you want to start with history and then add on some lit, that's totally different. I've gone in circles with this about my dd (I have Omnibus 1 and 2), because she's adamant she wants HISTORY with lit thrown in, not the other way around.