TOG :(

[JOHNNABONNA]

I was so, so excited about using TOG. I was more excited about diving into

TOG with my children then any other curriculum that I had bought for our first year of hsing. I had printed off the sample pages and it seemed like it would be great for us. The books looked wonderful as did the activities.

 

However as soon as we started trying to delve in I found it very hard use:( It just seems... disjointed somehow. I have no idea how I can smoothly form the big picture from the lessons and books for my children:confused: Does anybody have a UG plan they would like to share with me?

 

I know I've read about the "tapestry fog" but I think that it may be a bigger problem then just being overwhelmed by it or not knowing where to start.

 

Has anybody else had this same issue? Were you able to overcome it and if so how? If not what are you using now and do you like it? TIA

[Aubrey]

How long have you been using it? I've never tried TOG, but I can imagine what you're talking about. I'm guessing that it would be worth it to you to give it a little bit longer--can you describe the problem more specifically? There are some great TOG'ers here who could probably help.

 

:grouphug: It stinks to be disappointed about a curric you were really looking forward to!

[bluemongoose]

What helped me get through it was to make a block schedule. We do the schedule the same every week and just plug in what the TOG guide tells you to do for that topic.

 

Example:

Monday: Read History Core, a work on defining a couple of the vocab words.

 

Tuesday: Read History in Depth, start map work (we use clear return addy labels that I print off on the computer the names of places to label and use like stickers), continue a few more vocabulary words, and start talking about the weekly writing assignment.

 

Wednesday: Worldview reading, continue the vocab words, and get working on the writing.

 

Thursday: Read the Lit and do the SAP that goes with it (if there is one), continue writing, finish up vocab, start the fine art project that the kiddo chooses to do.

 

Friday: Fill in lapbook pages, finish up writing assignment, have a meeting with Mom about next weeks work, continue working on fine art project.

 

If there is a read aloud for the week, we spread it out over the whole week.

 

Fine arts projects are completed by Sunday night if at all possible!

 

 

 

I found that just using a skeleton block schedule like this and plugging in the assignment accordingly got me through that fog and made it very workable!

 

Hope that helps!

[TheAutumnOak]

What helped me get through it was to make a block schedule. We do the schedule the same every week and just plug in what the TOG guide tells you to do for that topic.

 

Example:

Monday: Read History Core, a work on defining a couple of the vocab words.

 

Tuesday: Read History in Depth, start map work (we use clear return addy labels that I print off on the computer the names of places to label and use like stickers), continue a few more vocabulary words, and start talking about the weekly writing assignment.

 

Wednesday: Worldview reading, continue the vocab words, and get working on the writing.

 

Thursday: Read the Lit and do the SAP that goes with it (if there is one), continue writing, finish up vocab, start the fine art project that the kiddo chooses to do.

 

Friday: Fill in lapbook pages, finish up writing assignment, have a meeting with Mom about next weeks work, continue working on fine art project.

 

If there is a read aloud for the week, we spread it out over the whole week.

 

Fine arts projects are completed by Sunday night if at all possible!

 

 

 

I found that just using a skeleton block schedule like this and plugging in the assignment accordingly got me through that fog and made it very workable!

 

Hope that helps!

 

I don't know if it helped the OP (original poster), but it sure helped me!...I am starting TOG soon and was wondering how to fit it in...The block schedule looks like a very good idea...

[bluemongoose]

Glad I could help :)

[Tracy]

The TOG materials include various scheduling tables that you can print out. I put a copy of a blank schedule in every week's folder. We have a set day that we do everything, so when we start on Monday, it is very easy to plug it into the schedule. TOG very much emphasizes training young children so that they can eventually work independently. We did this for the whole year last year with dd6, and by the end of the year, she could tell me where to plug everything in.

 

But I do need to say that in the G levels, there is going to be a certain amount of disjointedness. TOG was designed for the G levels to follow along with the upper levels. So sometimes you will read the Title and Teaching Objectives, but you will find no mention of that topic anywhere in the G level materials.

 

It is a weakness of the program, but it doesn't bother me very much. The reality is that children at that level do not see the big picture, even when it is shown to them. They can really only see the subject/activity at hand.

[HayleyKC]

We block schedule it and I love it. I always know what the focus is for that day so even on weeks where I've been too busy to plan (which happens to me often), it was no biggie. If it's Tuesday I know we're doing History so I skim the teacher notes on History, get out our history materials and we start reading! I've found having the kids color or do lapbooks while I'm reading history sometimes helps on days where there's a lot. I had UG and LG this year and here's what we did.

 

Monday- Bible/Worldview

Tuesday- History core and in depth

Wednesday- Georgraphy

Thursday- Writing

Friday- art/activities, misc.

 

We squeeze in vocab a few words at a time throughout the week. Literature and read alouds are spread out throughout the week also, often before bed.

 

I think the fog may also be that the beginning of Year 1 is just a little like that. The information for ancients is at times very limited, so sometimes things just aren't covered. I remember a couple different weeks in Unit 1 and Unit 2 especially where the student worksheets asked for info that I couldn't figure out where it was covered. Or lapbooks that asked for info that we couldn't find in the material. On those "funky" weeks, I simply found the info in my teacher's notes and taught my kids directly from there which worked well. I will say that as we got into the second half of the year (Greece and Rome mainly), things REALLY smoothed out. Year 2, even more so.

 

Hang in there! I really think you'll find that as you work through some of these kinks, you can get into a groove that works well for you and your family. I also recommend subscribing to the Tapestry Forums on yahoo groups. The Tapestry Year 1 forum I was on is where I got the block schedule idea and many others. And if something was confusing, I could put my question out there and many experienced moms came to my rescue! Here's a link for that. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TapestryYear1/

 

:-)

[frankcassiesmom]

I know you think it's more than the fog but what you described is EXACTLY what the fog is LOL. And I think the beginning of year 1 is the hardest. Like the others suggested, once you get into a routine, the pieces will fall into place. Our schedule is similar to some of the others though I prefer to do mapwork first (I like them to know WHERE they're reading about before even spine/core work starts), I like the literature assignments to stretch out over the weekend so there's extra time for reading, and I don't schedule in time for the vocab since it comes naturally through the readings (both core and literature).

 

When I introduce the week, I put the people, places, and vocab on a white board that stays up all week. I hand out the books on the introduction day. I put post its on the books that have numbers (1, 2, 3) and may say core, lit, fun/extra on the post it. I hand them the stack and they know to read their core and spine books first, lit books, then fun books. At the end of the week we spend 5-10 minutes for fun as a family going through the list on the whiteboard. I cross them off as they kids know them with a goal of us clearing the white board to get ready to introduce the next lesson. They love this part! It's the fun part.

 

HONESTLY once you get into a smooth routine the fog will lift and you will see that it can be an easy to move from the big picture to the actual doing of it.

Edited July 28, 2011 by frankcassiesmom

[Hedgehogs4]

I know exactly how you feel. I am facing the same thing--not having used it before, and now feeling overwhelmed.

 

I have determined that I have AT LEAST four years to get used to this program. It will not hurt us to go light at first. More than anything I want to have a sense of completion, of success, and I know I will not feel that if I try to bite it all off at once. We are going with the history thread and the lit thread and the geography--all stuff we have been doing anyway, so it will be more like changing vehicles to drive the same route, rather than driving a whole new map.

 

I think the block schedule sounds like a good idea and what I am leaning toward.

[lamolina]

Forgive me for sounding dense, but as I look at different curriculums and try to decide on one for our first year of homeschooling (grades K, 2, and 5), I have looked at TOG and it does look very interesting, but then I read so many discussions on the "fog", the overhwhelming feelings, and the work of setting everything up. It scares me away from even wanting to try it! Is this really how it is, and if so, please tell me what makes it worth it compared to a much easier to put together curriculum??

Thanks for your input!!

[purduemeche]

In terms of why we fought through the TOG fog, we desperately need a curriculum where our many kids can learn together. TOG does this fabulously.

 

In terms of actually working through the fog, is there someone you know who can mentor you through this? We has HS parents tend to be mavericks anyway since we're bucking the establishment. Putting yourself under the tutelage of another HS parent that uses TOG well can pay big dividends.

[frankcassiesmom]

Forgive me for sounding dense, but as I look at different curriculums and try to decide on one for our first year of homeschooling (grades K, 2, and 5), I have looked at TOG and it does look very interesting, but then I read so many discussions on the "fog", the overhwhelming feelings, and the work of setting everything up. It scares me away from even wanting to try it! Is this really how it is, and if so, please tell me what makes it worth it compared to a much easier to put together curriculum??

Thanks for your input!!

 

Everything about it LOL. The thing about TOG is that it ISN'T what all the other programs are with their "read this many pages", detailed scheduled lists. There IS a reason so many use it and wade through the fog of getting used to something that doesn't hold you hand. It's a smorgasboard of amazing, rich material. You can use as much or as little as you'd like. Many use it in different ways. It gives you the option to choose to do mapwork first or last, vocab on the fly or written, to choose from doing a few books for a slow reader or 10 times as many books for those who devour books. It allows everyone to work on the same topic at the same time. It breaks the work up into classical development stages (lower grammar, upper grammar, dialectic, rhetoric) as well as allowing you to easily let some children straddle in between. It allows me to teach my children the way I always envisioned it!

[Clover11]

We are only into week 13 of TOG Year 4 - D level. Here is what our week might look like:

 

Monday- History Core Reading, Geography

Tuesday- History In Depth Reading, Timeline

Wednesday- Literature Reading & Worksheet

Thursday- Literature Discussion

Friday- Evaluation, History Discussion

 

Read Aloud is done whatever days we can fit it in. Some weeks we have skipped the read aloud, and some weeks ds has just read it to himself. (We even skipped the Literature selection one week because ds wasn't too interested and we were busy.)

 

Church History is done occasionally if the book looks interesting. We use TOG as a secular program but enjoy learning about religion.

 

Crafts & Projects are done some weeks when they look interesting and we have time. We've never done all of the ones suggested.

 

We haven't started Writing Aids yet because ds needs more instruction on the basics. We are planning on using it for high school, though.

 

 

The key is to be flexible!! Don't try to do it all, especially in the beginning. Start out doing very little and just add in more books/activities/etc. once you get the hang of it. Your kids are young and will be going back through this 1-2 times so don't worry about them missing out. You could even do a 1/4 of TOG in the beginning to get the hang of it without feeling overwhelmed.

 

I love it more and more every week. :)

[Tracy]

Everything about it LOL. The thing about TOG is that it ISN'T what all the other programs are with their "read this many pages", detailed scheduled lists. There IS a reason so many use it and wade through the fog of getting used to something that doesn't hold you hand. It's a smorgasboard of amazing, rich material. You can use as much or as little as you'd like. Many use it in different ways. It gives you the option to choose to do mapwork first or last, vocab on the fly or written, to choose from doing a few books for a slow reader or 10 times as many books for those who devour books. It allows everyone to work on the same topic at the same time. It breaks the work up into classical development stages (lower grammar, upper grammar, dialectic, rhetoric) as well as allowing you to easily let some children straddle in between. It allows me to teach my children the way I always envisioned it!

 

But at the same time, TOG encourages you to train your children to work independently and make some of their own decisions about what to read and study. It also gives you all you need to make the education as rigorous or advanced as you want it to be (if that is what you want). You as the parent get to choose the amount of rigor that you have on a weekly basis. You can have the equivalent of an AP class one week, and then the family get sick, and you can go light that next week.

[Pookamama]

Thank you everybody who is pitching in here! I am going to be starting my first year of detailed homeschooling and looking at TOG closely. It just looks like such an exciting journey-but I am not a naturally organized person so tips like these are very encouraging!

[Clover11]

 

But at the same time, TOG encourages you to train your children to work independently and make some of their own decisions about what to read and study. It also gives you all you need to make the education as rigorous or advanced as you want it to be (if that is what you want). You as the parent get to choose the amount of rigor that you have on a weekly basis. You can have the equivalent of an AP class one week, and then the family get sick, and you can go light that next week.

:iagree:

[Momma4Boys]

You know, I tried TOG about 5 years ago when my oldest was only 7 and the fog overwhelmed me and I gave up. Every year I looked at the pre-done curriculums and could never find the "perfect one" so I always ended up making my own, piecing it together and not doing a very thorough job. I always looked back longingly at TOG but remembered the fog...

 

Well this year my oldest is 12 and I felt like I really needed to do SOMETHING that would eliminate gaps AND allow me to teach all my kids together (because I have a D, UG & 2 LG's) right now AND give me the flexability to kind of still build my own plan (like you were saying also).

 

So I bought Year 2 DE this year and watched the "out of the shrink wrap" and "setup 101" (or a name close to that) webinars that TOG offers (I highly recommend them).

 

SO - long story short (too late) - I am looking at it now with wiser eyes than the last time I tried it. Before, I felt like my LG & UG kids had to do every subject every week and I was over loading them and me. Now I am seeing that altho TOG is great for younger students it is really geared towards D & R students. If your UG child gets even just a taste of the material this year thats AWESOME! Because the next time around (in 4 years) he/she will have a foundation to build even more, deeper connections and you won't have any gaps - you will still be rollin' down that TOG highway.

 

I wish I had stayed the course 5 years ago. If TOG really speaks to you then don't give up. But don't try to do it all. As Marcia Sommerville says - TOG for LG & UG is just dessert.

 

HTH

 

PS - totally join the yahoo groups Loose Threads and TOG Yr 1 - very very helpful!!

[jewellsmommy]

I walked away from TOG three times before I finally grasped it :lol:. It was everything I was trying to turn a different (similar) curriculum into. It seems overwhelming at first. But the payoff is that when you cycle back around, you have such a grasp on what you are doing. You truly have all you need (knowledge wise) to understand it yourself and teach it to someone else. When we get back to yr1 again, I will be able to go deeper because I have already btdt.

[HayleyKC]

I know I already commented on this one. But reading the rest of the posts just gets me so geared up! I love teaching and learning TOG so much. We are starting Year 2 in September but I'm chomping at the bit to get started!

 

Honestly, I didn't experience too much of this "fog" because my friend who introduced it to me did such a great job of explaining it to me. That combined with joining the yahoo group forum and it was pretty smooth sailing. Sure I tried some things that I quickly realized needed to be tweaked, and I also dropped some things that weren't necessities to lighten the load, but that's totally how it's designed to work. There is so much support that if you are willing to ask for help, we are all here for each other.

 

Again, some see it as complicated, but I see it now as very simple. There is one them/focus each week. All your kids are learning that same theme. There is an objective for each subject each week. You decide when you want them to get it done. Whether it's block like many of us do, or a little bit each day on each subject, whatever works for your kids. That's it! And the teacher notes completely inform you of all you need to know in order to confidently teach the subjects.

[SewLittleTime]

I'm in the midst of planning right now. We've only done 1 unit so far, so please take that into consideration as I post. I'm still fairly new to TOG. The block schedule is a huge help in getting started, but the thing that has helped me is to plan one thing out for one kiddo for the whole unit. Then plan the next thing.

 

Here's what I've done: Last weekend, I planned writing for my LG on an excel sheet and printed out all the WA materials to complete those assignments and filed them. This week I planned out Geography for the whole year (you could do it by the unit though) and printed out all his maps and the teacher's maps. I also planned out all the read alouds and how much to read each day. Then I planned out all which arts/activities we will do. I pick one or two a week and that is it. It's all we have time for.

 

When I finish all that planning for him, I move to my UG student and do the same thing taking one thing at at time. It really helped me see the bigger picture of where we are headed and the progression for the year.

[johnandtinagilbert]

:iagree: with all the great advice here. Take a peek at my blog. THere's a schedule (or 3 or 4) to get ideas on how to bring the whole together. It does take some adjusting, but then, life is better w/ TOG :)

[JOHNNABONNA]

Thanks so much! Everybody has been so helpful:) and I have been reminded of why I chose TOG to begin with!

 

The block schedule sounds like a great starting place I'm off to look at it all with a fresh perspective:tongue_smilie:Oh! and to join some yahoo groups;) You girls rock!!! Thanks again for all the encouragement!

[JadeOrchidSong]

What helped me get through it was to make a block schedule. We do the schedule the same every week and just plug in what the TOG guide tells you to do for that topic.

 

Example:

Monday: Read History Core, a work on defining a couple of the vocab words.

 

Tuesday: Read History in Depth, start map work (we use clear return addy labels that I print off on the computer the names of places to label and use like stickers), continue a few more vocabulary words, and start talking about the weekly writing assignment.

 

Wednesday: Worldview reading, continue the vocab words, and get working on the writing.

 

Thursday: Read the Lit and do the SAP that goes with it (if there is one), continue writing, finish up vocab, start the fine art project that the kiddo chooses to do.

 

Friday: Fill in lapbook pages, finish up writing assignment, have a meeting with Mom about next weeks work, continue working on fine art project.

 

If there is a read aloud for the week, we spread it out over the whole week.

 

Fine arts projects are completed by Sunday night if at all possible!

 

 

 

I found that just using a skeleton block schedule like this and plugging in the assignment accordingly got me through that fog and made it very workable!

 

Hope that helps!

This looks great if you can stick to it.

How long does each day's work take for your kids?

[Tracy]

This looks great if you can stick to it.

How long does each day's work take for your kids?

 

The nice thing about TOG is that you don't have to stick to it, particularly in the G stages. We skipped a lot of what we planned this past year. There are certain times that we just didn't feel like having dessert. We were sick. We were busy that week. Christmas was coming up with all its extra things to do. But we always did something each week--usually reading--and we forged ahead the next week. I admit that I did battle with that little voice in my head telling me that we were missing something important. (Most weeks we did all or almost all of what we planned. The things that were thrown to the wayside tended to be things like mapping and activities.) But I have to remember that any amount of history and geography that dd6 knows is more than I knew at that age and more than any of her peers knows. And most importantly, she loves history and geography! Now you just can't beat that.

[johnandtinagilbert]

That's right. Also, once your child can handle it, you can assign some reading independently. We're breaking into some required independence this year, so while I only teach history 3 days a week to my grammar kids, the other two days of the week they are doing independent work like reading and rote drill on the computer or map practice. I'm flexible where necessary (i.e. if there are 7 famous people in one week, I'll spread them out instead of teaching them on one day). It works out great.

 

My general schedule is on my blog. I'm in the process of daily lesson plans right now. If you'd like to see them, I'll put a few weeks on HomeSchool Launch. Then you can see what a typical, packed (we've been doing TOG a long time, so don't expect yourself to do all that we do, we really and truly built up to it). It probably won't be up until Friday though. I've been planning all day and I'm pooped! 9 full weeks of TOG and 5.5 of science all planned. So much more to do, but I'm happy with my progress!

[bluemongoose]

This looks great if you can stick to it.

How long does each day's work take for your kids?

 

Part of that depends on the length of the reading for the day and any other activities. IOW it varies. We generally spend about 2 1/2 hours together doing school and that includes science or spanish (they alternate days), phonics, and math instruction.

 

DD does her vocab independently which can take up to 10 min. She also does her rough draft of her paragraph writing independently which probably takes another 10 min. The rest of her 2 hour independent block (also known as quiet/nap time in our house) is spent doing her math assignment and handwriting. She usually finishes all her independent work in about 30-45 min and the rest she plays quietly or reads.

 

That brings our school time total to about 3.25 hours for all subjects.

 

As others have said, if the day is a busy one or if we are just not into it, we feel free to skip some stuff as DD is in the Grammar level. It is still the gravy stage!

[TXMary2]

I have an LG and a D/R. Here is a blog post I wrote about how I do my TOG planning. http://winecupchristianacademy.blogspot.com/2011/06/planning-and-using-tapestry-of-grace.html

[hollyandab]

Well now I'm starting to re-think...

 

I was going to give TOG a try this fall (bought the first unit), but heard some say that they were disappointed with the literature choices. I was thinking about doing Truthquest instead, but now that I've heard others say how much they love it.... hmmmm...

 

TOGers, do you love the lit choices? Would you use something else if you didn't do any of the hands-on activities? (because I most likely will not be doing any:tongue_smilie:) Do you use and like Writing Aids? My kiddos are 6th graders, if that helps...

 

Any thoughts?

 

Holly

[Clover11]

 

TOGers, do you love the lit choices? Would you use something else if you didn't do any of the hands-on activities? (because I most likely will not be doing any:tongue_smilie:) Do you use and like Writing Aids? My kiddos are 6th graders, if that helps...

 

Any thoughts?

 

Holly

 

So far we are happy with the literature selections.

 

We aren't using Writing Aids until high school, though. After getting it home and going through everything, I decided it wouldn't work for us yet. My ds12 needs way more instruction and we felt going with something else for a few years would be better for us. I'm hoping in 9th grade it will be a better fit.

[frankcassiesmom]

TOG is SOOOO not the curriculum where you need to do hands-on activities! So don't worry about that at all. We don't do any pretty much. At the end of each Unit we'll do a few activities to wrap up the Unit. But aside from that, nada.

 

Literature choices are pretty good. Every now and then I added in some extra literature from Sonlight or Veritas Press because I have one that devours literature. But so far my kids were more than pleased. Plus I gather up a stack of extras from the library on the topic and a general part of my book gathering. It's fun for me :)

[hollyandab]

Thanks, TOGers. (Sorry OP--not meaning to steal your thread!)

 

So, if I didn't do the hands-on, didn't use WA, and didn't do the read-alouds (I gave in to peer pressure and bought MCT lit :D to use as r/a), is TOG still worth it for 6th grade? I guess the thing I like best about TOG is the built in discussions and world-view. So I would use TOG for history, lit (student reading lit), worldview, and mapwork... Oh, yeah, I would like to use MCT vocab also, so I probably wouldn't do many of TOG vocab words...probably just discuss their meanings and move on... I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth out of TOG (my own stupid fault for adding in MCT, but I just can't resist!).

 

Any thoughts now? :D:D:D I have to turn to the forum to ask because my husband refuses to listen to me anymore!! :lol:

 

Holly

[TheAutumnOak]

So, if I didn't do the hands-on, didn't use WA, and didn't do the read-alouds (I gave in to peer pressure and bought MCT lit :D to use as r/a), is TOG still worth it for 6th grade? I guess the thing I like best about TOG is the built in discussions and world-view. So I would use TOG for history, lit (student reading lit), worldview, and mapwork... Oh, yeah, I would like to use MCT vocab also, so I probably wouldn't do many of TOG vocab words...probably just discuss their meanings and move on... I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth out of TOG (my own stupid fault for adding in MCT, but I just can't resist!).

 

Any thoughts now? :D:D:D I have to turn to the forum to ask because my husband refuses to listen to me anymore!! :lol:

 

Holly

 

Yes, I think it is definitely still worth it :D...This was my plan when I bought it...But after having it in hand, I decided to add the vocabulary (in addition to MCT vocabulary study) because the words directly relate to what we will be studying and they need to know what the words mean...You don't have to do that...My DH also wants to do some of the activities with the boys, so they will do them with him...My original plan was similar to yours and I still bought it...Even to do just the history, worldview, and literature would be worth it in my opinion...

[hollyandab]

Yes, I think it is definitely still worth it :D...This was my plan when I bought it...But after having it in hand, I decided to add the vocabulary (in addition to MCT vocabulary study) because the words directly relate to what we will be studying and they need to know what the words mean...You don't have to do that...My DH also wants to do some of the activities with the boys, so they will do them with him...My original plan was similar to yours and I still bought it...Even to do just the history, worldview, and literature would be worth it in my opinion...

 

Oh, good! So glad I'm not the only one thinking this way! I wish my DH would do some activities with my boys. He's pretty much worthless when it comes to school, and he's the one with all the education! Although, I'm forcing him to do the science experiments this year!:D

 

Thanks!

[frankcassiesmom]

The TOG vocabulary isn't "vocabulary" like you'd do with MCT. It's words that tie in with history like obelisk, threshing, etc. The words are just words they will learn about as part of their natural TOG reading. The reason I use them is that they cause my kids to pay extra close attention while they're reading to catch the words. Using the TOG words and another vocab program wouldn't compete AT ALL because TOG words aren't really vocab, just historical vocab if that makes sense.

[Tracy]

I am pretty sure that I have seen threads about people using both TOG and MCT concurrently.

[hollyandab]

The TOG vocabulary isn't "vocabulary" like you'd do with MCT. It's words that tie in with history like obelisk, threshing, etc. The words are just words they will learn about as part of their natural TOG reading. The reason I use them is that they cause my kids to pay extra close attention while they're reading to catch the words. Using the TOG words and another vocab program wouldn't compete AT ALL because TOG words aren't really vocab, just historical vocab if that makes sense.

 

Yes, that does make sense. I was wondering if other TOGers did the vocab plus "other" vocab--more language based instead of lesson based-- so this is good to hear! It's sometimes hard to know if I'm overlapping myself needlessly...so now I'm back to being excited about TOG again!! (Although my DH will roll his eyes!!:D)

 

Thanks!

[TheAutumnOak]

The TOG vocabulary isn't "vocabulary" like you'd do with MCT. It's words that tie in with history like obelisk, threshing, etc. The words are just words they will learn about as part of their natural TOG reading. The reason I use them is that they cause my kids to pay extra close attention while they're reading to catch the words. Using the TOG words and another vocab program wouldn't compete AT ALL because TOG words aren't really vocab, just historical vocab if that makes sense.

 

:iagree:

[johnandtinagilbert]

Well now I'm starting to re-think...

 

I was going to give TOG a try this fall (bought the first unit), but heard some say that they were disappointed with the literature choices. I was thinking about doing Truthquest instead, but now that I've heard others say how much they love it.... hmmmm...

 

TOGers, do you love the lit choices? Would you use something else if you didn't do any of the hands-on activities? (because I most likely will not be doing any:tongue_smilie:) Do you use and like Writing Aids? My kiddos are 6th graders, if that helps...

 

Any thoughts?

 

Holly

We enjoy the literature. For D, you're not only getting great reading, but you're also given instructions on the how's whys and whats of literature analysis. It's great b/c the teacher's notes give you all you need. We also have a "Book basket" in the spirit of Sonlight, so if there is something we really want to read, it's there for us. You'll also find a ton of crossover in the two programs as reading lists.

 

Thanks, TOGers. (Sorry OP--not meaning to steal your thread!)

 

So, if I didn't do the hands-on, didn't use WA, and didn't do the read-alouds (I gave in to peer pressure and bought MCT lit :D to use as r/a), is TOG still worth it for 6th grade? I guess the thing I like best about TOG is the built in discussions and world-view. So I would use TOG for history, lit (student reading lit), worldview, and mapwork... Oh, yeah, I would like to use MCT vocab also, so I probably wouldn't do many of TOG vocab words...probably just discuss their meanings and move on... I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth out of TOG (my own stupid fault for adding in MCT, but I just can't resist!).

 

Any thoughts now? :D:D:D I have to turn to the forum to ask because my husband refuses to listen to me anymore!! :lol:

 

Holly

We do writing aids from 4-6, then Write Shop 7-8, then back to WA for high school. It' makes for a nice blend of easier for me instruction (WS is so step by step) and a variety of assignments or high school and UG so we get lots of writing practice. Marcia is much more creative than I so far as assigning variety.

 

In agreement w/ the others so far as vocab. It's so TOG related that you aren't doing a vocab program; although incorporating vocab into writing and Latin/word study is enough imho. so we no longer do a separate program (ours is incorporated into The Phonics Road, then to The Latin Road).

 

Another thing I really enjoyed about TOG was the teacher training. TOG taught me how to do Socratic Discussions and since there are answers provided, my dc always have great examples on how solid answers to Socratic Discussions should look. It really helped our understanding of classical strategies in teaching and learning.

[hollyandab]

Thanks, Tina. Lots of good advice from experience... I also like the looks of the Socratic questions. I wouldn't know where to start on my own!

 

 

We are also starting Latin this year, so that's another reason I was hesitant about all the vocab. But I agree that TOG's vocab is more like part of the week's learning instead of a true vocab study. I haven't bought the MCT vocab or poetry yet. I'm still on the fence with those. (I have the writing, grammar and sentence analysis.) TOG has poetry, so...??? And then between TOG and Latin, do you think Caesar's English would be overkill? (especially with boys who are more science/math related!) Just some more obsessing questions if anyone wants to go on the merry-go-round with me!:D

[johnandtinagilbert]

Thanks, Tina. Lots of good advice from experience... I also like the looks of the Socratic questions. I wouldn't know where to start on my own!

 

 

We are also starting Latin this year, so that's another reason I was hesitant about all the vocab. But I agree that TOG's vocab is more like part of the week's learning instead of a true vocab study. I haven't bought the MCT vocab or poetry yet. I'm still on the fence with those. (I have the writing, grammar and sentence analysis.) TOG has poetry, so...??? And then between TOG and Latin, do you think Caesar's English would be overkill? (especially with boys who are more science/math related!) Just some more obsessing questions if anyone wants to go on the merry-go-round with me!:D

It doesn't have to be overkill. Is it necessary to do all of the language arts every day? Can you assign each branch 3x/wk.? That helps a great deal with overkill over here. I find word root studies to be priceless and a great "instead of" typical vocab programs. We seem to carry over more understanding from roots than we did from vocab. Of course, ymmv.

TOG D&R have lots of poetry, UG/LG has some. That works for our school b/c I just want exposure in the young years, but analysis in the older. TOG handles that for me.

If they are more science and mathy, I'd put in some living books in those areas, if you're not already.

Hope those thoughts help. Have a great day!:auto:

[hollyandab]

It does! Thanks so much! I feel good about everything that I have lined up! Yeah!