anmom Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 After seing the TOG site and hearing a little about it, I am seriously considering switching my entire plan around to use TOG yr 1 with my first graders, but I have questions! I did a search and am a little overwelmed to be honest. I love the look and idea of WWE and FLL which where on my original list. Are these still needed with TOG yr 1? What about the writing aides for the LG level, would I want to add that as well or would it be overkill? What else would I be adding? Would it then be our math and science? Anything else? I originally had an art program picked out, from what I understand art is incorporated in TOG, is that correct? So would I need an additional art curric? Does anyone know where there is a list of the books used (or ones to choose from for this level anyway) so that I can see what our library has in relation to this before purchasing? Anyhting I am missing? Thanks so much! My head is spinning:lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaissance Mom Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 With first graders, view Tapestry as an avenue for reading aloud to them (both fiction and nonfiction) with some fun activities thrown to enhance the experience. You can use the level 1 writing assignments included in the regular year plan -- you don't need the supplemental Writing Aids book until you are at more advanced levels. If you need help deciphering a level 1 writing assignment, just post a question either here or on the Tapestry board. The level 1 assignments are really great for the age -- they build a word bank of words by part of speech and use them to make sentences. You can do as much or as little with it as you see fit. They also progress to doing some very simple paragraphs by the end of the year. No additional grammar or writing needed. You will want to continue phonics (or start spelling if you have finished phonics). You will need a math program. Science is optional, IMO, at this age. Do lots of simple Usborne-type experiments if you do anything. As far as art is concerned, there are many suggested hands on projects included. If you want to have formal art instruction, you will need to supplement. Again, I think that in first grade the projects suffice. For a book list, go to www.bookshelfcentral.com and use their search engine to build a list by year plan for lower grammar. That will give you the entire current list. It will not give you the alternate titles that are easily substituted and are often at the library. My philosophy on books in the grammar years is to use whatever the library has on the history topic at hand -- no need to buy a lot of books. If you want to use the LG literature worksheets, you do need to use the primary titles they recommend. However, I have very rarely used the worksheets routinely with first graders. I sometimes would go over parts of the worksheets aloud with my littlest ones -- but never had them actually fill out the worksheets in first grade. Consequently, I usually chose whichever lit book the library had from either the primary or alternate lists. I did buy a few LG lit books over the years just because we loved them. I think that answers most of your questions. Hopefully this helps a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyNellen Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 The previous poster did a great job of answering your questions. I only wanted to add that we use FLL in the LG years alongside TOG, not because I think the WA assignments are lacking, but because I really like the layout of FLL (and have now used it with 4 children - so I am very comfortable with it.) Ultimately, it will come down to preference...go with what you think will fit your family best. I prefer a simple copywork/dictation/narration approach to writing in the younger years. We jump into Classical Writing in the 4th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I'll say that I don't really like Writer's Aid or the Tapestry writing program. While it suggests many things to write about, it doesn't really teach writing. I found that WWE was the way to go and after that I used SWB's talk A Plan to Teach Writing to structure my oldest's writing. For your age level you should consider that Tapestry cover history, read alouds, arts and crafts. As your children get older and become better readers then they will read the books themselves and your phonics books and program can fade away if it hasn't ended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anmom Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 SO, would you use FLL and WWE or skip WWE all together becuase of what is included in TOG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankcassiesmom Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 It depends. I have a friend who uses TOG and she has her young ones do narrations from their TOG readings, copy work and dictation from theirnTOG stuff as well as other literature. If you plan on doing regular narrations, coworker and dictation from your TOG readings you may not need WWE. If that makes you uncomfortable you would still do WWE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandymom Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I'll say that I don't really like Writer's Aid or the Tapestry writing program. While it suggests many things to write about, it doesn't really teach writing. :iagree: but I love everything else about TOG! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankcassiesmom Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Agreeing with Writing Aids. that said as I have older ones that can write I really enjoy the writing subject suggestions in TOG and use them a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLDoll Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I have a first grader and second grader and we use TOG, WWE, and FLL. Mostly because I was using FLL and WWE before we started TOG and I just love them and didn't want to give them up. I know several of the moms in my TOG co-op started with the writing aids program at the beginning of the year and most now use SWB's materials and supplement with the occasional TOG suggested writing activity. If you don't want to buy the WWE workbooks, you could easily do the copywork, narration, dictation from the TOG readings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 :iagree: but I love everything else about TOG! Well, me too, but you can't do everything well and I find it is better to let people know in advance about a weak spot so they can at least think about an alternate plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaissance Mom Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I'll say that I don't really like Writer's Aid or the Tapestry writing program. While it suggests many things to write about, it doesn't really teach writing. :iagree:, too! We've used IEW for learning HOW to write then transition to TOG writing assignments after we've mastered the basics. However, the one level of beginning TOG writing assignments that I did think stood well on its own was level 1. We very much enjoyed the gentle introduction to all the parts of speech, the continual practice building sentences with them, and (best of all) the hands on approach with the word bank and sentence strip thingee. That year did more for basic grammar and sentence composition for my younger two than anything I had done with eldest dd at that age (before we had discovered TOG). BTW, I am currently doing lots of dictation, basic narration, Climbing to Good English 2, lapbook booklets, and a weekly history journal page with my current 2nd grader. With my current 3rd grader, I am doing IEW's All Things Fun & Fascinating for writing (plus it has some applied grammar), plus Climbing to Good English 3 and lapbook booklets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 SO, would you use FLL and WWE or skip WWE all together becuase of what is included in TOG? I do this. I use TOG and WWE and TOG because they make more sense to me than TOG's WA. I love TOG at this stage for my 1st grader. She loves the readings and the geography, etc. but if I were only teaching a 1st grader, I would save my money and incorporate TOG later, as this style of education can easily be done for less money at this stage of the game. OTOH, if you think that TOG is the last curriculum you will buy, go ahead and start now. We absolutely love it. I am not sorry that we waited until now to start, but that is our journey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 We definitely use a different LA program for the kids. ABeka seems to fit our needs perfectly right now, as FLL was a bit repetitious. I agree with the PP's about not having to buy the exact book list on the site. We keep everything light and treat these first years as an overview, mostly to whet their appetite for learning/enjoying history. ToG is fabulous, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I currently use TOG with two D level kids. I plan on folding in my son to be K student. I will add handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, math, science, OPG, FFL, and WWE over K-2 as appropriate. I may also add or substitute other lit/reading assignments. I will drop the writings aids part of TOG. I tend to use TOG for the history and geography portions, less so for other topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anmom Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 I love TOG at this stage for my 1st grader. She loves the readings and the geography, etc. but if I were only teaching a 1st grader, I would save my money and incorporate TOG later, as this style of education can easily be done for less money at this stage of the game. Just to add to my curriculum confusion already :tongue_smilie:, but...I have a K and a 1st grader that I am combining. IF I did go with something different and wait until they were older, what would I choose? Would I go with SOTW? Those are the 2 I am waffling between (TOG and SOTW). I love that TOG incorporates bible more and includes all the great activities and books to choose from, but SOTW looks fine too. Is it just for monetary reasons that you would wait until they were older, or is there something else I am missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Just to add to my curriculum confusion already :tongue_smilie:, but...I have a K and a 1st grader that I am combining. IF I did go with something different and wait until they were older, what would I choose? Would I go with SOTW? Those are the 2 I am waffling between (TOG and SOTW). I love that TOG incorporates bible more and includes all the great activities and books to choose from, but SOTW looks fine too. Is it just for monetary reasons that you would wait until they were older, or is there something else I am missing? If you are planning to use TOG when the kids are older, I would just get the curriculum now...It is easier to continue using TOG than it is to start it with older children, who haven't done any of the previous work...SOTW is listed as alternative reading, and you can always read that instead of the other recommended books that week...If you go with the DE version, you will get updates for life, so you will already own the most current version when your kids are older... Yes, you can do something else while your kids are younger but why?...Why not get use to the program you plan to use?...You don't have to do everything listed for LG for your 1st graders (I don't), but there are some advantages to starting a program at the beginning...If you can afford TOG now, I would do it...It only gets more expensive as time goes on... As a side note, I use the SOTW readings whenever I can for my LG boys...I read the literature selections from TOG that correspond to that week, and the SOTW chapters that are listed for that week...It works out fine for them, and they will get a change to go through the rotation 3 times, unlike my oldest who will only do it twice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anmom Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 If you are planning to use TOG when the kids are older, I would just get the curriculum now...It is easier to continue using TOG than it is to start it with older children, who haven't done any of the previous work...SOTW is listed as alternative reading, and you can always read that instead of the other recommended books that week...If you go with the DE version, you will get updates for life, so you will already own the most current version when your kids are older... Yes, you can do something else while your kids are younger but why?...Why not get use to the program you plan to use?...You don't have to do everything listed for LG for your 1st graders (I don't), but there are some advantages to starting a program at the beginning...If you can afford TOG now, I would do it...It only gets more expensive as time goes on... As a side note, I use the SOTW readings whenever I can for my LG boys...I read the literature selections from TOG that correspond to that week, and the SOTW chapters that are listed for that week...It works out fine for them, and they will get a change to go through the rotation 3 times, unlike my oldest who will only do it twice... Thank you! That is what I needed to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I am using TOG and SOTW with my 2 first graders and they love the book selections, map work and projects. We really like FLL1 and WWE1 also. I like it because it is teaching, step by step, which is what we really need. Writing Aids doesn't provide that but I can see it will be useful when the boys are older. I like using TOG now because it helps me to understand how to use it better, how to prepare, etc. when the boys are older. I also really like the books they recommend, although many of them seem to be the same as those recommended in SOTW. SOTW takes less prep and is very easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 If you are planning to use TOG when the kids are older, I would just get the curriculum now...It is easier to continue using TOG than it is to start it with older children, who haven't done any of the previous work...SOTW is listed as alternative reading, and you can always read that instead of the other recommended books that week...If you go with the DE version, you will get updates for life, so you will already own the most current version when your kids are older... Yes, you can do something else while your kids are younger but why?...Why not get use to the program you plan to use?...You don't have to do everything listed for LG for your 1st graders (I don't), but there are some advantages to starting a program at the beginning...If you can afford TOG now, I would do it...It only gets more expensive as time goes on... As a side note, I use the SOTW readings whenever I can for my LG boys...I read the literature selections from TOG that correspond to that week, and the SOTW chapters that are listed for that week...It works out fine for them, and they will get a change to go through the rotation 3 times, unlike my oldest who will only do it twice... This is very true. That said-if you went with a few years of SOTW and their activity guide you would be able to blend fairly well into TOG at what ever point you needed. They are not wholly incompatible. But just do the one you want. You'd get more for your initial investment that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anmom Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 When you add in SOTW where they have it scheduled, do you use the activity guide or is that too much with the activites in TOG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 When you add in SOTW where they have it scheduled, do you use the activity guide or is that too much with the activites in TOG? I look at both and decide which activities I want to use. Some are more interesting to boys vs girls, some require more prep work or parental involvement, etc. SOTW comes with some nice color pages also, so that is a nice, easy-to-do thing that requires no prep. My sons both like to color so we do a variety of things between SOTW AG and the various activities in TOG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 When you add in SOTW where they have it scheduled, do you use the activity guide or is that too much with the activites in TOG? Keep in mind I have not seen the STOW activity guide, but in Tapestry you pick and choose activities by your week, by your children's desires, by what you can deal with etc. If the STOW guide is also flexible, then you can use it at just another source for possible projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) I look at both and decide which activities I want to use. Some are more interesting to boys vs girls, some require more prep work or parental involvement, etc. SOTW comes with some nice color pages also, so that is a nice, easy-to-do thing that requires no prep. My sons both like to color so we do a variety of things between SOTW AG and the various activities in TOG. I agree. For example I know we are about to do another chicken mummy. Who could resist? :D But I just happen to have ended up with both TOG and SOTW Activity Guide. Don't feel you actually need to purchase both. You can pick one or the other. Or see if your library has SOTW AG to decide if you want to purchase it. Edited February 8, 2012 by JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pastor's Wife Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Thanks for all your thoughts on SOTW and TOG! I have purchased TOG Y2 because I found a great deal. Now that I have the curriculum in hand, I've realized that our library system in the small town where we live doesn't have many of the books. I was feeling a little bummed but then noticed where SOTW is listed as an alternate reading. I'm so glad to see that is working well for some of you! After reading these posts, I'm thinking I can use SOTW as a regular read-aloud and add in lit books and others when I can. We won't start TOG for a couple of years but I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and figure out how it works! Thanks for sharing your thoughts here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Thanks for all your thoughts on SOTW and TOG! I have purchased TOG Y2 because I found a great deal. Now that I have the curriculum in hand, I've realized that our library system in the small town where we live doesn't have many of the books. I was feeling a little bummed but then noticed where SOTW is listed as an alternate reading. I'm so glad to see that is working well for some of you! After reading these posts, I'm thinking I can use SOTW as a regular read-aloud and add in lit books and others when I can. We won't start TOG for a couple of years but I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and figure out how it works! Thanks for sharing your thoughts here! I am in a tiny town as well. Does you r library have InterLibrary Loan? If so they should be able to get you all the books you need, it just might take a little while longer. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiveOaksAcademy Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 After seing the TOG site and hearing a little about it, I am seriously considering switching my entire plan around to use TOG yr 1 with my first graders, but I have questions! I did a search and am a little overwelmed to be honest. I love the look and idea of WWE and FLL which where on my original list. Are these still needed with TOG yr 1? What about the writing aides for the LG level, would I want to add that as well or would it be overkill? What else would I be adding? Would it then be our math and science? Anything else? I originally had an art program picked out, from what I understand art is incorporated in TOG, is that correct? So would I need an additional art curric? Does anyone know where there is a list of the books used (or ones to choose from for this level anyway) so that I can see what our library has in relation to this before purchasing? Anyhting I am missing? Thanks so much! My head is spinning:lol::lol::lol: I am currently using TOG 2 with LG and D students. I also use FLL and WWE with my 2nd grader. I haven't purchased Writing Aids yet but think I will for next year, mainly for my D student, though. I plan to continue WWE at least through 4th grade and use WA to do some of the writing assignments that sound useful (maybe one per month or so for the LG??). I can use it more thoroughly (hopefully) with my D Student. I feel that the way both FLL and WWE are laid out in those early years, they can easily be done 3 days per week instead of 4 (WWE 1 can be done in 2 days), leaving the other days for a writing assignment from WA or time to work on lapbooks, if you so choose. I am also one who has a very high opinion of WWE and the results we are getting. TOG recommends copywork, dictation, narration for the LG students, so I feel WWE just makes that easy for me. :) I would get math and science to go along with it and just see how you feel about the art that is offered. Year 2, which is the only year I have experience with, has a really good art section involved in unit 2. I didn't go as far as I wanted with it, but I'm thinking about doing it this summer. I know your questions on this have been answered, but I'll do it anyway. ;) Go to bookshelfcentral, choose year 1, then all units, then LG, then what I did when I was in your shoes was look at the books subject by subject rather than all subjects and units for the whole year. You can even do unit by unit. It gives you an idea what they use for which unit AND won't be so overwhelming. I printed mine and wrote L beside all the ones the library has, H beside the ones I already had, and S besides the ones I could substitute with an already-owned book. I think you can really sub a lot in those lower levels where discussions won't be done based on the books that are recommended. Then depending on how you feel about the Literature sheets, you can make sure to have the recommended literature for that week as well. Sometimes I find I really want the book and other times I feel we can do without it. Our SOTW came in quite handy for the lower age level. This is very long. Sorry about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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